Nicholas Cuyler
by
Stefan Bielinski


Nicholas Cuyler was born in June 1716. He was the last child born to the marriage of Albany residents Abraham and Catharina Bleecker Cuyler. His mother was in her mid-forties at the time of his birth.

Nicholas followed his father and older brother into the fur trade - representing his family at outposts beyond Albany, before settling down as a member of the Albany business community.

In May 1745 he was a decade older than most Albany grooms when he married a much younger Maria Schuyler. By 1748, the marriage had produced three children who were baptized at the Albany Dutch church where he was a member, pewholder, and elder. However, the marriage was short-lived as Maria died in early 1750 at the age of twenty-four.

These Cuylers were living in the State Street home he inherited along with external real estate from his father. He was identified as a merchant on a number of survey documents. Although his holdings were quite valuable, he did not hold community leadership positions. Instead, he served in the militia and as a firemaster. In 1763, his name appeared on a list of Albany freeholders.

In 1770, a large stock of his flour was included in a cargo that an Albany ship carried to the West Indies. After the early 1770s, his name dropped from Albany rolls. Nicholas Cuyler was dead by 1799 when his "heirs" were listed on an Albany assessment list.

biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Nicholas Cuyler is CAP biography number 600. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




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first posted: 4/30/05; updated 10/14/09