Ryckert Van Zandt was born in 1735. He was the eldest surviving son of businessman Gerrit and Anna Vandenbergh Van Zandt. He grew up on the south side of Albany in the heart of the city's center of trades and crafts.

He married his young neighbor, Sara Hilton, in January 1765. Their first child was born a few months later. Over the next twenty-five years, eight children were baptized in the Albany Dutch church.

Ryckert Van Zandt was an Albany mainstay. He earned a living as a carpenter and repair man while performing contract services for the city government. He served as a constable in the first ward and as a member of the provincial militia. His home was valued on first ward assessments for the rest of his life.

During the War for Independence, he actually served in the Albany militia regiment, repaired water pumps and performed other services for the Committee of Correspondence, contributed money to the war effort, and, in 1780, was held back from military service because he was a carpenter.

The end of the war found him at work as a contractor and administering the city lots inherited from his father. In 1790, his Green Street household included eight family members. The first city directory in 1813 gave his address as "19 Green Street."

Ryckert Van Zandt died in June 1814 at age seventy-eight. His will passed probate a week later. His widow lived on in their Green Street home until her death in 1830.

Sources: The life of Ryckert/Richard/Dirck (but mostly Ryckert) Van Zandt is CAP biography number 320. Ryckert This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.