Henry
Glen
Henry Glen was born in 1739. He was the son of Albany residents Jacob and Elizabeth Cuyler Glen. He often was referred to as "Henry Glen, Jr."
In
December 1762, he married Elizabeth Visscher of Schenectady.
By 1785, the marriage produced seven children who
were baptized in the Dutch churches of Albany and
Schenectady where their parents were members.
Henry
Glen was a businessman (possibly a frontier peddlar
in his younger days) but primarily a land trader.
He owned residences in both Albany and Schenectady.
In 1766, his substantial Albany property was assessed
at 30 pounds - a substantial levy denoting upper-echelon
wealth. At the same time, he was identified as a
Schenectady "alderman." In 1790, his third ward Albany residence included seven slaves. But by 1800, he had moved and his household appeared on the Schenectady census.
Henry
Glen is best known for service to the Patriot cause
during the American Revolution. In 1775, he was elected
to represent Schenectady on the Albany County Committee
of Correspondence. He held militia commissions and
was sometimes called "Colonel." His principal contribution was in the Quartermaster Department where he served as Deputy Quartermaster General and was headquartered in Schenectady. Glen was associated with George Washington and accompanied the future president on his tour of the Mohawk Valley in 1783.
His
sister married Abraham C. Cuyler - the last mayor
of Albany under the British and an exiled Tory.
Henry Glen held a number of public offices over a long career. He was appointed "town clerk" for Schenectady in 1767. He was elected to represent Albany County in the first three Provincial Congresses in 1775 and 1776. After the war, he was elected to the New York State Assembly for Albany County in 1786 and for new Schenectady County in 1810. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1793, 1795, 1797, and 1799. During the Revolution, he also served as an Indian Commissioner.
Revolutionary
stalwart Henry Glen died in Schenectady in January
1814 at the age of seventy-five. ~
~ ~
Sources: The life of Henry Glen is CAP biography number
4923. This profile is derived chiefly from family
and community-based resources. The "Henry Glen Papers" at
the Clements Library are chief among manuscripts
resources. A number of biographical sketches are
available online!
Land: Besides a changing portfolio of Albany and Schenectady
real estate, Glen owned a share in the Kayaderosseras
Patent, shares in the Jerseyfield Patent, and perhaps
others!
By Stefan Bielinski, Colonial Albany Social History Project [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany]
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