The majority of the information given on this site was obtained by my grandfather, Walter G. DeWitt, Sr. (1876-1947). The story begins around 1890 when he went through the attic of his Aunts’ home in New York City and came across an old family bible. The bible, which was printed in 1718 in Amsterdam, contained many pages of recorded family births, deaths and marriages and sparked an interest in genealogy which lasted his lifetime. Using the bible as a starting point he traced both the DeWitt line and his mother’s family, the Morrells, back to the 1600s.
Granddad believed that he was descended from Pieter Jans deWit who was born in Holland in 1625 and settled in New Amsterdam in 1652 but he could never firmly establish the parentage of his great, great grandfather Johannes deWit (1710-1790). In 1952, five years after granddad’s death, Mr. Andrew J. Provost, Jr. contacted my father, Walter G. DeWitt, Jr. (1910-1989) concerning my grandfather’s records. Provost was researching his own family history which also extended from Pieter Jans deWit through a daughter Maria (1652-1699) and he had heard about the records through his daughter’s friendship with my father’s brother John E. DeWitt (1906-1979).
Using my grandfather’s records, his own more extensive research and with access to the bible then in the hands of granddad’s brother Frederick P. DeWitt (1872-1966) Provost concluded that the genealogy established by granddad was correct. He also established that Johannes deWit’s father was one of Pieter Jans deWit’s grandsons, Abraham deWit (1685-1761). A few years later Provost published his study as “Biography of and Descent from Pieter Jans de Wit, Organizer of the Settlement of Bushwick”. I have not viewed this entire document but Provost did provide my father with a preprint of the portion of the document that deals with our family, a write up that closely parallels my grandfather’s unpublished narrative.
For the Morrell family, granddad relied heavily on his Morrell cousins and on the booklet “Ancestry of Daniel Morrell of Hartford”, the text of this book can be found on the internet at:
http://www.archive.org/stream/ancestryofdaniel00morriala/ancestryofdaniel00morriala_djvu.txt
The current size of this branch of the DeWitt family is relatively small due to the fact that granddad, who had five siblings, all boys, four of which reached adulthood, was the only brother who had any children. In addition, his father Peter DeWitt (1836-1912) had five sisters (no brothers) but none of the sisters had children. After grandfather’s death, my father recorded family events as they occurred until he passed away. Recently I have added what has happened since 1989.
In addition, I have included what I know of my mother’s ancestry. Anna Elizabeth Nicolaysen, (1915-1989), was born of Danish parents who immigrated to New Jersey around 1906. Her uncle, Karl Vilheim Koch, created an impressive twelve volume set of photograph albums during WWII in Copenhagen while under Nazi occupation and his printing business was slow. These albums give photos and family history back to my great, great grandparents.
Walter G. DeWitt, III