by Stefan Bielinski Roeloff Kidney was born in June 1700. He was the son of former soldier Jan and and his wife, Albany native Maria Vanderwerken Kidney. He grew up with three brothers in a Southside neighborhood of soldiers and other post-New Netherland newcomers that broadened Albany's demographic base during the first decades of the eighteenth century. In June 1721, he married Engeltie Burger. By 1748, their thirteen children were baptized at the Albany Dutch church. These Kidneys also lived in the first ward - in a modest home on Gallows Hill near the fort. Roeloff or "Ralph" practiced the cooper's trade. In his younger days, he also ran errands to places like New York and Oswego. He held additional lots on Albany's Southside. In 1737, he was left a cash bequest by his neighbor Jan Rosie to purchase a lot of land. The name of this Albany mainstay appeared on community rolls throughout the mid-eighteenth century - lastly on a freeholder's list dated 1763. He probably died before the outbreak of the War for Independence. notes Sources: The life of Roeloff Kidney is CAP biography number 5999. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. first posted: 12/15/04 |