Teuntje Straetmans

Teuntje Straetmans arrived in New Amsterdam with three children and, for practical purposes, was a single woman. Hoping her husband, Tieleman Jacobsen, might join her, she eventually declared him dead to remarry. With approval from Peter Stuyvesant, she wed Gabriel Corbesij on June 15, 1657, in the Dutch Reformed Church. Records listed her as a widow.

During Straetmans’ marriage to Corbesij, she took advantage of Dutch property laws and arranged to keep some of her assets separate from those of her husband.  The aforementioned houses at Wall Street were hers, purchased before she married. 

After her death, the shift to English rule in 1664 began to erode the rights of women like her. Almost 18 months after Teuntje Straetmans' death, Reverend Selijns learned from a traveler that her third husband, Tieneman Jacobsen, was alive in Jamaica. The church wrote to inform Jacobsen of Teuntje's death and his daughter's status, suggesting he either send for Anna or provide for her. Jacobsen had previously avoided New Netherland, fearing a bigamy charge upon learning of Teuntje's remarriage. After receiving the letter, however, he decided to return to New Netherland to reunite with his daughter Anna.