Thomas Sanders was born in Europe during the first decades of the seventeenth century. By 1640, he was in New Amsterdam where he married Sara Cornelis Van Gorcum. At least four of their children were born in New Netherland. He was the patriarch of the Sanders family of early Albany.

By 1653, he owned one or more houselots in the new village of Beverwyck. A year later, he sold some of that property and appears to have moved south. In 1657, he was listed among the "small burgers" of New Amsterdam and identified as a locksmith.

Apparently, his remaining upriver property devolved on his son Robert. Thomas Sanders may have been dead by 1669 when Robert Sanders paid for his mother's burial in Albany!

Sources: The life of Thomase Sanders is CAP biography number 1445. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. We seek additional information on his origins and Manhattan life!