Beeks line: The family of Jan Pietersen Slot 1620ish to 1688 or later

Dates on Jan Slot's birth, marriage, and death are not certain.  His birth date is given as anywhere from 1613 to 1624.  He apparently married in 1639 or possibly a bit later, and then, at last, one firm date, that of his second marriage.  His death date is given as 1688 or 1691.  And the locations are not much better.  He was born in Holstein, which is now part of Germany but was then part of Denmark.  We know he arrived in New Amsterdam in 1650, which of course became New York City.  He arrived with his wife and two children.  We know he remarried in 1665 but we're not sure when his first wife died.  And he died in New York City, probably in 1688.

At least we are more certain about names.  His parents are Pieter and Mary Baerts Sloat.  His wife is Aeltje Jans, who was born in what is now The Netherlands, but date, a more exact location, and her parents are all still to be identified. Another name we know is that of his second wife, Claartje Domenicus.  She was about 35 when they were married, and it's unknown whether they had children.

As far as is known, the two children that were with Jan and Aeltje when they arrived in New Amsterdam were the only two children they had, or at least that lived long enough to make a record of some kind.   

Pieter Janszen Slot was born about 1639 and died before 1692 in Bergen County, New Jersey. He married Maretje Jacobse, the daughter of Jacob and Tryntje Jacobse Van Winkle. Their children are Styntje, Jane, Arrentje, Jacobus, Tryntje, Abeltie, and Jonas.  I will follow this family (I hope!) in my next blog post.

The second son, Jan Jacobse, was born in 1650, but I don't know where, as his parents may have already started their trip to America.  He married Judike Elsworth, the son of Theophilus and Annaje Jans Elsworth.  Their children are Heyltje, Johannes, Theophilius, Batilye, Annetje, Hendrick and Judith.  He died after 1688. but the death and location are uncertain.

This is a hard family to research because of the various ways so many of the names are spelled.  Slot is also seen as Slodt and Sloat, and the first names all have variations.  Some of these variations likely come from different interpretations of hard to read ancient records. and are perhaps perpetuated by later hand-written copies.  I may very well have not chosen the most common spelling for some of the names, so researchers, this is a heads up!

It's interesting to me to think about why the Slots pulled up roots in Holstein and came to America.  The most likely causes are that family may have gone ahead, although since we don't know who Aeltje's family was, we don't know whether that's a possibility. or economic woes in Holstein and perceived opportunity in America.  The 30 years war in Europe had caused great disruptions and loss of life, and perhaps it was just time to start over.  Whatever the reason, Jan saw great change both before he left Holstein and after he arrived in New Amsterdam, as he would have been there when the English took the Dutch colony over.  What a fascinating time he lived in!