- Ots-Toch
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Ots-Toch is the traditional name given to a 17th century Mohawk woman from Canajoharie who married Dutch trader Cornelius Anthonisse Van Slyck and founded the Van Slyck family in New Netherland.
Little is known of Ots-Toch, although she is indirectly referenced in many histories of early New York. For example, a daughter, Hillitie, chose to live with the Dutch,[1] but served as an official Mohawk interpreter.[2] Ots-Toch had at least three other children with Cornelius Van Slyck, and may have had more children by a Mohawk father.[3]
Some variants of Ots-Toch's legend claim that her father was French,[4] although this claim seems to lack historical documentation and is often considered discredited.[5]
In local lore, Ots-Toch is often compared to Pocahontas, though the legends of each woman are quite different. The two share some similarities: each married 1st generation immigrants and were important to the success of the respective European colonies, and each has romanticized legends that conflict with historical facts. An important point of difference, however, is the conversion and acculturation of Pocahontas to her English husband, contrasted with Oct-Toch's rejection of Christianity and efforts to raise her children as Mohawks.
Notes
Sources
- Bielinski, Stefan. Hilletie Van Slyck Van Olinda People of Colonial Albany, New York State Museum
- Biasca, Cynthia Brott. Jacques Hertel and the Indian Princesses.
- Pearson, Jonathan. A history of the Schenectady Patent in Dutch and English Times; being contributions towards a History of the Lower Mohawk Valley. Albany, NY. 1883.
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