The name has been spelled in various ways including Wiltzi, Wiltsee, Wyltse, Wilsey, Willsie, Wiltsie. Wiltse and Wilson.
Individual surnames original purpose was to provide more specific identification. The four primary sources for surnames were; occupation, location, father's name, and personal characteristics. The surname WILTSE appears to be patronymical in origin, and is believed by some to be associated with the Germans and the French, meaning, descendant of Willihard. (strong and joyful). According to North Dakota's William Joseph Wiltse the name was taken from the ancient Teutonic Nation from which HENDRICK MARTINSON was descended. The Teutonic Nation inhabited the southern shores of the Baltic as early as 300 years B.C. Int he early Years the Baltic was called the "Wild-ze" meaning "wild sea". The teutonic Nation "extended itself far to the south and west and repulsed the Roman invasion." According to him, KING ALFRED wrote "They went forth to do battle and to plant colonies in the 12th century." Some of them settled along the Wiltz River in Holland and established a town there which they gave the same name as the river: *WILTZ. The Letter z represented the syllable ze, meaning sea in English. A colony of them settled in England and King Alfred called their colony Wiltshire and their town Wilton a contraction of Wilt Town.
The Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 1968-1970, Volume 42, describes the first generation in America as follows:
"The first family to arrive in America from Holland was Phillippe Maton (Martin) Wiltsee in the year 1624. Phillippe, a Protestant, fought in the battle of 1597 under Prince Maurice against the Germans and the Spainiards under Count Frederick of Herenberg. In the military records he was considered an excellent soldier and was called Phillippe Maton and Frenchman Wiltsee."
Phillippe Maton (Wiltsee)
was born about 1570 near the town of Wilt-z in Luxembourg. His first wife's name is not known. His second wife was Phillipette Caron. She was born in 1582 and died in 1613. They were married January 10. 1599 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Leydon, Holland. He married his third wife, Sophia Ter Bosch, in the same church in 1616. Sophia was born in 1598 in Overyssel, Holland.
The children of Phillippe and Sophia Ter Bosch Wiltsee were: (1) Lyntje (Helen), born in Holland in 1618. She was married for the second time about 1638 to Adam Roelensten, the first Dutch schoolmaster in America. They had two children: Trntje, born 1644, and Daniel, born 1646. (2)Pierre, born in Holland in 1620. (3) HENDRICK MARTENSEN WILTSEE was born aboard ship on the Atlantic Ocean in 1623. (4) Macheljie (Mathilda) born 1625 married Andries Barentsen, (5) Martin born 1628, and (6) Maria born 1629.
Phillippe Maton (Wiltsee) and his wife Sophia Ter Boschsailed aboard the ship NEW NETHERLAND with their son Pierre and their Daughter Lyntje. The Dutch Settlers Society Yearbook (D.S.Y.B.) gives the following account:
"The ship NEW NETHERLAND arrived at the North River (Hudson River) the beginning of May, 1624. Eight men were left at New Amsterdam (New York) and the rest continued up river to Fort Orange (Albany) where they helped build a fort. In 1626 Phillippe and his family established a home in Waalbought, Long Island. In the summer of 1632, he took his sons, Pierre and Hendrick and one servant to a new settlement at Fort Swaanendael, now Lewis, Delaware where Phillippe was murdered and the boys taken captive by the Delaware Indians. About a year later, the boys were turned over to the Mohican Indians and taken to Canada where they remained in the custody of Jesuit Priests for seven years until they escaped. The records of Paul Le Jeune S.J. and Anna De Noue, S.J.. Father Devoste, and Father Daniel, show the boys made their escape November 29, 1640. In 1633, about a year after the boys were captured, their Mother and sister Lyntje returned to Holland where Sophia died in 1646."
