Johannes "John" De Peyster Douw (January 20, 1756 – February 22, 1835) was an American merchant, lawyer, soldier and civic leader.

Early life

Douw was born on January 20, 1756, and grew up in his parents' home in Albany and their country home known as Wolvenhook on the eastern bank of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, about a mile below Albany. He was the eighth of nine children born to Anna ( De Peyster) Douw (1723–1794), and Volkert P. Douw, who served as

Mayor of Albany From its formal chartering on 22 July 1686 until 1779, the mayors of Albany, New York, were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1779 until 1839, may ...

and a

New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...

and was a close friend of General

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alba ...

. His father was the only surviving son of Petrus Douw and Anna (née Van Rensselaer) Douw (a daughter of

Hendrick van Rensselaer Hendrick van Rensselaer (October 23, 1667 – July 4, 1740) was director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor. The estate was composed of land in Columbia County, New York, and land opposite Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, ...

). His maternal grandfather was Johannes de Peyster III, who also served as mayor of Albany. Douw was sent to

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

from where he graduated in 1777.

Career

Douw trained as a merchant by his grandfather until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He joined the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, serving as an ensign in the

Rensselaerswyck The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck ( nl, Rensselaerswijck ), was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the va ...

company of the

Albany County militia The Albany County militia was the colonial militia of Albany County, New York. Drawn from the general male population, by law all male inhabitants from 15 to 55 had to be enrolled in militia companies, the later known by the name of their commanders ...

, and the commissary department. He took part in the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...

against

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and the four Nations of the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

(which had sided with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

) in 1779. He was a close friend of

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

. In 1782, he was appointed Albany County Surrogate. In 1788, he was elected Alderman for the first ward. Following the death of an uncle, he inherited a townhouse on State Street in 1787. Although he trained as a lawyer, he was better known as a merchant and was heavily involved in Albany real estate. His store was located on South Market Street.

Personal life

Douw was married three times. He married his first wife, Deborah Beekman (1763–1791) on December 23, 1787, at the house of Maria ( Sanders) Beekman and

Johannes Jacobse Beekman Johannes "John" Jacobse Beekman (August 8, 1733 – December 17, 1802) was a New York politician and businessman of Dutch descent. He served as Mayor of Albany, New York and a member of the New York State Assembly. Early life Beekman was ...

, her parents. Together, they were the parents of: * Volkert Peter Douw (1790–1869), After the death of his first wife on July 23, 1791, he married Margaret Livingston (1768–1802) on December 20, 1795, at the Hermitage in the

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

. Margaret was a daughter of Col. Peter Robert Livingston and a granddaughter of Robert Livingston, 3rd Lord of Livingston Manor. In 1800, their household included seven family members and four slaves. Before his wife died on January 20, 1802, they were the parents of: * Anna DePeyster Douw (1798–1871), who married Samuel Stringer Lush (1783–1841), a son of Stephen Lush. After his death in 1841, she married William Tremper Cuyler (1802–1864), the widower of Charlotte Hanford and Nancy Bancker Stewart, in 1850. * Margaret Livingston Douw (1798–1878), who married Alanson Abbe (1795–1864) in 1844. * Louisa Douw (1801–1802), who died young. His third marriage was in 1811 to his twenty-nine year old cousin Catherine Douw Gansevoort (1782–1848), when he was fifty-two. Catherine was a daughter of Leonard Gansevoort Jr. and Maria ( Van Rensselaer) Gansevoort, in 1811. * John DePeyster Douw (1812–1901), who married Marianna Chandler Lanman, daughter of Mayor Charles J. Lanman (son of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

James Lanman). * Mary Douw (1815–1815), who died young. * Catharine Louisa Douw (1817–1891), who married John Fonda Townsend (1809–1874). * Harriet Maria Douw (1824–1852), who married William Clarkson Johnson (1823–1893) in 1847. Douw died on February 22, 1835. He was buried at the

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

Menands, New York Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the northern city line of Albany. H ...

. His widow died in April 1848.

References

External links

*
John De Peyster Douw
portrait by

Ezra Ames Ezra Ames (May 5, 1768 – February 23, 1836) was a popular portrait painter in Albany, New York, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. More than 700 portraits have been attributed to him. Life and career He was born in Framingham, Mas ...

at the National Portrait Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Douw, John De Peyster 1756 births 1835 deaths Yale University alumni 18th-century American politicians American people of Dutch descent

John De Peyster Douw Johannes "John" De Peyster Douw (January 20, 1756 – February 22, 1835) was an American merchant, lawyer, soldier and civic leader. Early life Douw was born on January 20, 1756, and grew up in his parents' home in Albany and their country home k ...