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Descendants of John Stout

Generation No. 2

2. RICHARD² STOUT (JOHN¹) was born 1615 in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, England, and died 1705 in Middleton,Monmouth,N.J.. He married PENELOPE (KENT OR LENT) VAN PRINCIS 1644 in Gravesend, LI, NY. She was born 1622 in Netherlands, and died 1712 in Middleton,Monmouth,N.J..

Notes for RICHARD STOUT:
From "History of the Stout Family" by Nathan Stout, 1823

Richard Stout, the first of the name in America was born in Notinghamshire, in Old England, and his father's name was John. The said Richard, when quite young paid his addresses to a young woman that his father thought below his rank, upon which account some unpleasant conversation happened between the father and the son, on account of which, the said Richard left his father's house; and in a few days engaged on board a ship of war, where he served about seven years, after which time he got a discharge at New Amsterdam, now called New York, in America. About the same time a ship from Amsterdam, in Holland, on her way to the said New Amsterdam, was driven on the shore that is now called Middletown, in Monmouth County, in the State of new Jersey, which ship was loaded with passengers, who with much difficulty got on shore. But the Indians not long after fell upon them and butchered and killed the whole crew, as they thought, but soon after the Indians were gone, a certain Penelope Van Princes, whose husband the Indians had killed, found herself possessed of strength enough to creep to a hollow tree, where she remained some days. An Indian happening to come that way, whose dog coming to the tree, occasioned him to examine the inside of the tree, where he found the said Penelope in a forlorn, distressed condition. She was bruised very severely about the head, and her bowels protruded from a cut across her abdomen; she kept them in with her hand. She had been in this fearful condition seven days when the Indian found her. In his compassion he took her out of the tree and carried her to his wigwam where he treated her kindly and healed her wounds, and in a short time conveyed her in his canoe to New Amsterdam, where he sold her to the Dutch, who then owned that city, now called New York.

The man and woman from whom the whole race of Stouts descended, got into the city of New Amsterdam, where they became acquainted with each other and were married. And, not withstanding, it may be thought by some, that they conducted themselves with more fortitude than prudence, they immediately crossed the bay and settled in the above said Middletown, where the said Penelope had lost her first husband by the Indians and had been so severely wounded herself.

There was at that time but six white families in the settlement, including their own, (which was in the year 1648), where they continued until they became rich in prosperity and rich in children. They had together seven son and three daughters, viz: John, Richard, Jonathan, Peter, James, Benjamin, David. The daughters were - Deliverance, Sarah, Penelope. All of which sons and daughters lived to raise large families.

Source: Stilwell"s "Genealogy of the Stout Family", vol. # 4
Immigrant: Stout , Richard
Name of Ship: ?
Arrival Date: abt. 1643
Origin of Immigrant: Nottinghamshire, England
Immigrant's Date & Place of Birth: 1615, Nottinghamshire, England
Immigrant's Date & Place of Death: Oct 1705, Middletown, Monmouth Co. NJ
Immigrant's Spouse: Penelope VanPrincin
Immigrant's Children: John Stout, 1645 Gravesend L.I. New Netherlands, m. Elizabeth Crawford, d. 1724 NJ Richard Stout, 1646 -- 1717, m Frances Heath, Mary Seymour James Stout, 1648 - ? , m Elizabeth Truax Mary Stout, 1650 - ? , m Judge James Bowne 1665 Alice Stout, 1652 - ? m John Throckmorton 1670 Peter Stout, 1654- 1703, m Mary Bollen, then Mary Bowne Sarah Stout, 1656 - ? m John Pike Johnathan Stout, 1660 - 1723, m Anne Bollen 1685 All the above were born in Gravesend Long Island David Stout, 1667 - ? b in Middletown NJ, m Rebecca Ashton 1688 Benjamin Stout, 1669-1734, m Mary Leonard, then Agnes Truax
Notes: Married in Gravesend, Long Island in 1644, a member of Lady Deborah Moody's anabaptist settlement. He accompanied her from Massachusetts. In 1664 he moved his family from NY to NJ and was an original patentee of Middletown, Monmouth Co. NJ. (records in the NJ Archives)

