Isaac de Forest (Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands; July 9, 1616 - Madmans Neck, Livingston, New York; July 25, 1674) was a wealthy New Amsterdam tobacco merchant and brewer, considered one of the first settlers from Harlem in 1636.

Family

Isaac de Forest was the son of Marie du Cloux (1576-1622), a native of Sedan and a prominent family, and of Jessé de Forest (1576-1624), explorer and colonizer, leader of a group of Walloon Huguenots who fled Europe due to religious persecution and emigrated to the New World.

His parents were married on September 23, 1601 in Sedan, Ardennes, France and together they had 13 children.

Isaac de Forest was the tenth child in order of birth and one of his brothers, Hendrick De Forest (1606-1637), was a Huguenot and wool merchant in the French commune of Sedan.

Isaac de Forest married Sarah du Trieux (c. 1625-1692) on July 9, 1641 in New Amsterdam, New Holland and together they had 16 children: Jessen de Forest (1642-1644), Susanna de Forest (1645-1702), Gerrit de Forest (1646-1646), Marie de Forest (1649-1650), Michiel de Forest (1649-1650), Jan de Forest (1650-1651), Philip de Forest (1652-1727), Isaac de Forest (1655-1699), Hendrick de Forest (1657-1715), David de Forest (1660-1663), David de Forest (1663-1664), Maria de Forest (1666-1687), David de Forest (1669-1721), Johannes de Forest (1650-?), Maud de Forest (1666-?) and Isaac de Forest (1655-1656). It should be noted that only 7 of the 16 children survived, showing that many had been victims of the adverse conditions of the existing colony.

As for the family of his wife Sarah du Trieux, the parents were the French Jacqueline Noirett (1592-1620) and Philippe Du Trieux (1585-1653), dyer and court messenger of Governor Willem Kieft (1597-1647), who was among the first families to arrive on the 1624 voyage.

Another not minor fact is that the patronymic du Trieux or de Trieu is probably derived from the city of Trieu in Belgium and people bearing the patronymic du Trieu or Trieux abound in the records of the Walloon church of Holland as early as 1584.

Biography 

Recapping the story from Isaac's point of view, his father, Jesse, a dyer and cloth merchant, was born in Avesnes, Hainaut, (now part of Belgium), which once belonged to France but was later part of Holland. 

As Huguenots, they were fleeing religious persecution and by 1615 the whole family had moved to Leyden, Holland (where many of England's Puritans now lived). Isaac de Forest was baptized in Leyden on July 10, 1616 in the Walloon Church.

Isaac grew up there listening to his father plan his own colony in Virginia, but died when he was about eight and his older brother, Hendrick, about eighteen. Twelve years later, Hendrick, Isaack, and their sister Rachel set sail for Rensselaer Wyck's new settlement on the Hudson River. On March 5, 1637, the ship anchored off Manhattan when Isaac was 21 years old.

In the absence of documentary evidence, family historians had assumed that Isaac accompanied his parents to Oyapock on the 1623 emigration and that he returned to Leyden in 1626 with his widowed mother and brothers. However, as we have learned from the lost diary, the family was left behind and Father Jessé passed away due to heat stroke in the Caribbean and from 1626 to 1636, no record rediscovered until 1900 revealed anything about his life.

During the decade 1626 to 1636, the widow Marie du Cloux de Forest resided in Voldersgraft, a street near the church of Saint Peter in Leyden.

It's likely that he continued to do an internship at the University since among his students was Dr. Jean Mousnier, whose last name for unknown reasons was La Montagne, a native of Saintonge, in western France.

In 1636, Henry and Isaac de Forest immigrated to New Amsterdam as tobacco planters, and Rachel and her husband Jean La Montagnes arrived the following spring.

The de Forest had now attempted to emigrate to the mainland and islands of South America, resulting in impoverishment, suffering, and defeat. Then in the second half of 1636, there was another movement between them to plant their name in the new world. Henry de Forest, now thirty years old, and his brother Isaac, ten years younger, decided to settle in New Amsterdam as tobacco planters.

Both the brothers and La Montagne seem to have had the means to successfully begin the new migration, and the Forests first set sail from Amsterdam on October 1, 1636 in a small ship called the Rensselaerivick. Upon their arrival, the Forests settled and faced challenges in the Muscoota area, which is now Harlem.

