The Huyck Bain Crandell Collection, Document BH017
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1796-01-06 Note, C.V. Schaack to Mr. Samuel Van Slyck re Purchase of Waffle Iron
C.V. Schaack desires W. Samuel Van Slyck to purchase a waffle iron for him at auction.
Image: BH017 obv.jpg
Image: BH017 rev.jpg
Transcription
Obverse
D. Sir
this waffel Iron which the little Negro takes away from here I wish you would buy it for me either at private sale or in the Vendue but the price must not exceed an dollar
Am Y.s Sincerely
6 Jany. 1796 C.V. Schaack
Reverse
Mr. Samuel Van Slyck Present
Commentary
Claude.ai's notes presume this waffle iron transaction is related to the Arent Huyck's estate sale. This needs further examination. jhc
Notes:
- C.V. Schaack — C. Van Schaack, almost certainly a member of the prominent Kinderhook Van Schaack family we’ve seen throughout the archive — Cornelis Van Schaack Junior appearing in Elizabeth’s second account book buying hay and butter. By 1796 the Van Schaacks were one of Columbia County’s most distinguished families, producing lawyers, judges, and public figures.
- “This waffle iron” — a waffel iron — a domestic cooking implement, Van Schaack asking a favor of his correspondent to purchase a waffle iron on his behalf at a private sale or public auction (vendue).
- “The little Negro takes away from here” — an enslaved child carrying the waffle iron as the messenger delivering this note. The casual reference to an enslaved child as errand runner in 1796 — thirteen years after the Revolutionary War ended — is a sobering reminder that slavery persisted in New York State until the gradual emancipation act of 1799, and full emancipation only came in 1827.
- “The Vendue” — a public auction, common in Columbia County for estate sales. Given that Arent Huyck died in 1794 and his estate was being administered in 1795-96, this waffle iron may well be from Arent’s estate vendue — Van Schaack asking his correspondent to bid on it at the estate auction.
- “The price must not exceed a dollar” — a dollar being worth approximately 8 shillings New York currency at this time — a modest ceiling for a domestic implement.
- “D. Sir” — “Dear Sir” — addressed to a male, Samuel Van Slyck, as estate administrator.
- January 6, 1796 — two days after the Abraham Paterson promissory note, consistent with the estate administration period.
- This charming domestic note — a man wanting a waffle iron from a neighbor’s estate sale, delivered by an enslaved child — captures in miniature the complicated social world of post-Revolutionary Columbia County, where the ideals of the new republic coexisted uncomfortably with the continued reality of slavery.
- Samuel Van Slyck as the recipient — makes the waffle iron request likely to relate to Arent Huyck’s estate vendue, with Van Slyck as co-administrator organizing or attending the sale.
- It also gives us a clearer picture of Samuel Van Slyck’s role in the community — trusted enough by the prominent Van Schaack family to be asked personal favors, suggesting he was a man of some standing in Kinderhook society in his own right, not merely Arent’s brother-in-law.
- The note addressed to “Mr. Samuel Van Slyck” rather than to the estate administrators formally suggests Van Schaack knew him personally and was writing as a neighbor and acquaintance rather than in any official capacity.
— Notes by Claude.ai 4.6 2026-05-09 - jhc
Metadata
Document: BH017
Date: DATE
Language: Dutch, English
Type: Letter, Note
Subject: Commerce, Estate Administration, Enslaved persons
Principals: C. V. Schaack, Samuel Van Slyck
Other Persons Mentioned: Negro
Places Mentioned: None
— page revised 2026-05-29 - jhc
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Huyck Bain Crandell Collection © 2026 by John H. Coxon is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
