Meme: Our Immigrant Ancestors - My First in N. America

1636 List of Rensselaerswyck ^FN1

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. 

I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

One of the first ancestors I've found setting foot in North America is Albert Andriess Bradt de Norman (ca 1607-1686 New Amsterdam) With his brother Arent Andriesse Bradt, he was among the early settlers at Rensselaerswyck in New Netherland. 

The yacht "Rensselaerswyck" set sail from the Texel for New Amsterdam, 1 October 1636, carrying colonists to Fort Orange (present day Albany New York) in the service of the Patroon, Killian Van Rensselaer, of Amsterdam, Holland.

On board the ship were Albert Andriessen (Bradt)  and his wife Annetje Barents of "Rolmers" and two children; and Arent Andriessen (brother to Albert). The voyage was through rough seas, and a son born to his wife during the voyage was named "Storm." Although this Storm was not our ancestor, and in fact took the surname Vanderzee rather than Bradt as his siblings used, the name Storm has carried on in our family. A direct ancestor is Storm Bradt, the grandson of Albert Andriessen, who married Sophia Uziele in 1711. As well my eldest grandson was given the middle name of Storm.

The brothers were from Fredrikstad, a town at the mouth of the Glommen, the largest river in Norway. Albert Andriess Bradt, known as "de Noorman" was a land owner and tobacco farmer at Bushwick, New York, 13 August 1630. He established himself a few miles south of Albany on a stream, "Norman's Kil," where he built a mill.


You can read more about Albert Andriessen at Bradt Family - The Descendants of Albert Andriessen de Noorman aka Bradt 

^FN1  Memorandum listing passengers indebted to the owners of the ship Rensselaerswijck for voyage from Amsterdam to New Netherland, 1636-1637. Image courtesy of http://www.nysl.nysed.gov. The heading of the memorandum reads: "The following persons are indebted to the owners of the ship Rensselaerswijck for board beginning on the first of October anno 1636 and ending anno 1637 when each person landed in New Netherland." This memorandum contains the names of 33 men, women, and children and gives the exact date [or time?] when each person disembarked the ship.

Got New Netherland Ancestors? Don't Miss These New Online Records

Do you have New Netherland (now New York state) ancestors? The Dutch settled there early in the 17th century, along with Walloons, Huguenots and other ethnicities.  

Among my early New Netherland ancestors were Cornelis Antoniseen Van Slyke, Harman Janse Ryckman, Jan Damen, Lambert Van Valkenburg, Hendrick Vrooman, Albert Andriessen Bradt, Adrian Crijnen Post, Jan Martense Van Alstyne and more.

Recent additions to the Online Publications page of the New Netherland Institute include translations of  

 

• Fort Orange Records, 1656–1678;  
• Fort Orange Records, 1654–1679;  
• Laws & Writs of Appeal, 1647–1663; and 
• A.J.F. van Laer's 3-volume set Minutes of the Court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenectady, 1668–1685

If you have New Netherland ancestors you may also want to check out my books on New Netherland Settlers. Currently I have published the following:

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 REVISED EDITION Coil bound 8.5x11. 287 p.  Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers: Willem Pieterse Van Slyke aka Neef - A genealogy to five generations of the descendants of Willem Pieterse Van Slyke who settled in New Netherland (New York) in 1660. 198 pages. 8.5x11 Coil bound .  Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers. A Walloon in New Amsterdam: The Story of Adriaen Vincent and his Wife Madaleen Eloy. Coil bound 8.5x11. 94 p.   Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers. Boele Roeloffsen & His Wife Bayken Arents From Amsterdam with information on the European Origins of the Family.  Coil bound 8.5x11. 56 p.  Order Form or Paypal Orders

New Netherland Settlers: The Stevensen and Jacobsen Families. A genealogy to three generations of the descendants of Maria Goosens and her husband Steven Janse Coning who settled in Fort Orange in 1649 (Stevensen Family) and Maria Goosens and a man named Jacob (Jacobszen Family) .  8.5x11 Coil bound. 154 p.   Order Form or Paypal Orders

The Barheit Family Revealed: A Genealogy of Hans Coenradt and Barentje Jans Straetsman, the Immigrant Ancestors of the Barheit Family of Albany New York available as an Ebook 
 
Credits: Image from Minutes of the Court of Rensselaerwyck, 1648-1652 courtesy New Netherland Institute

52 Ancestors: Cornelis Van Slyke 17th Century Adventurer

In the early 1630s, a Dutchman named Van Rensselaer began to advertise for people to colonize his New World venture. Van Rensselaer envisioned the Patroon system of ownership with the landowner a feudal lord over his tenants. A tenant would be required to contract himself to the Patroon for a specified time, after which he could become an independent settler.

