Magdalena Gansevoort Ten Eyck
by
Stefan Bielinski


Magdalena Gansevoort was born in August 1777. Her parents were Leonard and Hester Cuyler Gansevoort. The daughter of a member of the State legislature, she grew up in a substantial State Street home - virtually an only child until the birth of a sister in 1789.

Consequently, she was trained on the piano and educated in New York City until illness brought her home to Albany in 1792. The following year, she reputedly was the reason that a disgruntled suitor conspired to have her father's stables set on fire - which caused a substantial portion of the city to be burned. The affair created quite a scandal in the city! After that, these Gansevoorts relocated to their recently acquired country estate called Whitehall.

In March 1795, she married Jacob Ten Eyck. The couple lived at Whitehall where they raised their seven children. She inherited the property as well as his wharf when Leonard Gansevoort died in 1810.

biography in-progress

Magdalena Gansevoort Ten Eyck died in May 1863 at the age of eighty-six!



notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Magdalena Gansevoort Ten Eyck is CAP biography number 4668. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




Home | Site Index | Navigation | Email | New York State Museum


first posted: 2/5/04