Douw I. Fonda

by


Douw I. Fonda was born in August 1759. He was the son of Albany natives Isaac and Susanna De Foreest Fonda. He grew up a middle child in the large family of a Pearl Street mainstay. He was the brother of Albany residents David and John Fondey, Jr.

He would have been thirty-five in November 1794 when "Douwe Fonda" married a somewhat younger Matilda Beekman at the Albany Dutch church. The marriage may have produced but one child and "Lansing Fonda" may have been born several years before the marriage ceremony and the mother's name was given as Matilda Lansing not Beekman.

We cannot now move forward on this individual as his connections to the Albany community are not well documented. He may well be the individual who had a prominent existence in the region north of Albany. In any event, we are backing away from closure on his profile and awaiting enlightenment.

However, in 1813, a Douw Fonda's home was listed in the first city directory at 52 Pearl Street. Douw Fonda was listed in the subsequent directories at that address at least thru 1830.

Douw I. Fonda died in May 1833 and was buried in the Dutch church plot. He had lived seventy-four years - setting his birth date in 1759.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Douw I. Fonda is CAP biography number 381. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. A number of Douw Fondas lived during this subject's lifetime. An essay by family genealogist Joe Fondy published in 2006 sends up immediate red flags.




silently posted: 8/25/09