Notes about Nicasius de Sille

Notes about Nicasius de Sille

Following are notes by Paul Lee, formerly posted on profile of Charity Geertie (Demaree) Van Arsdale (1789-1857)

More Chadwick and Ellis roots through your maternal "Lee" line.....Charity Demaree was the mother of Margaret & Jessie's paternal grandmother, Maggie Van Arsdale; this is more of the story of our fascinating Demaree roots

The incredible drama of our ancestors in the New World continues with the story of the De Sille branch.

We begin in Antwerp in the early 1500s which was then emerging as the hub of global trade. Antwerp citizens have a strong sense of entitlement that derives from the "charter of liberty" called the Joyous Entry which comparable historically to the Magna Carta.

Dr. Nicasius de Sille served in public office in Antwerp and was an Ambassador. His son Laurens was also a Doctor of Law. His grandson, the Honorable Nicasius de Sille came to New Netherlands as the1st Counselor to the Director General Peter Stuyvesant. Nicasius joined with Hendrick Kip (also Charity's 4x paternal great grandfather - see previous email) in the campaign to obtain representational government for the Dutch colony and to get the destructive Secretary Cornelius Tienhoven (son in-law of Charity's 5x maternal grandmother Ariaentje Cuvilje ) removed from office.

Nicasius leaves us his poetry. Excerpts are included.

His home was handed down through the generations and in 1776 was the location where General Woodhull died. As the story is told, Woodhull was ordered by his British captors to hail "God save the King". Instead he defiantly retorted "God Save Us All!

Paul

The de Sille Branch of the Demaree family originated in Antwerp in the 16th century

In the Middle Ages what is now land was a substantial arm of the North Sea that stretched to Sluis, from where canal navigation was possible to Bruges. After the silting up of the Zwin and the consequent decline of Bruges, the city of Antwerp, became of importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading houses were transferred from Bruges to Antwerp.

The Joyous Entry and the Rule of Law

Antwerp was part of the Duchy of Brabant. In 1354 the Joyous Entry, or charter of liberty, was granted to the citizens of Brabant by John III. The Joyous Entry of 1356 has been viewed an example of the "rechtsstaat" in the Low Countries and is compared to the Magna Carta

Compared to the concept of Rechtsstaat

The Joyous Entry predates the German concept rechtsstaat which can be translated "state of justice" or "state of rights". It is a "constitutional state" in which the exercise of governmental power is constrained by the law, and is often tied to the Anglo-American concept of the rule of law.

In a Rechtsstaat, the power of the state is limited in order to protect citizens from the arbitrary exercise of authority. In a Rechtsstaat the citizens share legally based civil liberties and they can use the courts. A country cannot be a liberal democracy without first being a Rechtsstaat.

The movement toward the Rechtsstaati is associated Immanuel Kant's theories (1724-1804). Kant's approach was based on the supremacy of a country's written constitution. This supremacy must create guarantees for implementation of his central idea: a permanent peaceful life as a basic condition for the happiness of its people and their prosperity. Kant formally stated the main problem of constitutionalism, "The constitution of a state is eventually based on the morals of its citizens, which, in its turns, is based on the goodness of this constitution." Kant's idea is the foundation for the constitutional theory of the 21st century. Kant envisioned a universal and permanent peaceful life achieved when a state becomes the community of a large number of people, living with legislative guarantees of their property rights secured by a common constitution. [i]

Comparison to the Magna Carta

The Magna Carta's established a rule of law for England. The Joyous Entry and the Magna Carta share claims to comprising a written basis of governance in the two early successful examples of a nation-state. The functioning significance of both the Joyous Entry and the Magna Carta was exaggerated by the Romantic historians of the 19th century.

The Magna Carta was originally issued in the year 1215 AD. It required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties. The charter made the King accept that his will was not arbitrary. For example, the document asserted that no "freeman" could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today. The 1297 version, with the long title "The Great Charter ofthe Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest", still remains on the statute books of England and Wales.

The charter was an important part of the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English speaking world. In practice, Magna Carta in the medieval period did notin general limit the power of kings, but by the time of the English Civil War it had become an important symbol for those who wished to show that the King was bound by the law. It influenced the early settlers in New England and inspired later constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.[ii] The Joyous Entry laid a similar foundation for the Colonists of New Netherlands.

