In October 2019, I once again visited our friends in Slingerlands, NY. On earlier visits I often thought, funny that there also exists a Slingerlands in the US. Slingeland is an integrated part of the town where I live, Molenlanden, The Netherlands, just a few kilometers from my home, and locally still known under its centuries old name (no r, no s, but in old documents spelling is not always consistent). With my friends visiting The Netherlands we were once facing the portrait of a most honorable and impressive Govert van Slingelandt, influential magistrate, in the nearby city museum of Dordrecht, in the 16th century the leading city of Holland. I finally decided to investigate a possible connection between the two Slingerlands, Slingerlands NY and Slingeland ZH1.
Slingerlands NY got its name in the middle of the 19th century. In 1850, the Albany, Rensselaerville, and Schoharie Plank Road Company was founded, to construct a plank road from Albany to Gallupville. The post office along that road, in present day Slingerlands, was built in 1852 and originally carried the name of Normanskil (Norman was a Norwegian pioneer in the area, kil is a Dutch name for a trench between sandbars). The first postmaster was William Henry Slingerland, descendant of Teunis Corneliszoon Slingerland who came from Amsterdam to Albany/ Renssselaerville in 16502. In 1863, the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad was constructed, with a station in Normanskil. William H. Slingerland was a surveyor of that railroad. The railway station was named Slingerland in his honor, as the railroad construction came $600,000 cheaper than the assessment of a preceding surveyor. In 1870, the post office also was given that name3.
Searching for a connection between the Slingerlands NY and ZH, I contacted The Friends of the Slingerlands Family Burial Vault4 and got the help of Sue Virgilio; Teunis Cornelisz Slingerland is her “8th great-grandfather”. All persons carrying the name Slingerlands who stil live in the area are descendants of Teunis Corneliszoon. He could be the bridge across the Atlantic that I was looking for. I started searching on both sides, for traces of Teunis Cornelisz and for indicators among the Slingeland family related to the Slingeland ZH estate, hoping the twain would meet.
Slingeland ZH
Slingeland ZH is a settlement dating back to the earliest development of the Alblasserwaard, low wetlands between the rivers Lek and Merwede, both branches of the river Rhine. My
1 ZH stands for province of Zuid Holland, South Holland.
2 Spotlight News (October 2, 2019), local newspaper in Bethlehem NY
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingerlands,_New_York
4 www.slingerlandvault.com
first surprise was the possible source of the name. The Dutch verb “slingeren” means to swing, to sway, which brings the association of a road along a meandering river (or kil). Wrong, most likely. It would refer to swinging land and lands generally do not swing. In a document of October 29, 1263, the settlement is referred to as “sincland”, where “sinc” means to sink. In Dutch we also have the verb “slinken”, to shrink. Shrinking and sinking land is a plausible possibility in muddy, moorish wetland with little streams all around.
By the deed of 1263, Jan, Lord of Arkel, gives his nephew Otto of Arkel the feud of Slingeland in the lease. The Arkels were a powerful family for some centuries; they built a castle in Arkel, now a small village that has also been subsumed in Molenlanden. They founded nearby Gorinchem, now of city of 36 000. The last Arkel was killed in a fight in Gorinchem in 1417. Otto starts presenting himself as Lord of Slingeland. He also signed the charter of 1277 in which Floris V, count of Holland, whose father drowned just before the pope would crown him as emperor of the German Empire, settles the dike inspections in the area. Otto signs on behalf of Over-Slingeland. The charter is signed for Neder-Slingeland by Willem of Brederode, scion of another powerful family in Holland. So there are two Slingerlands, two neighbouring hamlets embanked in 1025 (see attached map). Neder-Slingeland measures 212 hectares (530 acres), Over-Slingeland 249 hectares (623 acres).
In his book Heerlijkheden rond Gorinchem5, Manors around Gorinchem, Peter de Jong lists the Lords of Over-Slingeland between 1263 and 1497. They carry names such als Herbaren of Arkel, and Willem, Dirk, Pieter, Otto and Helmich of Slingeland. The deed of 1263 mentions only one Slincland. De Jong takes this as Over-Slingeland; he does not rule out that Herbaren of Arkel, Lord of Over-Slingeland in the early 14th century, also possessed Neder-Slingeland. After 1497, the Lords of Noordeloos (another village nearby) are also Lords of Over-Slingeland. From then on,the name Van Slingerland will no longer be linked to Noordeloos.
