The Putman Family Bulletin

 

Potina Regio

Latin Times in Early Germany

You will find in other articles below that follow that the town of Putt, Germany, is associated with the region just southwest of today's City of Duisburg, Germany.

In the map attached to this article, Duisburg is shown as the Latin town of Dispargum near the Caesia Silva or likely the Blue Woods.  Just north of Dispargum runs the Luppia Fluss that today is known as the Lippe River. 

South of dispargum is the town of Novaesum that today is called Neuss.  To the west of Dispargum and west of the Rhine River, was the area called in Roman times Potina Regio.  The name seems to mean the Region of the Goddess Potina.  Potina Regio was the area of early coal mining, and the pits left behind after mining were called in Latin puteus and in German putt or pott.

The Pootman surname in the early 1600's was common near the old Latin Potina Regio.  The surname Pootman was almost absent elsewhere during this time.

The Latin Goddess Potina was the goddess of a child's first drink.  Her name  comes from Latin "potus" that means to drink.  The closest English words for potus are potage and potion.  It is likley that the word potus was connected with Latin puteus meaning a pure spring or well.

In German Puttmann means pitman or one who dwells near a well or one who creates a pit such as a coal pit.  Coal pits werecommon to the area about Diusburg particularly early on to its west and southwest at an early date.

A portion cut from the early map "Belgii Veterus Typus" below shows Potina Regio.   

The family surname Pootman was adopted by the Putman family likely between 1300 and 1500 or later.

The Dutch-American Putman or Pootman family may have at that time lived in the old Potina Regio.  This doesn't mean that the Pootman family lived there during Roman times.  At that time they may have lived more toward Denmark.   As you will see in the next article, the Pootman family likely is described as I1g or I-ABA meaning it had origins in Denmark likely many years before the Roman  Conquest of Germania Inferior or lower Germany.

 

The Earliest Home of the Putman Family

The "clan" to which the Putman family belongs appears to be I1-ABA, which means the early I1 clan of Denmark, or Haplotype I1g

According to the work of Terry Robb, the Putman family is likely described as I1g.  See the following link, which also shows the picture below with other information:

http://www.goggo.com/terry/HaplogroupI1/

The I1 Haplotype "decision maker', or Haplogroup predictor, that Terry Robb created indicates that the Putman is likely I1g.  At the following link type in “GTZGV” in the top left box or “Putm” in the top right box to see the results.

http://www.goggo.com/cgi-bin/branchFind.cgi?Kit=GTZGV

At Ysearch.com, a query of the close matches to the Putman yDNA shows the following results with I1-ABA being the closest and I1-ABB being the next closest:

User ID	Last Name	Origin	Haplogroup	Tested With	Markers Compared	Genetic Distance
GTZGV	Putman	Netherlands	Unknown	Family Tree DNA	-	-
S9YN2	I1-ABA,Anglo-Saxon, Denmark	Unknown	I1*	Other	67	5
3J7YJ	I1-ABB Anglo-Saxon, Norway	Unknown	I1*	Other	67	6
JZ8SJ	Shiver	Unknown	Unknown	Family Tree DNA	67	6

The author of the Putman Family Bulletin is currently having his yDNA tested for the ySNP mutations Z58 and Z63. 

Z63 is reported to be the mutation that indicates I1-ABA or Haplotype I1g.

