The fifteen proprietors of the Schenectady patents of 1664 — Their Schenectady lands and heirs — Arent Van Curler, Philip Hendrickse Brouwer, Alexander Lindsay Glen, Symon Volckertse Veeder, Tuenis Cornelise Swart, Marten Cornelise Van Ysselstyne, Arent Andriese Bratt, Bastian de Winter, Pieter Jacobse Borsboom, Pieter Danielse Van Olinda, Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck, Jan Barentse Wemp, Gerrit Bancker, Willem Teller, Pieter Adriaense Van Woggelum — Other freeholders of Schenectady, from 1661 to 1700. (326)
The following chapter gives a condensed description of the fifteen original proprietors of Schenectady, together with that of their families and a mention of the immediate successors to the title of their lands. A brief sketch is also appended of other settlers of the town from 1661 to 1700.
The petitioners of 1661 numbered 14, while the patentees of 1664 numbered fifteen.
The first fifteen landowners and settlers, not only of Schenectady but of the Mohawk Valley, merit this description which also throws a considerable light upon the early years of the first white settlement and early life along the Mohawk River. It is probable that a number of others besides the first eleven actual settlers and their families moved to Schenectady in 1661-4. The first population must have numbered a hundred people or more, including children, relatives, artisans, farmhands and negro slaves, as well as some individuals who desired to rent or buy lands from the proprietors. Such a number would have been necessary to erect the palisades, build the town and cultivate the land.
For more detailed description see Pearson's "The Schenectady Patent," [i.e., History of the Schenectady Patent] which gives a large list of the adult freeholders of Schenectady prior to 1700 as well as of the lands apportioned under the Schenectady purchase of 1661, and their proprietors. From Pearson's valuable work the facts involved in the following description were chiefly obtained.
The names of the early inhabitants of Schenectady followed the Dutch custom of the day and, as a consequence, there are frequently considerable variations in these Seventeenth century Holland Dutch names, which have often undergone great change and modification since those early days. The name prefix "Van" or "Vander" has frequently been dropped as in the case of Van Coppernol. In the days of the settlement of Schenectady, the ordinary Dutch freeholder had but one name, modified by the name of his father and his birthplace or place of residence. For instance, the name of the original Van Slyck was Cornelis Antonise Van Slyck, meaning "Cornelis, the son of Antonis of Slyck." His son, Jacques, was generally referred to as "Jacques, the son of Cornelis."
Harme Janse Knickerbaker signified "Harme, son of Jan the Knickerbakker, the maker or baker of knickers (children's marbles) or small chinaware" — knick knacks.
Alexander Lindsay Glen stood for Alexander Lindsay of the Glen, near Inverness, Scotland, where he was born.
As Major MacMurray says, in his introduction to Pearson's History of the Schenectady Patent: "It was not until late in English Colonial times that it became customary (for the Dutch of New York) to use the full name even in official and church records. It is very fortunate for history that Professor Pearson has made so full an analysis of these early names and fixed the connection between names now scarcely known and those of their descendants."
The reader will note this early peculiarity in the 1663 petition of the Schenectady proprietors to Director General Stuyvesant asking to have their lands surveyed. The family name, in this case, is frequently omitted by the writer and is added, enclosed in brackets, for purposes of identification. Names such as "John, son of Philip," and "Peter, the Brickmaker," are very early types of names, following the earlier simple savage names such as "Thundercloud," "Deerfoot," etc.
The following are the names of the fifteen original proprietors of the Schenectady land patents of 1664:
- Arent Van Curler
- Philip Hendrickse Brouwer
- Sander Leendertse Glen (Alexander Lindsay Glen)
- Symon Volckertse Veeder
- Teunis Cornelise Swart
- Marten Cornelise Van Ysselstyne
- Arent Andriese Bratt
- Bastian De Winter
- Pieter Jacobse Borsboom
- Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck
(The foregoing eleven men were settlers as well as proprietors. The following were proprietors but not settlers):
- Willem Teller
- Gerrit Bancker
- Pieter Adriaense Van Woggelum
- Jan Barentse Wemp
(Myndert Wemp settled at Schenectady and took up the property of Jan Barentse Wemp.)
Pearson's "History of the Schenectady Patent" gives a brief sketch of each of these fifteen patentees as well as of the allotments of land under the patent. From these valuable annals, the following condensed sketch of the first white settlers of Schenectady and the Mohawk Valley, is taken.
Arent Van Curler
Arent Van Curler came to New Netherland in 1637, at the age of seventeen, to act as assistant commissary of the Colony of Rensselaerwyck for his cousin, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the first patroon. He was later commissary and secretary of the Colony, and was probably its leading citizen, during the quarter of a century between his arrival in 1637 and his settlement of Schenectady in 1662. In 1642 Van Curler made a journey to the lower Mohawk castle of Osseruenon in fruitless attempt to ramsom the Jesuit priest, Isaac Jogues, who had been cruelly tortured there, as has been fully described in a previous chapter. It was during this trip that Van Curler particularly noted the beauty, fertility and advantageous position of the site of Schenectady. In 1643, Van Curler married Antonia Slaaghboom, widow of Jonas Bronck, an early settler of Bronx (Bronck's) Borough, New York City, from whom the borough derived its name. In 1645, Arent Van Curler made a treaty of friendship with the Mohawks and his influence, with the Mohawks and the others of the Five Nations, was powerful and beneficial.
When the English conquered New York, Governor Nicolls sent for Van Curler to consult with him regarding the relations of the Province of New York with the Iroquois and it was probably through the good offices of the founder of Schenectady that the Five Nations promptly made a treaty of peace and alliance with the British Government in the year 1664.
Van Curler was held in such high esteem by the Mohawk and Iroquois that for years thereafter they said "Corlaer" instead of "Governor," and so addressed the English governors of the province of New York. They also called Schenectady "Corlaer," as did the French who also termed the Mohawk "Corlaer River."
In 1667, while on his way to visit Governor De Tracy of Canada, Van Curler was drowned in Lake Champlain and thereafter, for many years, the Mohawks called it Lake Corlaer. The untimely death of this great American, of Holland Dutch birth, was a great loss both to Schenectady and the Province of New York. Juffrouw Van Curler continued to live in Schenectady until her death in 1676, leaving no children. About 1671 fire destroyed the Widow Van Curler's house, barns and corn crop and left her destitute. She applied for a license as a tapster — a permit to sell rum to the Indians and settlers "as also some quantity of powder and lead." This license was granted because of the Widow Van Curler's loss by fire and "also the Losse of her Husband, Arent Van Curler, while he was employed in his Majesties Publick Service." The Widow Van Curler's license was granted to settle "the matter of difference between ye two Tappers" — Cornelis Cornelise Viele and Acques (Jacques) Cornelise Van Slyck. Her estate at her death amounted to $4,322.34, in beavers and her debts to $8,468.54, her insolvency probably having been caused by her disastrous fire.
