James King, Where Did Your 30 Hour Clock Go?

My 4th great-grandfather James King was from Chediston, Suffolk England. He was born circa 1774, and died in 1838 in Wenhaston, Suffolk. Not much is known of James, although I was lucky enough to find Bastardy Papers for him dated July 1791.

In the Bastardy papers he confessed to being the father of Hannah Blanden's illegitimate daughter. Her name was not given in the documents and I've never found out who she was or what happened to her.

Oddly enough he married Hannah on the same day the Bastardy papers were filed.

His two sons Lewis King and Thomas King, were in the group of settlers who immigrated to Upper Canada and started the village of Arkell (now in Ontario).

Since writing and publishing a book "From England to Arkell" about this settlement, I happened on a newspaper account for James who died in 1838. His estate was being auctioned off so an inventory was done.

I'm intrigued and fascinated by him owning a 30 Hour clock! That was one of the cheaper types of Grandfather (Long Case) clocks, but still.... a farmer in Suffolk owning such a clock indicates he was somewhat well off. And I would love to know where that clock is now!

The inventory gave me an image of James' home, and helped make him more alive to me as a living breathing person who lived, loved, felt pain and sorry, was loved -  in short, no different from you or I. And that is something that is often lacking in our research - that flesh on the bones so to speak.

New E-Books Available for Peer & Vollick Families

Readers have been urging me for some time to convert my paperbook genealogy books into E-books. I've resisted because it is challenging to convert an 8.5x11 inch paperback into a smaller E-book version. The documents and photos are not as easy to read in an E-book.

But I spent this past weekend rearranging and resizing documents and photos in one previously published book so that they would display better in an E-book. Then I tested my new file and am pleased to say that I think the results are viable and the documents are still of value to genealogists. I do not want the E-books to suffer in comparison to the larger paperback versions!


So I took the plunge and am happy to announce that all 3 volumes of my book "Van Valkenburg to Vollick" are online and available on Amazon.

V1: Isaac Vollick, Loyalist

V2 Cornelius Vollick

V3 Storm Follick

 Volume 1 From Van Valkenburg to Vollick : The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children (Kindle Edition)

Volume 2 From Van Valkenburg to Vollick : Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations (Kindle Edition)

Volume 3 From Van Valkenburg to Vollick : The Loyalist Storm Follick and his Follick and Vollick descendants in North America (Kindle Edition)
 
Likewise the first 4 volumes of my 6 volume series "The Peer Family in North America" are also available.

V1 Jacob Peer

V2 Levi Peer

V3 Edward Peer

The Peer Family in North America (V1): Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. Revised Edition (Kindle Edition)

The Peer Family in North America (V 2): Levi Peer & Elizabeth Marical and their Descendants to 3 Generations (The Peer Family in America) (Kindle Edition)

The Peer Family in North America (V 3): Edward Peer & His Two Wives and their Descendants to 3 Generations (Kindle Edition)

The Peer Family in North America (V4): Philip Peer & his two Wives Ester Dunn and Susan Griniaus and their Descendants to 3 Generations (Kindle Edition) 

But I KNOW My Great Grandma's Name! So Why Am I Stuck?

Many of us know our great grandparents' names. One of my great grandmothers was a Vollick. I knew that, and I had proof (baptism, marriage, census records)which I had found over 30 years ago.

As I traced her lineage back, I found the trail stopped cold at *her* great grandfather, Isaac Vollick the Loyalist. I could not find him in New York before he arrived in the Niagara area of Ontario with Butler's Rangers. I hunted in every resource I knew of, to no avail. There simply were NO Vollicks running around south of the border in pre-Revolutionary times!

And then I stumbled on a very generous lady who steered me in the right direction with a casual remark "Did you know that your Loyalist ancestor Isaac Vollick used to be called Isaac Van Valkenburg?"

Huh? How the heck did one go from being a Van Valkenburg to a Vollick??!!! But she was absolutely correct in her statement. The reason I could not find any Vollicks running around south of the border was because it was not a "real" surname! My Loyalist ancestor simply adopted it. I think he adopted it as a nickname "Valk" (Dutch for falcon) from Van Valkenburg (meaning town of the falcon in Dutch) which may be what his comrades in arms called him. And it stuck. It became an established surname and there are thousands and thousands of Vollick descendants running around in America and Canada today.

