Coenradt Sharp

Coenradt Sharp (often spelled "Scherp") was born in September 1738. He was the son of Jurrian and Barbara Sharp. His parents were residents of the East Manor and were still alive into the 1770s. He does not appear to be connected to the family of his troubled Albany contemporary Jacobus Sharp.

His wife was Elizabeth Staats - although we have yet to connect her to the core Albany Staats family. However, between 1776 and 1790, four of their children were christened at the Albany Dutch church.

During the 1770s, he would have been in his thirties and seems to have been in the Albany area as he signed a community-based petition asking for leniency for a local thief. After the war, he was accorded a bounty right in conjunction with the Albany militia regiment. We seek more definitive information regarding his wartime activities.

In 1781, he was among a number of non native-born newcomers who purchased the right to do business in Albany called "Freedom of the City." At that time, he was identified as a merchant.

In October 1782, he was one of a number of area residents who witnessed the will of the widow of former mayor John Barclay.

In 1782, he was appointed chimney viewer for the third ward. A few years later, his moderate holdings first appeared on a city assessment roll. In 1790, the first census showed seven people in his houshold. Subsequent censuses documented the growth of his mid-sized family in the house on the west side of North Market Street. This mainliner was known in the city as a tobacconist in a career that spanned three decades.

Coenradt Sharp was dead by July 14,1812 when his will passed probate. He would have been about seventy-four years old at the time. The house of the "widow of Coenradt Sharp" on Patroon Street was included in the city directory in 1816.

Sources: The life of Coenradt Sharp is CAP biography number 7010. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.