Great grandfather, Jurian Haff, was a 1640s Field Trumpeter in the Army of the Dutch Empire of Brazil

 

Jurian (Juriaen/George) Haff’s Military Service: Full Exploration

All known details trace back to a single primary document: the Brooklyn Dutch Reformed Church records (dated 22 November 1662, under “Orphans of the Deaconry”). This entry was created when Laurens Haff (age ~13) and his half-sibling became wards after Teuntje’s death. It explicitly lists Jurian’s origin, rank, unit, commander, posting, and exact discharge to establish the boy’s legitimacy and guardianship. No WIC muster rolls, payrolls, or personal military files naming him have surfaced in public archives or digitized sources.

Verbatim Primary Record Quote (from the 1662 Brooklyn Church entry)

“LAURENS HAFF from Brazil, aged about thirteen years, was the son of ‘the late GEORGE HAFF from Auspurg (Augsburg), Foot Trumpeter of the States of the United Netherlands under Captain Claassen, who duly discharged the former on June 23, 1649, and of TEUNTIE STRAETSMANS (STRAETSMAN) from Culenburg…’”

The same church records (and later genealogies quoting them) add that he served “under Count John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, Governor-General of the Dutch Empire of Brazil, at Fort Antonio at the mouth of the river Parahyba de Norte, which was changed to the name of Fort Marguerite in honor of the sister of Count Maurice.” He was “honorably discharged from service on June 23, 1649, in Brazil.” 

Service Profile

• Rank: Foot / Field Trumpeter (Dutch: trompetter). In 17th-century armies this was a skilled specialist role—responsible for signaling commands, charges, retreats, parleys, and ceremonies across noisy battlefields or garrisons. WIC soldiers often included German Protestants like Jurian (from Augsburg, Swabia).
• Employer / Unit: Dutch West India Company (WIC) / States of the United Netherlands, under Captain Claassen (Claussen).
• Commander & Governor: Served during / under Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen (governor-general of Dutch Brazil 1637–1644; the fort renaming honors his sister).
• Posting: Fort Antonio (renamed Fort Marguerite), mouth of the Paraíba do Norte River (modern João Pessoa area, Paraíba state, Brazil—near Recife/Pernambuco). This was a key defensive river-mouth fort guarding Dutch-held northeast Brazil. 
• Service Period: At least 1637–23 June 1649 (tied to Count Maurice’s arrival; discharge came during the late phase of Dutch control). His twin sons Laurens and Pieter were baptized 30 June 1649 in the Recife Dutch Reformed Church (Fort Marguerite vicinity), so he was alive and in Brazil at discharge. 
• Outcome: Honorably discharged in Brazil. He died shortly afterward (1649–1654). Teuntje and Laurens joined the ~1654 Dutch refugee exodus after the Portuguese reconquest.

No specific battles, wounds, promotions, or pay details are recorded—typical for a non-officer WIC soldier. He was likely a career garrison trumpeter rather than a campaign hero.

Historical Context (Dutch Brazil / New Holland, 1630–1654)

The WIC seized northeast Brazil from Portugal in the 1630s. Recife became the capital (renamed Mauritsstad). Forts like Antônio/Marguerite protected river access and sugar plantations. Count Maurits’s governorship (1637–1644) was the high point—arts, science, and tolerance flourished alongside military defense. By 1645–1654 Portuguese forces (aided by locals) gradually reconquered everything; 1649 fell in the brutal endgame. Thousands of Dutch, Germans, and mixed families fled in 1654 under capitulation terms—exactly when Teuntje and Laurens reached New Amsterdam. 

Sources & Cross-References

• Brooklyn Dutch Reformed Church Records (Holland Society Archives, pp. 223–227 etc.) — the 1662 orphan entry is the foundational document. 
• Quoted in: Genealogy of Delbert James Haff (full text), Centennial History of Missouri (p. 423), Allaben’s The Crall Ancestry, Teunis G. Bergen’s Early Settlers of Kings County, Riker’s History of Harlem, Brouwer Genealogy Database, WikiTree (Haff-43), Geni profiles, and modern articles (e.g., Gotham Center on Teuntje Straetmans). 
• No contradictions across sources; all derive from the same church record.

This fleshes out the brief “field trumpeter… under Captain Claassen… Fort Antonio/Fort Marguerite… discharged 23 June 1649” from our Missouri book excerpt into the complete picture. The service placed him (and later his widow/son) squarely in one of the most dramatic colonial chapters of the 17th century.

Haff Family History Notes:

Generation Z – 10th Great-Grandfather

Juriaen (George / Jurian) Haff

Birth: abt. 1618 • Augsburg, Swabia (now southern Bavaria), Germany

Death: shortly after June 1649 (most sources) or by 1654 • Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil  

Parents (claimed in collaborative trees; no primary German church records located):  

• Father: Nicolas Haff (b. 26 Apr 1587 Annweiler am Trifels, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany – d. 22 Jan 1669 same place)  
• Mother: Margaretha Arnold (b. 1591 Obersontheim, Württemberg, Germany – d. 9 Feb 1663 Annweiler)

Military Service (confirmed in 1662 Brooklyn Dutch Reformed Church orphan records):

Field / Foot Trumpeter (trompetter) for the States of the United Netherlands under the Dutch West India Company. Served under Captain Claassen at Fort Antonio (later renamed Fort Marguerite after Count John Maurice’s sister) at the mouth of the Paraíba do Norte River. Honorably discharged 23 June 1649 in Brazil. The same church entry states he was “from Auspurg” (Augsburg) and that his father had migrated from Swabia to Holland for Protestant religious reasons.