Says Pearson: "Van Curler's home lot in the village was a portion (probably the whole easterly half) of the block bounded by Union, Church, Front and Washington streets. After the death of himself and his widow without issue, this lot was divided into four smaller portions and sold. The occupants of these parcels were as follows;
"The lot on the corner of Union and Church streets, 100 by 264 feet, was occupied by Ludovicus Cobes in 1684; from him it passed to Catrina Otten, wife of Gerret Symonse Veeder, and remained in his family or connections until after the beginning of this (nineteenth) century.
"Before the year 1684, Maria, widow of Jan Peeck, lived on the lot immediately north of this, being the west corner of Front and Church streets. Adam Vrooman early came into possession of this parcel (prior to 1690). It was here that he so bravely defended his house against the attack of the French and Indians in 1690. In 1718 he conveyed it to Pieter Quackenbos.
"The lot next west of the Veeder lot, 50 feet front on Union Street, and extending through the block 400 feet to Front Street, was owned by Symon Groot, the first settler, in 1669, and was still in the family in 1790.
"The lot next west of Groot's, and of the same dimensions, was owned by Benjamin Roberts as early as 1669. From him, it passed to Reinier Schaets, who was killed here in (the massacre of) 1690. In 1701, Gideon, the son of Reinier, sold it to Albert Vedder, son of Harman Albertse [Vedder], the first settler.
"Owing to Van Curler's great services in extinguishing the Indian title, and in procuring a survey and the patents for the lands, he received more than double a share of the choicest land on the Great Flat (and village).
The confirmatory patent for this farm was issued to his widow on the 4th of May, 1668, the description being as follows:
"A certain parcel of land at Schenectady, lying to the southeast of the Great creek or kil (Binne Kil) to the north of the woodlands, to the southwest of a certain small creek (Sand Kil, now Mill Creek), containing 114 acres or 57 morgens and thirty rods, as granted, Aug. 19, 1664, by Governor Stuyvesant to said Arent in his lifetime."
"This land was bounded according to this description, northeast and south by the Great creek, now the Binne Kil, by a 'certain small creek', subsequently called the Sand Kil, now Mill Creek, and, by the woods on the Sandy bluff; on the west side it was bounded by Pieter Adriaense Van Woggelum's and Catalyntje De Vos (Bratt's) farms numbered respectively four and one. The Schenectady car works stand on (1883) the extreme western boundary of Van Curler's farm, the west fence of the yard being a portion of the dividing line.
"After Van Curler's death in 1667, this farm passed to his widow, who continued to reside there until her death in 1677.
"After the Widow Van Curler died insolvent, in 1677, the estate was sold by the administrators, Cornelis Van Dyck and Johannes Provoost, in 1681, to pay the debts. It was divided into five parcels and sold to Sweer Teunise Van Velsen, the town miller, Gerrett Gysbertse Van Brakel, Isaac Cornelise Swits, Barent Wemp (Wemple), Adam Vrooman and Jan Vrooman, the two latter securing the largest parcel, being one of 40 acres."
The foregoing shows the disposition of the property of Van Curler and its detail is pertinent as it concerns the distinguished founder of Schenectady who was instrumental in securing the first legal grants of land for settlement in the Mohawk Valley.
Alexander Lindsay Glen
Next to Van Curler in importance in the new town of Schenectady came Alexander Lindsay of Glen, or Sander Leenderste Glen as the Schenectady Dutchmen miscalled him. After Van Curler's untimely death, Glen succeeded to his position as the "leading citizen." Although it is sometimes disputed, the traditions of the Glen-Sanders family has it that Glen bought land in present Scotia of the Mohawks in 1655, that he settled there in 1658 and built his first stone house close to the river on the north shore opposite Schenectady. He thus was the first permanent settler of the Mohawk Valley, aside from the bos loopers (Dutch wood runners), who probably squatted in and about Schenectady, from time to time. Unlike Van Curler, Glen left the mark of his important location in the farmstead which, in 1924, had been in the hands of himself and his descendants for 266 years or two and two-thirds centuries — a record of family tenure equaled in America, in but few cases. He also has an enduring material record in the present Glen-Sanders house, which was built by his son in 1713, because it embodies building stone and woodwork which were part of the original dwelling. As the first seat of the first known permanent white dweller in the Mohawk Valley, the Glen-Sanders place has unusual historic importance and is therefore given the space which it warrants in this chapter.
Alexander Lindsay Glen was a native of Scotland. He was a Highlander, and was born in the vicinity of Inverness. The correct Scottish form of his name was Alexander Lindsay of Glen. He was a scion of the noble house of Lindsay, the Earls of Crawford, which family for two centuries ruled Scotland. Glen became a political refugee and fled to Holland. He entered the service of the West India Company and, in 1633, sailed for New Netherland, going to Fort Nassau on the Delaware. Glen later went to Manhattan, where he acquired lands, in 1646, in Smits Valley (Pearl Street). He also acquired land in Gravesend on Long Island. Glen went to Fort Nassau to settle in 1651, but was prevented from doing so by the Swedes who were then contesting the Delaware with the Dutch. In 1652 Glen came to Beverwyck and in 1653 he "took the oath of allegiance to Heer Van Rensselaer". He made numerous purchases of real estate in Beverwyck (later Albany), and seems to have retained a house there as a residence for a number of years. In 1657, Glen owned lands at Fort Casimir, New Sweden.
Glen married Catalyn Doncassen, by whom he had three sons, Jacob, Sander (Alexander) and Johannes. His Scotia house was a large mansion for those days. Glen named his Mohawk river home Nova Scotia (New Scotland) after his native land. The name Scotia has persisted to this day, when it is also borne by the village which has grown up around the original Glen settlement. The township, in which Scotia lies, is called Glenville, after its original white settler.
When the company was formed, in 1661, to take up lands at Schenectady, Alexander Lindsay Glen became one of the original proprietors. His village lot was on the west side of Washington Street, beginning at the estate of the late Judge Paige and extending 200 ft. northerly along this street.
The patent for Glen's Scotia lands was granted November 3, 1665, as "a parcel of land between the lake and the river over against the town of Schenectady — 100 acres or 50 morgens — in confirmation of a purchase of the grantee from the Indians," which would indicate the truth of his claimed purchase from the Indians ten years previous. The Glen farm extended along the river from "Claes Graven's Hoek" and easterly to Luysig Hoek, just above Freeman's Bridge, comprising with the additions several hundred acres. By marriage, this estate passed to the Sanders family. Besides the above land, Glen also owned two bouwerys numbered three on the Great Flat. In 1667 and again in 1669, Glen gave his bouwery at Scotia to his three sons.
In the absence of a Presbyterian Church (of which he was a member) Alexander Lindsay Glen gave his support to the Schenectady Dutch Reformed Church. In 1682, at his own personal expense, he erected the first little church at the junction of State, Church and Water streets and Mill Lane. He presented this church to the burghers of Schenectady and himself worshipped there. Catalyn, wife of Alexander Lindsay Glen, died in 1684 and Glen passed away November 13, 1685.
Glen's youngest son, Captain Johannes Glen, finally became sole owner of the Scotia property, through the death of his two brothers. The first house of 1658 was built too close to the river which had gradually eaten away the bank adjacent to the house until its position was unsafe.