There are also Follick descendants - because some of Isaac's sons and grandsons became known as Follick and that surname also stuck. I believe this alteration was due to the German/Dutch sounding "f" for "v". So instead of hearing Vollick, an English speaking/writing clerk no doubt heard Follick. And thus another surname was born!

That experience taught me to open my eyes to the possibility that a surname as we know may have changed greatly over the centuries. It may have been changed deliberately as in the case of my Isaac Vollick, or it may have been changed through mis-communication or mis-hearing.

As a side-note, since my discovery 30 years ago that my Vollick ancestor was really a Van Valkenburg I have researched the family in detail and have now published three books on Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, the Loyaist, and his two sons Cornelius and Storm.  

• From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: V1 The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children
• From Van Valkenburg to Vollick V2 Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations 
• From Van Valkenburg to Vollick V3 Storm Follick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations

The above books are available at New Netherland Books

Another example is my French LeRoy ancestor (prounced sort of like Le Wah in French - it's difficult to render it in text) settled in what is now Quebec in the mid 1600s. When he moved to New York, his name started being recorded as Larua, then Larraway. No doubt English speaking clerks mis-heard his name when he pronounced it! And so it began to be recorded as Larroway.

You must have an open mind when researching ancestors. You don't know if they changed their names. It may have changed due to mis-recording based on language differences. Did they change it to escape a bad situation? Did they change it simply due to having an established nickname that took hold? Whatever the reasons, if you are truly stuck on an ancestor, think about possible name changes. You may need to develop an entirely new area of thinking and researching!

Number 1 in Top 100 Genealogy Books

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when I spotted this last night on Amazon.

My book "Organize Your Genealogy in Evernote in 10 Easy Steps" is #1 in the Top 100 Genealogy books on Amazon!

Thank you to everyone who spent $1.34-$1.50 (It changes at Amazon's discretion) to read it and those who kindly left reviews. If you don't have your copy, here's the link

Organize Your Genealogy in Evernote in 10 Easy Steps available as an Ebook

How Did I Do in 2015 and New Year's Resolutions for 2016

On December 29, ,2014 I wrote a blog post New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2014 - Did I Achieve Them?

At the end of reviewing my 2014 resolutions and deciding I was writing too may resolutions and expecting too much of myself, I set one resolution for 2015.

 "So 2015 will be my year of writing - novels, tutorials, family histories - I plan on writing and creating ebooks and paperbacks. It's going to be my fun year."

HOW DID I DO?

 2015 is almost over. So how did I do? I'm pretty happy with my progress. I focused on my writing and am pleased to say I accomplished quite a bit. In March I published the first two volumes of my planned series on the Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his children.

From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children (Volume 1)  and From Van Valkenburg to Vollick:  Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations (Volume 2) are both for sale on Amazon.com 

A third volume about Isaac's son Storm Follick is almost ready for publication and I feel very good about that.

I also published several private family history books which are not for sale but I distributed to family members. My 4-volume set of books on the McGinnis family (my maiden name) is finished and each of my children has copies.

Work on a book of the Beardmore family is in progress for my nephew's wife. It's almost done and that's another achievement I feel very good about.

BLOG POSTS

I stuck to my commitment to write a daily blog post on Olive Tree Genealogy - another thumbs up because it was not always easy.

Many days I did not feel like writing or I couldn't think of anything to say! But I like the discipline of meeting the commitment and I love writing so I was able to see even the bad days through.

EXPANDING MY WRITING VENTURES

 My writing took off even more when I also began writing articles for Legacy Family Tree in 2015. That has been a wonderful experience and a different style of writing which I am thoroughly enjoying. Then just last week another well-known Genealogy company asked me to write for them. That recognition is very gratifying, and the topic for January is a fun one.

The one area of writing where I failed miserably was in getting my Genealogy Murder Mystery Novel finalized for publication. Life and my health got in the way and I simply could not set aside enough quality time to focus on that task. To be very honest I am a little nervous about publishing it. What if no one likes it? What if it gets panned? What if it's not as good as I think it is? What if.......

