Cornelius Barentse Slecht was living and prospering in Woerden, Holland when he was encouraged by his friend, Peter Stuyvesant, Director – General of New Amsterdam (New Amsterdam was governed by the East India Company), to immigrate to New Netherlands in America.

He arrived in the late spring of 1653, and shortly afterward settled in Esopus (now Kingston), Ulster County, New York.

The story of Cornelius Barentse Slecht is a pivotal example of what was required of men in the early pursuit and protection of freedoms. Honestly, the Dutch had always demonstrated an insatiable appetite for liberty.

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Hendrick Cornelius Slecht was was the oldest of six, and as the oldest, was his father’s right hand man to his role as magistrate and protector of the village. Hendrick was on the front line defending the village of Esopus from attack, and bravely driving the attacking Indians out . Sadly, during those attacks, his younger sister was taken to become a bride to one of the Indians, and his younger brother Jan was tortured and killed.

Hendrick married Elsje Barents Lieveling in 1666 and had six children, four sons, one daughter, and one who died at birth. He and his brother Mattys, fathered a total of 17 children between them. Talk about setting the stage for posterity!

Cornelius Hendrickse Slack was born in Brooklyn, NY, the third child of Grampy Hendrick’s six kids. Once the British had forcefully wrested possession of the colonies from the Dutch, Grampy Cornelius became a farmer, and after moving to Maidenhead, New Jersey, he was elected as constable. He married Johanna Van de Water in 1695, and they had six children, including his son Abraham, who later went on to serve under General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

John Cornelius Slack was the seventh of ten children born to Cornelius Hendrickse Slack. John was the father of seven sons who fought in the Revolutionary War (Cornelius Benjamin, Thomas, Noah, Joseph, Timothy, Phillip, and John D.).

The British were making life more difficult for the colonists at the time, issuing the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act, which fomented riots in the streets. Tensions between the British and the colonists grew.