Jan Jansen Bleecker (1641-1732) [Section 61 Lot 1]
Member of the Provincial Assembly, 7th Mayor of Albany, Indian Commissioner, Captain of the Militia, Justice of the Peace.
Jan Jansen was born in the Netherlands on July 9, 1641, becoming the first in his family to emigrate to North America, arriving in 1658 at age 17. Jan is the founder of Albany’s Bleeker family settling in Beverwyck soon after his arrival.
As a young man he was skilled as a blacksmith, soon diverting into the fur trade. As the trading business matured, he concurrently began teaching school, served for a time as a notary, and represented others in legal cases brought before the Albany courts. In 1667 he married Grietje Rutse van Schoenderwoert (Margaret Van Woert), the daughter of an Albany brewer, thereafter having 9 children. The family were members of the Albany Dutch Church where Jan Jansen served as deacon and church elder until his death.
Living on Pearl street, he became active in the real estate market; the purchase and sale of lots allowed investment in additional lands outside of the city.
Becoming a public servant in the 1680’s Jan Jansen served as commissary on the Albany court. In 1686 he was appointed one of the first alderman, and was appointed by the Governor as city treasurer. A member of the Albany corporation, he became a justice and served as one of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs and Captain of the Militia during the Indian War (1689) At the municipal level, he was elected to represent Albany in the Provincial Assembly in 1698. His public career climaxed with his appointment as mayor of Albany in 1700.
While he was Mayor, 15,241 beaver skins were exported in a single year. The main issue confronting him was to obtain support from the Iroquois tribes in the Dutch struggles against the French in Canada. After many days of deliberation, the Indian Sachems told him that they would support the group that gave them the most presents and gave them the best trade deals.
His sons expanded the Bleecker trade network deeper into the native American countryside. In 1715, Jan Jansen became a naturalized British subject, further strengthening the family's foundation in America.
Jan Jansen lived his life in Albany, being the patriarch of a large and successful family. He died on November 21, 1732. His wife Margarita passed less than a year later. Originally interred at the Middle Dutch Church on Hudson Avenue in Albany, and later reinterred to the Albany Rural Cemetery.