Michael Pauluzen Van der Voort

Michael Pauluzen van der Voort (approximately 1615 to 1690) - was an early resident of New Amsterdam and an early settler of Talbot County, Maryland. In New Amsterdam, in 1640, he married Marretje Maria Rapelje, whose older sister, Sarah, was the first European born in the New Netherland colony. Michael’s enterprises included real estate, shipping, tavern keeping and, in Maryland, planting tobacco. Michael is the ancestor of many in the United States who spell their name Vandervoort, Vanderford, Vandiver, Vandevert, Vandaveer or similarly.

Michael was born about 1615 in Dendermonde, Flanders, in what is now Belgium. Ledley believes his ancestry traces back to Artus van der Voort, who lived near Turnhout, North Brabant. Various records suggest that Van der Voorts were well-to-do burghers in Amsterdam and Ghent. Ledley says both the name “Voort” comes from the small River Voort near Turnout and that “voort” literally means “ford”. But a better translation of “voort” would seem to be “away” or “distant” and would give the family name the meaning “from far away”. The author of this article can find no River Voort in Belgium or the Netherlands.

Michael may be related to Cornelis van der Voort (1576–1624), a Dutch portrait painter whose house Rembrandt later occupied.

There is no definitive record of Michael’s presence in New Netherland until his marriage, on November 18, 1640 under the auspices of the New Amsterdam Dutch Church. The marriage was among the first seven to be recorded in New Amsterdam, founded in 1625. Michael married Maretje Maria Rapelje, a daughter of two of the earliest settlers on New Netherland, Joris Jansen Rapelje and Catalina Trico. Maretje was born May 16, 1626 and was only 13 yrs., 11 months old when she married Michael. Joris and Catalina were Hugenots. Some sources report that both were born in what is now France, others that Joris was born in Leyden, Holland.

Unlike the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, founded by Puritans escaping religious persecution, New Netherland was founded by the Dutch West India Company seeking profits. The area was good for farming and was the best location in North America for trading with the Indians and with Europe. One result of this unique founding was that the colony welcomed settlers of all religious persuasions from all over the world. Another effect was the predominance of the commercial spirit, which led settlers to participate in multiple businesses at the same time. A third effect was the keeping of thorough records, particularly having to do with property.

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