John Lincklaen (24 December 1768 – 9 February 1822) was the founder of Cazenovia, New York. Lincklaen was the Resident Land Agent for the

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam,Kirby, C.D. (1976). ''The Early History of Gowanda and The Beautiful Land of the Cattaraugus''. Gowanda, NY: Niagara Frontier Publishing Company ...

in Cazenovia, New York, and later the owner and sales agent for the same tracts. A bronze statue of Lincklaen by Dexter Benedict was installed in 2018 in Lakeland Park in Cazenovia, New York.

Early life and career in Holland

Jan Lincklaen was baptized on 24 December 1768 at home. His parents, wealthy

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

, were Anthonij Quiryn Lincklaan, and Geertruij Hoeven, who died in 1782 and 1783. At age thirteen, Jan Lincklaen joined the

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and in February 1786 he was commissioned as a lieutenant. In 1790 he received leave to travel to America as a representative of the Dutch investor

Pieter Stadnitski Pieter Stadnitski (2 April 1735 – 29 November 1795) was a Dutch broker and financier who invested in the United States, including federal and state debt, canal companies, and land speculation, especially the Holland Land Company. He was the fi ...

Career in the United States

In 1790 John Lincklaen and

Gerrit Boon Gerrit Boon (May 15, 1768 in Delft – December 2, 1821 in Gouda, South Holland, Gouda) was the son of a Lutheran minister Johan Michiel Boon. His father studied in Helmstedt and moved in 1752 from Amersfoort to Delft and in 1774 to Rotterdam. ...

were sent to evaluate land tracts for Theophile Cazenove who was the representative of the Holland investors. In 1791-1792 Lincklaen traveled through frontier lands in Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont; his journals were translated and published in 1897. In 1793 the House of Four Investors from Amsterdam purchased 124,288 acres of land. John Lincklaen settled in the newly established community of Cazenovia and was appointed as a land agent. In 1794 participation in the venture in Cazenovia was reorganized by the Four Houses as a stock venture. Ownership was proportioned as: Van Staphorst and Hubbard (26%), P. & C. Van Eeghen (15%), Ten Cate & Vollenhoven (15%), Pieter Stadnitski & Son (33%), and John Lincklaen (8%). The shares transferred to Lincklaen were from those attributed to Stadnitski. In 1818 this stock venture was purchased by John Lincklaen after extended negotiations with

Paul Busti Paul Busti (8 October 1749 – 23 July 1824) was the ''Agent General'' (chief operating officer) of the Holland Land Company from 1799 until his death in 1824. As administrator of the Holland Land Company, Busti was responsible for the economic ...

, the ''Agent General'' for the Holland Land Company.

Family Life

In 1797 John Lincklaen married Helen Ledyard (1777-1847) a daughter of Major Benjamin Ledyard, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. The couple built a mansion in Cazenovia along the lake, named

Lorenzo Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

, that is now a New York State Historic Site. The couple had no children and adopted Jonathan Denise Ledyard and others of her family. J. D. Ledyard succeeded Lincklaen as Land Agent after the death of John Lincklaen on 9 February 1822 in Cazenovia, New York. The Lincklaen were slave owners. Helen Ledyard had brought enslaved siblings with her when she married John Lincklaen in 1797. Caesar, Juli-ann and Titus Johnson were among the five enslaved African Americans in the Lincklaen household in the 1800 U.S. census, there were three enslaved people in their household in 1810, and one enslaved person in 1820.

References

External links

Lorenzo State Historic Site
at NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Friends of Lorenzo
at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center {{DEFAULTSORT:John Lincklaen 1768 births 1822 deaths Dutch emigrants to the United States