By John G. Agno
We
Americans mostly think of ourselves in singular racial terms. Yet, one in seven new marriages is between spouses of different races or ethnicities, according to data from 2008 and 2009 that was analyzed by the Pew Research Center.
Some proportion of the country’s population has been a mixed-race since the first white settlers had children with Native Americans. My heritage goes back to the 1600s when the Europeans began inflitrating the land we now call Upstate New York. The Native Americans lived there in the land of the Kanien'kehake (aka The People of the Flint or The People of the Crystal or The People of Shards of Light).
There are different stories about how the Kanien'kehake acquired their common name: "Mohawk." It is believed that the name was given by their Native American rivals, the Algonquin, since "Mohawk" means "man-eater." It is known that the Kanien'kehake were fierce warriors, but only doubtfully were they cannibals. More believable is the Algonquin, who aligned with the European invaders, intended the name "Mohawk" as a slur and the name of "Iroquois" as a slander meaning "real snakes" (for the Confederation of Five Nations) which were both easier to pronounce by the "white men" who had begun infiltrating the "eastern doorway" of their land. The Nations of the Confederation (called "The Iroquois League" by the white men) were Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida and Onondaga. This peaceful confederation was in existence long before the Europeans arrived.
The Mohawk Tribal territory was bordered on the north by the St. Lawrence Seaway, on the south by the Mohawk River, the east by the Green Mountains and on the west by the territory of their neighbors, the Oneida Tribe. The land of the Mohawk was rich, alive with forest for hunting, lakes and rivers for fishing and good soil for growing crops. The natives of this land were prolific hunters, trappers and fishermen. The women cultivated the "three sisters," corn, squash and beans.
Personally, I am one of those people who can trace his heritage to a Native American known as Princess Otstock, a "savage beauty." Little is known of Otstock except that her mother was a Mohawk and her father a Frenchman named Hartell. She was brought up by the Mohawks and called a "princess."
Otstock married Cornelis Antonissen Van Sleyck who had come to Rensselaerwyck (now Albany, NY) from Breuchelen on the ship "Eedracht" in 1634. He was a mason and carpenter and did considerable trading with the Mohawk Tribe after being married to Otstock. The Mohawks gave him the name "Broer" or brother and he was adopted into and spent considerable time in the Canajoharies, home of the Mohawks. He was given a considerable amount of land by the Native Americans and also by the Dutch government (through a grant in the Catskills and in Cohoes Falls in recognition of his services as peacemaker with the Native American tribes).
Otstock and Cornelis had three sons, Cornelis, Marten & Jacques, and two daughters, Hilletie and Lea. Both the daughters inherited their mother's beauty and married Dutchmen of "good standing." Cornelis, Jr. and Marten died before their father, so Jacques inherited all of the property. Jacques was born in Canajoharie in 1640 and died in 1690. He was one of the original settlers of Schnectady and was very active in the affairs of the settlement. He was the first tavern owner but he also was sent on several "missions" to help keep peace with the Native American tribes. He married Grietje Pyckman of Albany by whom he had three sons and six daughters. I am a descendent of two of the daughters: Susanna, who married Samuel Bratt (Brandt) and Gertruy, who married Johannes Myndertse.
The date of Otstock's death is not known but her husband, Broer Cornelis, died in 1676. Otstock was buried under an old willow tree at the eastern point of the great island in Schenectady, NY called "Van Slyck's Island." The island is on the right side of the bridge when driving from Scotia to Schenectady.
Broer Cornelis gave his wife Otstock the Dutch name of "Margretta" and it has been my family's tradition to give the name Margretta to one of their daughters thereafter. My mother's name was Margretta and my sister was named Jill Margretta.
The "Forts and Firesides of Mohawk Valley" and "The Massacre of Schnectady" both by John Vrooman provide background material of these early American times (where most of the massacre story is fictional but many of my ancestors, like the Van Slykes, Bradts, and Glens, were actually part of the massacre).
Because my mother had told me that I would think more about my "roots" as I aged, I was interested recently in reading "The Secret Path of Destiny" by M.B. Tosi that is the second book in "The Indian Path Series" which begins in the mid-1800s and follows a young American woman's life, including a beautiful relationship with a Native American of the Comanche Tribe, during the Indian Wars of the late 1800s.
The lives of the fictional characters in this book are woven into the true events of the times. The theme of The Indian Path Series is how to find life's purpose and a path of peace, love, courage, and faith in times of trouble. As American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."
M.B. Tosi: THE SECRET PATH OF DESTINY
John J. Vrooman: Forts and Firesides of the Mohawk Country, New York: The Stories and Pictures of Landmarks of the Pre-Revolutionary War Period Throughout the Mohawk Valley and the Surrounding Country Side, Including Some Historic Mention
During the Post-war Period JOHN J. VROOMAN: THE MASSACRE (signed)
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