John David

by


John David probably was born before 1720. He is said to have been a Huguenot and of French ancestry.

By January 1747, he was in Albany where he married Albany native Elizabeth Wyngaert at the Dutch church. At that time, church records said he was "living in the Great Bend of Albany." By 1772, the marriage had produced at least eleven children who were christened at the church where both parents were members and pewholders. His name was spelled variously in the community-based record but his life is well-documented in Albany's annals.

In July 1753, he presented a petition on behalf of some residents asking for gutters and raised sidewalks in the third ward.

In 1756, his house was described on a census of Albany householders made by the British army. At that time, he operated a "dramshop." In 1763, his name was included on a list of Albany freeholders. In 1767, he was a soldier in an Albany militia company.

Over the next, three decades, his holdings were valued regularly on city assessment rolls. In 1790, his first ward household included four family members.

Probably in his fifties at the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, he pledged support for the American cause and was paid for services by the Albany committee. Afterwards, he was accorded a land bounty right in conjunction with the Albany militia regiment.

In September 1777, he witnessed the will of sometime Albany resident Nicholas Brouwer.

With the coming of peace, he continued to lease a store and shed from the city government. That practice began earlier but his rentals are more well documented in the 1780s. In 1788, his first ward holdings were valued modestly.

John David died in June 1794 and was buried from his church. His widow may have survived for many years.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of John David is CAP biography number 7772. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.





first posted: 8/20/09