Thomas Bentley

There appeared before the undersigned aldermen Willem Bently, wool comber, aged 36, and Thomas Bently, also a wool comber, brothers, aged 33 years or thereabouts each, both residing within this city.

And they have, being lawfully sworn under solemn oath and examined, testified and declared to be true, at the instance and request of Giellis Hael, soldier under the company of the honourable knight Captain Henrick Kerry, garrisoned at Gorcum, that they have long had very good acquaintance with the said requester, and therefore well know that he has been continually here within Leiden for the space of about fourteen days last past, and likewise also on Monday, being the first of November of the year sixteen hundred ten last past, on which day (as they understand) the muster of the aforesaid requester's company took place within the aforesaid Gorcum, so that the requester could not be present at the aforesaid muster, and consequently could also not pass muster.

The appearers alleging, as the grounds of their knowledge, that they saw and spoke with the requester daily here during the aforesaid time, and moreover had accompanied him on various occasions; nothing further.

So truly may God Almighty help them, the appearers. Done this 8th of November of the year sixteen hundred ten. Jesper van Banchem; J. van Brouchoven.

[In the margin: The alteration of the words standing above, outside the ruled line, was made upon the renewed declaration of the aforesaid appearers, with the knowledge of the undersigned aldermen, on 13 November 1610. A. Jasperszoon Van Vesanevelt; Jacob Paedts.]

Translation by Radicae, The Leiden Connection, from the Dutch transcription supplied by Erfgoed Leiden.

There appeared before me, Pieter Claesz. van Rijn, notary public, admitted by the Court of Holland, residing within the city of Leiden, and the witnesses named below, Thomas Benthle, Englishman, about 40 years old, and Geertgen Gerritsdr., his wife, about 53 years old, both living within the aforesaid city.

They testified and declared, upon their respective consciences, the salvation of their souls, and in men's and women's truth, in place of an oath, at the instance and request of Claes Claverly, likewise an Englishman, living in the aforesaid city of Leiden, to be true that about three quarters of a year ago, without wishing to be bound to the exact time, there came to the house of them, the deponents, together with the requesting party, a certain Master Daniel, merchant of Vlissingen; the said Master Daniel asking the requesting party, in the presence of Dirck Hopkens, likewise an Englishman: "Claes, do you not know me?" — to which he answered: "No" — whereupon Master Daniel, replying, said: "Did you not know me when you gave us sugared mackerel to eat?" — to which the requesting party said: "Now I know you, but I fared no better [or: I had no better of it] than a half share [the original is unclear here], when you were robbed off the coast of England, [a half share] given to him upon coming ashore by captain Jan Smith, to travel along with him." [Translator's note: this sentence is garbled in the original transcription and its precise sense cannot be reconstructed with confidence.] Whereupon the said Master Daniel said: "I admit that you were not the worst of them," to which the requesting party likewise said: "I offered to bring you to the ship at Portsmouth when the captain and his officers were on their ship, and to help you to your goods," which the said Master Daniel admitted to be true, but dared not entrust to the requesting party, on account of the great peril to be expected from it; admitting also that a purse with money had been stolen from him, in recovering which the requesting party had again faithfully helped him, and that when the wine which they had aboard the ship was not good, the requesting party had always supplied them with sugar to sweeten the same wine; also that he had given up his own bed, lying in the ship's berth, and let the said Master Daniel sleep in it, and had gone to lie on a plank himself.

All the aforesaid words having passed, the said Master Daniel further said: "I shall cause you no trouble concerning the aforesaid robbery, but see what you may expect from the merchant at Amsterdam. Nevertheless I admit that you have been a preserver of our lives."

Testifying nothing further, they, the deponents, offered to confirm the foregoing more fully at any time, in case of recolement, under solemn oath, before all lords and courts. The requesting party requested an instrument hereof. Thus done within the city of Leiden, at the house of them, the deponents, on the 18th of June in the year 1618, in the presence of Joris de Windt, serge weaver, and Degry de Pryst, hatter, as witnesses requested hereto.

[Signed:] Thomas Bentley. Geertgen Gerritsdr., her mark. Joris de Windt, his mark. Degry de Pryst, his mark. In my presence, P.C. van Rhijn, notary public, subscribed, 16[..] [the year is cut off in the original transcription].

Translation by Radicae, The Leiden Connection, from the Dutch transcription supplied by Erfgoed Leiden. The reported dialogue about the robbery contains a phrase that is unclear or corrupted in the source text; it has been translated as literally as possible and flagged above rather than smoothed over.

The 14th of November, in the year 1618.

Today, the 14th of November, an agreement was made or entered into concerning house rent between Omaer Claesz and the tenant Claes Claverle, that they have come to full agreement on everything, without deceit or trickery, without either party making any further claim upon the other, and that they are both well content, without anyone asserting any further claim; and this in the witness of good men, present hereunder, who have testified and set their hands to it.

Thereafter Claes Omaer, son of Omaer Claesz, likewise came to an agreement with Claes Claverle, namely concerning the fact that the latter had taught the aforesaid Claes Omaer to make pipes; and having come to terms, they have satisfied one another, except that the aforesaid Claes Omaer shall restore his goods, and further the said Claes Omaer must receive from Claes Claverle the sum of 8 guilders in money — I say eight guilders — apart from the bed with the blankets, concerning which they came to an agreement with the father, namely that Omaer Claesz shall keep the bed with the blankets; and they have together agreed that Claes Claverle discharges Omaer Claesen and his son Claes Omaer, on behalf of the men who had commission to sell everything, so that they [those men] have no further claim upon them. Undersigned here below.

Adryaen Japycsen de Mont. Thomas Bentley. +, this being the mark of Claes Claesse. Omaer Claeysen. Claes Omaerz.

This is the copy of the agreement, to which the attestation of Adriaen Jacobsz de Mont, made today before Ewout Henricxz Craen, notary public, and certain witnesses, refers. Done the 5th of September, in the year 1619, and undersigned by Adryaen Japicksen de Mont.

Translation by Radicae, The Leiden Connection, from the Dutch transcription supplied by Erfgoed Leiden.