User ID	Last Name	Origin	3 9 3	3 9 0	1 9	3 9 1	3 8 5 a	3 8 5 b	4 2 6	3 8 8	4 3 9	3 8 9 | 1	3 9 2	3 8 9 | 2	4 5 8	4 5 9 a	4 5 9 b	4 5 5	4 5 4	4 4 7	4 3 7	4 4 8	4 4 9	4 6 4 a	4 6 4 b	4 6 4 c	4 6 4 d	4 6 0	H 4	Y C A I I a	Y C A I I b	4 5 6	6 0 7	5 7 6	5 7 0	C D Y a	C D Y b	4 4 2	4 3 8	4 2 5	4 4 4	4 4 6	5 3 1	5 7 8	3 9 5 S 1 a	3 9 5 S 1 b	5 9 0	5 3 7	6 4 1	4 7 2	4 0 6 S 1	5 1 1	4 1 3 a	4 1 3 b	5 5 7
GTZGV	Putman	Netherlands	13	22	14	10	13	14	11	14	12	13	11	29	14	8	9	8	11	23	16	20	28	12	14	15	16	10	10	19	21	14	14	16	20	35	36	12	10	12	13	13	11	8	15	15	8	11	10	8	9	9	23	25	16
3J7YJ	I1-ABB Anglo-Saxon Norway	Unknown	13	22	14	10	13	14	11	14	11	12	11	28	15	8	9	8	11	23	16	20	28	12	14	15	16	10	10	19	21	14	14	17	20	35	38	12	10	12	13	13	11	8	15	15	8	11	10	8	9	9	23	25	16
JZ8SJ	Shiver	Unknown	13	23	14	10	13	14	11	14	11	12	11	28	15	8	9	8	11	23	16	20	28	12	14	15	16	10	10	19	21	14	14	16	19	35	36	12	10	12	13	13	11	8	15	15	8	11	10	8	9	9	23	25	15
S9YN2	i1-ABA,anglosaxon, Denmark	Unknown	13	22	14	10	13	14	11	14	11	12	11	28	15	8	9	8	11	23	16	20	29	12	14	15	16	10	10	19	21	14	14	16	20	35	37	12	10	12	13	13	11	8	15	15	8	11	10	8	9	9	23	25	16

The yellow highlighted areas above indicate the ySTR marker mutations of the Putman Family yDNA that occurred likely after the first occurrence of the I1g Haplotype.  They are very recent mutations as compared to original date of the I1g mutations.

The marker called DYS455 that is colored in green has a value of 8 that indicates that the Pootman family is I1 [with other data].

The marker called DYS390 that is colored red has a value of 22 that indicates that the Pootman family is I1-A.

 The marker called DYS557 that is colored blue has a vaule of 16 that indicates that the Pootman family is I-AB.

The marker called DYS576 that is colored grey has a value of 16 that indicates that the Pootman family is I1-ABA.

I-ABA indicates that the Pootman family is I1g.

 

ySNP's are Here!

For a number of years, we have defined our lineage in yDNA mainly in ySTR Markers.

They are the 12, 25, 37, 67 and 111 markers that you see so commonly. The steady increase in the number of ySTR Markers helped refine our understanding of who we match and who we don't match particularly within people with the same or similar surname.

The Pootman/Putman family descendants match within 65 or more of the 67 ySTR Markers.

However, we are now on the verge of entering a new genealogical era with the assistance from another part of the y-Chromosome - the ySNP. YSNP stands for Y-Chromosome Single Nucleotide Polymorphism.

A ySNP mutation occurs only once in history and is passed down to all of the male descendants of the man who first had that mutation. YSNP’s will in the future define a family lineage or line.

Over centuries ySNPs built up a progression that allowed scientists to catalog and deduce their place in the Family Tree of Man. The branches of these ySNP’s are called Haplogroups.

The Dutch-American Haplogroup is currently designated simply as I1. I1 is usually designated by the ySNP M253.
Haplogroups were assigned capital letters of the alphabet initially and then are further broken down into branches such as I1f1a.

The identification of ySNPs has exploded and is now the new frontier in yDNA research on a genealogical level or order.

Haplogroup names are getting much longer. The longer names indicate that more and more branching is being discovered. However, while others may have a long Haplogroup name, such as in the R1 Haplogroup family, the Dutch-American

Pootman/Putman family still is classified simply as I1.
I had a number of ySNP’s tested in my yDNA in the past and include the following list where + means I tested positive for the marker and – means I tested negative for the marker:
L22-, M161-, M170+, M21-, M223-, M227-, M253+, M258+, M26-, M307+, M72-, P109-, P19+, P259-, P30+, P37.2-, P38+
M21- means that the Pootman/Putman family is not I1a or one of its subgroups.

M227- indicates that we are not I1b . . ..

P259- indicates that we are not I1c . . ..

L22- indicated that we are not I1d . . ..

That leaves I1f or one of its subgroups or I1g as possibly family lines for the Pootman/Putman family.

