Rachel Bogert Douw

Rachel Bogert was born in March 1715. She was the daughter of Cornelis and his second wife, Dorothy Oothout Bogert. She grew up in a small, blended family in the third ward home of a prominent Albany woodworker.

In April 1752, Rachel would have been thirty-seven when she married the slightly older Volkert A. Douw at the Albany Dutch church. The marriage produced two surviving children. Her son may have been born years before the wedding when the mother would have been thirty. In 1759, Rachel Douw was counted among the church pewholders.

In 1755, she was left a financial bequest in the will filed by her father who died a few months later.

Her husband was a merchant of some repute but survived only until 1768 when he filed a will. She was made executor and left half of his substantial estate. Volkert A. Douw, died two months later.

In March 1779, her third ward property was valued on the assessment roll. Living in her house was her son Andreas.

According to traditional sources, Rachel Bogert Douw died in September 1780.

Sources: The life of Rachel Bogert Douw is CAP biography number 6143. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.