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Anneke Jans

Anneke Jans was an early settler in the New Amsterdam Colony. She had multiple children and lived on a large 62 acre farm. Her husband Roeloff Jans passed away shortly after gaining all of their marital assets. Anneke was able to maintain all of these assets after her husband died because she signed one of the first prenuptial agreements in the colonies. This is very significant in early American history because it allowed her to be one of the first women to control many assists despite not having a male partner to depend on.

Family and Background

Anneke Webber-Jans was born in Norway in 1605. Her Father was Johan Jans and Mother Tryntje Roelofse Jans. She married her first husband Roeloff Jans in Amsterdam, Holland. On Friday, April 18th 1623; together they had six children. Most notable their daughters Trinjntje Roelofs (1629-1684) and Sara Roelofs (1626-1693). Together Anneke and Roeloff moved to New Amsterdam which would later become New York City. Roeloff Jans passed away in 1636 leaving Anneke alone with her children. In March 1638 Anneke married her second husband Reverend Everardus Bogardus. Together they had four sons most notably their son Pieter Bogardus ( 1645-1703). Reverend Everardus Bogardus died in an accident at sea in September 1647. Anneke Jans died on February 23, 1663, she was 58 years old.

Women in The Early Colonies

Women in the Early Colonies (1607-1776) had very little freedoms or individual rights granted to them. In this time period women were usually viewed as wives or daughters. Daughters were dependent on and served their fathers and wives were dependent on and served their husbands. Women rarely worked in the fields to help farm and usually were stuck with tasks such as preparing meals and taking care of children. If a woman became a widow, often times she would lose all of her assets and be in a very tough scenario until they became remarried and had a husband to provide for them.

Legacy

After Anneke Jans first husband Roeloff Jans passed away Anneke was supposed to give up and lose all of her and her husbands assets. However just before her husband passed Anneke Jans signed one of the first prenuptial agreements meaning that she was entitled to keep her own property. This is an important event in women’s history because for one of the first times a women was able to be seen as an independent and take care of herself. After the passing of Anneke’s second husband and before her passing she drafted a will dividing all of her property between her kids upon her death. Overall, Anneke Jans’ draft of one of the first prenuptial agreements in colonial America greatly impacted the fate of many women after they became widowed because they had a possibility of maintaining assets instead of being completely dependent on men.

See also

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Colonial_American_women

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenuptial_agreement

References

Anneke Janscolor>. Anneke Jans. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/j/anjans.html#sources

Boundless. (n.d.). Boundless US history. Lumen. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-role-of-women-in-the-colonies/

N., L., White, (2017, April 2). Anneke Jans. History of American Women. Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/01/anneke-webber-jans.html

Trijntje Roelofs. WikiTree. (2022, January 8). Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Roelofs-1

Further Reading

Anneke Jans. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2022, from http://homepages.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy2/ps13/ps13_018.htm

External Links

 http://www.annekejans.net 

 https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/j/anjans.html#sources