The upper part of New York Island was then a mere wilderness of pristine forest and natural clearing inhabited by bears, catamons, painted Wickasqueeks, and other wildlife, offering little promise from today's vast civilized population of Harlem. To settle there was to risk life and fortune, as the events of the following decade demonstrated. But no white men lived there yet, and the land was abundantly available cheaply.

The Forests settled on a wide, fertile plain called Muscoota, becoming the prosperous founders of Harlem hunted by the tireless wrath of fortune.

Wouter van Twiller grants land to the Forest family

Governor Wouter van Twiller (1606-1654) granted Hendrick de Forest a beautiful 200-acre meadow, nestled between hills that rise to the Hudson in the west, and an unnamed stream that turns south and then into the east to empty into the Harlem River. Isaac de Forest obtained a hundred-acre swath that extended from his brother's land to slow Harlem at a point opposite the mouth of the Bronx Kill, and which included not little of the region now known as Mt Morris Park.

Patents, that is, property titles, have disappeared. But we can infer from other similar documents of the time that they contained some provisions like the ones shown below:

"The aforementioned De Forest and his successors will recognize their high powers, the Directors of the West India Company, as their sovereign lords and protectors, and after ten years of the royal liquidation they will deliver a tenth of the products with the May God bless the earth, and from this moment on he will deliver annually, on account of the house and the lot of the house, a couple of capons to the Director for the holidays."

In the spring of 1637 the plowing, planting and construction began. Did Isaac build a separate house? Probably not at this time. There must have been too many cougars and algonquins available to make a singles residence attractive. No doubt she shared a room with Henry, whose house was quite spacious and sheltered, forty feet long by six feet wide and surrounded by a stockade of heavy pickets.

This simple fortification is one of the characteristics of the modest settlement. Cattle, goats, and poultry were in dire need of it, and the four guns of the house were probably of little use as sentinels, though the misfortune was grave after this latest emigrant adventure when Hendrick de Forest, the wealthiest and capable of the two brothers, he died on July 26, 1637, without the cause being registered.

Control of the property passes to the widow Gertrude and La Montagne after Hendrick's death, as no will is known to have existed. But the incidents in the settlement of the property reveal the fact that the widow was somehow the sole heir. Isaac appears to own a small portion of the personal property and have other claims of an uncertain nature and amount. A third claimant was his brother Johannes, born in Sedan in 1604, who may have been in New Holland at the time, although there is no record of his arrival, residence or departure.

Gertrude represented by the Rev. Everardus Bogardus

The widow's interests were represented by Everardus Bogardus (1607-1647) as her lawyer and La Montagne acted as her administrator, personally taking care of the plantation, promoting the construction of the buildings, providing capital and presenting the final accounts. One sixth of the movable property met the joint demands of Johannes and Isaac.

Isaac's position in life was quite modest at the time of his brother's death. Such was the modest garb of a settler who once grew it in the Mt Morris Park neighborhood while observing the cougars of Washington Heights and the Wickasqueeks of upper Harlem. We can imagine that at this juncture Isaac was able to face some doubts, since it was questionable whether the Forest de Avesnes family had benefited financially from Protestantism, exile and the founding of cities.

The continuation of the surname in America now depended on a twenty-two-year-old bachelor and for several years Isaac remained in Harlem, collecting as much tobacco as he could from his hundred acres and selling it in the city of New Amsterdam for transport to Holland.

Shortly after, his sister Rachel de Forest passed away, a date unknown until now, but probably in the first months of 1641. It may have been the loneliness resulting from this duel that led him to seek a life partner, and on June 9, 1641, Isaac de Forest de Leyden married Sarah du Trieux of New Amsterdam.

At the date of their marriage, Isaac already had a tobacco plantation in his home and his first son was Jessen, named after the first emigrant, who died in infancy.

Isaac de Forest emigrated with his brother Hendrick and his sister Rachel aboard the Rensselaerwyck that left Amsterdam on September 25, 1636 and arrived in New Amsterdam on March 5, 1637, after many delays. He was the guardian of his wife's sister, the children of Mary from his second marriage.

Expulsion of Jean Mousnier la Montagne and return to Holland

A second Indian war that raged between 1655 and 1656 drove La Montagne from its misnamed Peacedale (Vredendal), and the bankrupt man gladly accepted the post of deputy director at Fort Orange. There he remained until the English conquest in 1664, but then left for Holland, broken in fortune, health and heart before the end of his life.

