The Zabriskie Mystery, Part 1

Postcard of Zabriskie Pond, NJ circa 1909.

Albrecht Zabriskie, Elusive Immigrant

My father’s mother died when he was a small boy. He showed me a photo of her at a birthday party, wearing her favorite red dress just before she went into the hospital. She knew she wasn’t coming home. My grandmother Ruth died of cancer at the age of 42.

Her family name was Ruston, and rich with folk tales of family history. I grew up hearing the story of the refugee granddaughter of a beheaded King of Poland who fled to Hackensack, NJ and fell in love with a Frenchman. When we started doing our genealogy, I thought the story would be easy to prove but documented history told another tale and we had trouble proving the story to have any foundation. I almost gave up.

I learned that the last King of Poland, Jon Sobieski II, was overthrown and the government transformed. But he had been an elected monarch and there was no royal bloodline, though his ancestors had long been famous generals. His children are all documented and accounted for, and none of them, or their families, moved to New Jersey. What names we did have from family record were scattered and I couldn’t connect them after checking documents on Ancestry.com.

We had the name Albrecht Zabriskie, but couldn’t link anyone to him. I did some research of the history of Hackensack, NJ on a whim and was lucky to discover that not only was Albrecht Zabriskie a well-documented man, but that almost all Zabriskies of NJ trace back to the issue of he and his wife Machtelt. Albrecht was one of the founders of Hackensack, and after reading through the historical documents of both he and his children and their issue, I was able to discover the unknown link. It turned out to be simple. We were trying to make a connection through the wrong child.

            Even after discovering our root in America through that line, it was frustrating to learn that Albrecht’s own past was unclear, though there was much documentation to rumors or suppositions, and even some wishful thinking, as to his origins. The story as we can best interpret based on his own actions is that Albrecht had no love of war, unlike his Palatine general ancestors. There is an assumption that he was a cousin to Jon Sobieski II, or a nephew, or…something. Some researchers say that Albrecht’s father sent him to school in Amsterdam, hoping he would become a Protestant preacher but there is no support for that claim.

We know that Albrecht arrived in America from Amsterdam on the ship D’Vos, “Fox,” on August 31, 1662, under the sail of Captain Jacobsen Huys. It is widely believed by most historians that he was being pressed into military service and fled to the New World. Once here, he disappeared into Indian territory for thirteen years.

When Albrecht surfaced in 1675, “Albert Zaborowsky” was reported to be trading with the Tappan Indians, and friendly with their sachem Mamshier. He was also in trade with the Metetoch and Chechepowas. They called him Totlock. Due to his strong command of the Leni Lenape language, it is assumed he lived among them during his disappearance.

In December 1676, Albrecht Zabriskie married Machtelt “Matilda” Van der Linde at the Dutch Reform Church in Bergen County, NJ. He was 38 and she nineteen, daughter of Joost Vander Linde and Fytje Van Gelder. In the marriage registry, Albrecht lists his birthplace as “Enghestburgh,” yet no place is known to researchers. Possible locations are Engelsburg in Austrian Silesia, Angersburg or Insterburg in East Prussia.

Albrecht acted as a translator on behalf of the Native peoples for many land purchases during his lifetime, becoming himself a vast landowner. The year he was married he purchased 1,067 acres from the Tappan Indians, a tract known as Paramus, or “the Point.” In 1682 he purchased another 420 acres adjoining his original property, extending it to the Hackensack River in the east. In 1679, for unexplained reasons, the Indians became indebted to Albrecht, and the sachems conveyed to him 2,000 acres in Rockland County, NY, which was not exchanged until 1702, when Albrecht agreed to take lands in NJ instead of the Rockland property. He was deeded another 2,100 acres north of his original purchase, touching west on the Saddle River. Together, the Paramus and New Paramus tracts total 3,587 acres. Albrecht Zabriskie was a very wealthy man.

There is a story that Indians kidnapped his eldest son Jacob, from whom I am descended, and it is documented that Albrecht was given a consideration of white and black wampum, peltries, clothing, rum and implements of husbandry for the exchange. Perhaps this could be the cause of the Indians debt to Albrecht? Whether Jacob was snatched or given to the Indians to raise, he did live with them during his childhood, to the end of learning their language and cultures so that someone could act on their behalf when Albrecht’s health failed.

In Rev. David Cole’s History of Rockland County, he writes: “The oldest son, Jacob, was, with the consent of his parents, taken, when a small lad, by the Indians, to their settlement at Paramus, called in their dialect Palamah, signifying ‘wild turkey’ and grew up among the red men.” Later the Indians left these lands in Albrecht’s possession.

My Zabriskie ancestor was respected for his integrity and his fair dealings with the Indians, who held him in high esteem. He was active in the civil affairs of Hackensack and was the first Justice of the Peace for Upper Bergen County in 1682. Albrecht helped organize the first Church on the Green in 1686. The church burned at some point and was rebuilt, but the stone with his name carved into it still remains as part of the church foundation. Albrecht died September 11, 1711. His wife Machtelt outlived him by 14 years. They had five children and 27 grandchildren.

As to Albrecht’s lineage, it’s possible that his surname originated in Zborowska or Zabrze, which was a Silesian town on the Prosna River, west bank. Albrecht was a Lutheran, at odds with the strength of the Catholic church and it’s possible that his family was displaced during the religious wars. Zabriskie means “beyond the Birch tree.”

Albrecht’s name shows on many deeds in many various shapes and forms. Some of them show as follows: Albrecht Zaborowskij, Albert Saboriski, Albrecht Sobieska, Olbracht Zaborowski, Albert Zabriskie, Albert Saboroscoe, Albert Saberasky, Albert Sabboresco, Albert Saberiscoe, Albert Zaborowsky, Albert Zaberoski, Albert Cawbrisco, Totlock (among the Hackensack, Lenni Lenape and Tappan Indian tribes).

The Zabriskie Mystery, Part 1 of 3