David Groesbeck, Jr.
by
Stefan Bielinski

David Groesbeck was born in August 1728. He was the son of Albany residents David and Maria Vanderpoel Groesbeck. He often was referred to as "David Groesbeck, Jr."

In December 1752 he married Catharina Vedder. She died following the birth of their second son in 1754. In 1765, he married Sarah Winne. The two marriages produced only two children who were christened in the Albany Dutch church where this David Groesbeck was a member and deacon.

He followed the trade of the shoemaker. Sometimes, he was referred to as a cordwainer. His home and shop were in the second ward on property he shared with his younger brother, John. They also leased a tanning pit on Foxes Creek. These Groesbecks were Albany nmainstays for several decades. He probably was the "David Groesbeck" whose name appeared on a list of Albany freeholders in 1763 as his father recently had died.

In 1752, he was chosen constable for the second ward. He also belonged to an Albany militia company. At the outbreak of the war he threw his support to the Revolutionary cause. In 1778, he was named lieutenant of a company of older Patriots who would be called up only in an emergency. Later, he (along with his two sons) was accorded a Bounty Right for service.

In August 1788, he marched ahead of the city's cordwainers in the parade celebrating ratification of the new Federal constitution.

In 1790, his household included included two males above sixteen, a woman, and two slaves.

David Groesbeck, Jr. died in March 1795 at the age of sixty nine. His obituary characterized him as "a pious and exemplary man." His widow lived on until 1818.

biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of David Groesbeck, Jr. is CAP biography number 3286. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Family information also appears within his father's annotated bible which David Jr. continued following his father's death in 1763.



first posted 8/20/05; updated 5/6/18