Jessé de Forest, Minuit, and La Montagne, all notable figures associated with the Walloon colonies in America, were haunted by misfortune and eventually slept in unknown graves.

Life of Isaac de Forest

Isaac de Forest, who arrived later than his father on the scene of colonization, inherited a little more tranquility, but also some honors and emoluments. He was one of the nine men (advisory committee) in 1652 and became a tobacco inspector in 1653. Also in 1653 he bought a house on Brouwer Street, which is now known as Broad Street.

He became the "income farmer" of the weigh house in 1655 and 1656, elected Schepen by forty votes in 1656, appointed petty bourgeois in 1657, grand bourgeois and Schepen in 1658, and excise innkeeper in 1660. Despite the delays, Isaac eventually became a great bourgeois.

His election to the common council took place on January 31, 1656, and it is doubtful whether he was allowed to perform the duties of the office, as he was not a great bourgeois at the time. In April of the following year he applied for a bourgeois right, claiming that he had resided in the city for more than twenty years, had largely built there, and performed many services.

The councilors responded that their request could not be met "according to the order of the general director and the council, and the explanation of the rights of the large and small bourgeoisie. However, the director and the council named him grand bourgeois on January 28, 1658.

It's worth noting that Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672), Dutch general manager of the New Netherland colony from 1647, had a Huguenot wife and that his sister had a Huguenot husband.

Later, when the English took possession of the Dutch colony in 1664, Isaac was dismayed to overestimate their numbers, as they had been absent and returned just as the English surrounded the area. He was detained by the British and later released, and informed the Dutch authorities that he had seen 800 soldiers.

"After the surrender took place, the citizens discovered that the English force was no stronger than that of the Dutch, great indignation was expressed against poor Isaac, who 'was believed to greatly exaggerate the English force'."

From 1660 onward, Isaac de Forest appears frequently in the records as a moneylender, though never to the extent of more than five or six hundred florins. It's impossible to positively distinguish whether he was rich or not. In 1653, when the defenses of New Amsterdam were to be reinforced, he paid a special tax of one hundred florins, while no one else paid more than one hundred and fifty.

In April 1664, in an application for permission to open a road, he claimed that his house was an "ornament of the city" and in September 1664 he was captured and taken hostage by the English, as if he were a prominent and important person. 

However, in March of the same year, a list "of the richest inhabitants of this city" rates it at only 1,500 florins, while many other properties range between 10,000 and 50 and 80,000.

Had he possessed wealth and lost it? Had he transferred it to his wife? Had his sixteen children impoverished him? He couldn't have given them a sizeable dowry for just one of them, the oldest daughter was married and the oldest living son was only fifteen years old. There is no discoverable inventory of his estate either in the period of his own death or the death of his wife.

His will sheds no light on the matter, as it is a joint instrument that gives everything to the survivors and simply shows that both parties had properties of unknown value.

This testament was made "in the year following the nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, one thousand six hundred and seventy-two, on June 4, being Tuesday morning, around 9 in the morning in the presence of William Bogardus, notary public residing in New York ". The "testator was sick and the testatrix healthy in the body, but both fully used their understanding, memory and speech as they appeared externally and could not be perceived otherwise."

Death

Isaac de Forest died on July 25, 1674 at the age of 58 in Harlem, New York, United States, and was buried in the Dutch Reformed Church cemetery.

Offspring 

Isaac de Forest, son of Jessé de Forest (1576-1624), arrived from Leyden, Holland, on March 5, 1637 aboard the ship Rensselaerwyck, which was jointly owned by his uncle, Gerard de Forest (1583-1654), and Killian Van Rensselaer (1586-1643). His brother Hendrick de Forest (1606-1637) and his sister Rachel de Forest (1609-1643) also arrived in New Amsterdam although Hendrick died shortly after their arrival, on July 26, 1637.

Philipp de Forest (1652-1727), Isaac's son was born on July 28, 1652 in New Amsterdam but eventually settled in Beverwyck, New York, where it is now known as Albany.