After his escape from the Jesuits, Hendrick returned to New Amsterdam where he was a sailor for a time and, with his brother Pierre, visited his family in Europe. "They must have been in Copenhagen, because Hendrick's name appears in the public records as 'HENDRICK MARTENSEN VAN COPENHAGEN". He served as a soldier at Fort Orange and Wiltwyck. He went to Quebec as an interpreter for the Mohawk Indians and became a member of their tribe. He married a daughter of their cheif November 20,1658. They had one son born in 1659 named Robert Richard Wiltsee. He left his wife and son with the tribe and returned to New Amsterdam where he met and married Margaret Meyers. She was born at Fort Margaret, the Dutch Colony in Brazil. When her father died there she and her mother moved to Newtown, Long Island where Margaret Died June 26,1704."
HENDRICK MARTENSEN WILTSEE, son of PHILLIPPE and SOPHIA WILTSEE, married Margaret Meyers, widow of Herman Jensen and daughter of Jan Meyers and Teuntjie Straitman January 10th 1660. Margaret Meyers WILTSEE was born in the dutch colony at Fort Margaret in Brazil and came to New Amsterdam with her mother after her father died in Brail. Margaret died June 26, 1704 at Newtown Long Island, New York. Margaret was Hendricks second wife. His first wife had beent he daughter of an Indian Cheif. They had one son ROBERT.After Margarets death, Hendrick married his third wife Styntjie Christina Adriance. Hendrick Martensen Wiltsee died in 1712.
the children of HENDRICK MARTENSEN WILTSEE and Margaret Meyers Wiltsee were: Sophia, born Dec. 11, 1661: Jannetje, born January, 7, 1663; Barber born March 1,1665; Marten born April 3,1667; Hendrick born November 29, 1669; Meyndert, born February 11, 1672; Theunis born November 29, 1674; and Jacob born March 18, 1676. Marten married Maria Van Wyck.
MARTEN HENDRICKSEN WILTSEE, son of HENDRICK MARTENSEN and Margaret Meyers Wiltsee, was baptised at Witwyck, now Kingston, New York, April 3,1667. He married Maria Van Wyck at Flatbush, New York June 26,1690. Maria Van Wyck was born in 1670, the daughter of CORNELIUS BARENTSE VAN WICK and ANNA POLHEMIUS.
Marten served with the Queens County Militia inder Captain Joshua Cornwall in 1715. He was a farmer and develpoed the Newton Apple. Maria died at Hempstead, New York in 1725 and Marten died there in 1742. Their nine children were: Cornelius, born 1691; Hendrick, born July 23. 1693; Johannis, born August 15, 1695; Margaret, born 1698; Annatje, born 1700; MARTEN, born 1697; Sophia, born October 11, 1709 and Maria and Catherine.
MARTIN (MARTEN) WILTSEE was born in 1697 and was baptised October 11. 1707. In 1729 he marries JANNETJE SUNDAEM of Long Island. She was the daughter of JACOB HENDRICKZEN RYCKE and STYTJE JACOBS. She was baptized August 7,1705 in Brooklyn, N.Y. MARTIN WILTSE made his will April 2, 1746. He died in Dutchess County N.Y. in 1752. He and Jannetje had ten children: (1) Maratie baptized February 8, 1730;(2) Jacob baptized october 30, 1731;(3) Martinus, baptized July 21. 1734; (4) Seytje, baptized October 17,1736; (5) Teytje baptized October 15,1737; (6) Jannetje, bap. Feb. 21,1741; (7) Hannah bap. probably in 1742; (8) Anna born in 1744; (9) Ida born July 27,1746. JACOB (no.2) Married NINA (Elizabeth) SMITH, daughter of Joseph and Mary Cornell Smith.
JACOB WILTSE son of Maretn and Jannetje, and his wife NINA had two children:
JOSEPH WILTSE, son of JACOB and NINA SMITH WILTSE, was born March 9, 1755. In 1774 he married Mary Ann Barnes, daughter of Cyrus Barnes and Mary Beebe. They had 2 children; Phillip, the first of the two was born in 1775. He was lost at sea in a shipwreck at some unknown date. Their second son, Joseph Jr., was born Dec. 23, 1777. Joseph Sr. married his second wife Jilletje Zwartwood, November 21, 1779. They had one child. Maria, born May 20, 1781.
