Help Finding a Van Slyke from New York

Bill asked Olive Tree Genealogy for help.

I believe that my family could be a descendent of the Vanslyke  Family . My Great grandmother was Edith Vanslyke and she did in 1900 giving birth to my grandmother. They were from the Rome, itica area. Edith  Married Franklin Henry Batchelor (Bathcheller). Name change. Also From Rome N.Y. If there is  any correlation to this  I would appricate anyinfomation that you may have or pictures if that is the case.

Although I have written 3 books on the Van Slyke family, I do not have Edith in my database as she is not far enough back in time. My books start in the early 17th century and end in the early to mid 19th century.

But I decided to have a quick look on Ancestry to see if I could find a bit more on Bill's great grandmother Edith Van Slyke. The 1900 census for the Bronx New York reveals her name was Edith M. Van Slyke and she was born ca February 1864 in New York. [Ancestry.com . 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004]

Edith and Franklin were married circa 1883 so she should be found in the 1880 and 1870 census records. Since I had her death year I looked on FindAGrave and found her burial in Rome, Oneida County New York. She is listed as Edith Marie Van Slyke, daughter of Elias E. and Mary Van Slyke.

More searches of the online census records reveal a 16 year old Edith M. Van Slyke daughter of Elias E and Mary in the 1880 census for Rome, Oneida County New York.

Following Elias Van Slyke, born ca 1838 in New York, we find him with his parents Sylvanus Van Slyke and Maria living in Whitestown Oneida New York in 1850 and Rome New York in 1860. Sylvanus was born ca 1813 and in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 census he is recorded as a shoemaker born in New York. However the 1880 census puts his place of birth as Pennsylvania.

This should be enough to jump start Bill in his quest. Hopefully we can link Edith to either Cornelis Van Slyke who arrived in New Netherland (present day New York) on De Eendracht in 1634 or his nephew Willem Van Slyke who sailed to New Netherland on De Trouw in 1660. I am lucky enough to be descended from both Cornelis and his nephew.

My books on the Van Slyke family are available as:


The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch , including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651, Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain REVISED EDITION published 2010. 287 pages. 8.5x11, coil bound.  

New Netherland Settlers: Willem Pieterse Van Slyke aka Neef - A genealogy to five generations of the descendants of Willem Pieterse Van Slyke who settled in New Netherland (New York) in 1660. published 2005. 198 pages. 8.5x11, coil bound.

Finding the Connection to an Established Family Line

Matthew wrote to ask about the Van Slyke family

My moms side of the family is related to Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke. I can't seem to find out where they marry into that part of the family. My great grandmother would talk about Mohican ancestry and this part of our family. Her maiden name was Lois May Cox and became Lois Snow. Her husband was Harry E. Snow. Her fathers name was George W. Cox and it is hard to find out who her mother was. I believe her mothers maiden name was Baxter. It was in Erie, Pennsylvania and she was born about 1912. I was just wondering if you have any info on the cox family marrying into the Van Slyke side.

ASK OLIVE TREE RESPONDS: Hi Matthew - As you know, the Van Slyke family is near and dear to me. In fact I've written three books on the family. Two are about Cornelis Van Slyke and his Mohawk wife Ots-Toch, as well as their descendants, while the third is about Cornelis' nephew Willem and his descendants.

However I find no mention of COX marrying into the family in my records. So you will have to go about this the old-fashioned way. That means starting with Lois Cox and going back one generation at a time until you either find the link or you prove it didn't happen.

Since it's a Van Slyke query I was really interested in helping you link to the family so I checked census records on Ancestry.com. It wasn't too difficult to find Lois and her parents in 1920, and to keep going back every ten years to 1910, 1900, etc. tracing her COX lineage.

The problem is finding the maiden names of spouses. To do that you will need to look for marriage records. Some may be online but many will have to be looked for offline, meaning repositories, libraries, archives and state or county government offices.

You could also look for maiden names of spouses in the birth records of children but again you may have to extend your search to offline resources.

Let me give you a brief outline of what I found:

1920 Census Girard, Erie Pennsylvania: 7 year old Lois M. Cox with parents George W. 46 born Pennsylvania, both parents born Pennsylvania. Wife Ida M. 36 born Pennsylvania, both parents born Pennsylvania

1910 Census Girard, Erie Pennsylvania. 36 year old George W. Cox born PA now says his dad born New York and mother PA with wife Ida M. 28 birth and parents birth locaation same as 1920

1900 Census Girard, Erie Pennsylvania. George Cox born June 1874 Pennsylvania with parents William Cox 52, born New York. father born England, mother born Wales. NOTE that if this is correct for William's parents, this is not the Van Slyke link. Wife Nancy born New York, father Connecticut, mother New York. NOTE that Nancy could be the Van Slyke link - you need to find her maiden name or her mother's maiden name.

1880 Census Girard, Erie Pennsylvania confirms the birth places of William Cox and his wife Nancy as well as their parents

I would look for the birth of George Cox in June 1874 in Pennsylvania. You need to know his mother's maiden name. A search of the WW1 Draft Cards on Ancestry.com. reveals George's full date of birth as 30 June 1874. Pennsylvania birth certificates prior to 1906 can be accessed through the courthouse in the county where the person was born.

You could also hunt for the marriage of William and Nancy. The 1900 census reveals they married in 1874. Of course each census that I listed above has more detail such as occupation and other children's names so you could look for George's siblings' birth records if his fails to turn up. Don't overlook tracing George's wife Ida to find her surname - for she may be the Van Slyke connection your family spoke of.

This may not help you figure out your Van Slyke connection, but your George W. Cox is found enlisting in the Pennsylvania National Guard 27 November 1899. You'll want to have a look as the card provides a nice description of him plus his unit.