The colony of Rensselaerswyck was thus formed. By 1634, there were only twenty-six settlers living there. Rensselaerswyck lay in a wilderness surrounded by Mahicans on the east and Mohawks on the west.

My ancestor Cornelis Antonissen Van Slijk [sic] from Brueckelen,  Netherlands, left the Netherlands in May 1634 from the Texel on board De Endracht and sailed to the New World.  He was a thirty year old carpenter and mason, and his skills were desirable in a new colony.

During his lifetime in what was to become the state of New York, Cornelis met and married a Mohawk woman, had several children with his Mohawk wife (all of whom became valued interpreters between the Mohawk and the Dutch), and rose to a position of importance in the colony.

Cornelis Starts as a Farmer

Cornelis Van Slyke contracted to Kilean van Rensselaer as a carpenter and mason, but agreed to do farm work when necessary, for the fee of 180 florins a year. In the contract he signed on April 5, 1634 he stated he was 30 years of age.  Farmhands received 100 to 150 gl. per year so we can see that Cornelis' skills were highly valued. But what did that 180 florins per year buy, remembering that one florin equalled one guilder? In 1639 a mare was sold for 200 gl., a shirt for 3 gl., a pair of farmer's shoes for 4 gl. and a pound of butter or pork 6 stuivers, with 20 stuivers equal to one guilder.

Cornelis Gains Favour in the Colony

Between 1643 and 1648 Cornelis spent much of his time at Manhattan, as interpreter and negotiator with the natives. His absence did not always sit well with the authorities, and the Secretary of  Rensselaerswyck, Antony de Hooges, wrote to him in 1646 urging him to             "...come up the river to see how the harvest proceeds" and hinted that he might at least come to the Colony once a year to look after his farm.

Van Rensselaer was not happy with Cornelis by this time, and complained about his personal accounts and his service as representative, threatening to end their association if matters did not improve.

Cornelis as Interpreter and Representative

In September 1650 tensions increased with the natives and rumours of an impending attack on Fort Orange by the Mohawks were rampant. The settlers at Rensselaerswyck were anxious so they decided to send five trusted representatives into Mohawk country to renew old friendships and ensure peace.

On 23 September, 1650 Cornelis was one of those chosen to act as an ambassador to the Mohawks. He went on this important mission into what was called Maquas country. The mission was successful and the colony could relax.

Cornelis Marries a Mohawk Woman
 
By this date, Cornelis had already formed his liaison with Ots-Toch, a Mohawk woman, which produced at least four but possibly five children: Jacques, Marten, Hilletie and Lea, and  Cornelis.  Jacques and Hilletie occupied a very strategic position among the Dutch, English and Iroquois and became trusted interpreters for the state of New York.

By all accounts Cornelis was a much respected and trusted man. He would never have dreamed that his life could take such a turn from a simple carpenter in Holland to marrying a Mohawk woman  and becoming a fairly important man in the new colony.

Credit: This blog post was extracted from my book 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 REVISED EDITION published May 2010. Coil bound 8.5x11. 287 pages by Lorine McGinnis Schulze.

If you are a descendant and wish to purchase this book, Download an Order Form to pay by check or pay using Paypal

Reconstructed New York Ships Passenger Lists 1624 to 1664

A few years ago I started reconstructing ships' passenger lists to New Netherland (present day New York) from various sources (see below for details)

In some cases, I've been able to reconstruct names for a ship list that has never been published before! In other cases, I've been able to add names to previously published lists. This is an Olive Tree Genealogy exclusive and is freely available at
ships' passenger lists to New Netherland

I reconstructed the names of those sailing on various ships from the following sources. Please note that not every source was used to reconstruct every ship. I have indicated which sources were used for each individual:

1. Abstracts from Notarial Documents in the Amsterdam Archives by Pim Nieuwenhuis published in New Netherland Connections in series Vol. 4:3,4; Vol. 5:1-3 (hereafter NNC)
2. Early Immigrants to New Netherland 1657-1664 from The Documentary History of New York (hereafter EINN)
3. Settlers of Rensselaerswyck 1630-1658 in Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts (hereafter VRB)
4. E. B. O'Callaghan's Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State, Albany NY (hereafter CHM)
5. New World Immigrants: List of Passengers 1654 to 1664 edited by Michael Tepper (hereafter NWI)
6. Emigrants to New Netherland by Rosalie Fellows Bailey, , NYGBR; vol 94 no 4 pp 193-200 (hereafter ENN)
7. De Scheepvaart en handel van de NederlandseRepubliek op Nieuw-Nederland 1609-1675 unpublished thesis by Jaap Jacobs [hereafter JJ][Olive Tree Genealogy database]
8. The records of New Amsterdam from 1653 to 1674 [hereafter RNA] [an online book from Ancestry.com]

The ships passenger lists begin in 1624 with a reconstructed list of names and end in 1664 with a total of 64 ships.