Hendrick Bleecker, Jr.

by


Hendrick Bleecker, Jr. was born in 1729. He was the first child born to the marriage of Nicholas and Margarita Roseboom Bleecker. He grew up in a merchant's home on Pearl Street and became the "man of the house" following the death of his father in 1751. His mother, however, would live for more than thirty more years.

In January 1755, Hendrick wed Albany native Catharina Cuyler. By 1772, six children had been christened at the Albany Dutch church where he was a member and regular baptism sponsor.

These Bleeckers lived near other family members on Albany's Pearl Street. Hendrick was a trader, businessman, and city official - serving as constable (1751), assistant alderman (1756-59), and as city treasurer (chamberlain) from 1765 to 1778. Earlier, he had represented Albany's interests by serving as an attorney.

Besides his Pearl Street property, in 1765 he purchased several lots along upper Foxes Creek.

Hendrick served in the colonial militia. At the onset of hostilities in 1775, he was elected a member of the Albany Committee of Correspondence and served until the restoration of the municipal government in 1778. During the war, years he was excused from military service due to age and the fact that he was serving on the homefront.

Hendrick Bleecker, Jr. was fifty-years-old in October 1779 when he filed a will. It named his four children as heirs. He was dead by December 1787 when the will passed probate. Although not named in the will, his widow, Catharina Bleecker, lived until 1808.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Hendrick Bleecker, Jr. is CAP biography number 186. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




first posted: 8/30/06