Van Woert
At least part of the Van Woert family of early Albany was descended from Rutger Jacobse Van Schoendwoert who came to New Netherland during the 1630s. His daughter married city father Jan Janse Bleecker and was the matriarch of the Albany Bleecker family. The Van Woert family maintained a small but consistent presence in the city of Albany for more than a century.
Until his death in 1730, shoemaker Jacob Teunise was an Albany mainstay who raised a large family following his second marriage in the North End of Albany.
Tailor Andries Van Woert was counted among an emerging Southside enclave of cloth craftsmen during the middle decades of the eighteenth century.
In 1742, only placeman Nicholas Van Woert appeared on a city freeholders list. However, four other Van Woerts were listed from Rensselaerswyck. By that time, a part of the family was beginning to cluster near what later would be called Van Woert Street on land leased from the Van Rensselaers whose country seat stood out between the Van Woerts and the river.
His son, Henry, began to make the transition to Albany's commercial class but mainly was the only Van Woert left within the actual city.
At the same time, Van Woert daughters married into successful Albany families and also with prominent newcomers including skipper John Fryer and carpenter Thomas Easterly.
In 1813, the first city directory listed a Henry Van Woert and two Van Woert widows in city homes.
Located near the site of the Van Rensselaer Manor House, Van Woert Street is named for the New Netherland era early Albany family who were residents of that area for several generations. The Van Woert family remains notable in Albany and its environs today.
Sources: This access page on the Van Woert family of early Albany has been derived chiefly from family, community-based, and Internet resources. Previously encountered links to the unpublished but reputedly massive "Van Woert Genealogy by Dr. Irving Van Woert (1890-1974) - formerly of Delmar, NY, seem to be broken at this time.