In 1713, Captain Glen built the present Glen-Sanders homestead, constructed of brick and stone and using a large part of the materials of the first house. This 1713 Glen-Sanders house marks the general location of the first white settlement of the Mohawk Valley in 1658.
Captain Johannes Glen died in 1731, leaving his estate to his two sons, Colonel Jacob Glen, who resided in the stone house, and Abraham Glen, who occupied the picturesque steep roofed wooden house on the opposite side of Mohawk Avenue (No. 14), now (1924) the home of the Sisters of the School of St. John's R. C. Church. Both these Glen houses stand as sentinels of the past, at the Scotia end of the Great Western Gateway Bridge and the beginning of the Old Mohawk Turnpike. Jacob purchased Abraham's share of the estate and left it to his only daughter and heir, Debora Glen, who married Johannes Sanders of Albany, since which time this historic property has been owned by the Sanders family.
The Glen property originally included Sanders Lake and two small river islands called Spuyten Duyvil and Kruisbessen (Gooseberry) Island. Sanders Lake is probably an old cut off river channel and is the only natural lake or pond lying along the Mohawk's course from its source to its mouth — a distance of 135 miles. The military camp ground known as "the Camp", lay to the westward of the Glen mansion on the Mohawk flats. Nearby, on higher ground, the Mohawks had a favorite place for torturing the victims which they had captured and here brought to the river.
On one occasion, the Mohawks captured a French priest and bound him at this place and then came to the pioneer Glen for firewater. The Scotchman supplied them so liberally that they were soon all sound asleep, whereupon "Sanderse" loaded an empty hogshead on a cart and put the French captive in it, sealed up the head, leaving the captive the bunghole for air, and then sent the driver across the ferry and on to Albany with his concealed passenger. When the savages awoke from their debauch they were furious at the escape of their prisoner, but Glen assured them that the priest was in league with the devil and had escaped by magic. This humane act became known in Canada and was the reason why Glen's house was spared in the massacre of 1690. Glen had a strong influence over the Indians which evidently was inherited by his son Johannes. Doubtless Glen had much to do with the early development of Schenectady as he lived for twenty-five years after his location at Scotia and as he was evidently a progressive and constructive American citizen.
Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck
Next to Van Curler and Glen, the name of Van Slyck has a particular interest for us because Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck, one of the Schenectady proprietors, was the son of Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck, the Indian trader, who was one of the first white men to be identified with the Mohawk Valley.
In 1640, Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck is said to have been living near Cohoes Falls and thus became the first known settler of the Mohawk Valley. He cannot well dispute Glen's title as the first permanent settler because, so far as we know, he did not make a permanent settlement. The elder Van Slyck acquired great influence with the Mohawks by reason of his marriage to a Mohawk woman. Because of his position as a leader among our Valley Indians, "Brother Cornelis", as the Mohawks called him, was a man of considerable importance in Rensselaerwyck and at Fort Orange. He and two of his sons and daughters acted as interpreters between the Dutch and the Mohawks and their names appear on many of the old deeds of Valley property.
The story of the Van Slycks and their Mohawk relationship is one of considerable romantic interest, touching closely the history of Schenectady and the lower Mohawk Valley, as well as that about the middle Mohawk castle in the Sprakers-Canajoharie neighborhood. This romance of a French trader and a Mohawk "princess" goes back almost to the beginnings of the history of New Netherland and New France.
About 1620, a French trader named Hartell entered the Mohawk country and became enamored of an Indian girl, who owned the island in the river at Schenectady now called Hog Island. The Iroquois woman was possessed of the land under the laws of the Five Nations as related in the chapter on the Mohawks and Iroquois. Hartell had two children by this woman — one called Ots-toch, who married Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck, and Kenutje who married a Bradt. Ots-toch was wild and savage like her mother while Kenutje was small and handsome and very white like her father, Hartell.
The mother of these two half-breed (French and Mohawk) girls, at her death, was buried at the point of Hog Island toward the old highway bridge, which is shown in the illustration of the Great Western Gateway Bridge, published herein. The foregoing comprises two instances of "Indian marriages" between Dutch and French traders and Mohawk women. There were a number of such alliances and many Valley families of today have a strain of Iroquois blood of the Mohawk nation, although it is now frequently totally unknown by these very same descendants of the Canienga, as the Mohawks called themselves.
Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck had several children by Ots-toch, his halfbreed wife — three sons, Jacques, Marten who died in 1662, and Cornelis who is mentioned only in the records of 1659. Two daughters of whom we have knowledge were Leah (who first married Claas Willemse Van Coppernoll and after his death, in 1662, married Jonathan Stevens, under which name she is mentioned) and Illetje who married Pieter Danielse Van Olinda about 1663, under which name she is mentioned in this chapter. Both of these Van Slyck daughters are said to have been handsome, intelligent girls with some education. Leah, who became a Christian, seems to have been a woman of a high type of mind. Of course, the five Van Slyck children named above were only one-quarter Mohawk, as reference to their Dutch white father and French white grandfather will show.
In the marriages noted above, it will be seen that from the squaw "Queen of Hog Island", some slight strain of Mohawk blood is present in the Van Slyck, Bratt, Van Olinda, Van Coppernoll (or Coppernoll) and Stevens families, as well as a number of others of whom no records have survived.
Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck, son of Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck, was born in 1640 at "Canajoharie", where his mother was then living. Canajoharie, at that period, was an indefinite name probably applying to a considerable territory. In 1634, there was a small village of Canagere west of the middle Mohawk castle and a mile or so east of the present village of Canajoharie. Whether this village was then existing or whether the Canajoharie was a small village then situated on the north Mohawk shore, we have no means of knowing. There were four or more different castles by the name of Canajoharie located in the Mohawk country during historic times.
Jacques shows his French descent by his name which was variously misspelled and mispronounced, as "Acques", "Akes", etc. His Indian name was It-sy-cho-sa-quach-ka. He was also sometimes called Jacques Cornelise Gautsh, pronounced "Hotch", which might be an abbreviation of his mother's name Ots-toch. Jacques married Grietje, daughter of Harmen Janse Ryckman of Albany, and had nine children living in 1697. He survived the massacre of 1690, possibly because of his Mohawk ancestry, but died the same year. A number of Mohawks then in the town were spared by the French and Indian raiders, to show them that the blow was directed against the English and not against the Mohawks. Jacques' widow married Adam Vrooman, whose heroic fight at the Schenectady massacre is mentioned later.
The first patent for land in Schenectady as well as in the Mohawk Valley has been previously mentioned as that granted by Governor Stuyvesant, Nov. 12, 1662, to Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck and Jan Barentse Wemp. It covered the Great island (now Van Slyck island) in the Mohawk River. This patent was confirmed by Governor Nicolls, April 13, 1667, to Sweer Theunissen (Van Velsen) and Jacques Cornelyssen (Van Slyck), to each of them severally a certain moiety of "a certain Island — Marten's island — near Schenectady, over against the town, etc., containing [82] acres, first taking out twelve acres or six morgens on said island, the title to which was vested in said Theunissen, who married the widow of Jan Barentse Wemp, to whom and to the said Jacques Cornelise the said island was granted Nov. 12, 1662."