The Joyous Entry in the consciousness of the people

The principals of the Joyous Entry became embedded over time in the consciousness of the people of the Burgundian Netherlands. Annually the Dukes of Brabant pledged to adhere to the text in the Joyous Entry by making a ceremonial entry into the main cities of Brabant. In the midst of the Eighty Years' War in the Low Countries, the document was repeatedly published with the view of reminding Philip II and his military commanders of the constitutional restraints of the Blijde Inkomst and giving heart to the insurgents in Brabant. A Joyous Entry (Blijde Intrede, Blijde Inkomst, or Blijde Intocht in Dutch, Joyeuse Entrée in French) became a local name used for the royal entry - the first official peaceable visit of a reigning monarch, prince, duke or governor into a city - mainly in the Duchy of Brabant or the County of Flanders and occasionally in France, Luxembourg or Hungary, often coinciding with granting more rights or privileges to the city.

These events are a particular form of, and title for, the general phenomenon of ceremonial entries into cities by rulers or their representatives, which were celebrated with enormous pageantry and festivities throughout Europe from at least the late Middle Ages on. The leading artists available designed temporary decorated constructions such as triumphal arches, groups of musicians and actors performed on stands at which the procession halted, the houses on the processional route decorated themselves with hangings, flowers were thrown, and fountains flowed with wine.

The custom diminished in Protestant counties after the Reformation. A formal first visit to a city by an inheritor of the throne of Belgium upon his accession and since 1900 for a crown prince upon his marriage, is still referred to as a "Joyous Entry", a reminder of this tradition of the rule of law.[iii]

The Joyous Entry charter was declared null and void when the Revolutionary French forces took possession of the Austrian Netherlands in 1794. Nevertheless, it became one of the elements that formed the Belgian Constitution of 1831.[iv] It was part of the cultural identity and underlying social awareness that passed from generation to generation in the Low Countries, influencing the views of justice and law that our ancestors brought with them to New Netherlands.

A brief history of the Seventeen Provinces

In 1477 the title fell to the House of Habsburg by dowry of Mary of Burgundy. When she married Maximilian I of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the provinces were acquired by the House of Habsburg. His grandson and successor, Charles V of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Burgundy, eventually united all seventeen provinces under his rule. The subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Seventeen Provinces covered the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France (Artois, Nord), anda small part of Western Germany. The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by the Dukes of Burgundy of the House of Valois and later by the Habsburgs, first by the Spanish and then by the Austrian line..

The Pragmatic Sanction holds the 17 provinces together through the mid 1500s

The Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 determined that the Provinces should remain united in the future and inherited by the same monarch. Therefore, Charles V introduced the title of Heer der Nederlanden ("Lord of the Netherlands"). Only he and his son could ever use this title. After Charles V's abdication in 1556, his realms were divided between his son, Philip II of Habsburg, King of Spain, and his brother, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Seventeen Provinces went to his son, the king of Spain.

Split between the Northern and Southern Provinces in the Eighty Years' War

Conflicts between Philip II and his Dutch subjects led to the Eighty Years' War, which started in 1568. The seven northern provinces gained their independence as a republic called the Seven United Provinces. They were:

" the Lordship of Groningen and of the Ommelanden

" the Lordship of Friesland

" the Lordship of Overijssel

" the Duchy of Guelders (except its upper quarter) and the County of Zutphen

" the Prince-Bishopric, later Lordship of Utrecht

" the County of Holland

" the County of Zeeland

The southern provinces, Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Hainaut, and Luxembourg were restored to Spanish rule due to the military and political talent of the Duke of Parma, especially at the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585). Hence, these provinces became known as the Spanish Netherlands or Southern Netherlands.

The northern Seven United Provinces kept parts of Limburg, Brabant, and Flanders during the Eighty Years' War, which ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

Artois and parts of Flanders and Hainaut were ceded to France in the course of the 17th and 18th century. [v]

Antwerp as the center of the international economy

Antwerp became the center of the entire international economy, something Bruges had never been even at its height." Antwerp was the richest city in Europe at this time. Antwerp's golden age is tightlylinked to the "Age of Exploration". Over the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second-largest European city north of the Alps by 1560. Many foreign merchants were resident in the city. Hundreds of ships would pass in a day and thousands of carts entered the city each week. Portuguese ships laden with pepper and cinnamon would unload their cargo. It was estimated that the port of Antwerp was earning the Spanish crown seven times more revenues than the Americas.

