424 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.

other lotts; seems pretty sure the words were as then in fence; heard no discourse of any claim of neighbor's land out of fence.

“Peter Stryker, aged 44, says that being on a jury of view about 6 or 7 years ago, Jacob Hanse, father of' Hanse Bergen, said at his house on talking of Worpus, thereÕs Worpus,1 pointing with his finger throÕ his window to the lead of the creek by his garden; remembers about 30 years the land in fence as now and no claim till within this year or two.

“Peter Winans, aged 79, born at Bedford, and about 8 or ten years old when he came to live at Brookland; knows the land in dispute upwards of sixty years ago, and believes the fences stand now much as they did then; ab’t 40 or 45 years ago lie went to live at Staten Island; be remembers Nicholas Baker,2 who was husband of Maritie Gerretsen, first lived upon the land of George Bergen, and the witness's father and Joost France hired it of Maritie Gerretsen, or her husband, and his father left it to Joost France. He remembers Jan Evertse Bout, who lived upon the land sold by Carel De Bevoise to Israel, above 60 years ago; he knew Fred. Lubbertse, and never heard he made any pretense on any of their lotts. Knew old George Hanse Bergen, father of the present George, in possession of the premises above 40 or 45 years agoe, when France's time was out, and he was often in the house.

“Benjamin Vail Dewater, aged 71 years, said he knew Jan Evertse Bout, the son of the patentee; that he had heard and understood that the father was owner of both the place of Bergen3 and Debevois, that he made a will and died before his son was born; that 63 years ago be remembers Annetje Pieterson, widow of Jan Evertse Bout the elder, in possession of the land of Carel Debevoise; they lived on it about 12 years and then let it out.”

In the Bergen Genealogy, p. 229, and also in Brooklyn Corporation Manual for 1864, is a fac-simile of an ancient map of this property in possession of a descendant of Hans Hansen Bergen.4

1 See ante, p. 64, note. The “Worpus” pointed out by Jacob Hanse may also have been the site of an Indian village, a large Indian burying-ground being located in the vicinity, where remains were exhumed a few years ago in levelling the ground for city purposes: Indian maize lands being also, in that region, referred to in the early patents.

2 Maritie’s husband was Nicholas Janse, baker.

3 The deed from Maritie Gerretse to Jores Bergen, in addition to the plantation patented by Kieft to Garret Wolpherste Couwenhoven, covers the one-half of the neck of land butting against Gowanus Creek, patented to Jan Evertse Bout.

4 The annotations to this Appendix are by Hon. Teunis G. Bergen.