Through a strange chance we have a record of the first-born of Jaques and Neeltje, a child which died in early infancy. One of Jaques Corteljou's earliest neighbors in the settlement at New Utrecht, on the Long Island side of the Narrows, was Nicasius de Sille. The later was a man of importance in the colony and also a man of accomplishments. Among other things, de Sille was a poet. Three of his rhymed productions have survived, one of which bears the title "Epitaph."
The interesting point is that the epitaph listed among de Sille's writings is that of a child of Jaques and Neeltje. Preserved among the records of New Utrecht, this tells its own sad story. As written in Dutch, this reads:
GRAAFSCHRIFT
Hier leidt de eerst van Cortilliau verstoten:
De eerste van het dorp van Utrecht gesproten:
Onnosel voort geteelt, onnosel wech gerucht,
Godt geeft datmet t'geteel hier naa een beter lucht.
N. d. S. 1657
Translated, this runs:
EPITAPH
Here lies the first of Cortelyou from life withdrawn,
The first child in the village of Utrecht born;
Brought forth in innocence, snatched hence without a stain,
God gave it being here, a better life to gain.