Notes for PENELOPE (KENT OR LENT) VAN PRINCIS:
Newspaper article - Newspaper name and time of publication unknown, author was John T. Cunningham

------------ THE STORY OF PENELOPE STOUT -----------
There is cause to dispute the traditional claim that Penelope vanPrincis Stout of Monmouth County lived to a mature 110 years before she died in 1712, but no one can deny that for indomitable will to live and in number of descendants Penelope has had few equals.
Penelopes's story is obscured slightly by discrepanceies in the dates of her birth and other occurrences in her life, but consider first the narrative as it is usually told.
Born in Holland (in 1602 according to the usual version,) Penelope vanPrincis joined her young husband and other Dutch settlers headed for New Amsterdam in 1620. Violent storms caught their ship, drove it off course and finally wrecked it off Sandy Hook.
--- ON THE BEACH ---
All survived, and the passengers and crew set off for New Amsterdam on foot, leaving Penelope on the beach to nurse her desperately ill husband (whose name was never recorded by Penelope and all of the large brood she would later rear.) Indians found the Dutch couple on the beach, killed the husband and left Penelope viciously hacked.
The young widow lay unconscious, her skull fractured, her left arm so mangled that it would never again be normal and her abdomen slashed open. Somehow she revived and crawled into a hollow tree, where two Indians found her several days later.
---- SHE PRAYED ---
Penelope prayed that they might end her misery and the younger Indian was willing to oblige. The older Indian dissented, carried her over his shoulder to camp, and there nursed her back to health. She stayed with the Indians, working, learning their language and their ways.
Some of her shipwrecked friends returned after a time and asked the Indians to give her up. Penelope's Indian benefactor said he would let the young woman decide for herself. Penelope decided to leave, "very much to the surprise of this good Indian," according to Frank Stocktons's version.
About two years later Penelope met Richard Stout who had left Nottingham, England, because of parental disapproval of his love affair with a girl they considered socially inferior. He enlisted in the navy, served for seven years and left ship in New Amsterdam when his enlistment ended.
Penelope vanPrincis and Richard Stout were married in 1624 (according to tradition), when she was 22 and Richard was 40. Some time after, they moved to Middletown, where through the years their family grew and prospered.
Several years after the Stouts came to Middletown, Penelope's old Indian benefactor called on her to warn of an impending attack by his tribe. Penelope and her children fled in a canoe, but Richard Stout and his neighbors stood up to the Indians and argued them out of an attack. So the Stouts lived on into the 18th century.
Dr. Thomas Hale Streets questioned the time sequence in a study he made of the Delaware branch of the Stout family in 1915.
He said that all dates in recorded accounts were about 20 years too early, thus making the date of the shipwreck about 1640 rather than 1620 and making the date of the marriage to Richard Stout about 1644 rather than 1624. This logic seems sound.
For example, there was no New Amsterdam in 1620 and certainly there was no Middletown at the time when the Stout allegedly moved over. Advancing all dates 20 years, however, makes New Amsterdam, Middletown and all else fall in line.
His most telling rebuttal hinged on the known birh date of Penelope's 10th and last child, David, born in 1669. That would have made Mrs. Stout a mother at age 67 and Richard a father at 85. Speaking of the mother, Dr. Streets commented drily:
"No medical man, it is safe to say, ever knew of such a case."
Penelope vanPrincis Stout died in 1712, either at the age of 110, if you believe traditional accounts, or at the age of 90 if Dr. Streets is correct.
Before dying, Mrs. Stout saw her seven sons and three daughters multiplied into 492 other descendants.
One son, Jonathan, bought a large tract of land at Hopewell in 1706 and quickly the number of Stout descendants in and near Hopewell became almost as numerous as those in Monmouth. Today huge numbers of Stout descendants cherish a noble name; they recognize that without Penelope vanPrincis, a stout-hearted woman if ever there was one, they wouldn't be here at all.

