David A. Schuyler
by
Stefan Bielinski


David A. Schuyler was born in November 1692. He was the eldest son in the modest family of Albany residents Abraham D. and Geertruy Ten Broeck Schuyler. His father was a trader, skipper, and traveller who was absent frequently - perhaps leaving David to help his mother manage their Albany-based business. Thus, he was thirty-three by the time he started his own family.

David A. Schuyler married mayor's daughter Maria Hansen at the Albany Dutch church in December 1725. Into his thirties at the time of his marriage, their family was smaller than that of younger parents. Only one of their children lived to maturity.

Son of a prominent Albany merchant and shipper, David A. Schuyler began as a baker. By the 1720s, he also was being identified as a merchant. In 1720 and 1742, his name was included on third ward freeholders' lists.

Although he did hold property at Schaghticoke and elsewhere, David A. Schuyler was an Albany mainstay. In 1718, he was elected an assistant alderman for the third ward and served for several years. He served on committees and also engaged in business transactions with the Albany corporation.

In 1756, he was identified as a baker when his house was described on a census taken by the British army. With his son Abraham - a Hudson River skipper, his Market Street home was included on city assessment rolls in 1766 and '67. As late as 1763, his name still was found on Albany freeholders lists. David A. Schuyler was living in December 1767 when he and Maria witnessed a real estate transaction.

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notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of David A. Schuyler is CAP biography number 1265. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




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first posted: 9/10/03