On April 2, 1695, Grietje Vrooman, Van Slyck's widow, received a confirmatory patent for his moiety of this island in trust for the use of his four sons, Harman, Cornelis, Marten and Acus. This island was originally called "Marten's island" (from Marten Van Slyck, its original owner and brother of Jacques) and was also called Van Slyck, Wemp's, Sweer Theunise's island from its various owners. The name "Van Slyck Island" has survived. Jacques Van Slyck also received a grant of land on the First flat, on the south side of the Mohawk River to the west of the village — consisting of 40 morgens or 80 acres. A morgen is a Dutch land measure comprising two acres. Jacques inherited this plot from his mother Ots-toch. His sons inherited and lived upon this farm which was still in the possession and occupancy of the family in 1883, 221 years after the settlement of Schenectady.
At one time Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck had a house lot in the village of Schenectady, probably on the west corner of Washington Street and Cucumber Alley, having a front on the former street of about 166 feet and extending back to the Binne Kil. The alley on the north side was the passage to the Binne Kil, which was crossed by a scow to his farm on the Great Island. The lot passed to his son, Capt. Harmanus Van Slyck.
Capt. Harmanus Van Slyck was the eldest son of Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck. He married Jannetie, daughter of Adam Vrooman, in 1704, by whom he had ten children. He commanded a Schenectady company of militia. In 1713, the Mohawks gave Captain Harmanus Van Slyck over 2,000 acres of land, extending along the north side of the Mohawk River from The Noses to Nelliston, which is mentioned later. Here he built a farmhouse and a mill about a mile west of present Palatine Bridge. Captain Van Slyck died in 1733, leaving three sons, Jacobus and Adam Van Slyck of Schenectady, and Major Harmanus Van Slyck who lived on the farmstead and who became a major of the Palatine district regiment of Tryon County militia during the Revolutionary war.
The historical facts, in the foregoing account of the Van Slyck family showing the ownership of much of the Schenectady lands by Ots-toch, wife of Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck, would seem to indicate that Van Curler secured the Schenectady lands from the Indians largely through the influence of "Broer Cornelis", the elder Van Slyck.
Pearson says that Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck "seems to have had the regard both of the natives and the Dutch and to have had considerable influence with both peoples, between whom he acted as interpreter."
One of the most interesting figures in the settlement of Schenectady is Leah, sister of Cornelis and daughter of "Broer Cornelis" and his French-Mohawk wife, Ots-toch. She married Claas Willemse Van Coppernoll, who hired a bouwery (farm) of Willem Teller, one of the original patentees at Schenectady in 1679. In 1685, Governor Dongan granted Van Coppernoll and Pieter Van Olinda the Willow flat (de Willegen Vlachte) on the south shore of the Mohawk east of Amsterdam. Van Coppernoll sold his interest to Philip de More in 1689 and moved to the Sixth flat on the north side of the river.
Van Coppernoll died about 1692, after which his wife Leah married Jonathan Stevens, a New Englander or "Yankee", who built the present Stevens house at Ael Plaats (Ael Place) east of Schenectady in 1693. His son, Arent Stevens, had, through his Mohawk ancestry, great influence with the Mohawks and acted as interpreter for Sir William Johnson for twenty years. Leah, his mother, was granted (by her Mohawk relatives) the Boght (bend in the river) at Watervliet, Boght near Cohoes Falls, and the Great Islands in the Mohawk at Niskayuna.
Pieter Danielse Van Olinda
Illetje or Hilletie (Alice) Van Slyck (the other daughter of Broer Cornelis by his half-breed French-Mohawk wife Ots-toch), in 1663, married Pieter Danielse Van Olinda, one of the original proprietors of Schenectady, who came from Beverwyck where he had been a tailor. Through his French-Dutch-Mohawk wife, Van Olinda received valuable grants of land at De Willegen (the Willows) on the south river shore east of Amsterdam.
Hilletie, or Illetje, like her sister Leah, was a well-known Indian interpreter in the early days of Schenectady, being employed as a Provincial interpreter at a salary of twenty pounds yearly. Hilletie died in 1705, and Van Olinda died at an advanced age, in 1715, at Watervliet. They had three sons, Daniel, who inherited the "Boght of the Kahoos" and Jacob who received De Willegen Vlachte (Willow Flat) east of Amsterdam. Matthys was idiotic and was supported by his brothers.
The Great Island (later known as Shakers Island) at Niskayuna was deeded to Hilletie Van Olinda by the Mohawks, June 11, 1667. Van Olinda had a house lot in Schenectady on the south side of Union Street, which was later occupied by the Schenectady County courthouse, now the Education building. Van Olinda and Van Coppernoll received the Willigen flat, east of South Amsterdam, through their wives, the sisters Leah and Hilletie Van Slyck, from their Mohawk tribesmen.
"Hilletie, although born and brought up in the early years among the Mohawks, was soon separated from them and received the rudiments of a Christian education in Albany and Schenectady." Her sister Leah also received the same advantages and both of these French-Dutch-Mohawk women of early Schenectady are spoken of highly by their contemporaries.
About 1680 two Dutch Labadists, Danker and Sluyter, came to New York and made a tour of the Colony in search of a site for the location of a settlement and church of that sect. They kept a journal of their journey which forms an interesting picture of the mingled Dutch and English life of the province of New York in 1680. In their travels they visited Albany, Cohoes Falls and Schenectady and met Hilletie, the wife of Pieter Danielse Van Olinda, who came to them with her idiot child hoping, in her fond mother's heart, that the two strangers might be able to help his condition. The paragraphs of the journal which relate to this incident give us something of a picture of Hilletie Van Slyck, and the rough little frontier town of Schenectady and its people. Hilletie was not a half-breed, as it here stated, but only one-quarter Mohawk, one-quarter French and half Dutch. The Danker and Sluyter journal [i.e., Jasper Danker and Peter Sluyter, Journal of a Voyage to New York], relating to Hilletie and Schenectady, follows:
"While we were there a certain Indian woman or half-breed, that is from a European and an Indian woman, came with a little boy, her child, who was dumb or whose tongue had grown fast. It was about four years old; she had heard we were there and came to ask whether we knew of any advice for her child or whether we could not do a little something to cure it. Sanders [Glen] told me aside that she was a Christian, that is, had left the Indians and had been taught by the Christians and baptized. I was surprised to find so far in the woods and among Indians, a person who would address me with such affection and love of God. She related to me from the beginning her case, that is, how she had embraced Christianity. She was born of a Christian father and an Indian mother of the Mohawk tribes. Her mother remained in the country and lived among the Mohawks, and she lived with her the same as the Indians live together. Her mother would never listen to anything about the Christians, as it was against her heart, from an inward, unfounded hate. She lived there with her mother and brother and sisters; but sometimes she went with her mother among the Christians to trade and make purchases or the Christians came among them, and thus it was that some Christians took a fancy to the girl, discovering in her more resemblance to the Christians than the Indians. They, therefore, wished to take the girl and bring her up, which the mother would not hear to. The little daughter herself had no disposition at first to go. This happened several times when the daughter began to mistrust the Christians were not such as her mother told her. She, therefore, began to hearken to them, but particularly she felt a great inclination and love in her heart towards those Christians who spoke to her about God and of Jesus Christ and the Christian religion. Her mother observed this and began to hate her, her brothers and sisters despised and cursed her, threw stones at her and did all the wrong they could. They compelled her to leave them, as she did and went to those who had so long solicited her. They give her the name of Eltie or Illetie. She lived a long time with a woman with whom we conversed afterwards, who taught her to read and write and do various handiwork. She felt such a desire and eagerness to learn, that she could not be restrained, particularly when she began to understand the Dutch language and what was expressed in the New Testament where her whole heart was. Finally she made her profession and was baptized.
