Van Pelt
The important thing to understand about Van Pelt did not exist prior to 1700. The names have been misunderstood, modified, and badly written by American authors who, for over 200-years, tried to explain Dutch ancestry to their American descendants. . ,
The Basics
1. Anthonus Janson Lanen Van Pelt is creative writing.
2. He was born in Holland, Belgium, etc., is creative writing.
3. Prior to 1700 the VAN PELT surname is creative writing.
4. Lanen Van Pelt is not a name. it is creative writing.
5. Jansen as a "middle name" is creative writing. It is not a name.
Be very suspect of "Lanen Van Pelt" . It refers to the four known generations of the LAAN family (ca 1550 -1663). This family lived in Over Pelt. The earliest record is 1604. Johannes and Petronella are the founders of the LAAN family;, the grandparents of Jois - the father of Anthonus and Mathies who removed to the New World in 1663.
It is very likely the family name was originally Laen as written in Latin. It's has been translated into old Dutch, modern Dutch and American English.
Over Pelt was located in Western Europe in the Low Countries in a principality. It was administrated by the Prince Bishop of Liege. This principality was land controlled by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations (HRE) for the better part of 1000 years. .
The KIngdom of Belgium was not formally recognized as an independent country until about mid-1850. This was 187-years after Anthonus Lanen and his brother Mathies Laan sailed to the New World. They were not born in Belgium. That Belgium contains one record from Over Pelt is a sore spot with Nederlanders today.
In the early 1600s no Dutch child was baptized with a middle name. The native name included a first name and a second name only. However, the second name was NOT always a family name such as LANEN. It was often a patronymic name, which is a version of the father's first name. In the Lanen family the patronymic could have been Teunisson,
In the Van Pelt family Jansen is not a name. Janz, Janse, andJansen are words to identify child: son of John (Jan zoon).
Van Pelt was not the surname prior to 1700. It was a misunderstood place that was incorrectly written. Anthonus Jansen Lanen Van Pelt should be read and understood as Anthonus (son of John) (Lanen) from Pelt). Today an entry in the familybible could resemble this: Anthonus Janz te OP and may or may not contain a date.
Foot note: The HRE was officially disbanded after 1800 when Emperor Francis 1 dissolved the Ten Circles before he abdicated. Only then could Belgium emerge as a fledgling country with Brussels as its capital city.