My NJ Ancestry:Information about Anders Hendrickson
Anders Hendrickson (b. Abt. 1665, d. 09 Jul 1722)
Notes for Anders Hendrickson:Hendrick Johansson was survived by three minor sons, Johan, Anders and Matthias Hendricksson. Hendrick's brother, Johan Johansson, and his neighbor Mårten Mårtensson were appointed overseers of Hendrick's estate and guardians of his minor children. When Hendrick's eldest son, Johan Hendricksson, came of age, he took possession of his father's homestead in Ammansland, the eastern parcel on Darby Creek. When Anders Hendricksson came of age, he took possession of his father's other tract of land - the western parcel facing Crum Creek. It was here, at the confluence of Crum Creek and the Delaware River, that the Hendrickson House was built in 1690, and there it remained for 270 years.
To document the true historical value of the Hendrickson House, H. Edgar Hammond, long-time vicar of Holy Trinity Church, and Ruth L. Springer, wife of Courtland B. Springer (a descendant of Charles Springer) wrote "The Hendrick-sons of Crum Creek and the Old Swedes House" Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, 22:45-82 (1961) (reprints available at the Hendrickson House).
In Crum Creek, the authors propose that Johan Hendricksson, as the eldest son and new family leader, inherited not only the family homestead but also the task of supporting his younger brothers, which, in Anders' case, meant helping him build a good house to live in when he was ready to marry. The presence of a good supply of freestone dictated the material of choice. Thus was constructed a stone house for Anders Hendricksson and his bride, Brigitta, the daughter of Mårten Mårtensson, Anders' old guardian and neighbor whose great-grandson, John Morton, would sign the Declaration of Independence as a representative of the colony of Pennsylvania.
The history of this old stone house began in 1653 when Sweden's Queen Christina agreed to answer Johan Printz's repeated pleas for more men and supplies. Two vessels, Örnen (Eagle) and Gyllene Hajen (Golden Shark), were recruited for duty, and preparations were made to replenish the far-off New Sweden colony.
Sven Skute was commissioned to recruit 50 soldiers and 250 colonists for the voyage. He was especially successful finding colonists in the forested area of northern Värmland, where he encountered skogsfinnarna (the so-called Forest Finns). These Finnish-speaking people had come to Värmland from Savo, a border province between Protestant Finland (then part of Sweden) and Orthodox Russia. They practiced huuhta (the cultivation of rye in the ashes of burned spruce forest) and had been encouraged by Swedish monarchs during the 1500s and early 1600s to clear the ground for eventual farm use. By 1640, however, their Swedish neighbors complained about the burnings, and soon the Forest Finns eagerly volunteered for the voyages to New Sweden.
The Golden Shark was damaged and unable to make the Atlantic crossing. The Eagle set sail from Gothenburg harbor on the icy, winter morning of 2 February 1654. Aboard were 350 souls, including Peter Mårtensson Lindeström, who would describe this voyage in his famous work Geographia Americae, and Johan Risingh, who was destined to become the last governor of New Sweden.
Overcrowding, poor sanitation and illness combined to take their toll on the ship's passengers and crew. When the Eagle, after a four month voyage, dropped anchor at Fort Christina on 22 May 1654, more than 100 people had perished.
Among those who survived the voyage were Johan Hendricksson and his sons, Hendrick and Johan Johansson. The father was sick on arrival, but still living in September 1655 when he signed an affidavit describing the surrender of Fort Trinity to the Dutch. He made a purchase of linen and sewant (wampum) from a Dutch trader on the Delaware in April 1657, but he is lost from the record thereafter.
By 1671, Hendrick Johansson owned (together with Bärtil Eskilsson) nearly 600 acres of land in Ammansland (later Ridley Township). By 1673, Johan Johansson owned property on Marcus Kill. Hendrick Johansson and Bärtil Eskilsson partitioned their joint property into four separate parcels (each taking two). By November 1676, Hendrick was dead.
Hendrick Johansson was survived by three minor sons, Johan, Anders and Matthias Hendricksson. Hendrick's brother, Johan Johansson, and his neighbor Mårten Mårtensson were appointed overseers of Hendrick's estate and guardians of his minor children. When Hendrick's eldest son, Johan Hendricksson, came of age, he took possession of his father's homestead in Ammansland, the eastern parcel on Darby Creek. When Anders Hendricksson came of age, he took possession of his father's other tract of land - the western parcel facing Crum Creek. It was here, at the confluence of Crum Creek and the Delaware River, that the Hendrickson House was built in 1690, and there it remained for 270 years.
To document the true historical value of the Hendrickson House, H. Edgar Hammond, long-time vicar of Holy Trinity Church, and Ruth L. Springer, wife of Courtland B. Springer (a descendant of Charles Springer) wrote "The Hendrick-sons of Crum Creek and the Old Swedes House" Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, 22:45-82 (1961) (reprints available at the Hendrickson House).
In Crum Creek, the authors propose that Johan Hendricksson, as the eldest son and new family leader, inherited not only the family homestead but also the task of supporting his younger brothers, which, in Anders' case, meant helping him build a good house to live in when he was ready to marry. The presence of a good supply of freestone dictated the material of choice. Thus was constructed a stone house for Anders Hendricksson and his bride, Brigitta, the daughter of Mårten Mårtensson, Anders' old guardian and neighbor whose great-grandson, John Morton, would sign the Declaration of Independence as a representative of the colony of Pennsylvania.
The Crum Creek history reports that the stone house measured 30 by 20 feet and faced southwest overlooking Crum Creek and the Delaware River across to New Jersey. In the center of each of the two longer walls, front and back, was a door, flanked by a window on either side. The gambrel roof was supported by the end walls and by heavy, hand-hewn pine beams which extended two feet beyond the face of the front and rear walls to form protective eaves over the first floor doors and windows. Inside, the northwest wall was completely filled by a huge fireplace, an adjacent wood closet (fed by a hatchway to the outside), and in the right-hand corner, a narrow, winding stair leading to the second floor. The large upstairs room was used for sleeping quarters and was heated by a second fireplace.
Anders and Brigitta had four children (Hendrick b. 1691; Jacob b. 1693; Helena b. 1696; and Catherine b. cir. 1700) before Brigitta died in December 1702. Anders soon remarried. With his second wife Catharine he had six more children (John, Peter, Gabriel, Maria, Christina and Rebecca).
Anders Hendricksson died in late Summer 1722 and was buried "in Christian and decent manner ... at Wicaco (Philadelphia)." The stone house and surrounding 164 acres on Crum Creek were devised jointly to the three youngest sons, John, Peter and Gabriel.
More About Anders Hendrickson and Brigitta Mortonson:
Marriage: Abt. 1691
Children of Anders Hendrickson and Brigitta Mortonson are:
- +Catherine Hendrickson, b. 1701, Philadelphia County, PA, d. 1786, Gloucester County, NJ.