William Van Zandt

by


William Van Zandt was born in September 1725. He was an the second surviving son in the large family of Albany natives Johannes and Sara Hilton Van Zandt. He grew up in the home of a prominent weaver on the South Side of Albany - also the neighborhood of a number of Van Zandt households.

By the early 1750s, he had married Alida Smith (or Swits). By 1772, eight children had been christened at the Albany Dutch church.

In 1753, and again in 1774, he was appointed firemaster for the first ward. William was a shoemaker and mainline resident for the next thirty years. He was a member of the Albany militia, a freeholder, and assessment rolls show this homeowner living among a number of Van Zandt households.

Aged fifty at the outbreak of the war, William Van Zandt seems to only have offered financial support to the Revolutionary cause.

In 1779, his first ward property was accorded a middling assessment.

William Van Zandt was dead by the end of August 1785 when his lot and heirs were referenced by the Albany Common Council. In 1788, his widow was the owner of record and their adult son was listed there as well.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of William Van Zandt is CAP biography number 335. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.





first posted: 5/15/10