Economics and politics combine to foster a culture of tolerance

Without a long-distance merchant fleet, and governed by an oligarchy of banker-aristocrats forbidden to engage in trade, the economy of Antwerp was foreigner-controlled, which made the city very cosmopolitan, with merchants and traders from Venice, Ragusa, Spain and Portugal. Antwerp had a policy of toleration, which attracted a large orthodox Jewish community. Antwerp was not a "free" city though, since it had been reabsorbed into the Duchy of Brabant in 1406 and was controlled from Brussels.

Boom-bust economics prevail

Antwerp experienced three booms during its golden age: The first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville (ending with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557), anda third boom, after the stabilizing Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, in 1559, based on the textiles industry. At the beginning of the 16th century Antwerp accounted for 40% of world trade. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers.

Reformation riots, the launch of the 80 Years' War and the Spanish Fury devastated Antwerp over a decade

The religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in violent riots in August 1566, as in other parts of the Low Countries. The regent Margaret, Duchess of Parma, was swept aside when Philip II sentthe Duke of Alba at the head of an army the following summer. When the Eighty Years' War broke out in 1572, commercial trading between Antwerp and the Spanish port of Bilbao collapsed and became impossible. On 4 November 1576, Spanish soldiers plundered the city. During the Spanish Fury 6,000 citizens were massacred, 800 houses were burnt down, and over 2 million sterling of damage was done.

Protestants given 2 years to leave in 1585

Antwerp became the capital of the Dutch revolt. In 1585, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, captured it after a long siege and as part of the terms of surrender its Protestant citizens were given two years to settle their affairs before quitting the city. Most went to the United Provinces in the north, starting the Dutch Golden Age. Antwerp's banking was controlled for a generation by Genoa, and Amsterdam became the new trading centre.

Charity's 7x Nicolaas de Sille (1510) & Barbara Van der Goes (1515-)

Nicolaas de Sille was born circa 1510 at Namur, Namur, Belgium, a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. The city is the capital of the province of Namur

Barbara Van der Goes was born circa 1515 at Mechelen, Antwerp, Belgium

Nicolaas married Barbara about 1540 at Mechelen, Antwerp, Belgium. They were Charity's 7x great grandparents.

Children of Barbara Van der Goes and Nicolaas de Sille were

" Arnoldus de Sille (21. January 1541 - )

" Dr. Nicasius de Sille (3. August 1543 - 22. August 1600)

" Adrianus de Sille (4. September 1545 - )

" Barbara de Sille (4. January 1547 - )

" Nicolaas de Sille (13. June 1552 - )

" Johannes de Sille (14. September 1556 - )

Charity's 7x f Laurens de Romaignan and Philipotte Le Noire

Laurens de Romaignan was Charity's 7x greatgrandfather. Laurens married Philipotte Le Noire and they had a daughter Genovefere de Romaignan+ ( - 21. July 1572)

Charitys 6x Dr. Nicasius de Sille (1533-1601)& Genovefere de Romaignan (-1572)

Dr. Nicasius de Sille was born on 3 Aug 1534 at Malines, Antwerpen, Belgium. He was the son of Nicolaas de Sille and Barbara Van der Goes.

Genovefere de Romaignan was the daughter of Laurens de Romaignan and Philipotte Le Noire. She was also known as Janouefese Romaignon. Genovefere de Romaignan married Dr. Nicasius de Sille on 31 Jan 1571.[vi]

Their son and only child, Laurens de Sille, was born the following year on the 1st of March 1572. The mother, Genovefere de Romaignan died shortly thereafter, on 21 Jul 1572, perhaps due to complications of childbirth.

Nicasius held a Juris Doctor degree. He was at first advocate in the Provincial Council at Namur. He then served as Secretary to the Privy Council and to the Archduke Matthias. About 1584 Nicasius became the Council and Pensionary of Amsterdam and Deputy (delegate) in the States General. Finally, he was several times Ambassador as to France, England, and Denmark.

Dr. Nicasius de Sille died on 22 Aug 1600 0r 1601 at Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands, in his late 50s. Nicasius was buried at Red Church, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands.

Charity's 6x Gijsbert Merwyns (1550 - ) and Geradin Pwjn

Gijsbert Merwyns was born about 1550. Gijsbert married Geradin Pwjn. Their daughter was Walburga Merwyns+ (circa 1576 - 1635)

Charity's 5x Laurens de Sille (1572 - 1637) & Walburga Merwyns (1576 - 1635)

Laurens de Sille was born on 1 Mar 1572 at Namur, Netherlands. He was the son of Dr. Nicasius de Sille and Genovefere de Romaignan.