JOSEPH SR. was a patriot at the time of the revolution. In 1775, he "signed the list to sustain the Continental Congress and went to Danbury, Conn. in defense of the place."
JOSEPH WILTSE
Alexander Wiltse was born at Hillsdale, N.Y. April 28, 1811. He married EMMA JOSEPHINE HALLENBECK February 3, 1853 in Catskill, N.Y. She was the daughter of George Hallenbeck and Maria Pinckney. She was born October 3, 1829 and died in Catskill ion May 11, 1902.
(In the census of 1810, the earliest for Greene COunty, the name of James Pinckney appears on the records of the Town of Catskill with a family of 9. In 1806 he was chosen a trustee of that town, village clerk in 1806 and 1807, and Town treasurer from 1822 to 1828. He died in 1833. He wa among those who contributed to the erection of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, the first such ediface in the village, completed in 1804. His son James D. was the editor of "The Catskill Democrat" which was in issue from 1843 to 1849.)
Alexander, in partnership with his brother BENJAMIN, owned and operated the Catskill Iron Foundry on Water Street in Catskill. Alexander served as the supervisor of the Town Of Catskill from 1858-1859. He was Cheif Engineer of the Fire Department for 15 years. He died in Catskill on March 10,1880.
Alexander and Emma Josephine had three children:
(1) Mary LaMont (Lammont) Wiltse (known as "Min" or "Aunt Minnie") was born in Catskill November 1, 1853. She married Edgar Washburn of Linlithgo, N.Y. June 24, 1853. They had three children: Grace and Edna who died young, and Edgar Douglas born May 21, 1884. He married Elsie Holt and they had two children, Douglas and James E. Washburn.
(2) Maria Emily Pinckney Wiltse (known as Aunt Rye) was born in Catskill August 28, 1855. On Dec. 19,1877 she married Harry Hall. They had one child, Marjorie, who married Leonard Warren. They wer the parents of James and Leonard Warren. (James and Leonard compiled a genealogy called "The Ancestral Lines Of James And Leonard Warren." Some of that information is incorporated in these pages.) Aunt Rye died in Catskill Jan. 13, 1948. She is buried in the Jefferson Rural Cemetary.
(3) Alexander Wiltse II was born in Catskill Sept. 22, 1860.
Alexander Wiltse II (or JR.), son of Alexander and Emma Josephine Hallenbeck married Marania L. Smith Oct. 3,1883. She was the daughter of Martin F. Smith and his wife Helen Loud. Alexander and Marania had one child, Alexander III Born Nov. 18, 1892.
Alexander Wiltse III was the only child of Alexander II(1860-1902) and Marania Smith Wiltse (1862-1899). He married Helena May Duncan, daughter of Henry S. Duncan and May D. Schermerhorn, on February 21,1917 in Catskill, N.Y. Helena was born in Cairo, N.Y. Feb. 24, 1894. She died Aug. 28, 1968. Alexander died April 1, 1976, at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York of pneumonia.
Alexander III and HELENA MAY had Four Children.
Alexander IV and Barbara Smith had three children;
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(1) *Alexander IV was born Jan. 12, 1920 at Catskill, N.Y. He was baptised Henry Alexander, but the name Henry was never used. He was known as Alex or some derivative nickname. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII as a bombardier for the 448th and 449th bomb groups in the European theater. He also was certified as a navigator and a radar specialist. In 1959 he was elected District Attorney for Greene County N.Y. and held that office until 1965 when he returned to private practice. On Dec. 31, 1944, he married Barbara R. Smith from Wyoming. They Had three children who are detailed in the twelfth generation.
(2) Robert Harlan Wiltse was born Oct. 6, 1921 at 11 Liberty Street in Catskill, N.Y. He married Marguerite Loretta Fontanella in Catskill, N.Y. on June 26, 1949. Robert and Marguerite (Meg) have three children who are mentioned in the twelfth generation.
