David Ketelhuyn was born about 1670. He was the son of Albany founders Jochem and Anna Willems Ketelhuyn. Losing his father during the early 1680s, he was raised by his mother in their third ward home.

In March 1695, he married Johanna Bradt at the Albany Dutch church. By 1707, five children had been christened in Albany where he was an occasional baptism sponsor.

These Ketelhuyns set up their home in Albany's third ward near the houses of his father-in-law, brother and widowed mother.

David Ketelhuyn aspired to the fur trade but was fined several times for illegal trading. He sought to engage Native hunters beyond the Albany trading perimeter - specifically near Kinderhook. Seeking acceptance, he served in the militia, on juries, and as a constable for the third ward in 1703. In 1699, he joined with his Albany neighbors in swearing allegiance to the king of England.

By 1703, he had relocated to the Halfmoon where he would serve as constable. He purchased land north of the Mohawk and at the new settlement called Schaghticoke. In 1705, he sold his Albany house. On October 20, 1711, he was killed by French and Indian raiders while at his brother's house in Schaghticoke. David Ketelhuyn had not lived fifty years!

Sources: The life of David Ketelhuyn is CAP biography number 4634. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.