"She has some children; her husband is not as good as she is, though he is not one of the worst; she sets a good example before him and knows how to direct him.
"She has a brother [Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck] who was also a half-breed, who had made profession of Christianity and had been baptized and who was not by far as good as she, but, on the contrary, very wicked; although I believe he has been better and has been corrupted by the conversation of impious Hollanders, for this place is a godless one, being without a minister and having only a homily (postil) read on Sundays." — Danker and Sluyter's Journal, 1680, pp. 301-5.
The foregoing covers the story of the Van Slyck family as it relates to the elder Van Slyck, his French-Mohawk wife and their children. The Van Slycks enter into the annals of the Valley many times later on.
Philip Hendrickse Brouwer
Brouwer located at Beverwyck in 1655, where he bought a house, lot and brewery. In 1662 he became one of the original proprietors of Schenectady, receiving Lot No. 2, and was one of the eleven proprietors who settled there. In September, 1663, Brouwer loaded his gun and went out to shoot ducks. He came upon Claas Cornelise Swits, a "bouwknecht" (farm laborer) who worked for Willem Teller and who was plowing on Teller's farm No. 5.
After a heated argument, Brouwer shot Swits, who died a few hours after. Brouwer had previously ordered Swits off the land, over which there was a line dispute, Brouwer claiming that Swits was infringing on his property. And so the innumerable line squabbles of the Mohawk Valley began with murderous results in the first instance. Brouwer died in 1664 and his Schenectady property, including his house lot on the north corner of State and Church streets, was bought by Cornelis Van Ness.
Teunis Cornelise Swart
Teunis Cornelise Swart was one of the original proprietors who settled at Schenectady. Swart occupied the lot on the east corner of State and Church streets while his bouwland farm was No. 10. Swart had three sons, Cornelis, who removed to Ulster County; Adam, who moved to Kinderhook; and Esaias or Jesaias, who remained in Schenectady and became the ancestor of the Mohawk Valley Swart family.
Bastian De Winter
De Winter was a native of Middleburgh, Holland, who came to Beverwyck in 1654 and to Schenectady in 1662. He was attorney in the name of Catalyn De Vos, widow of Arent Andriese Bratt, and so signed himself in the 1663 petition of the Schenectady settlers asking to have their lands surveyed and apportioned. His village lot was 200 feet square, on the southeast corner of Church and Union streets, now occupied by the grounds of the First Reformed Church. Falling sick in 1670, he sold his Schenectady property to Joris Arissen Vander Baast (the surveyor who was killed in the massacre of 1690), Jan Labatie and Elias Van Gyseling.
Arent Andriese Bratt
Two brothers, Albert Andriese Bratt, "de Noorman," and Arent Andriese Bratt, "de Sweedt", were early settlers of Albany. How they could be brothers and one be a Norman and the other a Swede is a mystery. Albert Andriese Bratt De Noorman came to Fort Orange in 1630, and built a mill on the Tawasentha, which came to be called the Norman's kill on that account. Arent Andriese Bratt married Catalyntje De Vos, daughter of the deputy-director of Rensselaerwyck, by whom he had six children. Bratt became one of the original proprietors of Schenectady in 1662, shortly after which he died. His widow married Barent Janse Van Ditmars, who was killed in the massacre of 1690, as was the eldest son, Arent Bratt.
Bratt's Schenectady lot was the west quarter of the block bounded by Washington, State, Church and Union streets. He also had 66 acres in two parcels on the Groote Vlachte (Great Flat).
Pieter Jacobse Borsboom de Steenbaker
Pieter Jacobse Borsboom was at Fort Orange as early as 1639, and continued there until Schenectady was settled in 1661-1662, when he became one of the fifteen original proprietors. As his name implies, he was a brickmaker and had a brickyard in Beverwyck, which he sold to Abram Staats, July 28, 1661, for 350 guilders, probably preparatory to moving to Schenectady. There is no mention of his making bricks in Schenectady. Borsboom had two village lots on the south and east corners of Front and Washington streets, and two farms on the bouwland marked No. 7. His children were Cornelis; Annie, wife of Jan Pieterse Mabie; Martie, wife of Hendrick Brouwer; Fytie, wife of Marten Van Benthuysen; and Tryntie, wife of John Oliver.
Besides the foregoing eleven of the original fifteen proprietors, who actually located in Schenectady, a brief mention of the other proprietors is here given.
Jan Barentse Wemp (Wemple)
Jan Barentse Wemp, alias Poest, settled in Beverwyck in 1643. He married Maritie Myndertse. In 1662, Governor Stuyvesant granted the first patent for land in the Mohawk Valley to Jan Barentse Wemp and Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck, it being the Great Island, or Van Slyck Island, in the Mohawk at Schenectady. Wemp was one of the fourteen original Schenectady proprietors but he died in 1662 and never occupied his Schenectady lands. His widow married Sweer Teunise Van Velsen in 1663, and Van Velsen took Wemp's place in Governor Nicoll's confirmatory land grants of 1667. Wemp's village lot was on the west side of Washington Street, extending westward to the river.
Myndert Wemp, son of Jan Barentse Wemp, inherited his father's town lot. Although Jan did not live to settle in Schenectady, his son Myndert evidently did so at the time of the settlement. Myndert Wemp was one of the five patentees named in the Schenectady patent of 1684, granted by Governor Dongan. In 1689 he was a justice of the peace and was slain in the massacre of 1690, when his only son, Johannes Wemp and two negro slaves were made captives and carried to Canada. Johannes Wemp married Catalina Schermerhorn and later Ariaantje Swits and had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. He early (1711) moved up into the "Mohawks country" on the Mohawk River in the neighborhood of present Fonda. He is the ancestor of the Wemple family in the Mohawk Valley.
Captain Barent Wemp, another son of Jan Barentse Wemp, the original Schenectady proprietor, married Folkje, the daughter of Symon Volckertse Veeder, another proprietor. They had ten children. Barent Wemp was made captain of the Schenectady company of militia in 1690 by Governor Leisler. His son Jan Barentse Wemp inherited his father's property.
Johannes Dirkse Van Eps succeeded to the property of Philip Hendrickse Brouwer, upon its sale in 1664. It was bought for him by his father-in-law Cornelis Van Ness of Beverwyck. Van Eps was the son of Dirk Van Eps of Beverwyck who had had two children, Johannes and Lysbet, who married Gerrit Bancker, one of the Schenectady proprietors, but not a settler. Johannes Van Eps was one of the five Schenectady magistrates in 1676 and 1678 and one of the five patentees under the Dongan patent of 1684. He married Elizabeth Janse and had three sons and four daughters. Van Eps and one son were killed in the Schenectady massacre of 1690, when another son, Jan Baptist Van Eps was made prisoner and carried off to Canada. Johannes Dirkse Van Eps is the ancestor of the Van Epps family in the Mohawk Valley.
Jan Baptist Van Epps accompanied the French-Indian raiding party of 1693, which burned all the Mohawk castles and took 300 Mohawk prisoners. He escaped from this invading war party to Schenectady as the following Albany record shows:
"1693, Feb. 8, Wed. about 2 o'clock afternoon, we had the alarm from Schenectady that the French and Indians had taken the Maqas castles; soon after we had the news that a young man named Jan Baptist Van Eps (taken at Schenectady 3 years ago) was run over from the French as they attack the first castle of the Mohogs, and came to Schenectady, who related that the French were 350 Christians and 200 Indians."
During his captivity with the Indians in Canada, young Van Eps acquired a knowledge of the Indian language and subsequently was often employed as an interpreter and ambassador to the Five Nations. Jan Baptist Van Eps was born in 1673 and so was seventeen years old at the time of the massacre and his capture. In 1699, Van Eps married Helena, daughter of Capt. Johannes Sanderse Glen, and had eleven children.
Gerrit Bancker
Gerrit Bancker was one of the first proprietors of Schenectady but not a settler. He probably came from Amsterdam, Holland, settled in New Amsterdam in 1655 and removed to Beverwyck in 1657. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Dirk Van Eps and sister of Jan Baptist Van Eps. Dirk was one of the first settlers of Schenectady. Bancker's town lot was the north quarter of the block bounded by Union, Washington, State and Church streets. This lot was sold in 1702 to Cornelis Swits. Bancker's bouweries were those marked No. 6, which were sold to Isaac Swits and Harmen Vedder.
Marten Cornelise Van Ysselsteyn
Marten Cornelise Van Ysselsteyn, or Esselsteyn (also written Isselsteyn), was born in the city of Ysselsteyn, Holland. His wife, Mayke Cornelise, was a native of Barnevelt, Holland. Ysselsteyn was an original proprietor and settler of Schenectady. His home was upon his hindmost lot of two on the bouwland, which were marked No. 8. He lived here six years and then sold his farms, and with his family, removed to Claverack. Foremost lot of No. 8, was sold to Claas Frederikse Van Petten and Cornelis Cornelise Viele.
Symon Volckertse Veeder
Symon Volckertse Veeder, alias de Bakker, was born in Holland in 1624. In 1644 he was a sailor on the ship Prince Willem, sailing between Holland and New Amsterdam. He bought a house in New Amsterdam in 1652 and removed to Beverwyck in 1654. He was one of the fifteen original proprietors of Schenectady. His home lot in the village was on the north corner of State and Ferry streets. Symon had eight children and, on his death in 1700, his lot became the property of his son Volkert (who had twelve children), who bequeathed to his three sons, Symon, Hendricus and Johannes — each a lot of about 60 foot front. On the bouwland, Symon Volckertse Veeder received the parcels numbered 9. His front lot on the river was called De Bakkers Hoek (The Bakers Point), which eventually passed to his sons, Pieter and Johannes.
Pieter Adriaense Van Woggelum
Pieter Adriaense Soegemakelyk, alias Van Woggelum, was an original patentee of Schenectady but not a settler, so far as known. His name or sobriquet of Soegemakelyk is translated "Oh, so easy." Pieter and his brother, Jacob Adriaense, were innkeepers in Beverwyck. His village lot was the easterly quarter of the block bounded by Union, Washington, State and Church streets. He sold this to Helmer Otten, baker of Albany in 1670, who dying soon after, it passed into the hands of Ryer Schermerhorn, who married Otten's widow. It later passed into the hands of Catharina Otten, who married Gerrit Symonse Veeder. Van Woggelum had two parcels of land on the bouwland marked No. 4, which were sold to Helmer Otten and which passed to his daughter and only heir Catharina, wife as aforementioned, of Gerrit Symonse Veeder, and to Otten's widow, Aarientje Arentse Bratt, who married Ryer Schermerhorn. Foremost lot No. 4 remained in the ownership of the Schermerhorn family until 1872.
Ryer Schermerhorn is one of the most frequently mentioned of the early settlers of Schenectady from his connection with the Schenectady patent of 1684, granted by Gov. Thomas Dongan, under which he was one of the five patentees therein mentioned. From 1700 to 1714, Schermerhorn was the only survivor of these patentees, and he was strongly complained of as exercising arbitrary power over town affairs and rendering no account of his proceedings. The granting of the Dongan patent of 1684 caused one hundred and fifteen years of litigation and squabbling, which ended only with the granting of a city charter to Schenectady in 1798. These matters and Schermerhorn's connection therewith are covered in later chapters.
Jan Janse Schermerhorn was the first of the family in America. He was born at Waterland in Holland in 1622, and came to Beverwyck at an early date. He was arrested in 1648 by Director General Stuyvesant on a charge of selling arms and ammunition to the Indians and was taken a prisoner to New Amsterdam where he was sentenced to banishment for five years and the confiscation of all his property. The banishment was revoked through the influence of leading citizens but his property was confiscated. He began anew and, before his death in 1689, had acquired a fortune valued at 56,882 guilders, equal to $24,889, a large sum for those early days. (A guilder is a Dutch coin valued at 42 cents.) Schermerhorn settled in Schenectady some years before his death.
Ryer Schermerhorn was born in Albany in 1652 and married in 1676, Ariaantje (daughter of Arent Andriese Bratt, one of the fifteen proprietors of 1662), who was born in Esopus. She was the widow of Helmer Otten, as previously mentioned, and, through her, he acquired bouwery No. 4. In addition to this, he owned the Seventh flat on the north side of the river. He also acquired through his wife the lot at Union and Church streets and owned other real estate in the village, as well as mills on the Schuylenberg Kil. Schermerhorn was a member, from Albany County, of the Provincial Assembly in 1690 and in 1700 was appointed assistant to the Judge of Common Pleas.
Symon Schermerhorn, son of Jacob Janse Schermerhorn, removed to Schenectady about 1689. In the 1690 massacre his son and three negroes were killed. Symon mounted a horse and rode through the enemy to Albany, a feat which is mentioned under the massacre. He later removed from Schenectady.
Willem Teller, Johannes Teller
Willem Teller was an original proprietor of Schenectady, but not a settler here although his son, Johannes, evidently located here at an early date. Willem Teller came to New Amsterdam in 1639, as a soldier, and was sent to Fort Orange, where he served as a corporal and later became Wachtmeester of the fort. He lived in Albany until 1692, when he removed to New York, where he died in 1701.
Teller's house lot was the west quarter of the block bounded by Washington, Front, Church and Union streets. His bouweries were marked No. 5. Both his house lot and farms were evidently occupied by his son Johannes. Willem Teller was one of the five Schenectady patentees named in the patent granted in 1684 by Governor Dongan, and he was the only one of the fifteen original Schenectady proprietors so named.
Johannes Teller, son of Willem and the settler of Schenectady, was born in 1659 and married Sussanna, daughter of Capt. Johannes Wendel of Albany, in 1686. At the time of the Schenectady massacre of 1690, his house was burned and he was made a captive by the French and carried to Canada. In 1700 Willem Teller conveyed his two Schenectady bouweries to his son Johannes "in consideration that he was much reduced in property in 1690, at the burning of Schenectady by the French." Johannes Teller had three sons, Johannes, Willem and Jacobus, among whom his property was divided at his death in 1725.
Sweer Teunise Van Velsen, alias Van Westerbrook, in 1664, married Maritie Mynderstse, widow of Jan Barentse Wemp, one of the fourteen original proprietors of Schenectady. In 1666 he removed from Beverwyck to Schenectady and built the first grist mill in the district on Mill Creek on Mill Lane. This was carried away by a freshet in 1673, and was rebuilt. In consideration of this loss he was allowed to take an eighth part of the meal he ground, instead of the regular tenth part which he formerly received from the farmers. In 1676, Van Velsen was made one of the magistrates of Schenectady. In 1684, he was one of the five patentees named in the Dongan patent of 1684. He was killed in the massacre of Schenectady with his wife and four negro slaves.
Freeholders, other than those mentioned above, who settled in Schenectady village and district prior to 1700, are given in Pearson's "History of the Schenectady Patent," in some detail. It is the mission of this chapter merely to give an account of the fifteen proprietors of Schenectady and the eleven who actually settled there, together with brief mention of those persons who were directly connected with them as relatives, heirs, purchasers, etc. For description of the other freeholders in the forty years from 1661 to 1700, see Pearson's work. Following are the names of the freeholders for this period, 1661-1700, other than those already mentioned. Date of settlement at Schenectady is also given where possible. Only the pioneers of the families are generally mentioned.
Jan Appel (severely wounded in 1690 massacre), William Appel, Douw Aukes (De Freeze), innkeeper at whose inn merrymaking was going on the night of the massacre.
Bent Bagge (1669). Caleb Beck (1700), innkeeper. Hendrick Lambertse Bont.
Geraldus Cambefort (or Comfort), (1690). Teunis Cartense (1690). Christian Christianse (1671). David Christoffelse, son of an Englishman. Kit Davidts (about 1675), killed in the massacre of 1690. Ludovicus Cobes, schout and secretary of Schenectady in 1671. Johannes Clute, alias "de Boslooper," settled at Niskayuna. Jacobus Cromwell, innkeeper.
Claas Andriese De Graaf, who was the first settler west of Scotia at Claas Graven's Hoek, died 1697. Jan Delaward bought land at Niskayuna, prior to 1698. Johannes Dyckman, settled at Aal Plaats, and left after the massacre of 1690. Jonathan Dyer, a Welshman and bricklayer (1695).
Hans Janse Eenkluys, soldier and early settler.
Jillis Douwese Fonda, settled in Beverwyck before 1654. His son, Douw Jillis Fonda, owned land at Troy. His son, Jillis, married Rachel Winne and removed to Schenectady in 1700. He was a gunstocker by trade and had eleven children and is the ancestor of the Fonda family of the Mohawk Valley. Jillis's son Douw removed to Caughnawaga (present Fonda), where he was a trader and had a son Major Jelles Fonda, both of whom are mentioned later.
Dominie Barnardus Freeman (or Freerman), born in Gilhuis, Holland, came to Schenectady in 1700. The Dominie was a good Iroquois linguist and, with the help of Laurens Claas Vander Volgen, translated a part of the prayer book and portions of the Scriptures into the Mohawk language.
Frederick Gerritse, yeoman, (1687). Symon Symons Groot, settled in Beverwyck in 1655 and removed to Schenectady in 1663. He had ten children and four of his six sons, Symon Abraham, Philip, Dirk and Claas, were captured in 1690, taken to Canada and redeemed the following year. Philip Groot moved to present Cranesville, Montgomery County, about 1710, but was drowned on the trip, his widow and children making the settlement.
Hendrick Hagedorn, son of Harmanus Hagedorn (1695). William Hall married Tryentie Claase, widow of Elias Van Gyseling in 1695. Dirk Hesseling (1671).
Paulus Janse (1669). His son, Arnout, was carried captive to Canada after the 1690 massacre. Jan Janse Joncker van Rotterdam (before 1678). Van Rotterdam secured the westerly half of the Second flat (in the general locality of present Rotterdam Junction) in 1678.
Johannes Kleyn came to Schenectady in 1678 and married Maria, widow of Ludovicus Cobes, secretary or village clerk of Schenectady.
Jan Labatie (Labadie), a Frenchman, came to New Netherland in 1634. He was commissary at different times of Fort Orange and Rensselaerwyck and bought property in Schenectady as early as 1662. He married Jilletje Claas Swits, widow of Surgeon Harmen Myndertse Van den Bogaert, who made the famous journey of 1634 to the Mohawks which is published in a prior chapter. Labatie did not live in Schenectady. Benjamin Lenyn, Frenchman, settled in the Woestyne. Jan Lens (1684).
Pieter Mangelse (1700). David Marinus (1676). Gerrit Marselis, killed with wife and one child in the 1690 massacre. Ahasuerus Marselis was the son of Marselis Janse from Bommel in Guilderland, Holland, who early settled in Albany. Ahasuerus was a shoemaker and removed to Schenectady about 1698 and had his shop on the south corner of Mill Lane and State Street. Daniel Mascraft (1697).
Jan Pieterse Mebie (Mabie) married Ann, daughter of Pieter Jacobse Borsboom. He owned a village lot on the east side of Church Street in Schenectady. He bought the farm and house of Daniel Janse Van Antwerpen on the Third flat (near present Rotterdam Junction) in 1706. This Van Antwerpen house, built in 1670, is now called the Mabie house and is the oldest house in the Mohawk Valley.
Thomas Nobel, married Catarina, daughter of David Marinus, in 1701.
Helmer Otten, a German from Essen and a baker by trade, married Ariaantje, daughter of Arent Bratt.
The Holland Dutch family of Oothout were settlers in Schenectady before 1700.
Jacobus Peeck, a son of Jan Peeck, the New Amsterdam innkeeper, from whom Peekskill is named.
Philip Philipse (de Moer), married Elizabeth, daughter of Harmen Gansevoort of Albany. He settled on the Willegen Vlachte (Willow Flat), about a mile east of South Amsterdam, in 1689. Philip's son had a German housemaid, Catherine Weisberger, to whom William Johnson (later Sir William), then a young trader and neighbor, took a fancy and married, as mentioned later. Jan Philipse, brother of Philip. Bartholomew Pikkert (1700).
Jan Pootman (Putman), (1662), married Cornelia, daughter of Arent Adriense Bratt, one of the fifteen original proprietors. Pootman and his wife were killed in the 1690 massacre.
Pieter Ral (1700). Jurrian Rinckhout. Benjamin Roberts (1669). Jan Roeloffse was the son of the famous Annake Jans of New Amsterdam, by her first husband, Roeloffe Jansen. Jan was a surveyor resident at Beverwyck up to 1670, when he accidentally killed Gerrit Verbeek. He was pardoned and removed to Schenectady. He and his wife were slain in the massacre of 1690.
