John Henry Van Antwerp (1823 – 1903) [Section 16 Lot 45]
Founder, Original Trustee and President of National Savings Bank, First president of the Washington Park Board
John Henry Van Antwerp was born on October 12, 1823, in Albany. He is the eldest of four children to Sarah Meadon and William Van Antwerp, a prominent lawyer who died in 1829. John is a descendant of Daniel Janse Van Antwerp, who settled Beverwyck in 1661, and a proprietary settler of Schenectady. Daniel Janse became a fur trader making him extremely wealthy; in 1715 he donated the land for the Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady situated on the corner of Union and Church Street.
His grandfather, Daniel Lewis Van Antwerp was extremely well known and regarded in the Albany area and nationally. He served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1801 and member of the State Legislature for Saratoga in 1808-10. He also served as District Attorney in 1811 for the counties of Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Montgomery, and Schoharie, being appointed by Governor Daniel Tompkins; later being reappointed by Governor DeWitt Clinton on April 21, 1818. During the War of 1812, he served as a Brigade Quartermaster. He also served as a member of the State Legislature for Schenectady in 1818, and Judge of the Court of Justices in 1820.
John attended private school and began his business life at New York State National Bank, first as a clerk, then a cashier. He served as a cashier from 1856 – 1880 when he resigned and became vice-president of the bank. Van Antwerp served as a founder and original trustee of the National Savings Bank of Albany and has been its president since May 1873, shortly after its organization.
On April 23, 1843, he married Martha Nancy Wiswall and together they had four children, though two would die in infancy. The family resided at 2 Lodge Street, later 270 State Street.
The family was an early member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located in downtown Albany. He was first elected to the vestry in 1852, becoming senior warden in 1862, holding the position until he retired in 1902. Upon the death of his wife in 1880, he donated funds for a parish house in her memory, which was constructed in 1883. The building was added upon in 1920 in the memory of George and Helen Wilson. The church and parish house were demolished in 1964 to make way for the South Mall government complex.
John was a member of a several of social clubs: Manhattan Club; St. Nicholas Club; Fort Orange County; Albany Country Club; Holland Society; Sons of the Revolution; Fellow of the American Geographical Society of the City of New York; and the Albany Institute of History and Art. He was also on the New York State Board of Charities for over eighteen years.
In 1869, the New York State Legislature allowed for the creation of Washington Park in Albany. John was named a commissioner and served as the first president until his resignation in 1884. During his time he oversaw the layout and design of the park. His connection to Rufus King, whom he worked under at the State Bank, and served as director of the National Savings Bank, later led to the installation of the Moses fountain within the park in 1893.
John Van Antwerp died on December 14, 1903, at the age of 80 of Aterio Sclerosis. He is buried in the J.H. Van Antwerp plot next to his wife.