Answering a Question about the Van Slyke Family and their Mohawk Heritage

Diane asked three very interesting questions. I'm going to respond to them all, one at a time. The first one involves our shared ancestor Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke and his Mohawk wife Ots-Toch.

Am also interested in Och-Toch, the Mohawk wife of Antonissen Van Slyke 1604-1676. I know her father is Jacques Hertel 1603-1651 but was wondering, if any information was ever found on Och-Toch's mother, her grandparents on the Mohawk side?

Diane - I loved reading your questions and am going to spend some time working on your first two about Loyalists. I've chosen your third question to answer because it's about my ancestors too - Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke (you mistakenly called him "Antonissen") and his Mohawk wife Ots-Toch.

Cornelis Van Slyke's story which is fully documented 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 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.

I am going to assume that you don't know about my books on the Van Slyke family. My most recent is The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch, including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651, Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain REVISED EDITION published May 2010. Coil bound 8.5x11. 287 p. ISBN: 978-0-9680744-5-9 Here is a link to an Order Form or Paypal Orders

It will answer all your questions! It's 287 pages are chock full of detail on Jacques Hertel, Cornelis Van Slyke, Ots-Toch and their descendants.

I stress in my book that we do not know with 100% certainty that Cornelis' wife used the name Ots-Toch but it has passed on down via family lore and fairly early writings that this was her name. Nothing is known of her maternal side, although there is some supposition that her mother's father may be known. I am not convinced so do not wish to suggest this theory.

Jacques Van Slyke's Death - Murder or Natural Causes?

Don asked:

I'm trying to determine the cause of death of your ancestor Jacques Van Slyke in late 1690. I have reason to believe he might have been murdered. You need not go into a lengthy response as I am an avid student of that time and its Schenectady inhabitants. I have scoured most other sources for this information already. Being a descendant, you may have deeper knowledge of the massacre and any part your ancestors played in it after the fact.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Don, What a fascinating question you have posed!

When I wrote my book The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch, including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651, Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain, the only reference I found to Jacques' death was as follows and is noted in my book:

Jacques Cornelissen Van Slyke was at Albany on May 18, 1690

"lying....sick abed" [Source: Mohawk Frontier: The Dutch Community of Schenectady New York 1669 - 1710 by Thomas E. Burke Jr. 1991:199]

Jacques may have been sick the previous fall,but he testified against Robert Livingston on 1 April 1690 and was not noted as being in ill health at that time. He also traveled, apparently back to the Netherlands and home to Albany prior to May 1690. However he died soon after, having made his will on the 8th day of May 1690Source: The Van Slyke Family in America....

Yates states that Jacques died of pulmonary disease, but does not give his source for this. Jacques' will begins

"In the name of God, Amen. Know all men whom it may concern, that on this eighteenth of May anno sixteen hundred and ninety, at Albany, being in the second year of the reign of William and Mary, King and Queen of Great Britain, Jaques Comelisse van Slyck, residing at Schennechtady, lying here in the city aforesaid Sick abed....."

I'm very curious about your statement that Jacques may have been murdered and hope you will share whatever you found.

Looking for a Loyalist Connection

Willow wrote:

My loose end is Johnathan STEVENS Snr UEL, whose daughter Elizabeth was married to Lt Frederick DACHSTADER or DOCKSTEADER (of Butlers Rangers during the American Revolution) She wound up in Ontario on UEL lands, but what happened to her Dad? When did he die? and who was her mother? Because Johnathan Snr was raised partly at Mohawk Castle (Canojaharie in the Mohawk Valley) I suspect she was probably Mohawk, but can't find confirmation yet.

Hello Willow,

Have you looked into the family of Jonathan Stevens and Lea Van Slyke in New York in the early 1700s? Lea was the d/o Cornelis Van Slyke and his Mohawk wife Ots- Toch. I have written 2 books on the Van Slyke family which included the descendants of Jonathan and Lea but stopped in the mid to late 1700s. There is a Jonathan Stevens who fought during the American Revolution, who was a descendant but I have no other info on him.

Have you hunted for the land petitions for these individuals? Loyalist land petitions often contain a wealth of genealogical. See the Loyalist section of Olive Tree Genealogy website for more help with Loyalist Research, also The Loyalist Institute has an incredible amount of free Loyalist data

Jonathan Stevens Sr was in Butler's Rangers (or Forrester's Interpreters) and is noted on the Old UEL list as having a wife and 4 children in 1786 so it is almost certain there is a petition or petitions on file for him. There should also be one for each of his children, including Elizabeth, if they sought land grants as sons or daughtersof a Loyalist (SUE or DUE)

I'd also get the petitions of each of his children as you never know if one might contain their mother's name. I think you'll find that Aaron Stevens, also a Loyalist in the Home District (which is where Butler's Rangers former men for the most part settled) was probably a son, and this fits very nicely with the names found in the Jonathan Stevens – Lea Van Slyke family. (Arent=Aaron and they had a son Arent bpt 26 Jul 1702 in Schenectady)

I see from Reid's book on Loyalists that John (your Jonathan) had a dau. Mary whose OIC date is 23 Nov 1816 so you can look for a petition filed for her around that time, also Elizabeth's OIC is Aug. 1796. Reid's book should not be considered the final answer to Loyalist families though, so be cautious using it - just use it for clues to help you along in your research

Here's a very nice candidate for your Jonathan, especially if he went by the name "John" - Nicholas' brother Johannes Stephens (Johannes=John) bpt 21 Jul 1736 in Schenectady. Johannes/John's parents were Arent Stevens and Maritje (Mary) Hall. Since your John/Jonathan named a daughter Mary this is a nice theory for you to prove or disprove.