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In July 1663, the sea breeze blowing across the palisades of New Amsterdam carried the scent of Atlantic saltwater and the quiet rustle of impending empire. In a small timber home near the tip of Manhattan, Jacobus Kolfs, an immigrant from the Dutch textile capital of Leiden, cradled his newborn daughter, Sara.
Jacobus had crossed the Atlantic to build a new life under the flag of the Dutch Republic. He could not have known that within twelve months, four British warships would drop anchor in the harbor, forcing Director-General Peter Stuyvesant to surrender the colony and instantly transforming New Amsterdam into New York.
Jacobus passed away that very summer, leaving young Sara to come of age during one of the most pivotal geopolitical shifts in early American history.
[TRANSITION OF NEW NETHERLAND TO NEW YORK]
Dutch Golden Age Trade British Imperial Conquest
[Jacobus Kolfs in New Amsterdam] ──► [Surrender to British Rule (1664)]
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Dutch Culture & Faith Preserved Integration of Dutch & English
[Sara Kolfs & Pieter Losee] [Simon Losee & Weeks Family Integration]
Planting Roots in Bushwick and Oyster Bay
As the English flag was hoisted over Fort Amsterdam, Sara and her mother held fast to their Dutch heritage—their language, Calvinist faith, and ancestral ties to the patrician Holland Dames.
When Sara married Pieter Janszen Losee (son of early Zeeland immigrant Jan Cornelissen "DeZeeuw" Losee), the family anchored itself along the western shore of Long Island at Bushwick (Kings County). Here, Dutch homesteaders turned marshland into rich, productive soil.
Their son, Simon Pieter Losee (1681–1763), carried this agricultural drive further east into Queens County, clearing acreage in Oyster Bay. For nearly a century, the Losee farmsteads operated as cultural bastions—raising children who spoke Dutch at home and sang from High Dutch psalters, even as English courts and colonial laws established control around them.
Generation | Ancestor & Spouse | Key Historical Location | Historical Significance |
Gen 1 | Jacobus Kolfs & Sara Van Hazenbroeck | Leiden / New Amsterdam | Golden Age Dutch immigration; last months of New Netherland. |
Gen 2 | Sara Kolfs & Pieter Janszen Losee | Kings County (Bushwick) | Transition to British rule; establishment of Long Island farmsteads. |
Gen 3 | Simon Pieter Losee & Margrietje Koeck | Oyster Bay, Long Island | Expansion into Queens County; prosperous Dutch landholding dynasty. |
Gen 4 | Phebe (Femmetje) Losee & Jacob Weeks | Oyster Bay, Long Island | Intermarriage of Dutch and English colonial lineages on the eve of revolution. |
Gen 5 | Simon Weeks & Rebecca | Jefferson County, NY | Revolutionary War patriot; pioneer expansion into the northern NY frontier. |
The Blending of Two Colonial Worlds
By the mid-18th century, the old Dutch lines began to intertwine with early English Quaker and Puritan families who had settled Long Island. When Simon’s daughter, Phebe (Femmetje) Losee (1720–1802), married Jacob Weeks, two distinct colonial legacies merged. The raw work ethic of the early Dutch habitants joined forces with English civic traditions in Oyster Bay.
[THE MIGRATION TO THE UPSTATE FRONTIER]
[Oyster Bay, Long Island] ───► [American Revolution] ───► [Antwerp, Jefferson Co.]
(Losee & Weeks Homesteads) (Simon Weeks Service) (Post-War Veteran Grant)
That synthesis was tested in the crucible of the American Revolution. During the dark years of British occupation on Long Island following the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776, the family maintained their quiet resilience. Phebe and Jacob’s son, Simon Weeks (c. 1768–1840)—named in honor of his Dutch grandfather—took up arms as a young man for the patriot cause.
Pushing into the Northern Wilderness
After independence was won, Simon turned his eyes north toward fresh land. Packing his family and belongings onto wagons, he joined the post-war migration away from crowded Long Island, pushing deep into the wilderness of Jefferson County, New York.
There, near the St. Lawrence River in the town of Antwerp, Simon cleared dense timber to build a new homestead for his children, Jacob, Alva, and Mariah. From a Dutch weaver's son in 17th-century New Amsterdam to a Revolutionary soldier clearing land in upstate New York, this five-generation journey helped lay the bedrock of the American republic.
Our Direct Lineage
Jacobus Kolfs (1620–1663) m. Sara Pieters Van Hazenbroeck (1638–1694)
[8th Great-Grandparents — Immigrants to New Amsterdam]
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Sara Coefs/Kolfs (1663–1722) m. Pieter Janszen Losee (1659–1704)
[7th Great-Grandparents — Bushwick / Kings County Pioneers]
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Simon Pieter Losee (1681–1763) m. Margrietje Laurens Koeck (1682–1759)
[6th Great-Grandparents — Oyster Bay Landholders]
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Phebe (Femmetje) Losee (1720–1802) m. Jacob Weeks (1736–1791)
[5th Great-Grandparents — Long Island Revolutionary Era]
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Simon Weeks (1768–1840) m. Rebecca (1770–1857) [4th Great-Grandparents — Rev. War Veteran & Upstate NY Pioneer]
Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy
