Drawing by Daniel M. C. Hopping. From the book American interiors, 1675-1885: a guide to the American
period rooms in the Brooklyn Museum by Marvin D. Schwartz.
Museum libraries and archives are rich storehouses of textual and visual information. This is very true of the Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives which function as the “story tellers” of the Museum by providing histories about objects in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum. Hidden within the Libraries and Archives are a myriad of stories concerning the Schenck houses, which were recently renovated and reinstalled on the fourth floor of the Museum.
Photograph by Reverend William Edward Schenck. From Account of my trips to Holmdel, N.J. & Flatlands, L.I. by William Edward Schenck.
One can find several fascinating books, photographs and other documents in the Libraries and Archives that tell about the Schenck family and the houses they lived in. Highlights include photographs from the Historic American Building Survey and an original journal by Jane Malbone Schenck who wrote about what her life was like in Brooklyn in the 1800’s. A selection of these documents are currently on view in the Library display cases on the second floor of the Museum.
These documents are of great interest to many, including architectural historians of Brooklyn who want to know what Brooklyn looked like when the Schenck houses were built more than 330 years ago. These documents tell us about the houses, the transfer of owners and families and the re-emerging of the architecture through refurbishments and significant structural transformations. The photographs tell us about the transformation of the surrounding landscape from sweeping meadows to a Brooklyn neighborhood. They also provide evidence of how the houses have looked as they have been installed at the Brooklyn Museum.
Jan Martense Schenck House reinstallation. Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Decorative Arts.
Exhibitions: Schenck House reinstallation, 1971.
2008 is the 185th anniversary of the founding of this institution as a library (the Brooklyn Apprentice’s Library) and we are planning a series of talks about the history of the Library and the rare and unique collections held in this repository. We will be focusing on the materials related to the Schenck family in this upcoming series. Please email us at library@brooklynmuseum.org if you would like to know more about the talk or Schenck related materials in the Libraries and Archives.
For a complete history on the Schenck Houses, see Kevin Stayton’s book, Dutch by design : tradition and change in two historic Brooklyn houses : the Schenck houses at The Brooklyn Museum, available in the Museum Libraries. Additional installation images of the Schenck house can be found in our online exhibition index.
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Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum
I recently visited the Brooklyn Museum after almost a 40 year hiatus. I fondly recall the period rooms as well as the Egyptian exhibits, but I don’t remember seeing the 2 Schenck houses. When were they installed? They are extremely interesting and are a great addition to the Museum. I had a great time and will re-visit soon.
Hello Myron,
The Nicholas Schenck House came into the Museum in 1929. The Jan Martense Schenck House (the older of the two houses) was installed in 1964. Hope you enjoy seeing them on your next visit!
Best,
Tara
I came across this blog today while out surfing the net … I am excited to get back to Brooklyn and to see this wonderful home! I have the opportunity to actually live in this home. I have a wonderful picture of my dad taken out in front of the old house (abt. 1924) and next to the home stood a huge building, I would love to know what that was! Our entire family would return for all the holiday seasons. Dad use to white wash the house to keep it sparking white, one thing grandpa liked. There was an old root cellar that use to scare me as well as the ghost upstairs!! Tobad the entire house was torn down, but funny to see the back wing once again standing, and know I once lived there!
I am descended directly from Jan Martense Schenck. I have a genealogy book of the Schencks that might interest you. I also had a copy of the photo book you published on the house that I bought in the fifties, but has been lost while moving. Can I buy anothern as my sons, Charles and James are intrerested in evrything pera
Hello Mr Hamilton,
I too am a direct decendant of Jan Martense Schenck. Like your sons I am very interested in our family’s history. I loved it when my father and grandfather took my brother and I to see the house in the mid-70′s.
Continued reply from S.V.R.Schenck Hamilton : Charles and James are interested in everything pertaining to their Dutch origins.
Thank you for your comments! We are always delighted to hear from descendents of the Schenck Family asd we are always happy to hear from family members who have a historical link to the objects in the Museum’s collection.
I will contact you via email re details of the books you mention in your blog comments.
Thank you for contacting us!
