Ryckie Van Schaick Douw
by
Stefan Bielinski


Ryckie Van Schaick was baptized on January 4, 1741. She was the second daughter of the eight children born to Albany residents Sybrant and Alida Roseboom Van Schaick. Several siblings became Albany mainstays including her brother, Colonel Goose Van Schaick.

As the daughter of the city's mayor, she grew up in an advantaged Albany household. An appropriate mate was Peter Winne Douw, whom she married in 1762. Four children were born to the couple between 1764 and 1789.

Over the next four decades, these Douws lived in each of the city's three wards as Peter became a prominent city official. By 1790, they had settled into a large house on Market Street and were attended by a number of servants.

Peter W. Douw died after 1800. In 1803, his widow was alone in the house. Ryckie Van Schaick Douw died a few years later in November 1807. She had lived sixty-six years.

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notes

the people of colonial Albany The life of NAME is CAP biography number 3979. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.



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first posted: 01/25/02