While most other sources believe that Claus Jensen who died in 1745 in Montgomery County was the adult immigrant of that name who came in 1684 and was born in Crefeld, Germany in 1658 -- I believe there was a father and son of the same name whose biographies have been merged by those other sources.

IMMIGRANT. He probably came as a boy with his father in 1684 and settled in Germantown. Later, he moved further out to what is now Montgomery County and took up residence in the Skippack/Perkiomen region.

In his will, Claus Jansen devised 59 acres to son Nicholas and 59 acres to son Benjamin. They signed a series of releases in 1751 Deed Book H2 p28, 29 and 31, back and forth to each other regarding this land. And it may be that in the final release, Nicholas sold to Benjamin.

Nicholas was weaver of Worcester Twp and his wife was Mary. Benjamin was weaver of Perkiomen/Skippack, no wife.

Certain events are documented for Claus Jensen by people who were thorough in their research but were operating on the assumption that there was but one man of that name, whereas I believe there was a father and son, Claus Sr. and Claus Jr. -- so it has to be clarified which events pertain to the father and which to the son.

It had to be Claus Jr. who in 1727 was named as one of the earliest Mennonite Ministers in America. In this capacity, he would have had reason to know Claus Rittenhouse.

The will of Claus Jr. was written 1 Jun 1739 and proved 8 Oct 1745. He mentioned wife Katherine, eldest son John (Jen), other sons Peter, Nicholas and Benjamin -- none of whom were yet 21 and of which Peter was the older -- and daughters (in this order of age from oldest to youngest) Kuechen (?), Mary, Agnes, Catherine, Elizabeth, Margaret and Hannah.

In 1702, Claus Jensen bought 306 acres in what was then called Bebbers Township in what is now Montgomery County. This could have been either Claus Jr. or Claus Sr. of course, but Claus Sr. died in Germantown while Claus Jr. died in Salford Township (now Montgomery County) -- so whether he bought it or inherited it is not that important, it was Claus Jr. who took up residence further out in Montgomery County.

In 1707, Claus bought 236 additional acres located between the branches of the Skippack and Perkiomen creeks -- land again further out in Montgomery County from Germantown and clearly land farmed and occupied by Claus Jr.

The earliest settlers from Crefeld who came to Germantown were weavers, by trade. It seems that both Claus and Claus Jr. followed that trade as did some of the next generation.

One of the key issues that arises in sorting out the various John Johnsons is that the one who married Mary Rittenhouse may have had a sister Elizabeth (or Lisbeth) Johnson who married Wiliiam Rittenhouse. I’m not sure where the proof is that they were brother and sister but it is of interest to note that Claus not only had a son John (my ancestor) but also a daughter Elizabeth.

Having said that, I’m not sure that Elizabeth, daughter of Claus Jr., was old enough to have been the wife of William Rittenhouse.

• Having said that, I’m not sure that Elizabeth, daughter of Claus Jr., was old enough to have been the wife of William Rittenhouse. The problem with the Rittenhouse family is birth dates are very hard to nail down but I believe William may have been born in the 1690’s. When Claus Jr. wrote his will, in 1739, three of his four sons were not yet 18 -- thus born after 1720. Elizabeth was the fifth oldest daughter, so I think it is unreasonable to think she was about William’s age. But I am not really saying she did marry William, only that the possibility exists.

I know that Claus’ wife, the Catherine named in his will, was Catherine Conrad, daughter of Peter, because in 1736, Claus Jensen of Bebbers Township, yeoman, and wife Catherine and Hermanus Kuster, yeoman of the same place and wife Sybilla -- daughters of Peter Conrad deceased -- sold to John Conrad, their brother, the land Peter had owned when he died. But was she his only wife and mother of Jan -- my hunch is no to both.

I sense perhaps an age gap in the children of Claus Jensen which often is a clue that the younger children were of a second wife. Catherine may have been that second wife and I cannot say with certainty that she was Jan’s mother.