Between 1203 and 1415, knights of Brederode are on record as feudal lords of Neder-Slingeland. Between 1476 and 1646 the lords belong to the house Van Hemert. The last one in the row was Gijsbert III (1590-1656), burgomaster of Deventer, but also member of the admiralty of Amsterdam. In 1646, Matthijs Pompe (1621-1679) buys the manor and calls himself Pompe van Slingerlandt. His father was Michiel Pompe van Meerdervoort, a weaver born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1578 and deceased in Dordrecht in 1625. Matthijs Pompe became a prominent administrator in Dordrecht and a member of the parliament of The Netherlands who married Maria Musch. She obtains the manor after her husband dies, joint with stepson Matthijs (1651-1712) from an earlier marriage of Matthijs sr. In 1700 feudal tenures passes on to Isabella Jacoba Pompe, sister of Matthijs jr and thereafter, in 1705, Barthout van Slingelandt (1654-1711) buys it. His father was Govert van Slingelandt (1623-1690) and his grandfather was also a Barthout van Slingelandt (1590—1628). This was a transaction within family bonds: buyer Barthout’s mother Christina van Beveren was a sister
5 Peter de Jong, Heerlijkheden rond Gorinchem, Pictures Publishers (2011).
of buyer Matthijs Pompe van Slingerlandt’s first wife Mondina van Beveren 6.7 Neder-Slingeland remains connected to the Van Slingelandt family from 1705 to 1878. It’s a prominent family; several members rose to high positions in the Dutch Republic. In 1689 Barthout bought a chapel in the Grand Church of Dordrecht, a chapel that came to be known as the Slingelandts chapel. Several Van Slingelandts have been painted in all their glory. I have not come across the name Teunis in the family tree of the Slingerlandts. The name of Cornelis does occur: Cornelis Hendricksz (deceased 1506); Hendrick Cornelis Hendricksz (1484-after 1548); Cornelis van Slingelandt (1507-1583).
Coats of arms
Jan van Arkel’s seal is attached to the deed of 1263 (picture 1). De Jong’s book shows coats of arms of Van Slingerland families, in the sections on Neder- and Over-Slingeland (pp 135 and 139). This seems to suggest that each crest belongs to the manor discussed in that section, but that suggestion seems untenable to me: the information that is given is simply not precise enough. Picture 2 reproduces crests from the website of the Centrum voor Familiegeschiedenis (Center for Family History). Picture 3 shows the coat of arms of the former town of Arkel. Picture 4 is a picture sent to me by Sue Virgilo; it’s the coat of arms handed down in her Slingerland family.
The message is clear. The crest in the seal of Jan van Arkel is the core of the crests used by Slingeland(t) families. The origin of this crest is confirmed in the coat of arms of the town of Arkel and the explanation provided on the website. This suggests an interesting twist. Over-Slingeland is most clearly associated with the Van Arkel family, if only for a brief period. Over-Slingeland is the eastern part of Slingeland, towards Arkel and Gorinchem. The prominent family of Van Slingeland, based in Dordrecht, is associated with Neder-Slingeland. They are not linked with the van Arkel family, yet they carry the coat of arms of Van Arkel. Neder-Slingeland is the western part of Slingeland, properly facing towards Dordrecht, the city at the western rim of the Alblasserwaard.
6 https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-driessen/I73311359.php, several entries
7 The full history of the link between family name and geographic location remains obscure. The website http://www.kareldegrote.nl/Reeksen/ToonReeks.php?Reeks=86 refers to prominent Van Slingerlands in the 15th century, including burgomasters of Dordrecht. To quote: “The roots of the dynasty of Van Slingeland that uses the cooking pot in its coat of arms (see below, jh) ly in the Alblasserwaard (the lands between the rivers Lek and Merwede, jh), in particular Oud-Alblas. This is where the founding father of the family lived, Willem Jansz. van Slingeland, entitled to citizen rights of Dordrecht (1429). His origins are unknown, but there are some indications for a connection (as a bastard?) with Jan Jansz. Van der Tijmpel said of Slingeland: in 1406 Willem Jansz. Is mentioned in connection with a charter insured on land in the Houttuijn in Dordrecht and in 1410 Willem Jans sold land in Bleskensgraaf land in Bleskensgraaf, on lease to Jan Alaerdssoen. Jan van Slingeland lived in the Houttuijn and in 1396 Jan Allerdszoon and Jan van Slingeland are mentioned as heirs to ‘Jan Suijssen children’. But other hypotheses on Willem Jansz. van Slingeland’s origin are conceivable: in the 14th century we can find several persons named Van Slingeland in the Alblasserwaard. For example, a Willem van Slingeland in another family line is mentioned in 1365, 1366 and 1384 as one of the important lords in
the Alblasserwaard. (Source: NL 2001, kolom 564)”. I cannot assess the reliability of this information.
Sue Virgilio has informed me that the board with the coat of arms handed down in her family was bought at an auction in Amsterdam in 1896.
Teunis Cornelisz Slingerland
Teunis Cornelis (“Antoni”) Slingerland(t) is on record as born in Amsterdam on April 7 1617 and deceased in Hackensack, Bergen County NJ, after May 25 1700. He was the son of Cornelis Slingerland and an unknown mother. He married twice, first to Engeltje Bradt, in 1654 in Beverwijck, New Netherland and then to Giertje (Jelles) Fonda on April 9 1684 in Albany, Albany County, Province of New York. He is supposed to have come to Beverwijck around 1650 travelling on a VOC ship8.
