Johannes Abeel (March 23, 1667 – January 28, 1711) was an

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, merchant and public official. He was the second and thirteenth

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Albany.

Early life

Johannes (sometimes written John) was born on March 23, 1667 in Albany, New York, the son of Christopher Janse Abeel (1621–1684), a prosperous merchant and landowner, and Neiltje Jans Croom. He was the third of four children and the only boy born to his parents, who emigrated to New York from Holland in 1647. Johannes was born shortly after Great Britain assumed control of the former Dutch colony of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

and renamed it as New York in 1664.

Career

After his father died when Abeel was 13, Abeel became a successful trader and merchant in Albany and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, establishing relationships with Native American tribes in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

that enabled him to acquire furs for resale in Albany. He exported the

furs Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and received

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...

, and other items, some of which were for British soldiers garrisoned in Albany and

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

, and most of which he resold at a profit. Abeel used some of his profits to take part in land purchase, resale and development, including the 1705 Westenhook Patent.

Public career

Abeel served as assistant alderman for the Third Ward in 1688, and was

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

from 1691 to 1693 and again in 1700. From 1694 to 1695 and 1709 to 1710 Abeel served as mayor of Albany, appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor

Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, (pronounced "Dungan") 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715), was a member of the Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and Governor of the Province of New York. He is noted for hav ...

. In 1695, 1701, and 1702 Abeel served as a member of the

New York Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assembl ...

. In 1702 he was appointed judge of the Albany County

Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

and Albany city recorder (deputy mayor), and in 1705 he accepted appointment as a

master in chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

Personal life

On April 10, 1694, Abeel married Catalina Schuyler (1678–1747). She was the daughter of David Pieterse Schuyler (1636–1690) and Catharina Verplanck (1639–1690), who both died during the

Schenectady massacre The Schenectady massacre was an attack against the colonial settlement of Schenectady in the English Province of New York on February 8, 1690. A raiding party of 114 French soldiers and militiamen, accompanied by 96 allied Mohawk and Algonquin wa ...

of 1690, and the sister of Albany mayors, David Davidse Schuyler (1669–1715) and

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 ...

(1672–1755). They had five children: * Christoffel Abeel (1696–1771), who married Margueritta Breese (1701–1758) in 1720. * Catalina Abeel (b. 1698), who married Vincent Matthews. * Neiltje Abeel (b. 1700) * David Abeel (1705–1777), who married Mary Duyckinck (1702–1780) * Jannette Abeel (b. 1705) Abeel died in Albany on January 28, 1711. He was originally buried in the Second

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

Cemetery on Beaver Street, one of several downtown burial grounds that had their remains removed to

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 ...

in the 1830s. According to a contemporary newspaper account, workmen moving remains at Second Church uncovered his tombstone, which was inscribed "Here lies the body of John Abeel who departed this life ye 28 day of Jan'y. 1711, and in the 44 year of his age." It is not known what subsequently happened to the grave marker.Stefan Bielinski
Johannes Abeel page
New York State Museum, accessed September 5, 2012 After his death, his widow remarried to Rutger Janse Bleecker (1675–1756), a son of

Jan Jansen Bleecker 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. Early life Jan Jansen Bleecker was born in Meppel, Drenthe, Netherlands on July 9, 1641 and was t ...

, both of whom served as mayor of Albany.

Descendants

Abeel had several descendants serve in prominent clergy roles, including

David Abeel David Abeel (June 12, 1804 – September 4, 1846) was a missionary of the Dutch Reformed Church with the American Reformed Mission. Biography Abeel was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on June 12, 1804 to Captain David and Jane Hassert ...

and Gustavus Abeel. Through his eldest daughter Catalina, he was the grandfather of

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As New York Cit ...

(1739–1800), the Mayor of New York City under the British during 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 Revoluti ...

. Through his son Christoffel, he was the grandfather of Johannes Abeel (1722–1794), who lived with the Native Americans and had a child with Gah-hon-no-neh, John "Cornplanter" Abeel (1732/6–1836), who became the chief of the

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

Indians. Other descendants of Johannes Abeel through his daughter include

Murray Dodd Murray Dodd (May 23, 1843 – August 25, 1905) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Cape Breton in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to 1887 as a Conservative member. He was born in Sydney ...

(1843–1905) and

Lewis Wilkieson Johnstone Lewis Wilkieson Johnstone (10 April 1862 – 9 March 1936) was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and became a physician and surgeon. Johnstone was the grandson of Edmund Murray Dodd ...

(1862–1936), both members of the House of Commons of Canada. Through Cornplanter, Abeel's descendants also include Chief

Edward Cornplanter Edward Cornplanter or So-son-do-wa (1856–1918) was a chief of the Seneca people of the Iroquois Nation (Haudenosaunee) and a leading exponent of the Code of Handsome Lake (''Gai'wiio,'' also known as the Longhouse Religion). Cornplanter, the ...

(1856–1918) and artists Carrie Cornplanter (1887–1918) and

Jesse Cornplanter Jesse J. Cornplanter (September 16, 1889 – March 18, 1957) was an actor, artist, author, craftsman, Seneca Faithkeeper and World War I decorated veteran. The last male descendant of Cornplanter, an important 18th-century Haudenosaunee lea ...

(1889–1957).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeel, Johannes 1667 births 1711 deaths Schuyler family American people of Dutch descent Mayors of Albany, New York Members of the New York General Assembly People of the Province of New York Politicians from Albany, New York Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery