The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676....

The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch, including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651, Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain was published in 1996.

The focus of the book is Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke born in Brueckelen, Netherlands in 1604 and his Mohawk-French wife Ots-Toch born ca 1620 at Canajoharie, New York. Cornelis came to the New World in 1634, settling at Beverwyck and then Schenectady, New York.

Cornelis Van Slyke's story is of a Dutchman who came to the New World as a carpenter at the age of 30.He became an interpreter for the Mohawk nation, was adopted into the tribe, and married a French-Mohawk woman (Ots-Toch) who never left her native village. Their children, all raised at Canajoharie, one of the Mohawk castles or villages, became well-known and respected in the Dutch community. All except one left the village and married Dutch settlers.

One of their children was my 8th great grandfather, Jacques Cornelissen Van Slyke who was known as Akes Gautsch, and whose Mohawk name was It-sy-cho-sa-quash-ka. Jacques was also an interpreter and one of the first settlers of Schenectady.

In my 189-page book, I trace Ots-Toch's lineage, and Cornelis' and Ots-Toch's descendants to the mid 1800s. The book is 8 1/2 x 11, paperback, coil bound. Laminated covers are available on request (see order form for cost). Pages 1-100 are narrative style chapters detailing the lives of Cornelis and his children, as well as Ots-Toch and her parents, and Cornelis' nephew Willem Pieterse. pages 100-189 are Genealogical Report style plus maps. The book is footnoted and indexed.