The Putman Family Bulletin
Home / Family / Signatures / Homestead / Crest / Contact
Victor Pootman and Marie Davids
According to the naming pattern of the children of Johannes Pootman and Cornelia Bradt who lived in Schenectady, New York, Johannes Pootman's father was Victor Pootman and his mother was likely a Maria Davidse.
There was a Victor Pootman who lived in Netherlands at the time that Johannes Pootman was born. It was said that Johannes was a native of Holland. Victor Pootman's wife was Maria Davids. They is a perfect match as the parents of Johannes Pootman, and indeed Victor and Maria Pootman had a son named Jan [Johannes] who was born in 1644 in Aalburg, Netherlands, where Victor was a Latin School Master.
Jan Pootman son of Victor Pootman and Maria Davids was baptized in 1644 at the Lutheran Church, which may imply that the family was originally from Germany.
Maria Davids surname seems to imply also that her father was a David and that Maria's surname was a patronym.
There were very few family with the name Pootman in Belgium and the Netherlands. The name Pootman here was likely connected with gateman of portman and would also have been written Poortman. In Germany, the surname Pootman or Pootmann is more common and may be connected with the surnames Pothman, Pottman, Potman, and Puettmann meaning a person who lived by a well, pit, or pool.
Johannes Pootman's surname in America has been connected with both Poolman and Portman spellings, so it is difficult to determine which meaning is appropriate.
Victor Pootman and Maria Davids would have been born about 1620.
The Old Dutch Reformed Church of Aalbug, North Brabant, Netherlands, is shown below:
It seems likely that the Pootman family attended the Dutch Reformed Church of Aalburg at least at some point in time.
Below is a section of the Blaeu map of Brabant, Netherlands.
In the map above, Wijk and Aalburg are shown in the west just above Heusden. Also, on the map is the town of Berlicum in the southeast where the Ackerman family lived. Johannes Pootman's son Arent Pootman married Elizabeth Ackerman.
In the south central part of the map is 'sHertogenbosch, which was the Duke's Woods. This whole area was known as Hertogenbosch.
Aalburg was at time of Victor Pootman a part of South Holland, Netherlands.
There was a Poot family who also lived in South Holland, but they do not seem to have been relatives of the Pootman family and did not used the given name Victor.