The Kath and Penelope Stout

Nick,

The case for the Kath being the ship which transported Penelope Stout is more complicated than would first appear, based on what is recorded concerning the history of that vessel.Records shows the Kath under Hans Jelisz sailed from Amsterdam for New Amsterdam, where it arrived before June 6, 1647. According to the Council Minutes of New Amsterdam, the yacht Kath was then ordered, along with the Liefde, to cruise against the Spaniards. By February 19, 1647/48, both ships were reported at Curaçao, where they remained due to damage from storms and the illness of crew. The following July 2, 1648, it was reported that the Kath under Hans Wyer had captured a Spanish bark called the Nostra Senora Rosario below Margarita Island and had brought the ship north to Manhattan. That same day (July 2, 1648) in a suit before the Council at New Amsterdam, Hendrick Van Dyck sought recovery of some pieces of eight and pearls taken from the captured Spanish ship by the crew of the Kath. By November 9, 1648, the ship under Jeuryaen Andriessen had been reported as stranded on Sandy Hook, New Jersey, at which time the captain and crew requested final settlement of their wages before the Council at New Amsterdam. Since the ship became stranded on Sandy Hook while docked there after it’s return from Curaçao rather than Amsterdam, it is questionable whether this vessel could be the same one referred to in the Samuel Smith and Morgan Edwards/David Benedict accounts of Penelope Stout’s arrival. If the Kath was Penelope Stout's ship, it would imply that 1. she had possibly resided in the Caribbean previous to her arrival in New Jersey and 2. had taken passage from there to New Amsterdam on what was essentially a privateering vessel.While this is certainly possible, it doesn't really resemble the traditional accounts that closely.

See, "New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, Volume IV, Council Minutes, 1638-1649" translated by Arnold J. F. Van Laer, edited by Kenneth Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1974, document page numbers 288, 295, 298, 381, 391, 422.

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