I recognize this anxiety. It is the same anxiety I felt at the first (and only!) showing of my artwork. I was very worried that viewers would say it was terrible and not fit to be hung in the show. It's a type of stage fright and I have to work very hard to overcome it. I actually sold a painting at that show so I guess my nerves were not warranted. That is something I need to work on next year - overcoming that anxiety hurdle and finishing my novel. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

One other quiet goal I had was to focus more on Social Media, in particular Twitter. I set a goal to reach 10,000 followers on my Twitter account (@LorineMS) by the end of 2015. I'm happy to report I now have 9,922 but somehow I doubt I will have 78 more followers in the next 4 days. I also joined some new Social Media channels, namely Instagram and Periscope but I have not been able to devote as much time to them as I'd like to. 

2016 GOALS & RESOLUTIONS

I'll make that one of my goals in 2016 - continue growing my Twitter profile with quality followers, and find time to work on Instagram and Periscope.

But mainly in 2016 I will continue to focus on my writing - both non-fiction and fiction. Of course I will continue my genealogy research as well. I look forward to new challenges and opportunities in the New Year!  What are your goals for the coming year?

Good Deal on NYGBS Book on New York Research

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society is offering free U.S. shipping (a $10 savings) on its monumental book, the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer.

Since its highly anticipated publication in January 2015, the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer has garnered widespread praise and quickly sold out its first print run.  The comprehensive, 856-page book has become the de facto textbook for New York genealogical research.

Diane Rapaport in the September issue of the NGS Q calls the book “. . . the biggest and best ever guide to New York research. Everything a researcher would want to know about researching New York’s sixty-two counties, and the boroughs of New York City, is now in one comprehensive, encyclopedic, easy-to-use manual.”

Henry Hoff, editor of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, declared "This is a volume that every library and New York researcher should have, and indeed must have."

And the New York Times described the book as "an overdue handbook for serious researchers," "an enlightening and eclectic chronological tour of four centuries of New York benchmarks and record-keeping," and "an authoritative, fact-filled beginner's resource."

The Federation of Genealogical Societies recently presented the NYG&B with an Award of Merit in recognition of distinguished work in family history for this publication.

From now until November 30, U.S. shipping and handling (regularly $10) is free for all in the NYG&B online store, phone, and mail orders when you use the discount Code "BOOKSHIP." The same code will give a $10 discount on shipping for international orders.

Full details about the book—including an Annotated Table of Contents—are on the website at www.NewYorkFamilyHistory.org.

Book Giveaway! The History of Grenfell Saskatchewan

Good morning everyone! I have been de-cluttering my home for a few days now and came across two books I no longer want. This book is called

Grit Growth: The Story of Grenfell

author:A.I. Yule

Published by Grenfell Historical Committee 1980

There is a handwritten family tree inside for REEVE, Elliin/Ellim? Farms, Grenfell Saskatchewan starts with Charles Reeve born 1880 Birmingham England

This book is 347 pages with an index and is in very good condition.

There is a handwritten inscription "To Cousin Millicent with love from Olive Gay and all cousins at Grenfell Saskatchewan. March 1981" (Millicent was Millicent Lynn, mother of the Mayor of Midland Ontario)


Here's the deal - I'm giving this book away FREE. Yep that's right. The first person to contact me at olivetreegenealogyATgmailDOTcom will be the lucky recipient. 
All I ask is that you agree to pay for shipping but a caveat is that sending mail from Canada is expensive. Using Canada Post online I estimate this book will cost about $17.00 to ship. I will need your postal or zip code to calculate a more accurate cost.

Another Van Valkenburg to Vollick Book Available!

I'm pretty happy to announce that V. 2 of my series on the Van Valkenburg aka Vollick family is now available. It was a long time in the making but what a great feeling to be able to share my research and tell the family's stories to other descendants.

Cornelius Vollick, son of Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, left New York during the American Revolution. Eventually the family arrived in the wilderness of Upper Canada in 1782 as impoverished Loyalists. They settled in the Niagara area with other disbanded soldiers from Butler's Rangers. There Cornelius met and married Eve Larroway the daughter of another Loyalist who fought with Butler's Rangers. With their 9 children Cornelius and Eve carved a life in this new land. Descendants will find documents, photographs, newspaper clippings and information about Cornelius and Eve and their children and grandchildren in this 110 page Family history book. 

