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Gerrit
W. Van Schaick
Gerrit W. Van Schaick was born in May 1758. He was the last child born to Albany merchant Wessel Van Schaick and his wife, the former Mary Gerritse. He grew up in a comfortable home near the Albany waterfront.
Coming
of age during the war, he marched with the militia
to defend Saratoga in 1777. In 1779, he served as
an ensign in Captain John Price's militia company.
Later, he was accorded a land bounty right. He ultimately
rose to the rank of General in the New York State
militia.
He
probably did not marry and lived with his mother
following the death of his father in 1783. Following
her death in 1797, he inherited a share in his parents'
substantial estate. He was a member and pewholder
of the Albany Dutch church.
He
owned extensive Albany real estate including a wharf
and other waterfront holdings, a large tract along
Foxes Creek, and land on the east side of Pearl Street.
He also held certificates for several thousand acrea
in central New York. After the death of his mother,
he had the Foxes Creek property subdivided and began
to sell off the lots north of the stream bed in a
new area known as Arbor Hill.
He
lived on lower State Street (number 23 State) and
was the first cashier of the Bank of Albany. He was
involved with and a supporter of a number of community
organizations. Without children, his household and
businesses were cared for by slaves and servants.
Gerrit
W. Van Schaick died in Lansingburgh in December 1816
after a short illness. He had lived sixty-eight years!
Van Schaick Street (today's Monroe Street) probably
was named for him.
Sources: The life of Gerrit W. Van Schaick is CAP biography
number 3953. This profile is derived chiefly from
family and community-based resources. Because he
was a visible presence at the Bank and a very active
real estate trader, Gerrit W. Van Schaick's papers
appear in a number of manuscripts repositories.
Obituary: "Gerrit W. Van Schaick died at Lansingburgh, after a short but severe illness, age 59. He was the first cashier of the Bank of Albany, which office he held from 1792 to 1814. He was one of the citizen soldiers who rallied to the battle-field when the city was threatened by the British under Burgoyne; was afterwards a general in the militia, and an efficient member of the common council." From "Notes from the Newspapers," printed
in Annals of Albany, volume 6, p . 119.
By Stefan Bielinski, Colonial Albany Social History Project [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany]
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