Abraham Ten Broeck (May 13, 1734 – January 19, 1810) was a New York politician, businessman, and militia Brigadier General of Dutch descent. He was twice Mayor of Albany, New York and built one of the largest mansions in the area, the Ten Broeck Mansion, that still stands more than 200 years later.

Early life

Abraham Ten Broeck was the son of Dirck Ten Broeck (1686–1751) and Margarita (

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

Cuyler) (1682–1783). He was the brother of Catharine Ten Broeck Livingston, who was married to John Livingston (a son of Robert Livingston the Younger), Anna Ten Broeck, and Christina Ten Broeck, who was married to Philip Livingston, and New York State Senator Dirck W. Ten Broeck, who married Anna Douw (a daughter of Mayor Volkert P. Douw). His father was a prominent merchant and politician who served as Albany's mayor beginning in 1746. His paternal grandfather Wessel Ten Broeck, was the son of former Albany mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck. His maternal grandparents were Abraham Cuyler, the brother of former Albany mayor Cornelis Cuyler, and Caatje (

Bleecker) Cuyler, a daughter of former Albany mayor Jan Jansen Bleecker.

Career

Abraham was sent to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to learn business with his sister Christina's husband, Philip Livingston. In 1751, at seventeen years old, he was sent to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to learn international business after his father's death, returning to Albany in 1752. Ten Broeck increased his wealth via trade while in Albany. During the 1750s, he was involved in the provincial militia. In 1759, he was elected to the Albany City Council and in 1760, he was elected to the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

Assembly while continuing to serve Albany. In 1769, his brother-in-law died at age 27 and Ten Broeck was named co-administrator of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a position he held until 1784 when his nephew, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, came of age.

American Revolution

Ten Broeck continued his military involvement and was named colonel of the Albany County militia in 1775. He was Commander of Ten Broeck's Brigade ( New York Militia) at the Second

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...

( Battle of Bemis Heights) on October 7, 1777, as part of the Left wing of Major General Horatio Gates. On June 25, 1778, he was named Brigadier General of the Tryon and Albany Counties of Militia and then Albany County only. He resigned March 26, 1781. He was a member of the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

from 1775 to 1777 and was its chairman of its Committee of Safety in 1777.

After war years

After the death of Mayor John Barclay, Ten Broeck was appointed Mayor of Albany in 1779, remaining in office until 1783. In March 1789, he ran for Congress but was defeated by Jeremiah Van Rensselaer. In 1796, Mayor Abraham Yates Jr. died and Ten Broeck was again appointed Mayor of Albany, remaining in office until 1798 when he was succeeded by another nephew, Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer (1767–1824). Ten Broeck was a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

1796 Events January–March * January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.) * February 1 – The capital of Upper Can ...

, and cast his votes for

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

and Thomas Pinckney.

Personal life

In November 1763, he married Elizabeth van Rensselaer (1734–1813), a daughter of Stephen van Rensselaer I (the 7th

Patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th-century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Free ...

and 4th Lord of the

Manor of Rensselaerswyck Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch colonial patroonship and later an England, English Proprietary colony, manor owned by the Van Rensselaer (family), van Rensselaer family located in the present-day Capital District, New York, Capital District of New Yor ...

) and a sister of

patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th-century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Free ...

Stephen van Rensselaer II. Elizabeth and her brother were great-grandchildren of the first native-born

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

, Stephanus van Cortlandt. Together, they were the parents of five children, including: * Dirck Ten Broeck (1765–1833), who married Cornelia Stuyvesant (d. 1825), a daughter of Petrus and Margaret (

Livingston) Stuyvesant. * Elizabeth ten Broeck (1772–1848), who married Rensselaer Schuyler (1773–1847), a son of

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and a United States Senate, United States Senator from New York (state), New York. He is usually known as ...

and Catherine Van Rensselaer, and the younger brother of

Angelica Schuyler Church Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexand ...

, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Peggy Schuyler Van Rensselaer, and Philip Jeremiah Schuyler. * Margarita ten Broeck (1776–1812), who died unmarried. By the mid-1760s, Ten Broeck was one of Albany's wealthiest men. The Ten Broecks lived in a house that was assessed equally with the Schuyler Mansion and Yates Mansion in 1788. In 1797, it was burned in a fire that destroyed several city blocks.Fire
at the

New York State Museum The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), 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 to ...

web site. Construction was started on the new home soon after, and the family resided there beginning in 1798 calling the place " Prospect". The historic mansion still stands in Arbor Hill more than 200 years later. Ten Broeck died on Friday, January 19, 1810.

Legacy

The towns of Ten Broeck, Alabama and Ten Broeck, Kentucky as well as Tenbroeck Avenue in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

were named after him.

References

External links

*
Portrait of Abraham's wife, Elizabeth Van Rensselaer Ten Broeck
by Thomas McIlworth at the Albany Institute of History & Art {{DEFAULTSORT:Ten Broeck, Abraham 1734 births 1810 deaths Mayors of Albany, New York Members of the New York General Assembly Members of the New York Provincial Assembly Members of the New York Provincial Congress Militia generals in the American Revolution New York (state) militiamen in the American Revolution New York (state) Federalists 1796 United States presidential electors 18th-century mayors of places in New York (state) 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections