Dirck Ten Broeck (mayor)

Dirck Ten Broeck (December 4, 1686 – January 7, 1751) was an American of Dutch heritage who served as Mayor of Albany from 1746 to 1748.<ref name="DTBnysm">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Dirck Ten Broeck was born on December 18, 1638 in Albany, New York. He was the son of Wessel Ten Broeck (1664–1747) and Catherina Loockermans (1669–1729).<ref name="Runk1897"></ref>

His paternal grandparents were former Albany mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck (1638–1717) and Christyna Van Buren (1644–1729).<ref name="DWTBnysm">Template:Cite web</ref> His paternal aunt, Elsje Ten Broeck (d. 1752), was married to Johannes Cuyler, who succeeded him as Albany mayor.<ref name="Runk1897"/>

Career

In 1716, he joined the City Council after being elected Assistant Alderman for the Third Ward. In 1722, he was elected Alderman. In 1728, he was commissioned Recorder (Deputy Mayor) of the City by the Colonial Governor John Montgomerie. He served as Alderman for many years, as well as Commissioners of Indian Affairs for a total of 16 years, having been appointed in 1729, 1732, 1734, 1738, 1739, 1742, and 1745.<ref name="Rhoden2014"></ref>

Ten Broeck also served as a member of the New York General Assembly from 1728 to 1737.<ref name="DTBnysm"/>

In 1746, he was appointed Mayor of Albany by Gov. George Clinton, succeeding Cornelis Cuyler. He served until 1748 when Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck became the new mayor.<ref name="Hough1889"></ref> Upon his father's death in 1747, he inherited substantial real estate and expanded his holdings, which he then passed along to his sons.<ref name="DTBnysm"/>

Personal life

In 1714, he married Grietje "Margarita" Cuyler (1682–1783), the daughter of Abraham Cuyler (1665–1747) and Caatje (née Bleecker) Cuyler (1670–1734), a daughter of former Albany mayor Jan Jansen Bleecker. She was also the niece of his uncle and the former Albany mayor Cornelis Cuyler.<ref name="Laer2009"></ref> Together, they were the parents of twelve children,<ref name="DTBnysm"/> including:<ref name="Reynolds1911"></ref>

• Catharine Ten Broeck (1715–1802), who was married to John Livingston (1709–1791), a son of Robert Livingston the Younger.<ref name="Bergen1915"></ref>
• Anna Ten Broeck (1717–1731), who died young.
• Christina Ten Broeck (1718–1801), who was married to Philip Livingston (1716–1778), son of Philip Livingston, 2nd Lord of Livingston Manor.<ref name="CTBLnysm">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Maria Ten Broeck (1721–1805), who married Gerardus Groesbeck (1709–1788).<ref name="Talcott2001"></ref>
• Sara Ten Broeck (1725–1801), who married Johannes Henrickse Ten Eyck (1710–1794), son of Hendrick and Margarita (née Bleecker) Ten Eyck, in 1746.<ref name="STBTEnysm">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Margarita Ten Broeck (b. 1731),<ref name="MTBRLnysm">Template:Cite web</ref> who married Stephen Richard (1732–1773), a member of the Van Rensselaer family, in 1765.<ref name="SRnysm">Template:Cite web</ref> After his death, she married widow Gerardus Lansing (1723–1808) in 1778.<ref name="MTBRLnysm"/>
• Abraham Ten Broeck (1734–1810), who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1734–1813), a daughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer I (the 7th Patroon and 4th Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck) and a sister of Stephen Van Rensselaer II.
• Dirck Ten Broeck (1738–1780), who married Anna Douw (1743–1774),<ref name="Munsell1871"></ref> a daughter of New York State Senator Volkert P. Douw,<ref name="GeneReg1897"></ref> in 1761.<ref name="schenectadyhistory">Template:Cite web</ref>

Dirck Ten Broeck died on January 7, 1751.<ref name="Reynolds1911"/>

See also

• History of Albany, New York

External links

• Template:Find a grave
• Dirck Ten Broeck biography at the New York State Museum

Dirck Ten Broeck by Stefan Bielinski

Dirck Ten Broeck was born in 1686. He was the eldest son of Albany businessman Wessel Ten Broeck and his wife, Catharina Loockermans Ten Broeck. He grew up in his father's riverside home and at his grandfather's country estate located within Livingston Manor.

He married Albany native Margarita Cuyler in 1714. Over the next twenty-four years, the union produced twelve children who were baptized at the Allbany Dutch church where both parents were members, frequent baptism sponsors, and where Dirck served as a deacon.

Following a family formula for success, this Albany mainstay was known as an Indian trader. In 1715, he was named "Inspector of Skins." During the 1720s, he held a provincial appointment as "farmer of the excise" (tax collector). He also served in the Albany militia.

In 1716, he followed his father to the city council - being elected assistant alderman for the third ward. In 1722, he was elected alderman. In 1728, he was commissioned recorder of the city by the provincial governor. After serving many years as alderman, Indian commissioner, recorder, and member of the provincial Assembly from 1728 to 1737, Dirck Ten Broeck was appointed mayor of Albany in 1746. He served two terms.

Inheriting substantial real estate from his father, Dirck Ten Broeck expanded those holdings in Albany and beyond. In 1722, he sold a portion of his Pearl Street property to the Dutch church. During the three decades of peace, he was involved in the cutting and sawing of lumber on his wilderness property. During that time, he also helped oversee Albany's interests at Schaghticoke.

In November 1737, "Dirck Wesselse" witnessed the wiill of an Albany neighbor.

Calling himself an "Albany merchant," Dirck Ten Broeck filed a will in 1748. It devised his estate to Margarita during her life and then divided his substantial holdings among seven promising progeny. Dirck Ten Broeck died in January 1751 and was buried beneath the Dutch church. He had just passed his sixty-fourth birthday. His widow enjoyed the estate until her death in 1783!

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notes the people of colonial AlbanyThe life of Dirck Ten Broeck is CAP biography number 33. Several contemporaries of the same name then were living in colonial New York. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.

Military: Although antiquarian resources have referred to him as "Colonel," we still search for his commission. In 1715, he was listed as a private in John Schuyler's Troop of the Albany County Militia.