Cornelius Hendrickson was a Dutch mariner and explorer who charted the North American coastline near present-day New Jersey.

Early life

Cornelius Hendrickson was born around 1572, the son of Lambert Barrentje Hendrickson, an admiral in the Dutch Navy. Nicknamed "Pretty Lambert", the admiral was a friend and associate of Admiral

Jacob van Heemskerk Jacob van Heemskerck (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutch explorer and naval admiral. Early life Jacob van Heemskerck was born in Amsterdam in 1567. He is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, ...

, and commanded ''De Tijger'' in the Battle of Gibraltar of April 1607.

''Onrust''

In November 1613, Dutch fur trader

Adrian Block Adriaen (Arjan) Block (c. 1567 – buried April 27, 1627) was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and ship's captain who is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four v ...

was preparing to return to Holland with a cargo of furs when his ship, the , caught fire and was destroyed while moored in the North River near the tip of Manhattan Island. Over the winter, Block and his crew built the (Restless), which he used to explore the East River and Long Island Sound. The ''Onrust'' was long with a capacity of 16 tons. Later that year, Block rendezvoused with

Hendrick Christiaensen Hendrick Christiaensen (died 1619) was a Dutch explorer who was involved in the earlier exploration of what became the colony of New Netherland. Life Hendrick Christiaensen was a ship captain and trader employed by the Van Tweenhuysen Company of ...

off Cape Cod. Before boarding the ''Fortuyn'' to return to the Netherlands, Block turned the ''Onrust'' over to Hendrickson. In 1614, Hendrickson navigated the ''Onrust'', through Barnegat Inlet to the Toms River, which he charted, along with

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

, and Great Bay to the south. In mid-to-late 1615, Hendrickson sailed into Godins Bay (Delaware Bay) and up the Zuyd Rivier (South River) to the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

, searching for a site to establish a trading post for the Dutch West India Company. Hendricksz's voyage was made aboard the ''IJseren Vercken'' (Iron Hog), a vessel built in America. During the winter of 1614–1615, some Dutch sailors remained at Fort Nassau to engage in the fur trade. Interested in the benefit of Dutch firearms, the Mohawk persuaded three to accompany them on a raid against the Susquehannocks. That spring the sailors were captured by the Susquehannocks who brought them south. In the course of his explorations Hendrickson he met a band of Susquehannock (Minquas) and ransomed the three for kettles, beads, and trade goods. In 1616, in Amsterdam, he filed the first definitive map of the New Jersey coastline. He died in 1650, in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrickson, Cornelius 17th-century Dutch explorers 1570s births 1650 deaths Dutch explorers of North America People of New Netherland