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 (state), New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1 ...

Early life

Jan Jansen Bleecker was born in

Meppel Meppel (; Drents: ''Möppelt'') is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It constitutes the southwestern part of the province of Drenthe. Meppel is the smallest municipality in Drenthe, with a total area of about . As of 1 July ...

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 Jan ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. He was the son of Jan Bleecker.

Career

In 1658, he emigrated to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...

(now

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 ...

), 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 within Rensselaerwyck in New Netherland that was renamed and developed as Albany, New York, afte ...

(now Albany). Bleecker became a successful trader and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

, and was also involved in

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

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 in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...

. 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Albany

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. When

Jacob Leisler Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born politician and colonial administrator in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the North American fur trade and tobacco business. In what became k ...

led a

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against British authority in

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

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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. (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 Allian ...

.) Bleecker was a member of New York's provincial assembly 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 jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

, and was City Recorder (deputy mayor) from 1696 to 1700. He was appointed several times as a Justice of the Peace. 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 sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

. 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) 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 seco ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

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 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 ...

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 (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. * 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.

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 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 (1835–1910). In addition, Harmanus Bleecker (1779–1849), another descendant, served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and as

Chargé d'Affaires A (), 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. The term is Frenc ...

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, 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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleecker, Jan Jansen 1641 births 1732 deaths 17th-century mayors of places in New York (state) 18th-century mayors of places in New York (state) People from New Netherland Mayors of Albany, New York Dutch emigrants to New Netherland Members of the New York General Assembly Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery Politicians from Meppel Bleecker family Merchants from colonial New York 17th-century American merchants 18th-century American merchants