Walburga Merwyns was born circa 1576 at Netherlands. She was the daughter of Gijsbert Merwyns and Geradin Pwjn.

Laurens married Walburga were married before 1609.

Laurens earned a doctorate degree in law. Laurens served as burgomaster and schepen in Arnheim Netherlands for about ten years.

Laurens de Sille died in 1637 at The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands. Laurens was buried in 1639 at The Hague.

Walburga Merwyns died in 1635 at The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands.

Children of Walburga Merwyns and Laurens de Sille

" Gerardina de Sille

" Renier de Sille

" Guysbert de Sille ( - 1648)

" Jacob de Sille (March 1609 - )

" Nicasius de Sille (23. September 1610 - before 1674)

The Hague

When the Dukes of Burgundy gained control over the counties of Holland and Zeeland at the beginning of the 15th century, they appointed a stadtholder to rule in their stead with the States of Holland as an advisory council. Their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, as it allowed Spanish troops easily to occupy the town.

In 1575 the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city, but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588 The Hague also became the location of the government of the Dutch Republic. In order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status (although it did have many privileges, normally only attributed to cities).

De Sille Crest & Arms

ARMS- Sable a saltire argent; in the center chief a mullet of six points Or; in the flanks and base a curry-comb argent.

CREST- upon a wreath of the colors (sable and argent) two arms in armour embowed, each grasping in the gauntleted hand a broad sword hilted and pommeled or, tilted outwardly, all proper.

Charity's 5x great Grandparents Peter Meulmans (1600 - ) and Anna Marschalk

Anna Marschalk was born circa 1586 and Peter Meulmans was born circa 1600 in Maastricht, Limburg, Holland, Netherlands.

Peter married Anna Marschalk and their daughter Cornelia Meulmans was born about 1617.

Charity's 4x great Grandparents Hon. Nicasius de Sille (1610 - 1674) and Cornelia Meulmans (1617 - 1653)

Nicasius de Sille[vii] was born on 23 September 1610 at Arnheim, Gelderland, Netherlands. He was the son of Laurens de Sille and Walburga Merwyns (also known as Walburga Everwijn). He was the grandson of Dr. Nicasius De Sille who had a distinguished career as a statesman in the Netherlands. Dr. De Sille had served as Pensionary of Amsterdam, advocate in the Provincial Council at Namur, secretaryto the Privy Council, a delegate in the States General, and Ambassador to England, France and Denmark. Nicasius was born 10 years after is illustrious grandfathers death.

Cornelia Meulmans was born circa 1617 at Maastricht, Limburg, Holland. She was the daughter of Peter Meulmans and Anna Marschalk.

Cornelia married Nicasius de Sille, son of Laurens de Sille and Walburga Merwyns, on 10 Oct 1638 at Arnheim, Gelderland, Netherlands.

Family Life of Nicasius

Nicasius married Cornelia on 10 Oct 1638 at Arnheim, Gelderland, Netherlands.

Children of Nicasius de Sille and Cornelia Meulmans

" Walbuga de Sille born in Maestricht 30 Nov., 1639. Married 1st, in New Netherlands, Francois Cregier, with whom she had one daughter, Elizabeth. She afterwards married Wilhelm Bogardus.

" Anna de Sille born in Maestricht 6 November 1640; married 1st, in New Netherlands Hendrick Kip; md. 2nd de Bruynne. Died after 20. May 1711.

" Gerardina de Sille, born in Amsterdam on 10 February 1642; married Johannes van Couvenhoven

" Laurens de Sille born in Wyt, near Maestricht on 2 October 1643. His second wife died at Waalwyt 27 aug., 1704

" Petrus de Sille born at Maestricht on 6 January 1645, died unmarried in Nieuwer Amstel in the Zuyd (South) River of New Netherlands on 8 December 1663 at age 18.

Cornelia Meulmans died before 1653 at Netherlands. Her oldest child was in her early teens and her youngest was about eight.

After Cornelia died Nicasius came to New Netherlands a widower with five children.

Nicasius built a large house on the corner of Broad Street and Exchange place, entertained his friends in the same elegant manner as that to which he had been accustomed in the Hague. De Sille broughtto this country more silver plate than any one before him, and took special pride in its exhibition.

