2016-01-25 Marie de Lannoy & Marie le Mahieu

Marie de Lannoy is not your ancestor

Jean Pesynhof

The Jean Pesynhof is a building in the centre of Leiden that attracts many American tourists. Many of them approach it with the misconception that the Jean Pesynhof used to be John Robinson's house. The simple truth is is that John Robinson died more than half a century before the Jean Pesynhof was founded.

John Robinson Stone

There is a simple stone to the right of the front door that reminds visitors that John Robinson lived, taught and died on this spot.
The John Robinson Stone was placed in 1865, and quite deliberately states on this spot, instead of in this building.
John Robinson was born in 1576, moved to Leiden in 1609, and lived on that spot from 1611 till his death in 1625. The Jean Pesynhof was erected more than half a century later, in 1685, on the same spot as John Robinson's dilapidated house used to be.

What makes the stubbornness of this misconception particularly hard to understand is that both the period that John Robinson lived on that spot (1611-1625), and the year the building was founded (1685) are right on the building itself.

Many Americans who come to visit the Jean Pesynhof eagerly claim Marie de Lannoy as their ancestor. They are seriously mistaken. The building itself tells the truth.

Marie de Lannoy

The Jean Pesynhof is named after Jean Pesyn. The marble stone above the front door tells us that the building was Jean Pesyn and his housewife, Marie de Lannoy.

Many Americans who come to visit the Jean Pesynhof eagerly claim Marie de Lannoy as their ancestor. They are seriously mistaken. The building itself tells the truth.

Marie le Mahieu

Many Americans, including several American presidents, are official descendents of Philippe de Lannoy.
Philippe de Lannoy, also known as Philippe de la Noye, was born in Leiden to Jean de Lannoy and Marie le Mahieu, on 1602 Dec 7, and he was baptised in the Vrouwekerk ([Our] Lady's Church) on 1603 Nov 6. He left for the New World in 1621, where the name De Lannoy soon became Delano.

The mistake that gets copied over and over again, is misidentifying Marie de Lannoy and Marie le Mahieu married to span Philippe de Lannoy as the same person. They are two different persons.

fabricated merger

This mistake gets perpetuated by sites like WeRelate, WikiTree and Geni.com. WeRelate has Marie le Mahieu married to both Philippe de Lannoy and Jean Pesyn. WikiTree presents the fabricated merger of these two persons as Marie Lannoy formerly Mahieu aka De Lannoy and Geni.com presents it as Marie le Mahieu de Lannoy Mannoo...

portraits

The Jean Pesynhof has oil paintings of both Jean Pesyn and Marie de Lannoy. The keepers of the Jean Pesynhof once received a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, asking for a photo of this portrait, becauses she believed it to be an ancestor.
Well aware that she was mistaken, but too polite to tell her so, they simply complied with her request for a photo of the painting.

fruitless

The building itself tells the truth; Marie de Lannoy has no living descendants.
The marble stone above the entrance states that the founders of the building, Jean Pesyn and Marie de Lannoy, were vruchtlooze Echtgenooten ( fruitless Spouses); they were without children.

Jean Pesynhof tablet

They did have a daughter once, Marie, born in 1637, but she died during the pest epidemic of 1655. It was after her death that they drew up a testament that led to the establishment of the Pesynhof.
The Jean Pesynhof exists because Jean Pesyn and Marie de Lannoy did not have children to pass their wealth onto.

Marie le Mahieu, wife of Jean de Lannoy and Marie de Lannoy, wife of Jean Pesijn are two different persons.

two different persons

Marie le Mahieu and Marie de Lannoy are not the same person. Marie le Mahieu, wife of Jean de Lannoy and Marie de Lannoy, wife of Jean Pesijn are two different persons.
Marie le Mahieu, wife of Jean de Lannoy and daughter of Jacques Mahieu died in 1650.
Marie de Lannoy, wife of Jean Pesijn and daughter of Maximilien de Lannoy died in 1681.

Jean de Lannoy and Marie le Mahieu have many living descendants, Jean Pesijn and Marie de Lannoy have none. Marie de Lannoy is not your ancestor, and you are not her descendant. Marie de Lannoy has no living descendants.

The portrait of Marie de Lannoy in the Pesynhof is not a portrait of Marie le Mahieu. There is no portrait of Marie le Mahieu.