We could still not test positive for either and would need to wait for other ySNPs to be discovered. Also, we may remain at I1 over the short term.

However,, the most informative Haplotype predictor on the web currently indicates that the Pootman/Putman family is I1g or positive for the ySNP Z63.

I am currently having my yDNA tested for the Z58 and Z63 SNP Markers.

Z58 indicates the I1f branch, which has subgroups, while Z63 currently indicates the I1g branch.

The markers I had tested and those I am testing will reflect the values for all those with the surname Pootman/Putman or the Dutch family.

Below are the current Haplogroups in the I1 Tree:

• I1 L64, L75, L80, L81, L118, L121/S62, L123, L124/S64, L125/S65, L157.1, L186, L187, M253,
M307.2/P203.2, M450/S109, P30, P40, S63, S66, S107, S108, S110, S111 [We currently belong to this major group]
• • I1* -
• • I1a M21
• • I1b M227
• • • I1b* -
• • • I1b1 M72
• • I1c M507/P259
• • I1d L22/S142
• • • I1d* -
• • • I1d1 P109
• • • I1d2 L205
• • • I1d3 L287
• • • • I1d3* -
• • • • I1d3a L258
• • • I1d4 L300
• • I1e L211
• • I1f Z58
• • • I1f* -
• • • I1f1 Z59
• • • • I1f1* -
• • • • I1f1a Z60, Z61
• • • • • I1f1a* -
• • • • • I1f1a1 Z62
• • • • • • I1f1a1* -
• • • • • • I1f1a1a Z140, Z141
• • • • • • • I1f1a1a* -
• • • • • • • I1f1a1a1 L338
• • • I1f2 Z138, Z139
• • • • I1f2* -
• • • • I1f2a Z73
• • I1g Z63 [Predicted to be the Pootman/Putman line.]

I am having my yDNA tested at the Z58 and Z63 ySNP Markers. If positive for either, our family Haplogroup will be further defined and have a longer name that will extend us closer to our current written history.

If I test positive for Z58 there are other ySNP’s for which I may test that would further define our family heritage.
I have read on a forum that possibly greater than 50% or more of the Il group not yet classified will be classified under the Z58 and Z63 ySNP Markers.

Lineages or families [by surname] in the near future will have their own unique ySNP. The Putman family will eventually have a ySNP that identifies the family surname Pootman/Putman.

ySNP’s are here!

Within a year or a few years we'll see lineages with their own defining Haplogroup. We’ll also see multiple Haplogroups within a lineage or a surname. As the ySNP research progresses, we will see Haplogroup branches tracked into historic times that will connect with our own paper trails even down into our current history.
 

Am Gen Putt

Putt, Germany

 

I’ve been trying to find a place that was in the “Rohrpott” or Ruhr Valley of Germany that was called Putt.  From such a place we might assume that people would be called Putt or Puttman. 

Looking at the Familysearch.org website, I put in the surname Putt and the residence as Germany. I found that nearly all the Putt’s  were from the Heinsberg, Germany, area, and upon further investigation I found that there was a small village called Putt just a couple of miles south of Heinsberg.   

This Putt family went by the name of An Gen Putt and Am Putt.  The name means it appears “the coal pit”.  Heinsberg is mentioned on Wikipedia as the ancient home of coal mining in the Ruhrpott or Ruhr Valley.

 

