Name
Magdalena van Angola. Magdalena van Angola’s name is known from a single record, her husband’s remarriage after her death.[1]
Origin
Magdalena was originally from Angola, as indicated by the designation “Van Angola.” [2]
Migration
Magdalena van Angola was transported to New Netherland between 1627 (first arrival of enslaved Black people in the colony)[3] and 22 July 1640 (baptism of her only known child).[4]
Settlement
Magdalena van Angola lived in or near New Amsterdam, where her daughter Maria was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church.[5] She may have lived on land that belonged to Jan de Fort Orange, mentioned as neighboring Paulo Dangola’s land on 30 December 1644.[6]
Biographical Details
Magdalena van Angola was born between say 1600 and 1625. She would not have been brought to New Netherland if she were an older woman. She was probably at least fifteen years old when she had a child.[7]
Marriage and Children
Magdalena van Angola married Jan Fort Orangien.
Child of Magdalena van Angola and Jan Fort Orangien:
- Maria, daughter of Jan van ’t Fort Orangien, baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church at New Amsterdam on 22 July 1640. Witnesses: Simon Congoij and Isabel d’Angola, “negers” [literally: negroes; Black people].[8]
Maria was not named as the mother, but Jan’s subsequent marriage identifies her. Magdalena and Jan may have had other children, born before the start of the baptismal register in 1639.
Magdalena van Angola died by 24 November 1641, when Jan Fort-Orangien, widower of Magdalena van Angola, and Marie Grande, widow of Jan Premier, registered their intentions to marry at the Dutch Reformed Church of New Amsterdam.[9] Magdalena may have died in childbirth.
Enslavement
Like her husband Jan Fort Orange, Magdalena van Angola was likely enslaved by the West India Company.[10]
Church Membership
Magdalena van Angola had her daughter Maria baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church of New Amsterdam.[11]
Associations
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Magdalena van Angola knew Simon Congo and Isabel d’Angola, who witnessed the baptism of her daughter in 1640.[12] Magdalena and Isabel both came from Angola, like many of New Netherland’s enslaved population. Their surnames represent their place of origin and are not necessarily an indication of a family relationship.
Source Editions
Sypher, Francis J., ed. Liber A of the Collegiate Churches of New York, Part 2: Baptisms 1639 to 1697, Members 1649 to 1701, Marriages 1639 to 1701. Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015. Page 5 (baptism of child) and 472 (marriage intentions of husband).
Citations
[1] Marriage intentions of Jan Fort Orangien and Marie Grande, 24 November 1641, in Dutch Reformed Church (New Amsterdam), Liber A, marriage register, 1639–1701, p. 572; imaged, “U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639–1989,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6961) > New York > Manhattan > Collegiate Church . . . > image 463 of 1410; citing The Archives of the Reformed Church in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
[2] Marriage intentions of Jan Fort Orangien and Marie Grande, 24 November 1641.
[3] Jaap Jacobs, “The First Arrival of Enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam,” New York History 104, no. 1 (Summer 2023): 96–114, https://doi.org/10.1353/nyh.2023.a902905.
[4] Baptism of Maria van ’t Fort Orangien, 22 July 1640, in Dutch Reformed Church (New Amsterdam), Liber A, baptismal register, 1639–1697, p. 250; imaged, “U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639–1989,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6961) > New York > Manhattan > Collegiate Church . . . > image 150 of 1410; citing The Archives of the Reformed Church in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
[5] Baptism of Maria van ’t Fort Orangien, 22 July 1640.
[6] Confirmation of patent to Paulo Dangola, 30 December 1664 [sic], confirmed 18 October 1667. The patent cites 30 December 1664 as the issue date of the original patent, however Willem Kieft was a director from 1638 to 1647. The most likely date is 30 December 1644, around the same time Kieft issued other patents to Black people.
[7] Baptism of Maria van ’t Fort Orangien, 22 July 1640.
[8] Baptism of Maria van ’t Fort Orangien, 22 July 1640.
[9] Marriage intentions of Jan Fort Orangien and Marie Grande, 24 November 1641.
[10] Manumission of eleven black men, 25 February 1644, in New Netherland Council, Dutch colonial council minutes, vol. 4, 1638–1649, p. 183–84; imaged, “Digital Collections,” New York State Archives (https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/11580), identifier NYSA_A1809-78_V04_p183-184.
[11] Baptism of Maria van ’t Fort Orangien, 22 July 1640.
[12] Baptism of Maria van ’t Fort Orangien, 22 July 1640.
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