There are many variations of the surname Kirkendall, including Kirkenthall, Kyrkendall, Kyrkindall, Kyrnindall, Kuykendall

Background on the Kuykendalls/Kirkendalls

The name Kuykendall, or Kirkendall, as it has variously been spelled, is Dutch. It is written in early Dutch records as Van Kuykendaal, the prefix van meaning from. The ancient Kuykendall home is thought to be Kijk-in-‘t-dal, near Wageningen, in the Rhine Valley.

The first Kuykendalls to come to America were the brothers Jacob (? – 1656 or 57) and Urbanus Luursen. They came from Gelderland, Wageningen, Holland to America around 1646. They may have been in the employ of the Dutch West India Company, which had purchased a chunk of land on the Hudson River and was shipping in farmers, mechanics, and artisans to develop the lands. Urbanus was a mason; Jacob’s profession is unknown.

(There is a Jacob Luursen Kuykendal born April 1620 in Gelderland, Wageningen, Holland, who came to Kingston, New York.)

Jacob settled in Fort Orange, New York, “a miserable little fort…built with logs, with four or five pieces of Breteuil cannon, and as many swivels.” He was granted a lot where he had a home and a garden. He may have continued to work for the same company until his death in about 1656.

There is no mention of his wife in any records so we do not know her name or when the couple married. The only certain thing is that they had one son, Luur or Leur Jacobsen, who was born about 1650 near Kingston and baptized in New York City in the same year. After Jacob’s death, the widow and her son seemed to have moved to Rochester (now Accord).

In 1680, at the age of thirty, Luur married Grietje Tack, whose family had been among the earliest settlers in Esopus. The couple lived in Rochester, where seven of their children were born. All were baptized in Kingston. In 1700 the growing family moved to Minisink or Menissing, a mining settlement of Dutch and Swedes on both banks of the Delaware River prior to 1700. The area also included west and north New Jersey, and Orange and Sullivan Counties. Jacob may have been a fur trader, lured to this frontier by the beautiful country and plentiful game.

Biographies

Kuykendalls/Kirkendalls in Records:

Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, 1890 Census:

Kirkendall Thomas, slater–Emma, William P. 34 S Ninth

Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, PA, 1800 Census

Columns stand for the following:
1. Number of males under 10 years of age.
2. Number of males between 10 and 16 years of age.
3. Number of males between 16 and 26 years of age.
4. Number of males between 26 and 45 years of age.
5. Number of males over 45 years of age.
6. Number of females under 10 years of age.
7. Number of females between 10 and 16 years of age.
8. Number of females between 16 and 26 years of age.
9. Number of females between 26 and 45 years of age.
10. Number of females over 45 years of age.
11. Number of other free persons in that family, except Indians not taxed.
12. Number of slaves.

Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Leivry? Kirkenthall 3 – – 1 – 3 – – 1 – – –
Henry Kirkenthall – – 1 – – 1 – 1 – – – –

 

Allegheny County, PA, 1800 Census

Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
James Kyrkendall – – 1 – 1 1 1 1 – 1 – –
Benjamin Kyrkindall 1 1 – – 1 – 1 1 1 1 – –
James Kyrkindall
James Kyrnindall 1 – 1 – 1 1 1 1 – 1 – –

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There is a Daniel R. Kirkendall 1868-1931 and his wife Lillian A. 1873-1936 buried in the Oldfield-Ferenbaugh Cemetery in Hornby, Steuben County, NY. George Rogers

©2007, Karen Furst. Please feel free to link to any of these pages. This information is for personal use only. Please do not copy, publish, or distribute it elsewhere.