Jan Jansen Bleecker (July 9, 1641 — November 21, 1732) was a colonial era merchant and political figure who served as

Mayor of Albany, New York 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 ...

Early life

Jan Jansen Bleecker was born in Meppel,

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on July 9, 1641 and was the first of his family to come to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. He was the son of Jan Bleecker.

Career

In 1658, he emigrated to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

(now

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

), and shortly thereafter he moved to

Beverwyck Beverwijck ( ; ), often written using the pre-reform orthography Beverwyck, was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River in New Netherland that was renamed and developed as Albany, New York, after the English took cont ...

(now Albany). Bleecker became a successful trader and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, and was also involved in

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

. When Albany received its city charter in 1686, Bleecker was appointed the first City Chamberlain (treasurer). In 1689 he was also appointed

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Albany

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. When

Jacob Leisler Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born colonist who served as a politician in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known as Leisler's ...

led a

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against British authority in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

from 1689 to 1691, Albany was a stronghold of anti-Leisler opposition. Bleecker served as a member of the Albany convention that attempted to convince Leisler to allow British military supplies to move north from New York City in anticipation of a French attack from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. (These events took place during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

.) Bleecker was a member of New York's

provincial assembly Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

from 1698 to 1701. He also served as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, and was City Recorder (deputy mayor) from 1696 to 1700. He was appointed several times as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. In 1700, Bleecker was appointed Mayor, and he served until 1701 when he was succeeded by his son, Johannes Bleecker, Jr. One of the tracts of land Bleecker came to own in partnership with several others was the Saratoga

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

. Bleecker's portion included what later came to be known as Bemis Heights, the site of the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

Personal life

On January 2, 1667, Bleecker was married to Grietje "Margaret" Rutse van Schoenderwoert (1647–1733), the daughter of Rutger Jacobson van Schoenderwoert (1615–1665) and Tryntje Jansen (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Van Breestede) (1625–1711). Together, they were the parents of: * Johannes Bleecker, Jr. (1668–1738), who served as Mayor of Albany who married Antje Coster (1679–1766). * Caajte Grietje Bleecker (1670–1734), who married Abraham Cuyler (1665–1747), a brother of Johannes Cuyler. * Jannetje Janse Bleecker (1673–1755), who married Johannes Jacobse Glen (1675–1706). *

Rutger Jansen Bleecker Rutger Jansen Bleecker or Rutger Bleecker (May 13, 1675 — August 4, 1756) was a colonial era merchant and political figure who served as List of mayors of Albany, New York, Mayor of Albany, New York from 1726 to 1729. Early life Bleecker was bo ...

(1675–1756), who also served as Mayor and who married Catalina Schuyler (1678–1747), daughter of David Pieterse Schuyler (1636–1690), and widow of

Johannes Abeel Johannes Abeel (March 23, 1667 – January 28, 1711) was an Albany, New York, merchant and public official. He was the second and thirteenth mayor of Albany. Early life Johannes (sometimes written John) was born on March 23, 1667 in Albany, New ...

. * Nicolas Bleecker (1677–1751) * Margarita Bleecker (1680–1773), who married Hendrick Ten Eyck (1680–1772), son of Jacob Coenraedtsen Ten Eyck and uncle to Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck. * Maeriae Bleecker (1683–1690), who died young. * Hendrick Bleecker (1686–1767) * Rachael Bleecker (1688–1766) * Maria Bleecker (1692–1693), who died young. Bleecker died in Albany on November 21, 1732. He was originally buried at Albany's First Reformed Church, and was later reinterred at

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 A ...

Descendants

Through his daughter Margarita, he was the grandfather of Tobias Coenraedt Ten Eyck (1717–1785), married Rachel de Peyster (1728–1794), daughter of Johannes de Peyster III and granddaughter of

Myndert Schuyler Myndert Schuyler (January 16, 1672 – October 18, 1755) was a colonial trader and merchant with extensive real estate holdings who served as Mayor of Albany, New York, twice between 1719 and 1725. Early life Schuyler was born on January 16, 16 ...

and Johannes de Peyster Jr. Other members of the Bleecker family to serve as Mayor include Charles Edward Bleecker (1826–1873) and

Anthony Bleecker Banks Anthony Bleecker Banks (March 7, 1835 – August 6, 1910) was an American book publisher and politician from New York. Life He was born on March 7, 1835, in New York City, the son of David Banks (born 1786), a law book publisher, and Harriet Bre ...

(1835–1910). In addition,

Harmanus Bleecker Harmanus Bleecker (October 9, 1779 – July 19, 1849) was an attorney in Albany, New York. A Federalist, he is most notable for his service as a member of the New York State Assembly, a United States representative from New York, and Chargé ...

(1779–1849), another descendant, served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and as

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

in the Netherlands.

References

External links

Jan Janse Bleecker's
biography at the

New York State Museum The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol. ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleecker, Jan Jansen 1641 births 1732 deaths People of New Netherland Mayors of Albany, New York Dutch emigrants to New Netherland Members of the New York General Assembly People of the Province of New York Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery Politicians from Meppel Bleecker family