Dirck Wessel Ten Broeck (July 26, 1738 – May 29, 1780) was an American landowner, soldier, politician who served in the 1st and

2nd New York State Legislature The 2nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from October 13, 1778, to March 17, 1779, during the second year of George Clinton's governorship, at Poughkeepsie. Background Und ...

Early life

Ten Broeck was born on July 26, 1738, in Albany,

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

in what was then

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...

. He was the youngest son of Grietje "Margarita" (

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 ...

Cuyler) Ten Broeck (1682–1783) and Albany mayor

Dirck Ten Broeck Dirck Ten Broeck (November 3, 1765 – January 30, 1833) was an American lawyer and politician. The first name is sometimes given as Derick. Early life He was the only son of Abraham Ten Broeck (1734–1810) and Elizabeth (née Van Rensselaer) ...

, members of the Ten Broeck family which had long been prominent in colonial New York. Among his elder siblings were Catharine, wife of John Livingston (a son of Robert Livingston the Younger), Christina, wife of fellow New York State Senator

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great Bri ...

, and brother

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

, married to Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (a daughter of

Stephen Van Rensselaer I Stephen van Rensselaer I (March 23, 1707 – June 1747), was the second son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer and Maria van Cortlandt, who served briefly as the 7th Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and 4th Lord of the Manor. Life Stephen va ...

). His maternal grandparents were Abraham Cuyler (a brother of former Albany mayor

Cornelis Cuyler Cornelis Cuyler or Cornelius Cuyler (baptized February 14, 1697 – March 14, 1765) was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1742 to 1746. Early life and family Cuyler was born in 1697 and ba ...

) and Caatje (née Bleecker) Cuyler (a daughter of former Albany mayor

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 the ...

. His paternal grandparents were Catherina (née Loockermans) Ten Broeck and Wessel Ten Broeck (son of former Albany mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck).

Career

Ten Broeck served as

firemaster Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer, is the highest rank in the Fire services in the United Kingdom, fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom i ...

in 1769 and was a lottery manager in 1772. At the outbreak of 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 ...

, he supported the Patriot cause and "diverted his business stock of tools, weaponry, and supplies" to 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 ...

. During the war, he served as a

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the

Albany militia Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: *Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name *Albany, Western Australia, port city in the Great Southern Albany may also refer to: ...

and was a member of the Committee of Correspondence. Ten Broeck also served as a United States Lottery Agent and Continental Loan Officer.

Post-war career

He was a member of the 1st New York State Legislature, having been elected to the

New York State Senate 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 com ...

to represent one of six seats for the Western District, which consisted of Albany and Tryon counties. His first term, which met from September 9, 1777, to June 30, 1778, was during the first year of George Clinton's governorship, and met at

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

before meeting at Poughkeepsie. He also served in the 2nd Legislature, which met from October 13, 1778, to March 17, 1779, at Poughkeepsie. In his second Senate term, he was elected to the Council of Appointment (replacing

Abraham Yates Jr. Abraham Yates Jr. (August 23, 1724 – June 30, 1796) was an American lawyer, civil servant, and pamphleteer from Albany, New York. Early life Yates was born on August 23, 1724, in Albany, New York. He was the ninth child born to Christoffel Y ...

) who selected his brother

as the

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 ...

in 1779. He was succeeded in his Senate seat by his brother Abraham.

Personal life

On November 25, 1761, Ten Broeck was married Annatje "Anna" Douw (1743–1774), the eldest child of New York State Senator

Volkert P. Douw Volkert Petrus Douw (March 23, 1720 – March 20, 1801) was a merchant and politician from Albany, New York who was prominent both during colonial times and after the United States was established. Early life Douw was born on March 23, 1720 in A ...

and Anna (née De Peyster) Douw (daughter of

Johannes de Peyster III Johannes de Peyster or Johannes de Peyster III (1694 – February 27, 1789) was the Mayor of Albany, New York three times between 1729 and 1742. Early life De Peyster was born in 1694. He was the son of Johannes De Peyster Jr. and Anna Bancker ...

). They lived in the third ward home Ten Broeck had inherited from his father, owned extensive land, but did not have any children together. Anna died in Albany on February 18, 1774. Ten Broeck died in Albany on May 29, 1780.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ten Broeck, Dirck W. 1738 births 1780 deaths People from colonial New York New York (state) state senators