The Virginia enterprise., 1903-08-28
!. NEW YORK'S FIRST CHILD.


e Was Jean YilIne, Horn ii
s1=: :9 tho Year 1911. Sss & # II
The first child born on Manhattan
island was Jean Vigne, according to q
writer in the New York Tribune. He
was the son Of Guleyn Vigne and his
wife, Adrienne Cuvilte The proof a.
this appears from the following: When
Henry G. Murphy was the American
minister at The Hague he discovered q
manuscript containing the Journal of
. Voyage to New York In 1679-S0," by
+ bankers and Sluyter Hof Friesland.
These were representatives Of q re-
ltg1ous community known as the
ELabad1sts, from their founder, Jean de
Labadies, who were sent to this country
from Holland for the purpose of in
vestisating the country and it's govern
ment and selecting place for . col
ony for their community. Mr.. Murphy
translated this document from the
Dutch and sent it to the Long Island
Historical society, which published it
In 1867 with an Introduction and notes
by Mr.: Murphy, aided by DR.. f.. B.
O'Callaghan. -
This is = very interesting work and
contains extensive references to many
Of the residents Of the city and other
places which they visited. Under
date Of Sunday, September "a, 1879,
they gave an account of visiting GER
tain persons, and then say: "While
In their company we conversed with
the >f1rst male born of Europeans in
New Netherland, named Jean Vigne.
His parents were from Valciennes and
he was now about 65 years OF age.
He was brewer and a neighbor of
our old people" Three days later they
saw Vigne, and stated: I'VE visited
Jean Vigne, in order-as he was one
OF the Oldest inhabitants-to obtain
from him various matters relating to
the country" A note written by Mr..
Murphy on this statement of the
Labadists is as follows: '"rhis is an
interesting statement, which may not
only be compared with that hitherto
received, attributing to Sarah de
Rapalje, who was born on June 8,
1925, the honor of having been the
first: born Christian child in New
Netherland, but it is to be considered
In other respects. According to the
data given by our travellers, who.
writing in 1879, make Jean Vigne 65
years old at that time, he must have
been born in the year 1914, II years
before Sarah de Rapaje, and at the
very earliest period compatible with
the sojourn of any Hollanders.
"1n America Jean Vigne belonged to
the class of great burghers in New
Amsterdam, and was one of the
schepens of the city in the years 1885,
1856, 1861 and 1868. In this person of
European parentage born in New
Netherland there are some notable
points. The first trading voyages to
Hudson's river were made by the
Dutch in 1894 and the first winter
ing or inhabitation there was in 1914
Is. There must have beeen, therefore,
! one European woman at least in the
country at that early period"
Some writer's have been disposed to
question the accuracy of the statement
by the Labadists, but we see no good
reason for disputing it. Jean Vigne
was at that time as we'll known in
New York as Abram S. Hewitt or An
| drew H. Green is in our day. He had
been prominent citizen and Office
holder. One of hts sisters married
Abraham Yer Planck, the ancestor of
many of our distinguished citizens
Another sister married Cornelius Van
T1enhoven, the well-known secretary
OF New Netherland. His mother,
! after the death of Guleyn Vigne, had
married Jan Jansen Damen, one of
the largest real-estate owners of the
city. She was a woman of remark
able ability and force of character and
lived to within score of years of the
visit of the LabaAsts, and it would
appear almost incredible that these
men, whose journal indicates that they
were intelligent and painstaking in
vestigators, should have been misin-
formed upon this point, which con-
cerned such prominent people, and
which they write of as though it was
a well-known fact. Guleyn Vtgne was
an Indian trader. His son Jean was
born in 1914, and that date would in
dicate that the parents were on Man.
haitian island at the time the Tiger
was burned and possibly that they
came on that vessel. The ship Tiger
fwas commanded by Capt. Adrian
Block and was burned in the harbor.
Of New York in November, 1913. Block
and his crew built yacht of less than
20 tons, the first vessel constructed on
Manhattan island. which was called
the Onrust, and with which in the fol-
lowing year he made voyages Of dis
covery through the sound and: up the
coast of Massachusetts. He discov-
cred the island just east of Long Is
land, which has ever since been called
by his name, Black island. Z .:-E
LondOn's Traffic. -.
r. is an odd roHnofior, ~ +lo cn