Rynier Van Iveren

by

Rynier M. Van Iveren was born in December 1728. He was the eldest son of Albany residents Myndert and Ariaantie Wyngaert Van Iveren. He grew up in a blacksmith's home in the second ward where he was appointed constable and firemaster in 1753 and 1761 respectively.

In September 1760, he was left his father's house and also Myndert's negro slaves. His ailing father did not survive and Rynier's widowed mother continued to be identified as the owner of the house through the 1760s.

In August 1759, Rynier married silversmith's daughter Debora Fielden at the Albany Dutch church. By 1775, six children had been christened in Albany where both parents were pewholders. The children's distinctive names (Meinard and George, for example) reflected those of their grandparents.

This individual was the eldest of a number of same-named contemporaries - at least one of whom also was an Albany resident.

In 1766, he was among the Albany men who signed a document (Sons of Liberty constitution) protesting the Stamp Act. We suspect that this individual was an officer in the Revolutionary army. In 1778, he posted a bond on behalf of soldiers in his charge.

This Rynier (Reineer) Van Iveren was a trader and merchant who set up his home on the west side of Market Street where he lived for the remainder of his life. Assessment rolls for the remainder of the eighteenth century valued his third ward holdings in two locations. In 1790, his household included five slaves.

Rynier Van Iveren lost his wife early in 1786. This individual probably was not the Reineer who was buried in February 1793. In 1799, his Market Street holdings were valued moderately. In 1800, his household included only him and two females. Aged seventy-two in 1800, after that, his name no longer was found on city rolls.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Rynier Van Iveren is CAP biography number 2479. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Two "RVI's" lived in the city during his lifetime. The other individual has been identified as "Rynier J. Van Iveren." We also are mindful of his same-named kinsman (c.1711-88) - of Schenectady.




first posted 11/30/06; re-cast 12/10/10; last revised 3/7/19