Marriage to Catherine Kreiger

Nicasius then married Tryntie Cregier (Catherine Kreiger) on 26 May 1655 at Reformed Dutch Church, New Amsterdam; they had no children. She was the daughter of his friend Captain Martin Kreiger. In the meantime, Nicasius' son Lawrens DeSille married Catherine's sister, and Nicasius' daughter Walburga married Catherine's brother Francis. Unfortunately the marriage of Nicasius and Catherine Kreiger did not work out. Nicasius and Tryntje were first seperated in 1668. De Sille, in 1659 petitioned the magistrates for a divorce on the grounds that his wife "led an unbecoming and careless life, both by her wasting of property without his knowledge as by her public habitual drunkenness." De Sille later dropped proceedings, possibly out of regard for the harmony his children's marriages. At any rate, Nicasius and Catherine tried to keep out of each other's way, he in New Utrecht and she in New Amsterdam.

Baptisms

Hon. Nicasius de Sille witnessed the baptism of Nicasius de la Montagne , son of Jan de la Montagne and Peternella Pickes, on 9 April 1659 at Reformed Dutch Church, New Amsterdam, (sponsors Nicasius de Sylla, Fiscael, Rachel de la Montagne, Elisabeth Pieces).

Hon. Nicasius de Sille witnessed the baptism of Cornelia Kip , daughter of Hendrick Hendricksz Kip and Anna de Sille, on 12 June 1661 at Reformed Dutch Church, New York City, New York, (sponsors Nacasius de Silla, Fiscael en Raet. Hendrick Kip, Walburg de Silla). Note: Hendrick Kip, the father-in-law, is also Charity's 4x paternal great grandfather.

Early career in the Netherlands

Before emigrating to New Netherlands Nicasuis studied at Leyden and the Univerity of Orleans where he graduated "with the cap," a Doctor of Law, as his father had done before him. He was Burgomeister of Arnheim. He was Advocate to the Court of Holland. Nicasius also was a Captain in the service of the States General.

Career of Nicasius in New Netherlands

Naicasius was a thorough statesman and an experienced lawyer. He was commissioned by the Dutch West Indian company to serve as first councilor to director Peter Stuyvesant. De Sille, in the role of provincial councilor, participated in law making. As first councilor to Peter Stuyvesant, Nicasius should have been in the number two position in the province. Politics, however, ran counter to authority. Stuyvesant preferred Cornelius Van Tienhoven, the fiscal / Secretary. Council decisions tended to be controlled by Stuyvesant and Van Tienhoven since they held three council votes, while De Silleand La Montagne, the other councilor, held only two votes. Nicasius remained First Councellor until 1660.

When Stuyvesant went away on extended visits to Fort Orange and even Curacao, he did not swear in De Sille, but instead Van Tienhoven. In 1655 the infamous "peach massacre" which costs the lives of about 40 Dutch settlers occurred while Stuyvesant was away and Tienhoven was in charge. Many of the settlers blamed Van Tienhoven for the massacre. The representative Board of Nine rebelled, sending a "Commonality Petition" to Amsterdam along with the "Remonstrance of New Netherland" co-signed by Charity's other 4x great grandfather at the the heart of theis drama, Hendrick Kip. This coupled with letters send by De Sille resulted in the dismissal of Van Tienhoven and the appointment of De Sille in his place as schout-fiscal in 1656.

An outline of his resume is as follows:

" Nicasius de Sille was a Commissioner of Boundaries between 1654 and 1656.

" From 1654-1660 he served as First Counselor

" In 1656 Nicasius de Sille was became Schout Fiscal. In his service as schout fiscal acted as sheriff and prosecuting attorne.

" Also in 1656 he was made Captain-Lieutenant

" In 1657 Nicasius was one of the original Proprietors in New Utrecth and built the first stone house in the town, which also had a tile roof, and was still standing until 1850, when it was destroyed.

" Nicasius held the positions of church warden and fire warden.

" In 1663, De Sille was put in command of the provincial forces in the western portion of Long Island and protected the five Dutch towns from British hostilities.

The de Sille home in New Utrecht

Nicasius De Sille became one of the first twenty patentees of New Utrecht. This original Proprietor established his home there in 1657. His house, built by Jacob Hellekeers Swart, was the first stone house built in New Utrecht. It was surrounded by a stout palisade and featured a red tiled roof. It "also had a tile roof."