An Gen Putt Time Line Births and Baptisms Casparus an Gen Putt:  Born to Petri An Gen Putt and Maria Finnemans. 14 Jan 1618. Heinsberg Catholic Church. Gerardus Aengeen Putt:  Born to same parents. 8 Apr 1626.  Same Church. Joannes Tho Putt:  Born to Merten Tho Putt and Bilgen.  28 Jun 1662.  Moenchenglabach Catholic Church. Wilhelm Putt:  Born to Peter Putt and Bilgen.  18 Jun 1678.  Monechenglach Catholic Church. Vitus Putt:  Born to Alffs Putt and Oeletgen. 23 Oct 1685.  Moenchenglabach Catholic Church. Reinerus:  Same parents.  Same Church.  3 Nov 1687 Sybilla Putt:  Same parents.  Same Church 28 Aug 1695 Many more entries are extent.   Puet and Pott Puett . m , (Low German: pit, fountain, pool , Dutch: put , French: puits , English Pit , Old High German: pfuzzi , Koelsch: Puetz , Latin puteus ) denotes the Ruhr German and in the Aachen-Heinsberg area a coalfield or a mine. It is also in Low German Pütt for puddle or pots (singular putt ), recorded in the household as an expression of un Pütt Pann , literally pots and pans . The word Puett is a synomyn for the mining industry.  Pütt = coalier.  Püttrologe = Miner Nobleman. The local dialect of German is commonly called Ruhrdeutsch or Ruhrpottdeutsch, although there is really no uniform dialect that justifies designation as a single dialect. A major common influence stems from the coal mining tradition of the area.  For example, quite a few locals prefer to call the Ruhr  Ruhrpott", where "Pott" is a derivate of "Pütt" (a pitman's term for mine; the English "pit") or "Revier". Mining began in the south of the Ruhr and in the Ruhr Valley where the seams were exposed.  Then the mining shifted further and further north. Coal  was mined first only from the surface and then deeper and deeper until a funnel-shaped pit was created in the ground.  Water would ingress and make further exploration impossible.  This type of coal mining continued until the 16th Century. It produced pits or puett Latin puteus a well or mine. In some parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, someone who works in a (coal) mine is a Püttmann , sometimes called Pütti or Püttek . When the miner noble was described, they call him or her thePüttrologe or Püttologe.

 

The Name De Puteo

It is interesting to speculate from where did the Putman family originate and what did the name mean originally. 

At an early date there was no exact spelling for surnames such as Pootman or Putman.  It was often up to the deacon or priest to write a person's name in records.  If the meaning of the Dutch-American Putman/Pootman family surname was “man at the well”, in Latin, it may have been spelled “De Puteo”.  In Latin, “puteus” means pit, spring, or well. 

http://www.pooth.de/chronik.htm 

In Dortmund, Germany, Bertramus De Puteo was a witness to a land transaction February 20, 1241.  Bertram De Puteo was also listed in 1271, and in July 27, 1335 Bertram Van De Putte was mentioned.  All these entries seem to have been for the same person or family.

On the list of aldermen for Dortmund, one may determine that the name De Puteo was also known as Du Puteo, De Poto, and Van De Putte. 

The following list seems to show a change in the surname De Puteo to De Poto and then to Van Dem Putte in the area near Dortmund, Germany:

 

The De Puteo Time Line

1239       Alffwinus De Puteo

1241       Bertrammus De Puteo

1253       Bertrammus De Puteo

1255       Gerhardus Poth

1257       Arnoldus De Poto

1263       Alvinus De Puteo

1270       Bertramus De Puteo

1271       Alvinus De Puteo

1271       Bertram De Puteo

1272       Hinricus De Pote

1287       Albertus De Puteo

1289       Albertus De Puteo

1309       Henricus De Poto

1311       Henricus De Poto

1316       Ulvin Von Puteo

1286       Wulvino De Puteo

1301       Bertramus De Puteo

1313       Henricus de Poto

1320       Henricus De Poto

1322       Alvinus De Poto

1323       Hendrich Van Dem Putte (De Pote)

1334       Bertrammus De Puteo

1336       B. De Puteo

 [1336    Bertammus De Puteo]

1336       Bertam Van Dem Putte

1338       Bertramus De Puteo

1347       Bertrammus De Puteo

1360       Bertold Vamme Putte

1369       Segebode Van Dam Putte

 

In 1335 the Koster of Benninghausen mentioned Johann De Puteo, Richter,  in Soest, Germany. 

In the area of Kaldenkirchen, Monchengladbach, Viersen, Lueth, and Tegelen on the Maas River and near the Dutch Border west of Dortmund, a large group of “possible kin” are found under spellings that are complicated by the nuances of dialect and writing.  Variations of the “man at the well or man of the pit” surname are Poet, Poets, Puete, Peth, Puth, Pothen, Putter, Putten, Putz, and Puyt.  In the Netherlands, the names were expressed with an “oe”, which has a sound that was similar to “oo”.

Our Putman surname has been spelled  in American as early as 1661 as Potman and Pootman and later as Pottman, Puttman, and Putman and more recently as Putnam.  