* * * * * * * *
12 Sep 1648":Ambrose London plaintive agt:ye wife of Tho: Aplegate defent in an action of slander for saying his wife did milke her Cowe"

"The defent saith yt shee said noe otherwise but as Penellopey Prince tould her yt Ambrose his wife did milke her Cowe"

"Rodger Scotte being deposed saith yt being in ye house of Tho: Aplegate hee did heare Pennellopy Prince saye yt ye wife of Ambrose London did milke ye Cowe of Tho: Aplegate"

"Tho: Greedye being deposed saith yt Pennellope Prince being att his house hee did heare her saye yt shee and Aplegates Daughter must com as witnesses agat: Ambrose his wife milking Aplegates Coew"

"Pennellope Prince being questationed adknowled her faulte in soe speaking and being sorrie her words she spake gave sattisfaction on both sides." source: Gravesend Town Book, vol. 1, Sept 12, 1648.

* * * * * * * *
Excerpts from a STOUT-L posting by Linda Stout Deak:

I traveled today to Amsterdam and went to the Scheepsvaart (maritime or
Ship Navigation, esp. Atlantic) Museum. It is a splendid old granite
building on the water a fifteen minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station.
I was looking for Penelope's name on a passenger list. I had to find the
ship upon which she sailed.

107.1 Kath
Hans Jelisz. (owner) Jacht (yacht or sailboat) WIC (West Indies Company)
1647
Nieuw Amsterdam voor 06-06-1647

Kreeg in Juni 1647 de opdracht tot kaapveren. November 1648 bij Sandy Hook
gestrand. Did not return

This has to be Penelope's ship. I scanned the doctoral thesis (in Dutch) of
a J.A. Jacobs from Leiden University on the ships sailing to the new world
from Holland between 1609-1675. The average was 3.75 ships per year, about
five ships per year in the period 1639-1648. It is very unlikely that a ship
other than the Kath was beached at Sandy Hook.

More About RICHARD STOUT and PENELOPE VAN PRINCIS:
Marriage: 1644, Gravesend, LI, NY

Children of RICHARD STOUT and PENELOPE VAN PRINCIS are:

3.	i.	JOHN³ STOUT, b. 1645, Gravesend, Long Island, NY; d. 24 Nov 1724, Middletown, Monmouth Co., NJ.
4.	ii.	RICHARD STOUT, b. 1646, Gravesend, LI, NY; d. 10 Jul 1717, Middletown, Monmouth, NJ.
5.	iii.	JAMES STOUT, b. 1648, Gravesend, Long Island, NY; d. Aft. 1714, Amwell twp, Hunterdon Co., NJ.
6.	iv.	MARY STOUT, b. 1650, Gravesend, Long Island, NY.
7.	v.	ALICE STOUT, b. 1652, Middletown, Monmouth Co., NJ.
8.	vi.	PETER STOUT, b. 1654, Gravesend, Kings County, NY; d. 14 Apr 1704, Middletown, Monmouth County, NJ.
9.	vii.	SARAH ELIZABETH STOUT, b. 1656, Gravesend, LI, NY; d. 29 Dec 1714, Woodbridge, Middlesex Co., NJ.
10.	viii.	JONATHAN STOUT, b. 1658, Gravesend, LI, NY; d. Bef. 25 Mar 1723, Hopewell, Hunterdon, NJ.
11.	ix.	DAVID STOUT, b. 1667, Middletown, Monmouth, NJ; d. 1732, Amwell, Hunterdon, NJ.
12.	x.	BENJAMIN STOUT, b. 1669, Middletown, Monmouth, NJ; d. 1734, Georges Creek, Delaware.

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