Abraham R. Ten Eyck

Abraham R. Ten Eyck was born in September 1775. He was the youngest son of Manhattan resident Dirck Ten Eyck and one of his three wives all named Elizabeth (probably Le Brun). He was frequently called "Abraham R. Ten Eyck" (son of Dirck aka Richard) to prevent confusion with same-named, local contemporaries.

Said to have been a protégé of New York printer Hugh Gaine, he came to Albany about 1796 and opened a bookstore on Broadway under the name of "Gaine & Ten Eyck." The store was a landmark at 117 and then 354 North Market Street for many years. Ten Eyck is said to have retired from the business in 1820.

In May 1801, he married Albany native Anna Visscher at the Albany Dutch church. Over the next two decades, the marriage produced nine children.

In March 1834, his name was among those of several hundred merchants, businessmen, and citizens of Albany who signed a lengthy and passionate memorial published in the Argus and sent to the United States Congress approving the removal of Federal deposits from the National Bank and supporting the expiration of the bank.

Abraham R. Ten Eyck died in June 1857 "in the house on Broadway where he lived for 61 years." His will passed probate in Albany County in February 1858. In 1870, his widow would be interred alongside him at the Albany Rural Cemetery.

Sources: The life of Abraham R. Ten Eyck is CAP biography number 4831. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.