Philip De Foreest

Philip De Foreest was born in October 1720. He was the eldest son of Albany natives Jesse and Cornelia Quackenbush De Foreest. He grew up in a large family in the third ward home of Albany mainliners. His father lived until 1756 and his mother until 1773. Many family demographics are recorded in the leafs of the bible kept by members of Philip's family.

By the late 1740s, he had married Rachel Van Ness. By 1761, six children had been christened at the Albany Dutch church where both parents were pewholders and, during the 1750s, regular baptism sponsors. His wife probably had passed by the 1770s, but Philip does not seem to have re-married.

Philip De Foreest was a cooper who set up his home near the river in the North End of Albany where he was a fixture for the remainder of the eighteenth century. Assessment rolls valued his third ward holdings moderately. He held a number of service positions including firemaster, gauger of bushels (1772), and guardhouse keeper (1775). On a number of occasions, he performed tasks for the city government and was paid from the treasury. In 1763, his name appeared on a list of Albany freeholders.

Fifty-two at the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, we seek comprehensive information on his specific wartime activities. In 1775, he was among those who contributed for the relief of Ticonderoga. Otherwise, his name appears only in the non-war-related community based records. After the war, he was accorded a land bounty right in conjunction with the Albany militia regiment.

In August 1797, a large fire destroyed his house, stables, and workshops on "Watervliet [Market] Street" occupied by Philip De Foreest and others. Later that month, his name appeared on a list of freeholders for the third ward. He was identified as a cooper. In 1799, his unoccupied lot in the third ward was valued on the Albany assessment roll. After that notice, at this point no references to him have been encountered in the community-based record. We seek information on the later life and passing of this Albany mainliner.

Sources: The life of Philip De Foreest is CAP biography number 4737. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.