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An Introduction to a Self Made Man

As mentioned above, Ari van Guinea (Dutch - Harry from Guinea) is how the church initially recorded his name. His first name is found with many variations: Ari, Are, Arree, Arrey, Aree Aray, Arey,and A. Ray.

Likewise his last name is found with many variations as well:  van Guinea, van Genee, van Guinee, van Ginee, van Ge Nee.

But when He signed his name, it was "Aree Van GeNee". There are other variations, I'm sure, and they all point to a true colonial pioneer in American History.

There is speculation by Stephanie B. Stevens that Aree was a son of a Dutch master and a slave woman. There is no record of his birth or his death. He is described as a Negro, a Mulatto, a Moor (mixed race from northern Africa) and one source claims that he was possibly of Arab descent. He could read Dutch and sign his name as a young man when most people, regardless of their race, could neither read or write. At one point he is described as possibly the most promenent man of color in the state of New Jersey in the early 1700's.

 Ari's third daughter, Maria was baptized in the Dutch Church in New York in June 1705. He had a son baptized in the same Church in October 1708. Within this three year span Ari had moved from Bostwick, New York (Brooklyn, New York) to the Raritan River Valley on the Millstone River in the area now known as Six Mile Run, Somerset County, New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, about 1711, Ari welcomed an influx of several Palatine German families to the area around his home in the Six Mile Run area. 

It is my hope that those families may discover the grandeur that one man established as a Mulatto family in the wilderness of the New Jersey frontier in the infancy of the 17th Century. I hope these "lost" families can re-discover  and re-claim their heritage as one of the nations earliest FREE families of color as our race struggles to clarify the statement found in the Declaration of Independence that "...all men are created equal...".

Freedom was granted to Ari prior to 1705, he was a free man. He purchased 132 Acres of land from Benjamin Rounsavall on April 3rd or 4th 1730. There is an erroneous statement which claims that Aree Van Guinea purchased his land in 1714 and was not given a deed until 1730, presumably because of a law that slaves were not allowed to own land. This statement ironically is from a Zion article dated in 1939 for the 225th Anniversary of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church which states,

      "Once he received his legal deed, he donated two acres of land to the German Lutheran Church 
         so they could erect a permanent church building." 

The purchase of the land and the donation of the 2 acres to the Church happened within days or months of the purchase of the land in April 1730. Later in life, Aree gave another 50 acres of land to the church to use as a "glebe" in 1750. A glebe was intended to be used by the church for the support of the Pastor and a help in providing monetary support for the Church's obligations.

Aray van Ge Nee was born circa 1675 and I am searching for and will work to document other lines from the Van Guinea children, with the hope of establishing other branches into the Twenty-first century.

This blog will also attempt to discover some of the first Mulatto and Native African persons documented in the area of New Netherlands, now known as Manhattan, prior to the establishment of our nation, the United States of America. With your help and input, we can succeed. 

Thank You!, Thank You!, Thank You!  

To those who assisted with my research while I was in New Jersey! 

Stephanie B. Stevens, author of the book "Outcast", Printed by Merck and Company of White House Station in New Jersey. A remarkable historian, a gentle soul and the most knowledgeable person I have met on the subject of Aray van Guinea's early history in New Jersey.

Genuine love and a heartfelt debt of gratitude to Reverend Mark Summer of the Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church in Oldwick, New Jersey for all the Baptism records and history on the van Guinea family. You can hear his weekly sermons (past and present) on the church's web page. Whether or not you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, Pastor Summer's messages will inspire you. 

Thanks to David Kemp. Mr. Kemp researches the deeds associated with property ownership and has been mapping Hunterdon County's land owners from pre-Revolutionary War days. David ferried us around the county and showed my wife and I four plots of land that Aree owned. He also tutored me on the property Aree donated to the German Lutheran Church.

I also wish to thank Steven and Margaret Griggs of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Steven Griggs graciously commissioned a plaque mounted to a stone which tells the partial story of the first New Jersey Lutheran Church Service hosted by Aree Van Guinea. This stone was dedicated as a monument on August 3, 2014 at the celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the founding of the Zion Evangelical Luthrean Church, now located in Oldwick, New Jersey. 

Another thank you to the Kurt Rahenkamp of the Tewksbury Historical Society for providing support and information on Mr. van Guinea's early history. 

Also a huge thank you to Carol E. Mull, author of the book "The Underground Railroad in Michigan", Published by McFarland Publishing Co.; 2010. Her book helped me break through a "wall" I ran into while searching back into history. Carol also gave me a path to the patriarch of the Aray family, Aree Van Guinea, which enabled me to make the connection to the present. 

I encourage you to buy Carol Mull's book, it documents several important objectives concerning the Underground Railroad, it's dangers, problems, operating techniques and details some of the brave people that helped travel weary souls seeking the freedom afforded them in the Declaration of Independence. "...all men are created equal ...".

I hope you can discover a link through this blog!