by Stefan Bielinski The tradesmen or artisans who made useful products from wood were a numerous and vital part of the early Albany production economy. They included a wide variety of carpenters, coopers, and more specialized artisans such as gunstock makers. At the supply end of wood-based enterprises are wood cutters, sawyers, sawmillers, lumber merchants, and those who transferred/transported logs from the forest to the mills for cutting and trimming. Boards, planks, beams, and other basic wood forms were then and then moved mostly on the water to lumberyards and other storage sites for sale or reshipment to larger markets. This list (at this point in no particular order beyond chronologically) begins to focus on wood cutters, processors, transporters, and vendors. This page begins to offer information that has surfaced on the wood trades and their early Albany practitioners. Please be patient when following this link to more information about wood crafters on this website. In 1756, twenty-nine individuals were identified as either carpenters or coopers on a census of householders taken by the British army. Follow this link to more information about carpenters on this website. Carpenters: Coopers: Evert Evertsen; Peter W. Hilton; Thomas Barret Wood cutters: Bradt family in the seventeenth century.
Gunstock makers - especially in the seventeenth century: Myndert Harmanse Vandenbogert. Lumber/Wood Merchants: Ten Broeck family; Conrad Gansevoort
Sources: A few links to functional websites about early American woodworkers: American historic carpentry from Wikipedia; The Woodwright's shop; Colonial Williamsburg; link to sites on the colonial Cooper; opened 2/15/08; last updated 5/22/16 |