I don’t know when and where the Springsteen family surname originated. It might have been in Groningen, in the northern Netherlands. Otherwise, it might have been adopted after the family arrived in New Amsterdam, which is now the southern tip of Manhattan. One source for the 1636 marriage of my eight-times-great paternal grandparents identified them as Casper Springsteen and Geesje Jans. However, this source, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, is apparently derived from secondary sources created later in time.^[1] This doesn’t provide any evidence that Casper used a surname.

Traces of the family in Groningen

Ron Springsteen of Colorado, Dad’s fifth cousin and my fifth cousin once removed, travelled to Groningen several years ago to explore archival records. His book, The Springsteen Chronicles, provides a nice account of his discoveries and his exploration of streets that Casper and Geesje walked. While there, he viewed baptismal records for three of their children, Johannes, Melcher (Melchior) and Barber (Barbara). These records are now accessible online:

• Registration of baptism, Johannes, son of Casper Josephs and Geesjen, 22 April 1642.^[2]
• Registration of baptism, Melcher, son of Casper Josephs and Geesjen, 23 June 1646.^[3]
• Registration of baptism, Barber, daughter of Caspar Joris and Geesje, 11 July 1649.^[4]

These children were born near the Martinikerk and baptized in the A-kerk in Groningen. No records are held for the A-kerk before 1640. Cousin Ron was therefor not able to find registrations for either the marriage of Casper and Geesje or the baptism of son Joost.

Notice that no surname was recorded in any of these baptism records. Surnames were not yet widely used by common folks. The patronymic naming system referred to these children as the son or daughter of Casper Josephs (or Joris) and Geesjen (or Geesje). Casper’s name indicates that he was the son of Joseph or Joris. Joost, Joris and Joseph might have been variants of the same name.

Melcher (Melchior) was my seven-times-great grandfather and Barber (Barbara) was my seven-times-great grandmother. Their grandchildren Simon Springsteen and Maria Seger married and were the most recent ancestors that cousin Ron and I have in common. Simon and Maria were Ron’s four-times-great grandparents and my five-times-great grandparents. Ron is a descendant of their oldest son Casper and I am a descendant of their youngest son Staats. 

Early Springsteens in the New World

Geesje, Joost, Johannes, Melcher and Barber seem to have arrived in New Amsterdam without Casper. They might have sailed on the ship Gelderse Blom, departing Amsterdam in May 1652 and arriving about 24 July at New Amsterdam. Scant information about this voyage can be found in the Voyages of New Netherland database on the New Netherlands Institute web site.^[5] The database ID for this voyage is v_153. Only a few notable passengers were recorded.

Geesje married Jan Jansen van Groningen (Jan, son of Jan, from Groningen) in September 1652. Andrew J. Provost, Jr., in his 1953 account of the Springsteen family of Bushwick, Long Island,^[6] referred to Geesje Jans van Groningen as the widow of Casper Springsteen when she married Jan Jansen. Mr. Provost referred to a marriage record of the New York Dutch Church but did not cite the record. He also stated that children of the two older sons adopted the original family name, Springsteen, but provided no evidence to demonstrate previous use of this name. It is apparent that most male-line descendants of Casper and Geesje were using the Springsteen surname within a couple of generations after their arrival in New Amsterdam. As these descendants found themselves increasingly under English influence, some assumed the name Springstead, but I’m doubtful that all Springsteads were originally Springsteens. Others took on the German spelling Springstein or were referred to as Springston. Cousin Ron discusses these early generations in his book. I need to do considerably more research to find documentary evidence.

What does Springsteen mean?

As one of my Springsteen cousins can tell you, Springsteen translates literally to Jumpstone. Did someone live near a stone used for crossing a stream? Were they adept at skipping stones across the surface of still water? There always seem to be more questions than answers. I guess that’s part of the appeal of exploring our heritage.

Notes

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^[1] U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Ancestry.com; https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7836/ accessed 22 February 2023.

^[2] General baptism book 1640-1657, archive number 124, Baptism, marriage and burial records, etc. in the province of Groningen, inventory number 146, unpaginated; Groninger Archives, Groningen, Netherlands; https://www.allegroningers.nl/zoeken-op-naam/deeds/332cc5fc-9cf3-e48a-16dc-b1f6b2cf0146, accessed 23 February 2023.

^[3] General baptism book 1640-1657, archive number 124, Baptism, marriage and burial records, etc. in the province of Groningen, inventory number 146, unpaginated; Groninger Archives, Groningen, Netherlands; https://www.allegroningers.nl/zoeken-op-naam/deeds/124ba9d3-0b00-e223-8c6b-b4f342f7f718, accessed 23 February 2023.

^[4] General baptism book 1640-1657, archive number 124, Baptism, marriage and burial records, etc. in the province of Groningen, inventory number 146, unpaginated; Groninger Archives, Groningen, Netherlands; https://www.allegroningers.nl/zoeken-op-naam/deeds/d2dc988d-1c89-99d2-9357-814aa53b57d7, accessed 23 February 2023.

^[5] Voyages of New Netherland, 1609-1664 [database on-line]; New Netherland Institute, New York, New York; https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/voyages-of-new-netherland/using-the-database/, accessed 23 February 2023.

^[6] Early settlers of Bushwick, Long Island, New York and their descendants [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; Original data: Provost, Andrew J., Early settlers of Bushwick, Long Island, New York and their descendants. Darien, Conn.: A.J. Provost, 1949-1963; https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/19028/, accessed 23 February 2023.