First Generation
The history of the Cortelyou side of my family comes to us from cousin Mary (Crouter) Leitch by way of forwarding a copy of the Manor Houses and Historic Homes of Long Island by Harold Donaldson Eberlein published by Philadelphia & London J.B. Lippincott Company 1928 excerpts of which are given below.
“Six coats, six kettles, six axes, six chisels,six small looking glasses, twelve knives and twelve combs were the price of all the land from Gowanus to Coney Island, including what is now New Utrecht. This is the price the Dutch West India Company paid the Indians in compensation for the tract just described. The transfer took place in 1645. From the Dutch West India Company Cornelius Van Werckhoven received the first patent for the land now occupied by Fort Hamilton: this was his initial step towards the foundation of what he purposed ultimately to build into a patroonship. He had as tutor for his children Jacques Cortelyou, whom we shall meet again and again in the early history of New Netherlands and New York.
After attempting to plant a settlement on the land he patented, Van Werckhoven returned to Holland to further his arrangements for bringing out the stipulated quota of colonists and the requisite supplies to establish them on their farms. Jacques Cortelyou he left as his agent. Not long after his return to Holland Van Werckhoven died. His death ended the project of a patroonship on the newly patented land at Gowanus and sundry complications arose in the settlement of his estate. In the final outcome, Cortelyou seems to have wound up Van Werckhoven’s affairs in New Netherlands faithfully and to the satisfaction of all concerned, after which he became possessed of considerable holdings in the neighborhood of the present Fort Hamilton.
In 1657 Cortelyou who combined surveying with his other accomplishments sought permission and was directed to lay out the town of New Utrecht, which apparently he named in honour of Van Werckhoven’s birthplace.
Jacques Cortelyou was a person of parts, and evidently made a most favourable impression upon Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter, the Labadists, who spoke of him in highly commendatory terms in their “Journal of a Voyage to New Amsterdam in 1679-1680.” They say of him:--
“Jacques is a man advanced in years. He was born in Utrech, but of French descent as you could readily discover from his actions, looks and language. He had studied philosophy in his youth and spoke Latin and good French. He was a mathematician and sworn land surveyor. He had also formerly learned several sciences and had some knowledge of medicine. . . We went looking around the country and toward evening came to the village of New Utrecht, so named by him. This village was burned down some time ago with everything about it, including the house of this man, which is was almost an hour distant from it . . .
It was now almost rebuilt and many good stone houses were erected, of which Jacques’ was one , where we returned by another road to spend the night. After supper, we went to sleep in the barn, upon some straw spread with sheep skins in the midst of the continual grunting of hogs, squealing of pigs, barking of dogs crowing of cocks, cackling of hens, and especially a goodly quantity of fleas and vermin. . .and all this with an open barn door, through which a fresh northwest wind was blowing. Though we could not sleep, we could not complain as we had the same quarters and kind of bed as their son usually had, who had now on our arrival crept in the straw behind us.”
The Labadists’ allusion to a “good stone house,” built after the fire in the village of New Utrecht, apparently did not refer to the house shewn in the illustration. The establishment , where Dankers and Sluyter had sleeping quarters of such questionable comfort allotted them in the barn, was replaced by a more commodious dwelling at a date subsequent to their visit. There is occasional mention of a stone house built in 1693 but, so far as can be ascertained, the house of the illustration was built and occupied about 1700 by Pieter Cortelyou --son of Jacques the immigrant. This abode which Pieter Cortelyou reared is said to have been constructed in part with stone from the 1693 house. Lacking any infallibly definite data on the subject, what seems more likely is that the house of the illustration was built by Pieter Cortelyou somewhere about 1693 and that part of the stone used in its construction came from the earlier stone house of Jacques Cortelyou mentioned by the Labadists in their account. The building of an house in those days was an even more serious undertaking than it is now and it is scarcely probable that a dwelling of 1693 would be replaced by another of 1700! That would have been a piece of extravagance unpardonable in the eyes of thrifty Dutch and Huguenot settlers. What is more likely still is that there were successive additions and that some portion of the structure shewn in the illustration represented the stone house of Jacques Cortelyou spoken of by Dankers and Sluyer. In any event, this building was generally known as the “Simon Cortelyou house” from the name of the owner and occupant during the Revolutionary aria. Pieter, who gave it its final form was succeeded by his son Simon.
Up to the time of the Revolution , the history of the house and its occupants appears to have generally prosperous and uneventful. With the breaking out of hostilities, however, and all the consequent opportunities for romances, matters changed and from that date onward sundry interesting happenings were connected with the fabric.
It is said that when Lord Howe’s army was about to land on Long Island there were three houses standing within the present reservation of Fort Hamilton. One of them was the Simon Cortelyou House.” The book goes on to tell of the lives and times of the Cortelyou’s and romances and even the chance of a visit by George Washington just before the big battle between Lord Sterling( brave Americans) and Lord Cornwallis the English who killed 250 of 400 brave Americans in that battle. Jacques Cortelyou born around 1625 in Utrecht Holland married Helena “Neeltje” Van Duyn and in 1660 they had a son named Jacques Cortelyou Jr
Second Generation
Jacques Cortelyou Jr married Altie Boerman and they also had a son named Hendrick in 1711 Jacques Jr. died in 1731 and Altie died in 1732
Third Generation
Hendrick Cortelyou married Antie Albertse Van Voorhees born the same year as he and in 1734 they had a son named Albert, Antie died in 1742 and Henrick in 1777
Fourth Generation
Albert Cortelyou married Helena “Lena” Black and had a son Hendrick born in Franklin Township NJ in 1734 Albert died in 1778 Helena’s date of birth and death are unknown.
Fifth Generation
Hendrick Cortelyou married Elizabeth Stults born in Prospect Plans NJ 1766
in 1786 they had a son named Jacob born near New Brunswick ,NJ.
Hendrick died in 1825 and it is unknown when Elizabeth died.
Sixth Generation
Jacob Cortelyou married Naomi Sylvester born in Middlesex County ,NJ 1790
They had a son named William born in Cranbury NJ in 1823
Jacob died in New Lyne OH in 1860 and Naomi followed in 1879 also in New Lyme.
Seventh Generation
William Cortelyou married Cathrine Hoagland born in Greene OH in 1849 they had a son Theron William. William died 1879 in Lime Ridge WI and Cathrine died 1893 in Washington Township WI
Eighth Generation
Theron William Cortelyou married Imogene Potterborn born1852 in Adams, MA They had a daughter Mabel Lottie born April 18, 1877 in Kendall Wis.
Theron died 1911 in Oelrichs, SD Imogene died in 1925 place of death unknown.
Ninth Generation
Mabel Lottie Cortelyou married Stephen Edward Crouter October 25, 1899 in Olricks, So. Dakota. and together they had five sons and one daughter see Crouter Section Mabel Died February 14, 1934 in Lyons CO and Stephen died July 29, 1968 in Buffalo WY.