The documents available in the Amsterdam City Archives do not show a Teunis Cornelisz Slingerlandt around 1650. There is no Slingerland(t) in Boedelpapieren 1634-1938, Confessieboeken 1535-1732, Doopregisters 1564-1811 and Poorters 1531-1652. In de Ondertrouwregisters 1565-1811 (Notices of Marriage) we hit 21 times upon a van Slingerlandt variant, 16 men and 5 women. In the 17th century they are: van Slingeland, Anthoni – 27-01-1691; van Slingelandt, Simon – 15-07-1690; van Slingelant, Elisabet – 29-03-1646; van Slingelant, Melchior – 18-06-1639; van Slingelant, Rebecca – 29-03-1698; Slingerlandt, Pieter Jansen – 20-05-1672. No Cornelis who might have been father to Teunis.
Taking these registers as reliable, there is around 1650 no Teunis Cornelisz who has been baptised, was a citizen or an orphan, interrogated as a suspect or announced his marriage. According to the Begraafregisters 1553-1811 during that period 61 persons with the name Slingerland have been buried, 18 in the 18th century, 1 in the 19th century and a Dirk in 1691. 15 persons with the name Slingerlandt have been buried, including 4 around 1650, in 1659, 1681, 1687 and 1696. Searching on Van Slingerland(t() brings no hits. Registers of population or births are not available on the website of the City Archives. A record of any Cornelis who might have fathered Teunis was not found.
For sure there were Slingerlands who sailed out on VOC ships. But the Archief Opvarenden9 (Sailors Archive) does not reach far enough into the past: it covers 1699-1974. It does include Slingerlanders: Hendrik from Leiden (departed in 1767), Jacob from Amsterdam (1787), Willem from Haarlem (1747), Claes Thomasz from Noortwijck (1672) and Cornelis Roelofs from Munnikend (1697).
Internet points to Slingerlands in other sources, including relevant time periods. And there is an abundance of descendants. According to the Register of Family Names (Familienamenbank) 2570 persons carried the name (Van) Slingerland in 2007; 30 had the name of Van Slingerlandt, virtually all living in or near Amsterdam. The name (Van)
8 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Slingerland-3
9 https://www.nationaalarchief.nl
Slingeland no longer existed in 2007: the 6 namebearers still around in 1947 by then had all disappeared.
We may confidently conclude that in the early 17th century, the family name of Slingerland was not unknown in Amsterdam. We need not be surprised that a Teunis Cornelisz Slingerland, born in Amsterdam around 1650 sailed by VOC ship to Beverwijck. In the region of Dordrecht, the family name Slingerland has been used since the Middle Ages. The City Archive of Dordrecht records a Cornelis Slingerlandt in a sales contract of 169610. But a link with the manor of Slingerland or the Lords of Slingerland is not likely. I have not found any support for such a link in available documents. The name Teunis never appears in Slingeland family trees. Teunis is not the sort of name found among patricier families. The coat of arms acquired at an auction is not a piece of evidence of any kind of link.
Teunis Cornelisz, with one leg on each side of the Atlantic Ocean, has left his mark on the land of destination but in the land of origin his traces have been erased. His roots could not be detected. We cannot exclude that Teunis Cornelisz has his ancestry in a family and/or location Slingerland that has nothing to do with the Sincland that once emerged in swamps along the kil that became a little river called the Giessen11. Too bad. New Amsterdam, New Zealand, New Slingeland, it would have been such a nice series.
Hoornaar, January 2020
10 302-23 Schepenakte van lening door Francois Valentijn aan Cornelis Slingerlandt en Maria Elisabet van Regenmorter van 4.000 gulden, 16 mei 1696
11There was a Dirk Slingerlant, son of Cornelis Slingerlant, born in 1660 in Zevenhoven, between Leiden and Amsterdam (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-slingerland/stamboom/I989/). In the 17th century several Slingerlanders lived in the Leiden area. Near Doetinchem, close to Germany flows a river Slinge and the hospital has the name Slingeland.
Pictures
1. The seal of Jan van Arkel to the deed of 1263
2. Coats of arms van Slingeland(t) family: Centrum voor Familiegeschiedenis ; https://cbgfamiliewapens.nl
2.1. Used by Govert van Slingeland(t) Barthoutsz, Vrijheer van Slingelandt. Vroedschap van Dordrecht 1718.
2.2.Used by Barthout van Slingelandt Dammaszn; Vroedschap van Dordrecht 1694 – 11 september 1727
2.3. Used by Pompe van Slingerland
3. Coat of arms, town of Arkel
Coat of arms former town of Arkel
The coat of arms was used from December 24 1817 to 1986. The crest was identical to the crest of the House Van Arkel and thereby identical to the crest of The Land of Arkel, a feud
on lease from the Counts of Holland. It is also used as a quarter in the coat of arms of the House Egmont.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapen_van_Arkel
4. Coat of arms, Slingeland NY family (Sue Virgilio)
Map of Alblasserwaard 1726 ; Regionaal Archief Dordrecht
J. Kuyper – Gemeente-atlas van Nederland naar officieele bronnen bewerkt.
Kaart uit ca. 1865-1870 van de voormalige gemeente Peursum, momenteel onderdeel van de gemeente Giessenlanden (Prov. Zuid-Holland)