Best,
Deirdre Lawrence
Principal Librarian
My ancestor Gerret Jansen Doorlandt (sometimes spelled Dorland or Durling) married Jannetje the oldest daughter of Jan Martense Schenck and Jannetjie van Voorhees in 1692. I was thrilled to discover that the house she grew up in was saved and installed in the Brooklyn Museum!!! I recently found the museum’s publication “Dutch by Design” by Kevin L. Stayton. It is a wonderful read allowing those of us with early Dutch American/Brooklyn roots to so vividly imagine how our ancestors lived. My family hopes to pilgrimage to the museum soon. Thank you for all your efforts in preserving the earliest history of “the broken lands.”
Dear Mr. Fixx,
We are delighted to hear from you as we are always interested in descendants from the Schenck Family. Please let us know when you wish to visit the Museum. We would like to meet you and your family members!
Best,
Deirdre Lawrence
Principal Librarian
Brooklyn Museum
I am trying to find out more about my family history. My mother’s maiden name was Mildred L. Schenck. Her father’s name was Benjamin Francis Woolstein Schenck born in Dinwiddie Virginia. His father was Benjamin Bennett Schenck born in New Town, Queens Co. New York. His father was Nicholas ____ Schenck, born in New Lotts, King Co. LI, New York in Aug 3,1788 and mother was Phebe A. Schenck,born may 16, 1790 in Flatbush NY They had three boys and two girls. I have tried to find Nicholas’s father and grandfather. Some of the writings say that this family can be traced to Holland in the 500″s
Hi Donald,
Thanks for your message, we are always delighted to hear from Schenck family descendants. I will be sending you a list of Schenck family resources in the Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives shortly. We hope these resources will be able to assist with your family research.
Best,
Tara Cuthbert, Archives Assistant
Hi everyone,
I was surfing and looking for anything on the Schenck family and came across with this site. We are off of the side of Roulof Schenck and have been looking for any info and pictures that we can find. Would love to hear from anyone. Happy Holidays!
I think my family tree is a few branches short of full bloom.
Hi Roy,
We are always interested in hearing from Schenck family members. Thanks for posting!
Best, Deirdre
I am a direct descendant of Roelof Martense Schenck, Jan’s brother. I am eager to visit the exhibit this summer and see where my family stood before and how they lived. I hope to find more resources on the Schenck family as well. It would be great to find a copy of the photo book and “Dutch by Design” as well. I look forward to being ‘wow’ed when I come. Thanks
Dear Corey,
We would be thrilled to meet with you and to show you the materials you call out in your message above. Send us an email when you are ready to schedule a visit:
library@brooklynmuseum.org
Best, Deirdre
I wish I had found this opportunity to contact you before I visited the Schenck houses a couple of years ago. I’m descended from Major Henry Schenck (1743 – 1799) of what was then known as Fishkill (now Beacon) NY, who in 1763 married Hannah Brett, granddaughter of Catharyna Rombout Brett and Major Francis Brett.
Catharyna Rombout Brett (my 7-times-great grandmother) was the first white woman to settle in the Hudson highlands. Catharyna and Francis’s house, now variously known as the Madam Brett Homestead (see Wikipedia) and the Teller Mansion, was built in 1709 on land purchased from the Wappinger Indians by Catharyna’s father. That house, occupied by her descendants until 1954, is now a museum owned and operated by the DAR. But I digress.
I would like to learn whether the Schenck houses at the Brooklyn Museum were also built by my direct ancestors. It seems likely, but I don’t have any information linking the Fishkill Schencks to early Brooklyn.
However, I can provide information about later Brooklyn inhabitants from the Fishkill family who might be of interest to the Museum. I understand that you have a current project to identify the specific locations shown in old photographs of Brooklyn in your collections. In my family archives is a small photo of a house at 525 1/2 Quincy Street, where my grandmother, born Grace Howard Norton, grew up. I could try to get a copy for you.
Her maternal grandmother was born Elvina Schenck in 1836 (in Fishkill), among whose great-grandparents were Hannah Brett and Major Henry Schenck, named above. In 1855 Elvina married a cousin, Alexander Annan, also of Fishkill. One of his grandfathers was a younger brother of Hannah Brett. It was Elvina and Alexander’s daughter Carolyn Schenck Annan who left Fishkill and moved to Brooklyn. I’m not sure in what year she moved, but I know that in 1882 she married Elliot Howard Norton, who lived in Brooklyn. Carolyn and one of her sisters eventually lived across the street (presumably Quincy Street) from one another in Brooklyn, so perhaps she originally left Fishkill to visit or live with her sister.