In regards to the names Pootmann and Puettmann, the spellings with one "n" at the end are seem west of Dortmund along the Maas River while the names with two "nn's" were found around and north of Dortmund and into the area of Dulmen and Munster, Germany. 

There also seems to be two loci . . . one for the spelling and pronunciation Pootman and the other for Puttmann in this part of Germany.  Pootman is found more south and east of the Lippe River while Puttmann is found more to the north and east of the Lippe River.

In the 1460’s, the Van Dem Putte’s lived in Altenbochum, a couple of miles southwest of Dortmund, and used the surnames Putte, Tom Putte, Van Dem Putte, and Puttmann.  They were associated with the town of Hattengen-Niederwenigern, Germany, just southwest of Dortmund.   This Puttmann family was connected with the Closter Marienborn of Ludgedortmund, which was located between Altenbochum and Dortmund.  The patriarch of this Puttmann family  mentioned in the 1460’s was Johann Von Blankenstein also known as Puttmann.

Johann Von Blankenstein or Puttmann and his wife Stine Tom Putte had the following Children:  Wennemar, Katharina, Hille, Else, and Gertrude Puttmann.  According to the old records of at http://familysearch.org, there was a Wennemar Pootmann who was born about 1635 in Niederwenigern who may have been a descendant or relative of Wennemar Puttmann above.  I wonder if Alvinus De Puteo who was mentioned earlier might not have been an ancestor of Wennemar Puttman with the given names Alvinus and Wennemar being a form of Winner or Victor.

There were three (3) Victor Puttmann’s who were born between 1705 and about 1720 likely at Coesfeld near Dulmen, Germany, north of Dortmund, who might also have been descendants of Alvinus De Puteo or Wennemar Puttman.  The progentitor of the Putman family of early New York, USA, was the son it appears of a Victor Pootman whose ancient name may have been Puttmann.  The early Latin form of the name Puttmann was De Puteo, which meant “man at the well”.

The Ten Putte and Puttmann Time Line

Coesfeld, Dulmen, and Munster Records

1460, Evert Ten Putte was a witness. 

 1489, Bernd Ten Putte is mentioned with his wife Hille in the records.

n 1495, Bernd Ten Putte's house and lot were mentioned

1496, Johan Ten Putte was a witness.

 1500, Evert Ten Putte and his wife Stine are mentioned also.

1502, Bernd Ten Putte is mentioned.

1514, Bernd Ten Putte is called burger or citizen of Dulmen.

1566, Bernd Thon Putte and his wife Anna are recorded.

1598, Berd Putmann is called a court usher.

In 1602, Evert Putman and his wife Heilken are listed.

In 1602, a Gerdt Puttmann is listed.

In 1612, Gert is again listed.

In 1643, a Bernhardus Puttmann was born to Bernhardus Puttmanm.

In 1646, an Evert Putman marries Elizabeth Richters.

In 1705, a Victor Puttmann was born to Johann Bernard Puttmann.

In 1706, a Victor Puttmann was born to Melchior Puttmann.

In 1719, a Victor Anton Puttman was born to Hermann Puttmann.

In 1726, a Victor Puttmann married Maria Horstman.   

 

From my understanding the name Pootman is associated more with Protestant churches while the name Puttmann is associated more with Catholic Churches in Germany, and near the Dutch border the spelling Pootman is used while along the Lippe River Pootmann is used.

The given name Victor came into the Puttmann [Ten Putte] family in the 1600's about the same time that Victor Pootman of Aalburg, North Brabant, Netherlands, was born.  Victor Pootman may have been the father of the immigrant to America Johannes Pootman.  Whether there is a connection between Victor Pootman and the Victor Puttmanns of the Dulmen area is presently unknown.

 

Pootsmanns-hof

On the internet, a niece picture of Pootsmanns-hof or Pootman's House, is found.  The house was later called Pott's Hoff and is in Stockum, Germany, northwest of Voerde. 

http://www.stockumer-heimatfreunde.de/galerie-katen.html

Gordt Pootsmann was born in the house in 1640.  The court was the property of the order of Saint John of Wessel about 1600. 

