Catharina Van Ness Bradt

Catharina Van Ness was born during the 1730s. We seek defining information on her parents and date of birth. However, it appears that she was the daughter of a Hendrick and Johanna Van Ness.

In July 1756, she married thirty-one-year-old Teunis Bradt at the Albany Dutch Church. At that time, both partners were "of Albany." By 1775, eight children had been christened in the church where she was a seat holder and regular baptism sponsor.

These Bradts made their home in the third ward near the house of Teunis' widowed mother. Teunis was known in the community as a master carpenter and served the city government and the Revolutionary cause in that capacity.

However, Teunis Bradt died during the 1790s. In early August 1797, a fire broke out in "the widow of A. Bradt's" stable in Montgomery Street and spread to destroy a sizeable section of the old city. It also consumed her dwellinghouse and displaced Catharina and two additional families at the Montgomery Street address. It was the largest fire in the city's history. However, widow Catharina was listed on city assessments as the owner of record there beginning in 1799.

Her household does not seem to have been enumerated separately on the city census in 1800. In 1809, the Montgomery Street house and lot of the "Widow of Tunis Bradt" was valued on the third ward assessment roll. After that, her name no longer appeared on Albany rolls.

We seek information on the later life and passing of Albany widow Catharina Van Ness Bradt.

Sources: The life of Catharina Van Ness Bradt is CAP biography number 878. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.