Cornelis Van Schaick

by


Cornelis Van Schaick was born in November 1736. He was the last child born to the marriage of Albany residents Nicholas and Dorothea Witbeck Van Schaick. He grew up in a small family in Albany's first ward but lost both parents before he was fifteen.

We seek information on his adolescence and entry into adulthood. He has not been found in the city-based record until the late 1770s.

In 1767, a Cornelis was identified as a sergeant in an Albany militia company. Probably a differenct Cornelis Van Schaick (perhaps jr.) was a prominent Kinderhook resident during the War for Independence.

During the 1780s and beyond, this individual appears to have been the city bellringer and the bellringer and sexton at the Albany Dutch church.

In January 1784, at almost fifty, Cornelis married a much younger Willempie Hansen at the Albany Dutch church. Two years later, the marriage produced a son who was named for Nicholas' deceased grandfather. In 1790, "Cornelius Van Schaick's" second ward household included only their son. A decade later, his third ward census entry noted only Cornelis and Willempie as young Nicholas had died in October 1799.

Albany assessment rolls in 1788, and 1799 valued his various properties modestly.

Cornelis Van Schaick was dead by 1813 when his widow was listed as the principal resident at 20 Steuben Street.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Cornelis Van Schaick is CAP biography number 4019. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




first posted: 8/20/11