Carolyn’s husband Elliot and his forebears were born and lived on Martha’s Vineyard, where 7 generations earlier his direct ancestor Nicholas Norton had been among the island’s first European settlers, in 1641. But that’s another story.
My grandmother, in her adulthood, wrote very engagingly for the VIneyard Gazette about her childhood memories of her family’s annual trip to Martha’s Vineyard, including preparations for departure from Brooklyn. I have copies of this article, which I would be happy to share with you.
My grandmother met my grandfather, Jack Manley Rosé, at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
After they married, she moved to Summit, where his grandparents and mother lived, thus ending (for now at least) my immediate family’s connection to Brooklyn. My family’s roots in Summit continued through my mother, who was born there in 1914 and lived there until she was 88 (she is still alive at age 96) to my generation (my brother and I were born there in 1938 and 1940).
Luckily both of our parents passed along extensive family records, so we are able to trace our lineage back to several very early immigrants, through almost 500 years of genealogical data and about 200 years of more scattered anecdotal writings. My father’s paternal line (last name of Thomas) entered the colonies via Maryland in 1652 and remained there until shortly before my Dad was born….
But I must stop this! Apologies for my overly long meanderings. I’m hoping that you’re still on the Brooklyn Museum’s staff or that someone else will pick this up and reply, because I see that it’s been quite a while since anyone has posted here.
Dear Jane,
Thank you so much for this great information! We will look into this and follow-up. We so appreciate hearing from members of this important Brooklyn family!
Best, Deirdre
Posted on behalf of Katy Christensen, Brooklyn Museum Library Guest Blogger:
Dear Ms. Warren,
I was unable to find a specific reference to any of the family members you listed, but I have compiled a list of the family members and their locations if you would like to search out any of their names in your family research.
According to the Library records, the first members of the family to come to the United States were Roelof, Jan, and Anetje Martense Schenck. Their place of origin is not definite, but one record indicates that they were the children of Marten Schenck, son of Peter Schenck van Nydeck and Johanna van Scherpenzel. Anetje married Adrian Reyersz. Roelof had six children by his first wife, m. (1661) Neeltje Gerritsen van Couwenhoven:
Martin (1661) m. (1686) Susanna Abrahamse Brinkerhoff and (1693) Elizabeth Minnen van Voorhees
Anetje (1663-1685) m. (1681) Jan Alberte Terheun
Jonica (1665) m. (1684) Peter Neefus
Marike (1667) m. (1687) Isaac Hegeman
Jan (1670) m. Sara Willemse van Couwenhoven (10 children) moved to Freehold, NJ
Garret (1671-1745) (11 children) Deacon in Freehold, NJ
He had additional children by his second wife, Anetje Pieterse Wyckoff:
Margaretta (1671-1745) m. (1700) Cornelius Willemse van Couwenhoven moved to Middletown, NJ
Neeltje (1681-1751) m. (1701) Albert Willemse van Couwenhoven moved to Middletown, NJ
Mayke (1684-1736) m. (1704) Jan Lucase van Voorhees
Sara (16875-1799) m. (1705) Jacob Willemse van Couwenhoven moved to Middletown, NJ
He married a third time (1688) to Catryntyna Crigers. Jan (the builder of the Jan Martense Schenck house) had at least 8 children by his wife Sarah Couwenhoven:
Sara m. Joseph van Mater
Katrintje
Katrya m. Simon Dettart, 3rd m. Peter Couwenhoven
Jan m. Jacomyntje Couwenhoven
Daniel
Neeltje m. Garret Jacobse Couwenhoven
Eengetie
Hendrick m. Catryna Holmes
Jan and Jacomyntje had 5 children:
Jahnetjie (1673)
Martin (1675) m. (1703) Cornelia van Wesselen
Willemtje (1677)
Neeltje (1683)
Stephen (1685-1767) m. (1757) Willemtje Wyckoff
Stephen and Willemtje had nine children, one of whom was Nicholas who built the Nicholas Schenck house.
