Staggs Family History

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    Jacob Sammons (1683-1750)

    BIRTH: 6 Jun 1683, Greenwich Village, New York County, New York, USA
    DEATH: 1750, Greenwich, Washington, New York, USA
    FATHER: Johannes Thomaszen (1650–1711)
    MOTHER: Aachtje Jacobs
    SPOUSE: Catalyna Benson (1688–1755)

    Jacob Sammons was born on June 6, 1683, in Greenwich Village, New York, the son of Aachtje and Johannes. He married Catalyna Benson on March 27, 1706, in Manhattan, New York. They had 12 children in 25 years. He died in 1750 in Greenwich, New York, at the age of 67, and was buried in New York, New York.

    The Life of Jacob Sammons

    Jacob Sammons was born into the last generation of true Dutch New Netherland, baptized on 11 June 1683 in the New York Reformed Dutch Church. He was the son of Johannes Thomassen, a man of the early colonial frontier, and Aachtje Jacobs, a young woman from the Dutch community of Nieuw Amersfoort. Jacob belonged to the first generation of his family to adopt a fixed surname—Sammons—a natural evolution from his father’s patronymic Thomaszen. His childhood unfolded in a Manhattan still shaped by Dutch language, Dutch law, and Dutch church life, even decades after the English takeover.

    On 27 May 1706, Jacob married Catalyna (Catlyntje) Benson in the Collegiate Church of Manhattan, the oldest continuous Protestant congregation in North America. Their marriage record places them firmly within the Dutch Reformed community that defined early New York. Catalyna, born in 1688, was the daughter of Johannes Benson and Lysbeth Matheuse, families deeply rooted in the Hudson Valley’s Dutch settlements. Together, Jacob and Catalyna built a household that reflected the rhythms of Dutch colonial life—faith, family, and the steady expansion of settlement northward along the Hudson and Mohawk corridors.

    Between 1708 and 1733, Jacob and Catalyna welcomed twelve children, each baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church. Their family story mirrors the fragility and resilience of early colonial life. Their first daughter, Aegje, baptized in 1708, died in infancy; a second daughter of the same name, baptized in 1710, survived into adulthood. Their sons and daughters—Johannes, Thomas, Elizabeth, Sampson, Dirk, Margarietje, Lanah, Benjamin, Rachel, and Mattheus—formed the foundation of the Sammons family that would spread into the Mohawk Valley and become central figures in the Revolutionary War era.

    Among them, Sampson Sammons, baptized in 1722, would rise to prominence as a patriot officer, frontier defender, and member of the Tryon County Committee of Safety. Dirk, baptized in 1724, would die in 1760, leaving a smaller historical footprint but contributing to the family’s early presence in the region. Lanah, the twin of Benjamin, lived until 1793, while Benjamin—like many colonial infants—likely died young, disappearing from the record after his baptism.

    Jacob’s adult life was shaped by the slow but steady movement of Dutch families from Manhattan toward the interior. Though he remained a member of the Collegiate Church, his children and grandchildren would become part of the great migration into the Mohawk Valley, where the Sammons name became woven into the fabric of frontier settlement, war, and rebuilding.

    Jacob Sammons died in 1750, and Catalyna followed him in 1755. They lived their entire lives in the world of Dutch New York, yet their descendants would become Americans—patriots, soldiers, pioneers, and chroniclers of a new nation. Through their large family and enduring legacy, Jacob and Catalyna stand as the bridge between the old Dutch colony and the turbulent birth of the United States.

    Legacy of Jacob Sammons

    Parents

    Father: Johannes Thomaszen (1650–1711)

    Mother: Aachtje Jacobs

    Married

    Catalyna Benson (1688–1755) May 27, 1706, in Collegiate Church, Manhattan, New York, USA

    Children

    • Aegje Sammons (1708–1709)
    • Aegje Sammons (1709–?) married William Waldron
    • Johannes Sammons (1712–1768) married Sytie Terwillige
    • Thomas Sammons (1716–?)
    • Elizabeth Sammons (1718–?) married Benjamin Waldron (1714-1782)
    • Sampson Sammons (1722–1796) married Rachel Schoonmaker (1726–1822)
    • Dirk Sammons (1724–1760) married Maritie Tack (1736-?)
    • Margarietje Sammons (1726–?) married Salomon Du Bois Jr
    • Lanah Sammons (1729–1793) married Isaac Du Bois (1731-1795)
    • Benjamin Sammons (1729-?) twin to Lanah
    • Rachel Sammons (1730–?) married Gideon C Low (1719-1779)
    • Mattheus Sammons (1733–?) married Rachel Ostrander (1736-?)

    Documents

    • Birth Records
      • Netherlands, Baptism Index, 1557-1903 > Name: Jacob; Gender: Mannelijk (Male); Baptism Date: 11 jun. 1683 (11 Jun 1683); Baptism Place: New York; Father: Johannes Thomaszen; Mother: Aefje Jacobs
      • New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920 > Name: Jacob Thomaszen; Baptism Date: 1683; Baptism Place: New York City, New York, New York, United States
    • Marriage records
      • U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 > Name: Jacob Samman; Gender: Male; Record Type: Marriage; Marriage Date: 27 Mar 1706; Marriage Place: Manhattan, New York, USA; Marriage Church: Collegiate Church; Spouse: Cathalyntje Benssing
      • U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 > Name: Jacob Sammons; Gender: Male; Spouse Name: Catalyntje Benson; Marriage Year: 1706; Number Pages: 1
      • New York Historic Homes and Family History, Volumes I-IV > New York City, Compiled Marriage Index, 1600s-1800s > Name: Jacob Samman; Spouse Name: Cathalyntje Benssing; Marriage Date: 1706; Marriage Place: New York City, New York, New York; Marriage ID: 2220321572
      • New York Home Family History Vol 1 > The Shirley Family of England and America > The Shirley Family of England and America > Cathalyntje Benson married May 27, 1706 Jacob Sammon, son of Johannes Thomaszen, from Amsterdam; married October 3, 1677, Aechtje Jacobs.
    • Death records
      • Find a Grave > Jacob Sammons, Birth: 6 Jun 1683; Greenwich Village, New York County, New York, USA; Death: 1750 (aged 66–67); Greenwich Village, New York County, New York, USA
      • Burial: Trinity Churchyard, Financial District, New York County, New York, USA
    • Other

    Relation of Jacob Sammons to Steven Barry Staggs: 6th great-grandfather

    Page last updated April 22, 2026

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