Shortly after the death of Sara du Trieux (1625-1692) "His Excellency Benjamin Fletcher (1640-1703), colonial governor of New York from 1692 to 1697 and its dependencies" was requested by his sons to grant letters of administration to two of them, "Isaac and Hendrick".

In the body of the document, listed as consenting parties, are John, Susanna and Philip. The signatures said Isaac de Foreest, Henricus de Foreest, Davydt de foreest, Mrya de forest showing that the surname had already given way to some extent to Dutch influence.

Dr. Johannes de Forest (1650-?), Isaac's oldest surviving son, married Susanna Verleth (1649-?) On June 8, 1673 in New York, but left no descendants to bear the name.

References 

• Frederic Ellsworth Kip, History of the Kip Family in America (n.p.: unknown publisher, ca. 1928), p.43. Hereinafter cited as Kip Family in America.
• Howard S.F. (ed. from a manuscript by T. de T. Truax) Randolph, "The House of Truax", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.57, 58 (1926, 1927): 57:217. Hereinafter cited as "Truax, NYGBR 57 (1926-27)."
• Samuel S. Purple, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December 1639 to 26 August 1801 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, reprint 2003, original 1890 NYG&BS), p.10. Hereinafter cited as MDC.
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:87. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:92. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:148. Parents Jan de la Montagne, Agneta ten Waert. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:155. Parents Andries de Haes, Catharina de Haes. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:177. Parents Jacob Kip, Secrets., Maria de la Montagne. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:181. Hieronymous; parents: Hendrick Van Bommel, Roselle du Trieux. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 6:44. Marritje; parent: Andries de Haes. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 6:153. Albertus; parents: Jeronymus Ebbing, Johanna de Laet. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 6:154. Jannetie; parents: Jeuriaen Janszen, Harmeyntje Jans. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• Howard S.F. (ed. from a manuscript by T. de T. Truax) Randolph, "The House of Truax", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.57, 58 (1926, 1927): 57:218. Hereinafter cited as "Truax, NYGBR 57 (1926-27)."
• W.E. De Riemer, The De Riemer Family: AD 1640(?)-1903 (New York: T.A. Wright, 1905), p.15. Hereinafter cited as The De Riemer Family.
• Howard S.F. (ed. from a manuscript by T. de T. Truax) Randolph, "The House of Truax", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.57, 58 (1926, 1927): 57:217. Hereinafter cited as "Truax, NYGBR 57 (1926-27)."
• Dorothy A. Koening and Pim Nieuwenhuis, "Catalina Trico from Namur (1605-1689) and Her Nephew Arnoldus de la Grange", New Netherland Connections Vol.1 no.3 (1996): page 62. Jasper Dankaert's Journal. Hereinafter cited as "Trico, NNC 1 (1996)."
• Samuel S. Purple, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December 1639 to 26 August 1801 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, reprint 2003, original 1890 NYG&BS), p.10. Hereinafter cited as MDC.
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:28. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• Howard S.F. (ed. from a manuscript by T. de T. Truax) Randolph, "The House of Truax", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.57, 58 (1926, 1927): 58:78. Hereinafter cited as "Truax, NYGBR 57 (1926-27)."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:97. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:177. Parents Mr. Paulus Van der Beeck, Maria. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• James R. Gibson, "Some Records of the Beekman Family", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.19, pp.41-52 (April 1888): p.42. Hereinafter cited as "NYG&BR 19:41-52."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:178. Parent Willem Beeckman. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 5:181. Hieronymous; parents: Hendrick Van Bommel, Roselle du Trieux. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 6:44. Marritje; parent: Andries de Haes. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New York", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vols.5- (1874-): 6:93. Isac; parents: Pieter Bujou, Francyn Boujas. Hereinafter cited as "BDC."
• A. P. G. Jos van der Linde, Old First Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn, New York: First Book of Records, 1660-1752, New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983), page 114. Femmetie; parents: Dirck Janssen, Marritie Teunis (from the ferry). Hereinafter cited as OFDRC Brooklyn.
• Frederic Ellsworth Kip, History of the Kip Family in America (n.p.: unknown publisher, ca. 1928), p.43. Hereinafter cited as Kip Family in America.
• Howard S.F. (ed. from a manuscript by T. de T. Truax) Randolph, "The House of Truax", New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.57, 58 (1926, 1927): 57:218. Hereinafter cited as "Truax, NYGBR 57 (1926-27)."