Reynier Schaets, surgeon, was a son of Dominie Gideon Schaets and an early settler of Schenectady. He was a justice in 1689 and, with one of his sons, was slain in the 1690 massacre.
Manasseh Sixberry, Englishman (1699). Cornelis Slingerland of Albany married Eva Mebie of Schenectady in 1699. Thomas Smith, New Englander, married Maria, daughter of Ludovicus Cobes, in 1696. Casparus Springsteen, married Jannetie, sister of Ryer Schermerhorn, 1695. Isaac Cornelise Swits (1663).
Dominie Petrus Thesschenmaecker was the first settled minister of the Reformed Dutch Church of Schenectady, coming here in 1684. He was slain in the 1690 massacre. Jeremi Thickstone, brother-in-law of Karel Haensen Toll, and with him settled near present Hoffman's Ferry in 1684. William Abrahamse Tietsoort (1681). Karel Haensen Toll, married Lysbet Rinckhout. He went from present Hoffman's Ferry to Maalwyck where he bought the Toll farm and settled about 1712; had considerable property, was member of the Provincial Assembly for Schenectady Township, Albany County, 1714-1726; was an interesting Schenectady Dutch character.
Daniel Janse Van Antwerpen was a deputy schout fiscal (deputy sheriff) at Fort Orange. He came to Schenectady about 1665 and settled just west of present Rotterdam Junction where he built the stone house now called the Mabie house, commonly reputed to have been built in 1670, and now the oldest house in the Mohawk Valley. Van Antwerpen is supposed to have traded with the Indians sub rosa. Marten Van Benthuysen married Feitje (or Fytie), daughter of Pieter Jacobse Borsboom, an original Schenectady proprietor. Claas Janse Van Boekhoven, married Catalyntje De Vos, widow of Arent Bratt, in 1691, and removed to Schenectady. Gysbert Gerritse Van Brakelen, married Elizabeth, widow of Jan Van Eps, in 1693.
Joris Aertse Vander Baast (1670), surveyer and clerk of the town in 1689, and slain in the 1690 massacre.
Lauren Claes Vander Volgen, carried captive to Canada after the massacre of 1690. He was then thirteen. After several years he visited his family, having promised his captors he would return. His sister cut off his scalp lock, which act disgraced him in the eyes of the savages. While waiting for it to grow out, he became reconciled to remain. He was Provincial interpreter for over forty years, 1700-1742, and, aided Dominie Freeman to translate a considerable part of the Scriptures into the Mohawk language.
Jacobus Van Dyck was the son of Cornelis Van Dyck, "Chirurgeon" of Albany and grandson of Hendrick Van Dyck, schout fiscal (sheriff) of New Amsterdam under Stuyvesant. Jacobus studied medicine under his father and settled in Schenectady, where he practiced his profession, being surgeon of Fort Schenectady, at one shilling per day. He married Jacomyntie, daughter of Johannes Sanderse Glen, in 1694, and had two children, Elizabeth, and a son Cornelis Van Dyck, who also became a surgeon in Schenectady.
Elias Van Gyseling (1670), with Cornelise Viele, purchased Bastian De Winter's farm. Benony Arentse Van Hoek. Jan Gerritse Van Marcken (the Schenectady schout in 1673). Goosen Van Oort. Claas Frederickse Van Petten, married Aeffie, daughter of Arent Bratt, one of the first proprietors, and later, Catalyntje De Vos. He came to Schenectady in 1664, and, with Cornelis Cornelise Viele, bought the bouweries No. 8 of Marten Cornelise Van Esselstyne, one of the first proprietors. After various purchases, he bought lot No. 3, and settled upon it. Jellis Van Vorst, married Elizabeth, daughter of Jan Baptist Van Eps, in 1699, and removed to Schenectady in 1700.
Cornelis Viele, mentioned above, was one of the two licensed tapsters of Schenectady, his inn being at the corner of State Street and Mill Lane. Douw Aukes succeeded him there, having married Maria, Viele's granddaughter. Arnout Cornelise Velie [probably should be Viele], son of Cornelis, was captured by Indians in 1683, and taken to Canada. He learned the Indian language and served for many years as Provincial interpreter at important Indian councils at Albany. His son, Arnout, was captured in the 1690 massacre and taken to Canada. He remained there three years, when he joined the French-Indian war party which raided the Mohawk castles in 1693, when he escaped to Schenectady.
Hendrick Vrooman, the ancestor of the Vrooman family in the Mohawk Valley, lived at Kinderhook and Steene Raby (Stone Arabia) in the present Lansingburg section of Troy, and came to Schenectady in 1677 and purchased 20 morgens of the Van Curler bouwery and a village lot. Vrooman was killed in the 1690 massacre, with a son and two negro slaves. His sons, Adam and Jan, inherited his property. Jan Vrooman married Geesie, daughter of Symon Volckertse Veeder, one of the fifteen original proprietors.
Adam Vrooman was born in Holland in 1649. He learned the millwright's trade at Rensselaerwyck. In 1683 he built a mill at Schenectady on the Sandkil. He saved his life by his brave fight in the 1690 massacre, although his wife and infant were killed and his two sons, Wouter and Barent, carried captive to Canada. His town house was on the west corner of Front and Church streets. He went to Canada in 1697, to obtain the release of his sons, his brother Jan and his cousin, Matthys Meese. In 1685, the Mohawks granted Vrooman 60 acres of land west of present Cranesville "near the stone house" (Chuctanunda), in present Amsterdam, which flats lay on both sides of the river. He was granted the land on condition that he build a small house upon it, which, however, he probably did not occupy. Vrooman bought land of the Indians near Schoharie, which purchase is mentioned under the chapter devoted to Schoharie Settlement. Vrooman married, first, Engeltie (last name unknown); second wife, Grietje Ryckman, widow of Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck, 1691; third, Grietje Takelse Heemstraat, in 1697, in Albany. He had thirteen children, nine sons and four daughters.
Jan Luykase Wyngaard settled above present Hoffmans Ferry on the south river shore in 1686. He fled from this at the time of the Schenectady massacre, and bought a town lot which included the later Givens Hotel in Schenectady.
Robert Yates was the son of Joseph Yates, an Englishman, who settled in Albany in 1664 and married Hubertje Van Bommel and had seven children. Robert settled in Schenectady on the Albany road near Ferry Street. He left his property, including tan yards, to his sons, Joseph and Abraham "of the Mohawk country." Robert's nephew, Joseph Christoffelse Yates, also a cordwainer, settled in Schenectady in 1734. Abraham Yates, his son, owned the well known house which bears his name on Union Street, one of the few typical old-time Schenectady Dutch houses now standing. Another son of Joseph Christoffelse Yates and Eva Fonda, his wife, was Christoffel, who became a land surveyor and a leading citizen. He was lieutenant-colonel of the Second Albany County Militia Regiment during the Revolution and was wounded in action. His son Joseph became the first mayor of Schenectady and a governor of New York; Henry, a member of Congress; John, engineer of the Welland Canal and a millionaire, and Andrew, a minister and professor at Union College.