Hester Dircks was the matriarch of the Visscher family of early Albany. She probably was born in Europe and emigrated to New Netherland during the mid-seventeenth century.

By the 1660s, she had become the wife of Albany trader Harmen Bastiaense Visscher. Their numerous offspring spread out in the Albany area making the Visschers one of early Albany's largest family groups. She was a member and regular baptism sponsor at the Albany Dutch church.

Harmen Bastiaense was dead by 1697 when widow "Esther Tiercks" was identified as the head of their Albany household. In 1709, her second ward property was taxed on the city assessment roll. After that, the name of Hester Dircks Visscher has not been encountered in Albany-based records.

Sources: The life of Hester Dircks Visscher is CAP biography number 6455. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. We seek information on her origins and ultimate fate!