The book From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: V. 2 Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations is available on Createspace  and on  Amazon.com

Sadly I have no control over when it might appear on Amazon for Canadians but both companies above ship to Canada. For descendants eagerly waiting for Volume 3 - the story of Storm Follick and his descendants -- it's coming soon! 

Excited to Announce my New Book on the Van Valkenburg to Vollick Family

From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: V.1 The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children  Authored by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

This is the story of Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, a Loyalist who fought with Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution. He and his wife Anna Maria (Mary) Warner settled in Upper Canada in 1782. Isaac's Land Petitions, Affidavits of witnesses regarding his Loyalty to the British Crown, letters about Mary's ordeal after American Patriots burned her home and sent the family fleeing north to Canada in 1779, and other items are found in this book. Stories of Isaac's ancestors back to the first settlement of New Amsterdam (present day New York City) and Albany in the 1620s and Mary's ancestors back to the 1709 Palatine immigration from Germany to New York are included. 

Available on Amazon with this link From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children (Volume 1) or on the CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5322046 

List Price: $24.99

8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm)
Black & White on White paper
68 pages

Olive Tree Genealogy
ISBN-13: 978-0988088795
ISBN-10: 0988088797

Woohoo! Just Ordered Proof Copy of my Van Valkenburg Vollick Book

Yesterday I ordered the proof copy of my new book on the Van Valkenburg-Vollick family. This book has been a dream for many years. I've been researching the Vollick (aka Follick) families for over 15 years in hopes of compiling a book one day. 

Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick fought with Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution. He and his wife Anna Maria (Mary) Warner settled in Upper Canada in 1782. Isaac's Land Petitions, Affidavits of witnesses regarding his Loyalty to the British Crown, letters about Mary's ordeal after American Patriots burned her home and sent the family fleeing north to Canada in 1779, and other records are found in this book. 

Stories of Isaac's ancestors back to the first settlement of New Amsterdam (present day New York City) and Albany in the 1620s and Mary's ancestors back to the 1709 Palatine immigration from Germany to New York are included. 

Proof Copy Cover Van Valkenburg - Vollick book

This is Volume 1 of From Van Valkenburg to Vollick and is the story of Isaac Vollick the Loyalist and his sons and daughters. Volume 2 is almost ready for publication (it's about Isaac Vollick's son Cornelius Vollick and descendants of that branh), and Volume 3 has been started (it's on Isaac's son Storm Follick and descendants of that branch). Isaac had 5 daughters so there will be many more volumes to come.

Paperback Version of Filling in the Gaps Now Available

My first venture into the world of creating a paperback book has been published! I'm pretty excited about this.

 Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada is available in paperback format on CreateSpace and also on Amazon.

Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada Paperback version on Amazon.com

It is also available as an e-Book on Amazon. You don't need a Kindle to read it, you can download the free Kindle cloud reader for your computer, phone or tablet.

Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada (available as an e-book on Amazon.com) 

Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada  (available as an e-book on Amazon.ca)

First World War: love letters from the trenches

"A new book gathers together the most moving, intimate and fascinating correspondence to and from soldiers fighting in the First World War." [Mandy Kirkby on telegraph.co.uk]

"Love Letters of the Great War brings together some of the most romantic correspondence ever written. Many of the letters collected here are eloquent declarations of love and longing; others contain wrenching accounts of fear, jealousy and betrayal; and a number share sweet dreams of home. 

But in all the correspondence - whether from British, American, French, German, Russian, Australian and Canadian troops in the height of battle, or from the heartbroken wives and sweethearts left behind - there lies a truly human portrait of love and war. " [Amazon.com]

Go to telegraph.co.uk to see some of the letters and photos from this book “Love Letters of the Great War” (Macmillan), edited by Mandy Kirkby. Available on Amazon.com as Love Letters of the Great War 

If you love old letters, you might want to visit Past Voices which publishes letters from soldiers and civilians in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

 

 

 

 

Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes

Organize your family history heirlooms and research in 2013 --
Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise Levenick – On Tour from January 10-26^th, 2013.