A sketch of the house can be found in An Album of New Amsterdam.

It was in this house that the legendary Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Woddhull died in 1776. As the story is told, Woodhull was ordered by his British captors to hail "God save the King". Instead he defiantly retorted "God Save Us All! [viii]

The house stood until 1850 when it was destroyed.

Details of the New Utrecht home

He built the first stone house in New Utrecht, resided there for many years, and left a brief history of the settlement of that town.

This famous old stone house, with its roof of red tiles imported from Holland, torn down by Baret Wycoff, its last occupant, in 1850, stood east of the church on what is now 84th Street, New Utrecht. It was one of the first houses erected in the town. On May 20, 1916, The General Nathaniel Woodhull Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, dedicated a tablet marking as nearly as possible thesite of the De Sille House.

Nicasius De Sille came to the town shortly after the patent of land in New Utrecht had been granted early in 1657 and laid out into twenty lots of fifty acres each by Jacques Cortelyou, surveyor. He was an important person, having been appointed fiscal or attorney-general by Petrus Stuyvesant; and his zeal for the well-being of the town of his adoption and the burdens of his official position brought incessant woes on his illustrious head.

Nineteen other individuals, whom the records show as having unmistakably Dutch names, occupied the lots laid out for them. Fiscal De Sille built in the town the first house covered with red tiles. He erected a palisade about his house and trim garden. Wonderingly the neighbors whispered that the fiscal feared attacks from the Indians.

As a matter of fact, the good Nicasius was protecting his domain against the depredations of droves of swine that evinced an unyielding propensity to eat up his garden. Shortly after this precautionary palisade was erected, Surveyor Cortelyou complained about the pigs of Anthony Jansen Sale, a Moor and a rover, who respected neither Dutch tradition nor Dutch cleanliness, and who had spent several years--contrary to the law-in dickering with the Indians, from whom he purchased land, which the redmen readily parted with for arusty knife or a looking-glass. From them this Moorish gentleman obtained a salt meadow, where he proceeded to keep snugly his hogs.

Poet of New Utrecht

Among the nineteen proprietors in New Utrecht dissensions arose, and they disputed constantly concerning land, houses, plantations, and rights. In the midst of the troubles, Nicasius De Sille faithfully kept the first town records of New Utrecht, and interspersed them with poems of his own.

De Sille enjoyed his time spent in New Utrecht and many of his poems reflect this. His poems were included in his Description of the Founding or Beginning of Nieuw Utrecht, which he wrote in the capacity of town secretary.

Look at some excepts from De Sille's poetry

Some Excerpts from Nicasius De Sille's Poetry

The following excerpts were taken from Raesly's Portrait of New Netherland. The poems were originally translated by H.C. Murphy in Anthology of New Netherland.

An excerpt from a poem about Nieuw Utrecht's first born child, who was also it's first mortality:

Here lies the first of Courtelyou from life withdrawn,-

The first child in the village of our Utrecht born;

Brought forth in innocence, snatched hence without a stain,

God gave it being here, a better life to gain.

Excerpt from "The Earth Speaks to its Cultivators":

How long, my worth, did creatures of all kinds eschew,-

The ant, the slimy snake, and th' uncouth savage crew.

Shut out from heaven's light by the umbrageous wood,

Did naught that I produced, e'er savor of the good.

Mother of all I was; but little did they care

If what I might bring forth did ever breathe the air.

I now am satisfied by th' honor of my name,

By grain and orchard fruit, by horses and by kine,

By plants and by a race of men, - all growth of mine.

Thanks be from me to you who thus my worth display;

Upon your bended knees God's blessing humbly pray.

You never harm shall know, if from the heart it spring;

For God will not let die, who faithful voices bring.

Excerpt from "Song in the Manner of the 116th Psalm":

His power with strength shall always us endow,

Our wants to meet, our cattle to increase,

Ourselves from savages and foes release;

For which to Him devoutly let us bow.

He comforts who in pain and sorrow are;

His pow'r is inexpressible and grand.

O God! stretch out to us Thy helping hand,

And keep Thy children in Thy tender care.

Nicasius de Sille[ix]

Innumerable woes

His later years as fiscal brought him woes innumerable, for his neighbors fought, their swine were destroyed, fences were broken, and thieves were abroad by day and by night.