The Fonda Blog

According to my records, there are no less than 18 marriages between Fonda’s and Lansing’s between 1700 and today (listed below).  Many of these marriages are documented in the “The Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook: The Fonda Family“, McConville, Howard A.; Albany, NY; 48:17-20 (1981), 49:28-36 (1984) which can be downloaded here.  Several of these individuals are also buried in the recently restored Fonda-Lansing Cemetery located on Rt. 9 in Colonie, which has been highlighted previously on this blog.

Message

On Fri, 08 May 2009 17:32:02 -0600, <mark@fonda.org> wrote:

Hello Ronald,

Yes, Fonda vs. Trinity… interesting case. I believe many have tried to latch onto the Anneke Jans estate, but few, if any, have succeeded. There are plenty of stories on the internet about those who have tried, which you have most likely seen. John H. Fonda (1828-1915) and wife Mary tried to stake their claim based on speculation/wishful thinking and fell flat… in fact their lawyer was brought up on fraud charges. I think the Fonda/Trinity case got a lot of notoriety in the newspapers because of the scandal. Funny thing is, according to my research, John was not even a descendant of Anneke Jans.

There is a connection to our line from Neeltje E. Briese (1739-1820) who was a g-g-granddaughter of Anneke. Neeltje married Adam Douw Fonda (1736-1808) in 1759, but John’s branch takes off well before that point. I am connected to the famous Fonda’s through this very marriage, about five generation up, but we don’t know each other. So, in other words, both the Hollywood Fonda‘s and my Fonda line are both descended from Anneke Jans, but John H. Fonda‘s line is not. Either way, none of us stand to gain anything from the connection, except maybe bragging rights… ha ha.

Regards,
Albert ‘Mark’ Fonda

Bogardus Farm on west bank of (now) Manhattan Island

On Thu, 07 May 2009 13:55:22 -0400, wrote:

> Mark; Some of my daughters clan claim claim their
> Heirship through Thomas Hall, Thomas Robert Edwards,
> down the lines… Never did they get a cent!! Are you
> in any way related to Jane or Peter Fonda? My lineages
> go back to the same area in Frieslamd.. Our original
> spelling was VON ZELLEN, later and to me now; SELL… I
> am 72 and still beleive in the Estate/s.. 150 % …
> I always thought Church/s were to help save folks lives
> and help them, not accumulate hundreds of acres of land
> from a land grant of only a little over 3 acres for a
> Church and burying ground? My how times have changed and
> on and on..// RONALD R. SELL GOD BLESS

Anneke and Hester

Some interesting similarities between Anneke Jans Bogardus (1605-1663) and Hester Jansz Fonda (1615-1690), the wife of Jellis Douw Fonda, our American patriarch:

Anneke Jans in New Amsterdam (1630-1657)

• Anneke emigrated to New Amsterdam with her 1st husband, Roelof Janszen, on the ship “de Eendtacht” (The Unity) in 1630. They remained in New Amsterdam for a short time and then moved to Rensselaerwyck, on the Hudson, where Jan served as a farm superintendent for the wealthy Killian Van Rensselaer, a Director of the West Indies Company. In 1634, they moved back to New Amsterdam where Jan received a grant of 62 acres of land on the North (or Hudson) River, which is now Manhattan Island.
• Anneke was allegedly the granddaughter of William the Silent – (William I, Prince of Orange, 1533-1584 the father of the Dutch Republic). Both Anneke and Roelof were Norwegians by birth, but may have been of Dutch ancestry.
• After Jan’s death in 1637, Anneke married the Domine Everardus Bogardus (the Latinized form of Bogaert) in 1638. Bogardus died in 1647 and in 1657, Anneke moved to Beverwyck (Albany), N.Y. She died in 1663 and is buried in the Middle Dutch Church Yard on Beaver Street, Albany, N.Y. Harper’s Magazine in May 1885 had a very full and interesting account of Anneke Jans’ farm on the Hudson (known as “Domine’s Bouwery”), which became the property of Trinity Church, causing a huge land dispute, finally dismissed in the 1920’s.

• Hester emigrated to New Amsterdam with her 1st husband, Jellis Douw Fonda, on the ship “Valkenier” (Falconer) in 1650.  They remained in New Amsterdam for a short time and then moved to Rensselaerwyck where Jellis Fonda first appears in the records on October 15, 1651 when he requested permission to distill liquor in the Green Bos, in the house belonging to Evert Pels, next to the brewery.  Within a few years they moved to Beverwyck (Albany), N.Y. where Jellis died in 1659.
• Hester’s maiden name was VanArentsvelt; the Dutch family tree lists her as Hester Douwedr, using her father’s first name in Dutch tradition; another source lists her father as “Douwe Janzoon deVries VanArentsvelt” a master glazier in Leiden (her brother was noted artist Gerard Douw, protege of Rembrandt). Another lists Jans as Hester’s maiden name, which is from her mother, Maria Jans (no relation to Anneke).
• After Jellis’ death, Hester married Barent Gerritsen in 1660, who was killed by Indians in the second Esopus War in 1663.  Hester and daughter Sara were taken prisoner by the Indians; Hester was returned but Sara was not. The two-time widow eventually returned to Albany, her name appearing in occasional Albany records, as late as 1690. She had apparently made a third marriage to Theunis Dirckz Van Vechten, sometime before 1672.  Hester was the subject of a 1964 article in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, “A Career Woman in 17th Century New York.”