Van Keulen, Van Keuren, Van Kuren, Van Curen Home Page

In the early 1500s, Wolfaert van Keulen was born at or near Cologne (Keulen in Dutch). His son Mathij is believed to have been born in the 1540s, also Cologne. In 1567, Cologne was taken over by the Spanish. The Catholic conquerors were very hard on wealthy Protestants, imprisoning large numbers and executing many. As the van Keulen family were both well off and Protestant, most chose to flee for the safety of the Netherlands. Mathij Wolfaertse van Keulen appeared first in the records of Antwerp in 1570. It is believed that his son, Jan Mathijs van Keulen was born in Antwerp @ 1580. In 1585, Antwerp fell to the Spanish. Nothing is known of Mathij Wolfaertse beyond this date, but brother Jacob Wolfaertse appeared in London in the early 1590s. Jan Mathijs' firstborn son Mathij Jansen van Keulen, was christened at the Austin Friars Dutch Reformed Church of London on 2 Feb, 1602, but Jan was listed as a merchant of Amsterdam. Subsequent records involving Jan Mathijs van Keulen and his family are found in the courts and churches of Amsterdam. Mathij Jansen van Keulen immigrated to America @ 1636, where he married Margiet Hendrickse, and they had 4 children. Mathij's grandchildren, through youngest son Matthys, adopted the surname "Van Keuren" in 1716, creating an artificial Dutch name. There has yet to be a Van Keuren, Van Kuren, or Van Curen that is verified to be a descendant of any immigrant other than Mathij Jansen van Keulen.
Other family names closely linked to Mathij van Keulen's family:
Peersen(Person, Personius), Jansen(Jonson, Johnson), Van Steenberghen(Van Steenbergh, Steenbergh, Vann), Van Vliet(Van Vleet, Van Fleet), Dubois, Westbrook, Terwilliger, Swart, and Hover(Huber)

To see more detailed history, Genealogy, and family photos, click on Van Curen Family Home Page below

Family Photos

• Home Of Tjerck Matthyssen Van Keuren (47 KB)
  The Home of Tjerck Matthyssen Van Keuren, 138 Green Street in Kingston, New York is the oldest home of the Van Keuren/Van Curen family in America. Built in 1682 by Tjerck's father, Matthys, it is still in use today, despite being damaged by fire in October 1776, and again in October, 1777. During the Latter, October 17, 1777, Johannes Van Keuren was born in the cellar of the home as the British sacked Kingston.

Family Tree Maker Reports and Trees

• User Home Page Report: Report


• User Home Page Genealogy Report: Descendants of Henricus Van Keuren


• Genealogy Report: Descendants of Cornelius Van Sicklen


• Genealogy Report: Descendants of Teunis Cornelisse Swart

Related Files

• Sleght Family History (60 KB)
  Matthys Matthyssen Van Keuren married Tryntje Sleght March 5, 1704 in Kingston, grand daughter of Cornelius Barentsen Sleght of Woerden. This report details the early ancestry of that family

Related Links

• Van Curen Family Homepage
• Van Keuren, Van Curen Online Photo Album