(3) Barbara Marania Wiltse was born February 18, 1927 in Catskill. She married Joseph Castle Nov. 19, 1946. They had one son. Their marriage was annulled Dec. 10. 1952. She then Married Richard Bates who adopted her son David and gave him the surname of Bates. She and Richard were divorced Spet. 26, 1974.
(4) Roderic Duncan Wiltse was born in Catskill, Dec. 10, 1934. He married Patricia Bordley of Cooperstown, N.Y. on August 5, 1961. They have three children.
(1) Karen Anne, born July 6, 1946 in Catskill. On Aug. 30, 1968 she married Richard Smith. They have two children, Samantha and Adam Smith.
(2) Patricia Aileen, born February 28, 1949 in Catskill.
(3) Mary Alane (M.A.), born April 11, 1957 in Catskill.
Alexander IV, and Margaret Brandow had one child;
*Paige Helena was born Sept 9. 1966 in Hudson N.Y. Her original Birth certificate states that she was named Valerie Paige Helena Wiltse. In 1971, Margaret had her name changed to Paige Helena Wiltse. She graduated from St. Patricks Central Catholic High School in 1984, after a serious accident. She went on to Concordia College in Bronxville, N.Y. where she studied Elementary education. On Dec. 12, 1987, she married Ronald Louis Osborne of Catskill, N.Y. he was born June 19. 1961 in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. He is the son of Robert Louis Osborne and Gladys Anna Storms. He is currently employed at the *Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista Florida. Paige is a stay at home mother who is currently home schooling their youngest daughter Valkyrie. His Father Robert died Sept. 5. 1987. Paige and Ronald have three children, *Anika Alexis, born April 24, 1988 at Catskill, N.Y., *Christopher Ryan, born June 17, 1990 in Hudson, N.Y., and *Valkyrie Elizabeth, born July, 10, 1992 at Hudson, N.Y.
Robert and Marguerite had three children;
(1) Robert Harlan Wiltse Jr. was born Jan. 8, 1951 in Catskill, N.Y. He graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland in 1969.He attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. for two years and then transferred to to the University of Maryland. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies. He is single and resides in Acton, Mass where he is State Director of ProFund engaged in fund raising for non-profit organizations.
(2) Dean Alexander Wiltse was born Oct. 24, 1952 in Arlington, Virginia. He graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda Maryland in 1970. He attended Ithaca college for two years and transferred to the University of Maryland. He married Maryjane Umbehauer May 26, 1973. They had three sons, Adam Dean, Luke Dean and Joshua Dean. Dean and Mary Jane were divorced in 1984. Later that year he married Barbara.
(3) Linda Catherine Wiltse was born Sept. 8, 1961 in Bethesda Maryland. She graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda Maryland in 1979. She graduated from Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. On June 9, 1985 she married William Ricci. William is employed by the U.S. Department of Justice currently (1993) assigned to Memphis Tennessee. She is currently a consultant in Public Relations. They have one daughter, Julia Christine, born Dec. 26, 1992 in Memphis, Tenn.
Barbara Wiltse Castle and Joseph Castle had one child, David Bruce, who was born on May 13, 1948. He was adopted by Richard Bates and took the surname Bates in 1955. David graduated from Catskill High School. He attended Ohio Northern for one year. He married Nina Colosi Sept. 8, 1973. Nina was born Sept. 14, 1948. They have two children.
Roderic Duncan Wiltse and Patricia Bordley Wiltse have three children;
(1)Diana Louise born August 5, 1962 in Cooperstown, N.Y. She graduated from High school in Coldwater, Michigan in 1980. She gradutaed from Adrian College in Adrain Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. She married Eric Yope September 1, 1984 in Coldwater Michigan. In 1993 Eric was an Assistant Branch Manager in the office of the Secretary of State of Michigan based in Big Rapids, Michigan. Diana was a Branch manager for the National Bank of Detroit. They have two children.