Cornelis Van Schelluyne

by


Cornelis Van Schelluyne was born in September 1737. He was the son of aging merchant and Albany mainstay Dirck Van Schelluyne and his second wife, Elizabeth Roseboom Van Schelluyne.

In December 1767, he was thirty when he married Elizabeth Roseboom at the Albany Dutch church. By 1774, the marriage had produced four children. He was a church member, occasional baptism sponsor, pewholder, and member of the Consistory.

Cornelis seems to have taken up family enterprises following the death of his father in 1759. Assessment rolls for the 1760s show his property among the highest valued in the city and that his mother lived with him.

Cornelis Van Schelluyne was a Pearl Street merchant and Albany mainstay for many years. His traditional home was valued on every assessment roll during the last half of the eighteenth century. He owned additional real estate in and around Albany. He served as constable, firemaster, election inspector, and militiaman. In 1770, he first was elected assistant alderman.

A prominent merchant and not cloosely tied to the crusade for American liberties, his business was scrutinized during the War for Independence and he was required to sign oaths and associations. However, he later was accorded a land bounty right for service in conjunction with the Albany militia.

In 1790, his second ward household included twelve slaves - making him Albany's second largest slaveholder. That number dropped to six slaves counted in 1800, down to three shown on the census in 1810.

Cornelis Van Schelluyne died in April 1813 and was buried from his church. His will passed probate later in the month.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Cornelis Van Schelluyne is CAP biography number 5647. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




first posted: 1/30/06