Gordt  Pootman owed his name it was said to the very wet surface of the surrounding court ground. 

To the north and west of Pootshof from the overflowing of the Mombach at high tide a rather large "poot" or puddle was formed.   "Poot" is a German variant name for a puddle  that also in German is spelled "pfutze" 

     The descendants of Poot or Pootsmans were called Pottman around 1800 . . ..  The court is now called Pott's Hoff.   

Suhle and Pfuhl

In German "suhle" and "pfuhl" mean a mire, slough, pool, or wallowing place for wild animals.  "Suhle" may be connected with sow meaning a pig. 

The migration of the Anglo-Saxons and Juts to England likely did not  take place directly from the Denmark area, but they rather traveled along a  route from Saxony to the Lippe River Valley and then to Flanders and southwestern England. 

This migration is seen in establishment of place names with the root "sol" as in Solengen, Germany, which is south of Dortmound, Germany.  In Anglo-Saxon, "sol" means a wallowing place that is in German also called a "pfuhl" a pool or "pfutze" a puddle. 

There is a Putte, Germany, that is west of Stralsund in the northern most part of Germany.  The large local pond there is called Putte See. 

I looked at the name Von Putten in regards to Putte, Germany, and also looked at instances of the name "de Puteo" in Nieder-Saxony or Lower Saxony and found that Vom Soden was an equivalent to De Puteo both meaning the person from the spring or well. 

The old Anglo-Saxon word "syd" means wallowing place while "pytt" is  translated as "pit".   

Along the route from Denmark to the Lippe River there area a number of place names that mean spring or well such as Brunswick ["brunnen" in German means well and a "wick" was a town], Paderborne [Borne also means well], and places with the root "sol" such as Solengen. 

The Vom Soden family is anciently from the area near Hanover, Germany.

The word "sul" is older then "sol" in the Anglo-Saxon langugage and you may see this on the way from Denmark to England with "sul"  being used near Denmark and "sol" being used more frequently nearer to England. 

 

Bruno, Broich, Broehl

Early words for well or spring in Germany were the Latin word "puteus" and the German word "brunnen".  From the later we get the word brook.  In Germany the word "bruche" means a morass or swamp.

I recently reviewed I1 yDNA that was close to the Putman YDNA and found some interesting coincidences. 

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/yDNA_I1/

The following were close matches:  Wiat from England; Vom Broich from Kuerten, Germany;  and Bruno from Paris, France;  and Hamm from England.  

I looked at 37 Markers and those that closely matched the Putman YDNA at  the following link:

 http://www.ysearch.org

I find that Bruno was a close match; Broich was off by 4 markers at 37 tested. 

Broehl-de Plater family is an exact match at about 25 markers at the following link:

http://dna.ancestry.com/compareY.aspx?uid=161654&tid=18447

It is my guess that the surnames Bruno, Broich,  and Broehl all mean swamp or morass. 

In Old German "broil" meant wetland or swamp while in Middle High Germany "bruel"meant swamp.  In Low German "broich" meant marshland or swampland. 

Today, in Germany "bruch" means marsh. 

I wondered if there may have been a indication here that the Pootman family was connected with a family of clan essentially called Bruch.  After a quick review of the available information on the early inhabitants of the Ruhrpott, I found the group of people called Bructeri whose name meant brook or marsh people.

 

The Bructeri People

Of the Saxon tribes, the Bructeri were a powerful tribe that first dwelt north of the Lippe River and probably later occupied part of the territory south of the Lippe River.

They derived their name from the marshes, or bruchen in German, that were included within their territorial limits. 

It seems possible that the Putman/Pootman family might be descended from the Bructeri.

Today the Puettmann family has its highest concentration of members in the area that was once the homeland of the Bructeri that was east of the Rhine, north of the Lippe, and west of the Ems River.

The Bructeri were included in the Riparian [River] Franks.

The Dutch-American Putman [Pootman] family in its yDNA is very close match to the Dem Broel De Plater family of West Hemmerde, Germany southeast of Unna, Germany.

Hemmerde is first mentioned in 875 as Hamarithi "Villa in Pago Borahtron", which means "Hemmerde in the District of Bructeri".