How to ArchiveFamily Keepsakes: Learn to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records will be featured in a new Blog Book Tour January 10-26, 2013. With top reviews from leading genealogy bloggers and 5-Star Ratings on Amazon.com, this new resource by Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, will help you organize and preserve your family history heirlooms and research in 2013.

Visit 14 popular genealogy blogs and websites featuring Denise and How to Archive Family Keepsakes for book excerpts, interviews, special guest posts, free downloads, and giveaways.  View the schedule at the Blog Book Tour Page. (Olive Tree Genealogy will be part of the Blog Book Tour, watch for a Guest post from the author on January 15!)

How to Archive Family Keepsakes offers practical guidance for family historians:

•    Helping a parent or loved one downsize to a smaller home

•    Needing a simple, effective filing system for genealogy research

•    Interested in scanning and making digital copies of genealogy records

•    Looking for a way to preserve your family history and heirlooms for future generations

Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

About the Author

Denise Levenick lives in Southern California and inherited her love of family history along with a trunk filled with family treasures from her maternal grandmother. She is now the caretaker of several family collections and has adapted professional archival techniques to organize and preserve family keepsakes for a home situation. She is a frequent contributor to Family Tree Magazine and speaks to genealogy societies and service groups about preserving family treasures. Denise created The FamilyCurator blog in 2007 where she continues to write about her own family history research and preserving family keepsakes.

Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule 

How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012) ISBN 1440322236

Paperback from FamilyTree Books or Amazon.com
PDF eBook from Scribd

10% Savings Coupon ShopFamilyTree

The Peer Family in North America (Press Release)

The Peer family left New Jersey to settle in Ontario Canada in 1796, after the Revolutionary War. Jacob and Anne (aka Hannah) Peer had several children born in New Jersey (Levi, John, Edward, Philip, Phoebe, Marcy, Jacob and Stephen). Their descendants settled in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ontario Canada.

I have been researching all branches of this family for over 30 years and last year I published Volume 1 of a planned series of books on the family.


The following brief excerpt is from my book The Peer Family in North America. V1 Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. A study of the first two generations. published June 2010.  

Jacob Peer, the immigrant ancestor to Ontario, left New Jersey for Upper Canada (present day Ontario) thirteen years after the American Revolution ended in 1783. The American Revolution began in 1773 and during this time New Jersey was a hot bed of political and military upheaval.

From records found in Ontario we know that Jacob and his family were loyal to the British side, and suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the war years. His British sympathies had caused great hardship for him during the War, and as former neighbour Nathaniel Pettit described in an affidavit supporing Jacob’s petition for land in Upper Canada (present day Ontario)

"[Jacob] suffered greatly both in his person and property in the Late War between Great Britain and America".

Jacob remained in New Jersey until the summer of 1796 when he and his family and at least one adult son Philip (and his family) left for Upper Canada.

Subsequent volumes are in process for each individual in Generation 2 (Jacob & Anne's children) and their descendants. Peer descendants will want to purchase Volume 1 plus any  Volume(s) containing details and records of their next ancestor and descendants.

Generation 2: Children of Jacob & Anne Peer

• Levi Peer & his wife Elizabeth Marical (settled in Illinois & Ontario) [Vol. 2]
• John Peer & his wife the widow of Thomas Millard (settled mainly in Ontario) [Vol. 1]
• Edward Peer & his two wives Anna and Sarah (settled in Pennsylvania & Ontario) [Vol. 3]
• Philip Peer & his two wives Ester Dunn and Susan Griniaus (settled mainly in Ontario) [Vol. 4]
• Phoebe Peer & her husband Daniel McQueen (settled mainly in Ontario) [Vol. 7]
• Marcy Peer & her husband Harcor Lyons (settled in Michigan & Ontario) [Vol. 7]
• Jacob Peer Jr. & his wife Lucy Powers (settled in Michigan & Ontario) [Vol. 5]
• Stephen Peer & his wife Lydia Skinner (settled in New York &Ontario) [Vol. 6]

Use this link to place an order through Paypal or download an order form for your copy  of The Peer Family in North America. V1 Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. A study of the first two generations. 

