Pieter Van Allen

by


Pieter Van Allen was born in April 1702. He was the son of Albany residents Willem and Maria Van Patten Van Allen. He grew up in the comfort of a businessman's home in Albany's first ward.

In April 1727, he married area native Anna Van Wie at the Albany Dutch church. She died following the birth of their third child in 1733. By 1734, he had married Anna Van Benthuysen and was witnessing the birth of the first of their seven children.

These Van Allens made their home in the first ward. In 1734, Pieter served as a constable. Three years later, he was named firemaster for the first ward. As his father was a mariner, perhaps he was the Pieter Van Allen identified in several sources as a Hudson River skipper.

After fathering ten children in two marriages, Pieter Van Allen died in September 1749. His sons and son-in-law carried on their father's business for several decades.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Pieter Van Allen is CAP biography number 5632. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




first posted: 4/30/06