by Stefan Bielinski Elizabeth Vanderpoel was born during the mid-1650s. She was the daughter of Teunise Cornelise and Catharina Croon Vanderpoel. About 1675, she married Sybrant Van Schaick. He died a decade into the marriage. In June 1686, the widow married a slightly younger Benomi Van Curler at the Albany Dutch church. By 1700, nine of her children from the two marriages had been christened in Albany where she was a long-time member and frequent baptism sponsor. Elizabeth raised her family in a comfortable Albany home. In 1683, she was named sole heir of Sybrant Van Schaick. Following the death of her second husband in 1704, she carried on as the head of her first ward household for several decades. Several of her children became prominent Albany residents. "Aged and weak," widow Elizabeth Vanderpoel Van Schaick Van Curler filed a will in November 1750. By that time, her daughter, Maria, was caring for her mother. Elizabeth died in January 1754 and was buried from the Albany church. ![]()
first posted: 5/30/05 |