In the town of Flatlands, now the 32d Ward of the Borough of Brooklyn, are many of the old historic homesteads. A general description of the topography of the old highways of this section of Kings County is given in another chapter. I am now writing about an old and interesting farmhouse situated a little distance from KOUWENHOVEN Place, just out of the village. It was for a number of years the abode of a family named, EMMANS, but, I believe it was originally owned by Jeremiah VANDERBILT. Roelof VOORHEES owned a farm adjoining, and left it to his grandson, Johannes DITMARS. Johannes DITMARS married first Margrietie RAPALJE, on December 12th, 1781, and she bore him two children; a son, John DITMARS, and a daughter, Margaret DITMARS. Mrs. DITMARS died January 10th, 1785. Johannes DITMARS married a second time, but died without further issue. In his will, recorded April 27th, 1795, Liber 1, page 182, Kings County Surrogates Office, an abstract of which is in my possessiom, he gives to his daughter, Margaret DITMARS, L200, with which to purchase an outfit; also, the farm of the late Roelof VOORHEES, with the meadows and woodland thereto belonging, except the one-fourth part, which he had contracted to give William KOUWENHOVEN. Margaret DITMARS married Johannes EMMANS, of New Utrecht, who had purchased the farm which we are chronicling. I have not been able to find a record of this purchase, but it is a well authenticated fact that he owned it. It appears to be the farm owned at one time by Jeremiah VANDERBILT. As the EMMANS are one of our most interesting familes, I will here trace Johannes EMMANS' family. His father was Johannes EMMANS, of New Utrecht, who married, in 1768, Mary WYCKOFF. He died on January 8th, 1789, and his widow remarried March 8th, 1783, Nicholas VAN BRUNT, of Bay Ridge, who had been imprisioned for favoring the American cause, and had been Lieutenant of a company which had reinforced the Continental Army during the Battle of Long Island. Mr. and Mrs. VAN BRUNT died of malignant fever in 1802. This Johannes EMMANS was a son of Adries EMMANS, of New Utrecht, who married Femmetje DORLANT, and died about 1760. He purchased of Samuel GROENENDYCK a farm of 84 acres on which he resided. He was a son of Andries EMMANS, Jr., of Gravesend and New Utrecht. Born in 1677, and married November 24th, 1693, to Rebecca VAN CLEEF, of Gravesend. He bought, July 20th, 1708, of Stoffel ROMEYNE, a farm in New Utrecht, on which he afterwards lived. I suppose he died in 1728. His father, Adries EMMANS, Sr., was the common ancestor of the Long Island and New Jersey EMMANS. Unlike most of the early settlers of these parts he was an Englishman, but had found refuge from religious persecution in Leyden, in the Netherlands. He came to this country in the ship Saint Jean Baptist, May 9th, 1661, and made a home for his family in Gravesend. Margaret DITMARS and Johannes EMMANS, her husband, took up their abode in the charming old homestead on his farm. Tbey lived a quiet, rural life, full of usefulness and joy, and here were born their children. The following is the record of their issue: -Margaret EMMANS, married Nicholas WILLIAMSON, and had a son, Steven WILLIAMSON. -John EMMANS, married a widow whose name I have been unable to ascertain, and had issue two daughters; namely, Margaret EMMANS, who married John I. SNEDICOR, and Sarah EMMANS, who married Joseph FLEMMING. -DITMAS, Albert and Andrew EMMANS were bachelors. -Nicholas EMMANS, who married a Miss BAISLEY, had three children; namely, Nicholas, John and David. -Maria EMMANS, married John B. NAPIER, and had issue eight children. Three of these children survive; namely, Miss Catherine B. NAPIER, Thomas and Charles. All of these live at Woodhaven, Queen's County, New York City. The names of Mr. and Mrs. NAPIER's children, who have passed away are: John, Andrew, Anna, Margaret who died in babyhood, and Margaret a twin sister of Catharine. -Phebe EMMANS died young. By a partition sale in the Court of Chancery, Andrew and Albert EMMANS bought their father's farm on May 9th, 1839. On April 5th, 1844, Andrew released his interest to his brother Albert. On the death of Albert it became the property of his brothers' and sisters' children. They sold a large part of it, including the homestead, to Wood, Harmon & Company, who are the present owners.
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