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BIOGRAPHY OF
DAVID D. BLAWVELT.
DAVID D. BLAWVELT.-After the Demarests and Harings, the Blawvelts
are the most numerous of the families that settled the northern
part of Bergen County. On the east bank of the River Yssel, in
the Province of Overyssel, in Holland, nestles the by no means
sleepy town of Deventer-the birthplace of the great Gronovios
and the still greater Groote,-a town of iron foundries and carpet
manufactories, famous for its "honey cakes,"-a species
of gingerbread, tons of which are annually shipped to different
parts of the kingdom. The Valley of the Yssel, traversed as it
is by numerous tributaries to the river, is exceedingly fertile,
and the lands about Deventer are among the most productive of
any in Holland. Near Deventer, in 1623, was born of well-to-do
Dutch parents one Garret Hendricksen, who, as a youth, is said
to have been possessed of a restless spirit. In 1644 he tired
of agricultural pursuits, left the paternal fold, and found his
way to America, landing, as all emigrants in those days did,
at New Amsterdam. Two years later he married Mary, the eldest
daughter of Lambert Moll, a native of Berne, who had emigrated
to America a few years earlier and was then domiciled at Bushwick,
L. I. Garret Hendricksen and his wife, Mary Moll, lived and died
in New Amsterdam, having had thirteen children, most of whom
adopted the surname of Blawvelt (Blue-Field), in memory, it is
said, of the blue hills about Deventer. Of Garrett Hendricksen's
sons, Hybert, John, Abraham, and Isaac Blawvelt were destined
to transplant the name in Bergen County, principally in Harrington
and Washington Townships. Hybert and John (2) joined in the purchase
of the Tappan patent, in 1686, and in 1689, with others of the
family, became members of the Tappan settlement. Hybert married,
April 15, 1679, Wellempie Ariense, a sister of one of his co-patentees,
and located in Harrington Township on the Tappan road, just north
of what was once known as the "Old Jug" tavern. His
brother Abraham (2) settled on the west side of the road leading
along the run north of the mill, late of Peter A. Demarest. Isaac
and another brother settled on a large tract on which are now
the residences of John R. Herring and others. Like the Demarests
and Harings, though not to such an extent, the Blawvelts had
much to do with the administration of civil, military, and religious
affairs of Bergen County.
David D. Blawvelt is of the sixth generation in direct line
from Garret Hendricksen, the emigrant. He was born at Tappan,
Bergen County, November 17, 1819, and is a son of David C. Blawvelt
(who was born February 10, 1773, died January 30, 1835, married
Maria Demarest, born April 12, 1770, died May 13, 1843), a grandson
of Cornelius Blawvelt (born January 9, 1744, died January 11,
1832), who also married a Demarest. His father had six children-four
sons and two daughters: one daughter died in 1824, aged nineteen;
the other July 5, 1887, aged eighty-eight; James D. Blawvelt
died in 1891, at the age of ninety; Cornelius D. died aged eighty-two;
and John D. is still living at the age of eighty-four. Educated
in the public schools of his native county and reared amid scenes
of ancestral associations and agricultural activity, Mr. Blawvelt
started, at the early age of sixteen, to learn the trade of cabinet
marking, which he followed successfully for fourteen years, gaining
in the business a wide an honorably reputation. But this was
not to be his life work. The influences and surroundings of his
youth drew him back to rural pursuits, and since 1853 he has
been actively engaged in farming in Schraalenburgh. When the
War of the Rebellion broke out Mr. Blawvelt enlisted in the Union
cause, becoming first sergeant of Company C, Twenty-second Regiment
New Jersey Volunteers. He served nine months, returned with an
honorable discharge, and resumed his labors on the farm.
In public life Mr. Blawvelt has rendered valuable service
to his town and fellow citizens. He was surveyor of township
roads for a number of years, one of the Township Committee for
three years, a member of the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders
for four years, Town Assessor for six years, and a member of
the Town Council for three years. In each of these capacities
he displayed eminent ability, sound judgment, and great sagacity.
He has been a consistent member of the Dutch Reformed Church
since April, 1860.
Mr. Blawvelt has been married fifty-eight years, his wife's
maiden name being Elizabeth Quackenbush. They have had eight
children, seven of whom-four sons and four daughters-are living.
They also have thirty-four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Mr. Blawvelt inherited his ancestors' worthy lives, has instilled
into the minds of his descendants those qualities of head and
heart which have served him so well, and which have won for him
the confidence and respect of the entire community.
Source: Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties,
New Jersey, Editor, Cornelius Burnham Harvey, The New Jersey
Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900, page 68-69.
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