Interested descendants may sign up for notification of publication and updates by writing to PeerFamilyBookATgmail.com (replace AT with @) Please include your name, and the Volumes you are interested in. 

I've Got a Home in Glory Land

Recently I was contacted by Karolyn Smardz Frost, the author of
 I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad .

Karolyn was very kindly writing to correct some errors I have on my Blacks in Ontario section of Olive Tree Genealogy. Her expertise and knowledge of this time period is without question and I appreciated her input greatly. I've not made the corrections yet to the Underground Railroad portion but will be doing so.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart due to my husband's black ancestry which we discovered a few years ago. Up to that time his family had no idea they had black heritage. My husband's black ancestor and 4th great grandfather Jonathan Butler is first found in 1834 in the tax and assessment records in the Queen's Bush, a small area populated by approximately 1,500 Black settlers by 1840. He is noted as "Negro Butler". In the 1837 Assessment records his first name is recorded.

We don't know much about Jonathan's early years but we have evidence that he was in Toronto as early as 1824 when his son Allen (my husband's next direct ancestor) was born there. We know Jonathan was born in the United States. We know the name of his wife (Elizabeth Jinkins/Jenkins) but her origins are unknown. What state Jonathan lived in before arriving in Ontario is unknown to us.

His children married mostly into white German families who settled nearby (near Waterloo Ontario) and over the years many branches lost the knowledge of their black heritage. One of his sons married a black woman and their descendants retained the knowledge of their heritage.

After our exchange of emails and a visit to Karolyn's website, I rushed off to Amazon to buy a copy of Karolyn's book. I'm sure it is going to be an excellent read as it won the 2007 Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction.

Revised Edition Van Slyke Family in America NOW AVAILABLE!

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 by Lorine McGinnis Schulze is now available for purchase.

Download an Order Form to pay by check or pay using Paypal

Ever since the publication of my first Van Slyke Family in America book in 1996, I have been continuing my research on this family. A few years ago I found a court record in New Netherland where Cornelis Van Slyke wrote about the death of a man in Breuckelen Netherlands. Cornelis referred to the deceased man as his brother and asked if he was in the will.

This exciting discovery spurred me to hire a Dutch researcher to search the Breuckelen and Nijenrode archives for more details. His findings are presented in this Revised Edition.

The Van Slyke Family in America, Revised Edition, discusses 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 May of 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, who became an interpreter for the Mohawk nation, was adopted into the tribe, and who met 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.

In the Revised Edition, new findings on the Van Slyke family in Breuckelen are revealed. New facts are added to the descendant genealogies and a few errors from the firstbook are corrected. More sources have been added and there is more detail about individuals included. There are 1,342 footnoted sources for the facts contained in this 287 page book.

Download an Order Form to pay by check or pay using Paypal

Read more about the Van Slyke Book and Family. See the Van Slyke book List of Contents

Before Albany: An Archaeology of Native-Dutch Relations in the Capital Region 1600-1664

Before Albany: An Archaeology of Native-Dutch Relations in the Capital Region 1600-1664 by James W. Bradley is my latest find. I bought this book as a gift to myself and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Mr. Bradley covers the history of New Netherland and various settlements such as Fort Orange, Beverwijck (present day Albany), New Amsterdam (now New York City). He presents the history and the past through archaeological finds in the area and gives the reader an in depth and fascinating view into the lives and relationships of the Dutch settlers and the native populations, particularly the Mohawks.

Since I am descended from many Dutch settlers in New Netherland and from a Mohawk woman Ots-Toch who married Cornelis Van Slyke in the Albany area circa 1640, I am finding the book fascinating. Many of the early Dutch and English families that I have encountered in my research are discussed in this book.

The book is chock full of drawings, diagrams and paintings of the various items unearthed in archeaological digs of the Rensellaerswyck Colony, and of images of what the various settlements and buildings probably looked like. It is not the kind of book you can finish quickly, I find myself poring over pages very slowly and letting the wealth of information and facts sink in.

Anyone with Dutch or native ancestors in New Netherland in this time period of the early 17th century will no doubt find this a fascinating glimpse into their ancestors lives.