Robert Sanders (July 11, 1705 – May 24, 1765) was

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 1 ...

businessman and government official. He served as

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 as ...

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 Ci ...

from 1750 to 1754.

Early life

Robert Sanders was born in

, then part of

, on July 11, 1705. Sanders was the eldest son of Albany merchant and fur trader Barent Sanders and Maria (Wendell) Sanders. He was raised and educated in Albany, then joined his father's mercantile and fur business. During the early-to-mid 1700s, Barent Sanders and then Robert Sanders ranged into what are now Western New York and Canada, where they established connections with American Indians that enabled the Sanders family's fur business to grow and prosper. Trade between the British colonies and the French in Canada was illegal, but many British colonists who lived in upstate New York profited from business dealings with the French, including the Sanders family. In 1740, Robert Sanders married Maria Lansing, the daughter of an Albany merchant and member of the prominent Lansing family. At 35, Sanders was 12 years older than his wife. Their marriage ended in 1743, when Maria died following the birth of their first child. In 1747, he married 22 year old Elizabeth Schuyler, a member of Albany's prominent

Schuyler family The Schuyler family ( /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especiall ...

. Sanders and Schuyler had nine children between 1747 and 1761; they were pewholders at the First Church in Albany, where their children were baptized.

Continued career

As the heir to his father's estate and a prominent businessman in his own right, Sanders took part in Albany's governance, including terms as constable and fire master of the city's second ward. In 1748, he was appointed Albany's recorder, in effect the deputy mayor. In 1749, he was named judge of the county court of common pleas. In 1750, Governor George Clinton appointed Sanders to succeed

Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck (April 1705 in Albany, New York – September 9, 1793 in Albany, Albany County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. Early life Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck was born in April 17 ...

as mayor. During his administration, the city hosted the

Albany Congress The Albany Congress (June 19 – July 11, 1754), also known as the Albany Convention of 1754, was a meeting of representatives sent by the legislatures of seven of the 13 British colonies in British America: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, ...

, at which the British colonies planned coordinated actions in advance of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. In 1754, he was succeeded as mayor by Johannes Hansen.

Later life

Following his term as mayor, Sanders resumed active management of the Sanders family businesses and estate, and resided in a home on Albany's Pearl Street. His wife died in 1763, and Sanders died in Albany on May 24, 1765. He was buried beneath the floor of the First Reformed Church; in 1805, Sanders family members disinterred the remains of ancestors from the church, including Robert Sanders, and reinterred them at the Sanders Family Cemetery in

Scotia, New York Scotia is a village in Schenectady County, New York, United States, incorporated in 1904. The population was 7,729 at the 2010 census. Scotia is part of the town of Glenville, and is connected with the city of Schenectady by the Western Gatewa ...

. After Sanders died, management of his business interests fell to his son-in-law

Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (May 19, 1747 – March 3, 1798) was the second son of Colonel Kiliaen van Rensselaer and Ariaantie (Schuyler). He was a merchant by trade, and his experience in transporting cargo may have helped qualify him as kee ...

, the husband of his daughter Maria. Sanders's granddaughter Ariaantje, known as Harriet, was the wife of

Solomon Van Rensselaer Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer (August 9, 1774 – April 23, 1852) was a United States representative from the state of New York, a lieutenant colonel during the War of 1812, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years. Early life Solomon van ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Robert 1705 births 1765 deaths Mayors of Albany, New York New York (state) state court judges 18th-century American politicians People from colonial New York Lansing family Schuyler family