Magens family

Magens Bay gets its name from the Danish Magens family, who owned the property – then known as Zufriedenheit ('Contentment') – from 1817 until 1898.

The family included Didrich Magens, who was Governor of St Thomas in 1710, Arve Petersen Magens, who purchased the Magens Bay site, Louisa Magens Rohde, for whom the "Louisenhoj Castle" is named, and two Joachim Melchior Magens's. The older Joachim Melchior Magens published several works in the Virgin Islands Dutch Creole: a translated of sermons in 1754, a grammar in 1770, and a translation of the New Testament in 1781. The younger Joachim Melchior Magens contributed to the rebuilding of the Lutheran Church and presided over the construction of barracks in the 1820s, and is also known for having brought legal proceedings against Governor-General Peter von Scholten.

On the web:

• Didrich Magens and Jacob Jørgensen Magens on geni.com

• Joachim Melchior Magens (1715-1783) and Joachim Melchior Magens (1775–1845) on Wikipedia

• St. Thomas Historical Trust, Magens Bay (PDF)

• St. Thomas Source, Students Digging History on Government Hill

• Armstrong, Williamson & Armstrong, The Magens House: Archaeology of a Complex Urban House Compound in the Port Town of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (PDF)

• Elizabeth Righter, Land Use History Environmental Management at Plantation Zufriedenheit Between A.D. 1683 and A.D. 1817 (PDF)

• Dave Lynch, The First van Beverhoudts in the Danish West Indies

• Sebastian Dyhr, Grammatik over det creolske sprog’ af Joachim Melchior Magens I en lingvistisk og historisk kontekst, chapter 1 (Danish, PDF)