Pieter Van Deusen

Pieter Van Deusen was born in November 1747. He was the second of three sons born to Johannes and Maria Winne Van Deusen. He grew up a member of a small family in the home of a first ward carpenter.

Perhaps he was the "Peter Van Duesen" listed on the roster of an Albany city militia company in 1767.

At that time, his house and holdings in the first ward were valued modestly on city assessment rolls. In 1779, only his real property in the same vicinity was taxed.

In November 1769, he married Catharina (Lena) Van Wie at the Dutch church in Albany. However, over the next twenty-four years, only three children appear to have been christened at the Albany church.

In his late twenties at the outbreak of hostilities, we expect to connect him to wartime activities. Afterwards, he was accorded a land bounty right in conjunction with the Albany militia regiment.

After the war, he seems to have returned to the Southside of Albany where in 1788, his real property and personal holdings in that location were valued modestly. In 1790, his first ward household included four residents.

In November 1788, the newspaper reported that Van Deusen and one "Jacob Van De Bilt" had opened a "soap and candle factory" in Albany.

Except for the possible assessment of the house and lot of a "Peter Van Luven" in the vicinity of Schuyler Mansion on the assessment roll in 1799, subsequent references to this Pieter Van Deusen have not yet been uncovered in the community-based record. A younger same-named individual was listed on the first ward census in 1800. We move on for now seeking to answer questions on this subject's later life and passing.

Sources: The life of Pieter Van Deusen is CAP biography number 5567. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.