The Ploos Van Amstel Family Tree Part 1

Taking a detour from posting photos of the family, today I'm going to discuss the Ploos van Amstel side of the family. As you may know, the Ploos van Amstels were blue-bloods, that is, members of the nobility. There is even a couple of Wikipedia entries on the family.

Ploos van Amstel Coat of Arms

Van Amstel Family - the first entry is about the Van Amstel family which the article traces from Wolfgerus Van Amstel (1075-1131) through five generations to a knight named Jan I van Amstel (1270-1345). The lineage is shown as follows:

Wolfgerus van Amstel (1075-1131) Bailiff of Amestelle

• Egbert van Amstel (1105-1172) Bailiff and steward of Amestelle
• Gijsbrecht I van Amstel (1145-1189) Bailiff and steward of Amestelle
• Gijsbrecht II van Amstel (1175-1230) Lord of Amestelle, knight
• Gijsbrecht III van Amstel (1200-1252) Lord of Amestelle, knight
• Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel (1230-1303) Lord of Amestelle, knight
• Jan I van Amstel (1270-1345) Knight

Our family diverges after Geisbrecht van Amstel. Geisbrecht had another son named Egidius and our family is directly descended from Egidius. The chronology is given as a footnote on page 3 of a biography of our great great grandfather Johannes Jacobus Asuerus Ploos van Amstel (Een Wandel met God - Biography of Ds. J.J.A. Ploos van Amstel by Dr. L.H. Wagenaar, published by J.A. Wormser, Amsterdam 1895) and is shown below:

• Gijsbrecht I van Amstel (1145-1189) Bailiff and steward of Amestelle
• Egidius van Amstel (dates unknown) Egidius was a knight and in 1235 became Lord Van Mynden.
• Willem van Mijnden (dates unknown) he was a beaten knight in 1235
• Amelis van Amstel van Mynden (dates unknown) a craftsman from Loosdrecht and surety of Gisbrecht van Amstel in 1285
• Wouter van Mynden (dates unknown) knight in 1318 and Lord van Mynden and Loosdrecht
• Gijsbert Ploos van Amstel (dates unknown) first use of the Ploos van Amstel name in the Wandel account. 

Eight generations later we have Jacob Ploos van Amstel (1630-1694). Jacob is our great great great great great great great grandfather. In a book on Cornelis Ploos van Amstel 1726-1798 by our uncle Gerard Ploos van Amstel, there is the following description of Jacob Ploos van Amstel:

Jacob "moved from his birthplace Loosdrecht to the fortified town of Naarden where he made a living by making fine silks and damasks. Later on he also became 'impost master' (receiver of taxes), while he was further burgomaster of Naarden for a short while and also churchwarden." 

There is a genealogical website called Wikitree on which I have chronicled both sides of the family and which I am now continuing to add to. I have entered the Ploos van Amstels back to the Jacob noted above. Wikitree Family Tree starting with Mom. 

Which brings us to the second Wikipedia article on the Ploos van Amstel family itself. The article notes that "By Royal Decree of 8 July 1864, Johannes Ploos van Amstel was recognized as a member of the Dutch nobility . Since then, various recognitions have taken place, most recently on 9 September 1988." Johannes (1669-1701) was one of eight children of the aforementioned Jacob Ploos van Amstel. By extension, the entire family was recognized as a part of the Dutch nobility including Johannes' brother Gerrit (1667-1741) who is our great great great great great great grandfather. 

Our family is considered minor nobility and entitled to use the titles Jonkheer and Jonkvrouw which mean Young Lord and Young Lady.

Cousin marriages were accepted as normal in Holland and there are a few cousin marriages in our lineage. One of interest goes down two generations from Jacob. Johannes and Gerrit had brothers Cornelis (1664-1705) and Albertus 1672-1717). Cornelis had a son Jacob (1693-1759) and Albertus had a daughter Johanna Clemensia (1698-1777). Now here's the good stuff: Jacob, son of Cornelis married his cousin Johanna Clemensia, daughter of Albertus in 1726. They were married by uncle Gerrit who was a clergyman, the first of a long line of clergymen in the Ploos van Amstel family. 

Jacob and Johanna had three children, one of them a son also named Cornelis (1726-1798). Cornelis is the one who is the subject of the book by Oom Gerard. That Cornelis was an artist of note and an art collector and art dealer. 

Portrait of Cornelis Ploos van Amstel by George Van Der Mijn

Cornelis was one of several family members to become artists, including our own mother. In 1976, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam held a special exhibit of works by and about Cornelis Ploos van Amstel and his family. Here is a copy of the brochure that was made available at the time. And here is a two page insert that was inside the brochure. 

Here is a chart detailing how different people, notably cousins, are related. Cousin chart According to this chart, Cornelis is our second cousin six times removed. 

I'll have more on our Ploos van Amstel family tree in the next post. 

Links of Interest

• Van Amstel Family - Wikipedia article on the early part of our family tree going back to Wolfgerus van Amstel (1075-1131)
• Ploos van Amstel - Wikipedia article on the Ploos van Amstel family
• Wikitree Family Tree starting with Mom - click on Johannes Jacobus PvA to go further back in the tree
• Brochure on Cornelis Ploos van Amstel Exhibit at the Rijksmuseum in 1976 - this is in Dutch. I may add a translation at a later date
• Cousin chart - a detailed chart explaining cousin relationships
• Family Tree Pages at my personal website
• Watch for Part 2 coming soon!