Arent Pruyn

Arent Pruyn was born in May 1688. He was the son of Albany tailor Frans Janse and Alida Pruyn. His mother died in 1704 and his father passed in 1712 when Arent was just twenty-two.

In November 1714, Arent married brewer's daughter Catharina Gansevoort at the Albany Dutch church. By 1727, six children had been christened in Albany.

He made his home in the second ward. He was named firemaster in 1716 and constable in 1718. He belonged to an Albany militia company. In 1720, he was identified as a freeholder in Albany.

In or after 1730, he removed to Kinderhook - perhaps to property his father had owned there. In May 1736, he purchased the Kinderhook farm of Cornelis Schermerhorn. Arent Pruyn was assessed for property in Kinderhook in 1744. The name appeared on a list of Kinderhook freeholders in 1763. Perhaps, that person was the Arent Pruyn born in Albany seventy-five years earlier.

Sources: The life of Arent Pruyn is CAP biography number 3516. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.