Willem Van Wie

Willem Van Wie was born in October 1740. He was the son of Rensselaerswyck residents Hendrick and Catharina Waldron Van Wie. During the 1760s, he served alongside his brothers in a Rensselaerswyck militia company.

In May 1767, he married a somewhat younger Jannetje Lansing at the Albany Dutch church. Their marriage licence identified him as an Albany County farmer. A few months later, the first of their six children was christened at their Albany church.

In 1766, he again joined his brothers and more than ninety others in signing the constitution of the Albany Sons of Liberty. From that time on, he was an Albany mainstay - setting up a modest home on Hudson Street, just above South Pearl. In 1790, his first ward household included seven family members and a slave. In 1800, seven family members still were accounted for in his household. In time, he acquired additional property on Albany's Southside.

During the war, he was a listed as a private in the city militia company and once posted a bond for his neighbor's good behavior. Otherwise, his name has not been found on wartime rolls.

Willem Van Wie earned his living as a carpenter all the way into his seventies - sometimes doing work for the city government. He seems to have held no public positions.

Willem Van Wie died in July 1816 and was buried in the church plot. He had lived seventy-six years. His will passed probate in August. His widow lived until 1821.

Sources: The life of Willem Van Wie is CAP biography number 8568. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.