Nicholas Fonda

Nicholas Fonda was born in September 1769. He was the son of Gysbert and Elsie Douw Fonda. The fourth child in that line to be christened Nicholas (after the paternal grandfather), he grew up in the predictably small family of a prominent Pearl Street businessman.

The sole surviving son of an established family he was sent to Columbia College from where he graduated in 1787. Four years, later, he was among those aspiring attorneys admitted to practice law in Rensselaer and Saratoga counties.

In February 1788, he was one of the two surviving children named along with their mother as heirs and executors in the will filed by his father. Gysbert was dead by the end of the year and Elsie took over as property owner of record that same year.

His mother would survive to the age of ninety-two. But, in 1790, Nicholas was identified as head of a second ward household. That unit included two females and four slaves. In 1799, resources at that Pearl Street address were valued under the name of the "widow of Guysbert Fonda."

This individual does not seem to have married - although the name "Nicholas Fonda" made a number of appearances in the records of the Albany Dutch church during the late 1780s and 90s.. He was closely connected to his mother and his older sister who had married newcomer Richard Lush.

A map and/or engraving "of the lots lying in the Foxes Creek belonging to the late Nicholas Fonda" survives and has been dated 1797.

In January 1797, he was among those signing a petition to incorporate a library in Albany.

In March 1797, an Albany paper reported that "after a tedious illness, Nicolas Fonda, Esq. of this city; [died] and on Thursday, his remains were interred in the Dutch Church cemetery[.] A very respectable and numerous concourse of relatives and other citizens attended the interment." He had lived but twenty-seven years. His will passed probate in July 1802 with his mother Elsie as his principal heir.

Sources: The life of Nicholas Fonda is CAP biography number 3789. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.

Petition to incorporate the library - needs more specific definition. But from the New-York Historical Society.

Condensed and copied from Rootsweb a community of Ancestry.com:

Note: d. Albany, NY; bur. Ann and Lydia Lush Lot, Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, Albany Co., NY; graduate of Columbia College in 1787; admitted to practice law in Rensselaer and Saratoga Counties in May 1791 (first group admitted, consisting of 16 lawyers); [Albany Rural Cemetery Burial Cards, Menands, NY - Nicholas Fonda, b. abt 1770 in Albany, NY; d. 27 Feb 1797 in Albany, NY]; [New York Wills and Probate Records - Name: Nicholas Fonda; Probate Date: 29 Jul 1802; Probate County: Albany; Heirs: Elsie Fonda]; [Died, on Monday last, after a tedious illness, Nicholas Fonda, Esq., of this city - Mortuary Notice - 1797-03-06 - Albany Chronicle]; [Died, on Monday last, after a tedious illness, Nicolas Fonda, Esq. of this city; and on Thursday, his remains were interred in the Dutch Church cemetery - a very respectable and numerous concourse of relatives and other citizens attended the interment. Daily Advertiser (New York, NY), Wednesday, March 8, 1797]; [Annals of Albany 1850-1856 - Ref. Prot. Dutch Burial Ground Inscriptions - Nicholas Fonda, son of Gysbert and Elise Fonda, who departed this life on the 27th day of Feb. 1797, aged 27 years, 4 mos. and 28 days.]; [R002] Pearson's First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany; [R095a] Landmarks of Rensselaer County, New York; [R038a] The Fonda Family; [R044] Innes Getty Collection: Jellis Douwse Fonda; [DAR Library, GRC National Index: Fonda, Nicolas, State IL, Series/Vol s1 v10, Page 176]

Property and document description: "Property bounded by Fox Street, Hawk Street and Hare Street. Panel title. 34 x 41 cm., previously folded to 21x 9 cm."