THE FAMILY OF VAN STOUTENBURG OF AMERSFOORT
This ancient and honorable family descends in America from Pieter Van Stoutenburg whose wide properties, high positions, and many offices in public service for the colony of New Amsterdam are a matter of public record. Most notable was his position as the first treasurer of New Amsterdam (New York City). Born in Holland and according to armorial sources, of the family of Van Stoutenburg of Amersfoort, pays d’Utrecht, Pieter Van Stoutenburg bore the arms described in Rietstap Plances Armorial.
The descendants of Pieter Stoutenburg over the years adopted various spellings of the surname including "Stoutenberg," "Stoutenburgh," "Stotenbur," and "Stoutenborough." When Pieter arrived in New Amsterdam some time before his marriage in 1649, the Dutch did not use surnames. It is curious that the church record of the posting of his marriage banns in 1649 only records him as Pieter Stoutenburg and his wife-to-be as Aefje van Tienhoven. The English had adopted surnames centuries before and required the New World Dutch to assume surnames as well when they conquered New Netherland in 1664. The non-English inhabitants of New Amsterdam, now called New York, were the earliest adopters of surnames. Stoutenburg seems to be the surname that Pieter assumed as it appears in many records of the time. Only on rare occasion will you find a record in which he is referenced by the name van Stoutenburg.
Aefje and Pieter had a total of nine children. Pieter and his children lived in a very interesting community in which there were several languages used. Depending on the nationality of the person recording such information as baptisms, marriages, court records, etc. names were spelled very differently and often phonetically.