Geertruy Van Vranken Gates

by


Geertruy Van Vranken was born in October 1754. She was the daughter of Gerrit and Susanna Egberts Van Vranken. She grew up with a number of sisters in the third ward home of an Albany carpenter.

In March 1779, she married newcomer soldier John Gates at the Albany Dutch church. By 1788, five children had been christened at the Albany church.

This Gates family made their home in the third ward next to that of her aging parents. A decade later, her parents had passed on but their household included six children. Their home at 5 Van Tromp Street also housed Gates's workshop.

The aging couple resided in their corner house until John died in 1825. Geertruy carried on after his death for another decade and a half. In 1836, she was granted an annual pension of $240 plus arrears for his Revolutionary War service. Geertruy Van Vranken Gates lived until she was eighty-five - dying in May 1839. The widow of John Gates was buried in the Dutch church cemetery plot.


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Geertruy Van Vranken Gates is CAP biography number 8161. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.





first posted: 10/15/09