Genealogy Tentij/Tenty

What is known so far about the surname Tentij / Tenty?

First of all, the naming. This is a variation on the Overijssel (Twente) names such as ten Tij, ten Tije, ten Thij and ten Thije. These are very old names that existed in the earliest times. There was even a noble family with the name of  van Thije. There is much more to say about the name, but that will be a very long story and is beyond the context of this writing. Within the family tree there are two family branches that have persistently carried the name Tentij since the early 18th century. All living namesakes descend from one of these branches (Jan Hendrik). The other (Steeven) became extinct in the male line early in the 20th century. It is not entirely clear whether these two people were related, but it is possible.

Steeven Tentij * circa 1730 appears in the baptismal records of Tubbergen as Steeven ten Thije. He married Janna van der Weijde in that area before 1753. In 1753 they had a child named Gerrit. In the tax records, Steeven's father is Gerrit. Mother is unknown. Between 1753 and 1760 the couple left for North Holland and had their second child in Barsingerhorn in 1760, named Femmetje/Femma. Between 1760 and 1773 they had five more children. They all reach adulthood. Unfortunately, this branch with Cornelis *1829 in Sint Maarten + 1909 in Harenkarspel is extinct in the male line. The Overijssel origin of this branch is clear. An unfortunate fact is that all Baptism, Faithfulness and Burial records of the Municipality of Tubbergen before 1733 were lost in a fire in 1868.

Jan Hendrik Tentij * about 1720, married Antje Luijkas Weijtsman in Winkel NH in 1742. He a young man in Winkel and she a young daughter in Schagen. Together they had seven children, of whom Ariaantje * 1743 and Gerrit * 1754 reached adulthood. The question remains where did Jan Hendrik come from and who was his father. Despite the addition of Hendrik to his name, I do not think that was his father's name. The naming of the children provides more guidance. Their first child Ariaantje (an NH name) was probably named after Antje Luijkas Weijtsman's mother. Their first son Gerrit *1746 + before 1754 and their second son Gerrit * 1754 + 1794 were most likely named after Jan Hendrik's father. But are Steeven and Jan Hendrik related? We return to Tubbergen, where in the church council proceedings a certain Jan Hindrick was accepted as a member of the Lower German community in 1736. It is striking that he did it that day together with Mechteld Beudeker, who later married Gerrit Jan ten Tije. The name Gerrit was common in Tubbergen. Such as Deacon Gerrit ten Thije + 1695, Gerrit also a deacon around 1712 and Gerrit Jan. Perhaps Jan Hendrik and his younger cousin or brother Steeven came to North Holland at the same time, and they are both descended from a certain Gerrit.

Thanks to Gerrit * 1754, the schoolmaster from Akersloot, the family lives on. Even to America.

Gerard AM Tentij The Hague.