Unfortunately the sources are somewhat contradictory and perhaps not accurate. I can recommend some additional Library sources for further information if you would like to visit the Museum library – or another library – to look through them yourself:
Alice Crandall Park’s Schenck and Related Families in New Netherlands CS71 Sch26 P1
Dorothy Robinson Schenck’s Schenck Family History SCR CS71 Sch2 D73
William E. Schenck’s Ancestors and Descendants of John Schenck SCR CS71 Sch2 A3
Papers associated with the Schenck family bible SCR OVERSIZE BS185 1791 T7 coll.
We also have resources on the Schenck houses themselves. Here are a few citations:
Dutch by Design BMA REF NA735 B8 St2
The Jan Martense Schenck House BMA REF NA735 B8 B79
Family Guide: Dutch Houses, Brooklyn Homes BMA/REF NA735 B8 B79f
Regards,
Katy Christensen
I have a crypt key with Peter H Schenck, vault 33, N. York City, Marble Cemetary on one side , the other says J.L. Hull, keeper and undertaker 40 second avenue, would love some info on it. Also have a letter type out about the family no date but is old, a family tree and a letter from 1895 with a government seal stating that Ella C. Schenck is an American citizen signed by Clyde Thropshire, Vice and deputy consul general. Please contact me back thanks
Erin Yarger
For Erin Yarger,
The Peter H Schenck could be either Peter Henry Schenck (1779-1852) or Peter Francis Henry Schenck (born 1825) son of the above and Harriet Courtney (1784-1850). Harriet Courtney was buried in the vault but removed in 1852 along with many other occupants in 1905 – why I don’t know. Presumably you seen the NYC Marble Cemetery website. Details of vault 33 can be found at: http://www.nycmc.org/intermentvaults.html
I just learned last week that the man who built the Jan Martense Schenck house is my 9th great grandfather. My father was a carpenter, as was his father, as was his father, & so on. Now I know where it comes from. We are planning a trip to NYC for 2013. Is there a particular time of year, weekday/time that would be your museum’s slowest time of the year? I would really like to just sit and reflect there over this. Thanks.
For Jane Warren, I am also a descendent of Henry Schenck and Hannah Brett.
Henry Schenck was descended from a Johannes Schenck of Bushwick. He arrived in America in about 1683.
A useful book can be found on Long Island Genealogy website at: Memoir of Johannes Schenck
I’ve not yet found any connection between the Johannes Schenck and Roelef Schenck families. Whether both or either families are actually descended from Martin Schenck Van Nydeck I don’t know.
For Chris Coward: Hello, Cousin! Do you have any information tracing the generations between Johannes Schenck of Bushwick and Henry Schenck of Fishkill NY (or of that area)? I am always interested in how and where husbands and wives originally met each other, which information sometimes leads to indications of when families migrated from one locale to another. The date and reasons for the Schencks’ move from Brooklyn to Fishkill are still a mystery to me.
Have you ever visited the Brett Mansion in Fishkill / Beacon NY? If not, I highly recommend it. The house is open only one day a month part of the year, but the folks in charge are especially gracious and welcoming to Brett descendants and will be interested in having you trace your own connection for them. On a wall in an upstairs corridor is a fantastic, enormously detailed family tree on which you will be able to trace your lineage from long ago in Europe to within a few generations of yourself. My grandmother told me about this, saying that her grandmother is named on this tree; I found the name there when I visited the house in 2011. Sadly, no copies of the tree are available, and one cannot photograph it either. Still, it was a thrill for me to see so many names which have become familiar to me through my own wanderings among family archives.
For Jane Warren:
Hi Jane, Not time to respond fully at this time.
I have visited the Brett Homestead. Three lovely women opened up for us as we were in Beacon on a non-opening day and as we were visiting from the UK, laid on tea and cakes. I know the family tree you are referring to and can help you with a copy. The original was drawn up by a family member. A descendant had a number of reproductions made. A cousin very kindly sent me one of those. Before I had it framed I took it to local reprographics company and had a full size scan done (too large for a home scanner). I can send you a copy suitable for printing. EMail me on cpcoward at gmail.com and we can sort out how to get it to you.