 

 

Nativity of Johannes "Jan" Pootman

Founder of the Mohawk Valley, New York, Pootman / Putman / Putnam Family in the USA

JAN POOTMAN was baptized on 28 Feb 1644 in Wijk en Aalburg in what is now the Province of North-Brabant in The Netherlands.  Jan Pootman's birth date was likely on or a few days prior to the 28 Feb 1644 date.  Jan's father was Victor Pootman; his mother was Marie Davids (as was the custom, she kept her maiden name when she married).  Jan's siblings were Geuntjen [perhaps Geertje], David and Marija.  Jan's parents were married in Wijk en Aalburg, Noord-Brabant, and Jan and his siblings were baptized and most likely born there. 

This "new" information suggests that the family of Jan Pootman, the founder of the Dutch-American Pootman/Putman/Putnam family has been located in Europe.  If so, this would be an important discovery for genealogists and descendants who have been seeking to confirm Jan Pootman's place of birth for 350 years.  Further information is available to all who may wish to consider it as shown on the following pages: 

Related URLs:          

     Go to:  http://www.traceyourdutchroots.com/prov/nb.html  

     o       Under "Online Resources" mid-page, select Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum.

     o       On the navy bar of the BHIC page, select "Stamboom" then the first item in the drop-down box "Voorouders binnen Brabant".  

     You will be automatically linked to a BHIC search page.

  o       Then, enter "Pootman" in the box under "Achternaam" and click on "Zoeken".

The search results from page 1 of this document will appear.  Click on each line of the search results to display or print the detailed data shown on the next two pages.

�   Note  �

This "new" information was found within the online records of the Brabant History Information Center in December 2009 by Katherine E. McMullen-Serrault a direct descendant of Jan Pootman through her father Carl Eugene Putman, EdD of Wisconsin.  (Dr. Putman is an avid genealogical researcher of each of his family lines since the 1950's and is among the first participants in the Dutch-American Putman/Putnam Family DNA project.)    

Having studied the work of others, Katherine continued to seek proof of Jan Pootman's origin.  Katherine was particularly encouraged by Mark Putnam's work including Mark's emphasis on the use of Dutch naming patterns or conventions.  During her extensive analysis of the various theories, she like Mark had discovered the web reference to Victor Pootman schoolmaster in Aalburg, Noord-Brabant.  Genealogists will find that these "new" Noord-Brabant records are in line with both the reference to Victor Pootman having been a schoolmaster in Aalburg and with Dutch naming conventions as expressed in the names of Johannes Pootman's immediate descendants.    

Traditionally, Johannes "Jan" Pootman's father has been said to have been a dominee (a minister).  Although we currently have no proof that Victor Pootman of Wijk en Aalburg, Noord Brabant was a dominee historically schoolmasters were under the supervision of the Church.  At a minimum, Victor's work would have been closely related to that of a dominee. 

Lending further credibility to the theory that the correct Pootman family has been found are various historical references to the places from which other members of Jan Pootman's near family originated in North Brabant.  There are many such references one from Mark Putnam under this discusssion on this page entitled "Victor Pootman, Aalburg, The Netherlands" where he states: "Johannes and Cornelia Pootman's first son Arent married Elizabeth Akkerman whose family was from the area of S'Hertogenbosch just a few miles east of Aalburg.  Also, Cornelia's stepfather Klaus Van Bokhoven was from Bokhoven, which is only a couple of miles east of Aalburg."      

Mrs. McMullen-Serrault acknowledges that her discovery would not have been possible without the work of her father as well as several other genealogists whose work is more widely known.  Grateful acknowledgement is extended to the family of the late Warren T. Putman of California, to Mark Putnam of Michigan, and to the researchers, compilers and authors who are referenced in their work as well as to Bill Putman (www.billputman.com) and the many others who make family historical information available via the Web.

Something New

In February 2010, Ms. McMullen-Serrault received information from the BHIC that the source for the Victor Pootman and Marie Davids family records was an index prepared by an unknown person from the damaged original records.  Unfortunately, no copies of the original records are available from the BHIC, as only the index was made available to them.  All information available from the BHIC for these records is already reported within their Web database.  

The Putman Linage in STR yDNA Language