Spouse (second wife):

Teuntje (Teuntie / Teuntje Straetsman / Straatmans)

Birth: abt. 1605 • Culemborg (Culenburg), Gelderland, Netherlands

Death: 19 Oct 1662 • Gowanus (Cujanes), Brooklyn, Long Island  

Teuntje was widow of Dutch ship captain Jan Meyer (Meÿerinck). They had two daughters born in Recife:  

• Mauritie (bapt. 1 Nov 1637)  
• Margarita/Margariet (bapt. 20 Apr 1639)

After Jurian’s death she married third: Tileman Jacobs Van der Myen (daughter Annetje Tienemans b. 1654), then fourth: Gabriel Corbesÿe (15 June 1657 New Amsterdam; son David bapt. 1659, d. young).

She migrated to New Amsterdam/Breuckelen ~1654–1657 with her children and died leaving Laurens (13) and Annetje (~8) as wards of the Dutch church. Her estate inventory (25 Oct 1662) lists livestock, crops, land, and 60 guilders seawant.

Children (with Teuntje):  

• Laurens Haff (see below)  
• Pieter Haeff (bapt. same day as Laurens; died before 1662 – possible twin)

Half-siblings (from Teuntje’s first marriage): Mauritie and Margarita Meyer.

Generation 1 – 9th Great-Grandfather

Laurens (Lourens Jeuriansen / Lawrence) Haff, immigrant

Birth: 3 June 1649 • Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil (bapt. 30 June 1649 Recife Dutch Reformed Church; witnesses: Hans Connraet, Pieter de Mee, Lucas Beucker, Hans Voogelhooft)

Death: April 1718 • Long Island City / Jamaica, Queens, New York  

Spouse (m. 5 July 1676 Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church; engaged 18 June):

Kniertje Cunira (Kniertje Pieters Meet / Meert)

Birth: 1655 • Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands

Death: October 1722 • Jamaica, Queens, New York  

Residences: Midwoud/Flatbush, Gravesend/Brooklyn (taxed 1683 – 22 acres), Flushing; signed Jamaica church pledge 1715.

Laurens was apprenticed after his mother’s death (first to Henricus Selyns for 6 years, then Willem Gerritsen Couwenhoven for 3 years).

Full Children (11 known, Flatbush/Brooklyn Dutch Reformed Church baptisms; our direct line highlighted):  

1. Pieter (bapt. ~1677) m. Wyntje Hercks Luyster  
2. Jurian/Uriah (bapt. 18 May 1679)  
3. Theunis/Teuntje (bapt. 24 Jul 1681)  
4. Styntje (bapt. 5 Aug 1683) m. Dirck DeMott  
5. Maria (bapt. 15 Jun 1685) m. Frances Marston  
6. Johannce/Jan (~1686)  
7. Jacobus/Jakop (bapt. 11 Sep 1689)  
8. Theuntje (~1691) m. Johannes Wiltsee  
9. Margarietje / Margrietje Haff (abt. 1694 Flatbush – 1745 Reading, Hunterdon, New Jersey) – our 8th great-grandmother m. Peter Monfoort/Monfort  
10. Sarah (~1697) m. 1723 Joseph Halstead  
11. Lourens (bapt. 30 Apr 1699) m. Marytje Kouk

Direct Line Continuation

• Margarietje Haff (1694–1745) → daughter Kniertje Monfoort (1719–1770)  
• Kniertje Monfoort → daughter Margrietje Joost “Margaret” Schamp (1739–1773)  
• Margrietje Joost Schamp → daughter Rhoda McDonald (DNA match, 1773–1859)  
• Rhoda McDonald → son Job Groom (1795–1823)  
• Job Groom → daughter Sarah Groom (Grooms) (1815–1858)  
• Sarah Groom → daughter Sophia Boyd (1836–1908) – our 2× great-grandmother

Consolidated Notes & Primary Sources

The core military and migration story comes verbatim from the Centennial History of Missouri (Walter Barlow Stevens, p. 423) and the 22 November 1662 Brooklyn Dutch Reformed Church “Orphans of the Deaconry” entry (Holland Society Archives). These records are the single primary source for Jurian’s origin, rank, unit, commander, fort, and discharge date.  

All Recife baptisms, Teuntje’s remarriages, Laurens’ apprenticeship, and the 11 children are drawn from compiled Dutch Reformed Church registers (Recife, New Amsterdam, Flatbush, Brooklyn) as summarized in:  

• Teunis G. Bergen, Early Settlers of Kings County  
• Brouwer Genealogy Database  
• WikiTree (Haff-43)  
• Gotham Center articles on Teuntje Straetmans  
• Long Island genealogy family sheets

No original WIC muster rolls naming Jurian have been located; the 1662 church entry remains the authoritative document. The 1654 Brazilian exodus (Portuguese reconquest) explains the family’s arrival in New Netherland exactly when New Amsterdam was still Dutch.

This revised summary corrects the birthplace of Teuntje, adds her full marital/children history, includes Laurens’ twin brother and 10 additional siblings, tightens Jurian’s death range, and integrates the military details without altering our direct blood line. The downstream generations from Margarietje onward remain exactly as you provided and are strengthened by the DNA match reference.

Thank you to Grok xAI for the deep dive and supporting details for this story.  -- Drifting Cowboy