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.[1]

Volkert P. Douw
Member of the
New York State Senate
In office
July 1, 1785 – June 30, 1793
Preceded byWilliam B. Whiting
Succeeded byJacobus Van Schoonhoven
Member of the New York General Assembly
In office
1761 – 1780s
Mayor of Albany, New York
In office
1761–1770
GovernorCadwallader Colden
Sir Henry Moore, Bt.
Preceded bySybrant Gozen Van Schaick
Succeeded byAbraham Cuyler
Recorder of Albany, New York
In office
1750–1760
Preceded byJohn G. Roseboom
Succeeded byJohn Ten Eyck
Personal details
Born
Volkert Petrus Douw

(1720-03-23)March 23, 1720
Albany, Province of New York, British America
DiedMarch 20, 1801(1801-03-20) (aged 80)
Albany, New York, U.S.
Resting placeAlbany Rural Cemetery
Spouse(s)
Anna De Peyster
​
​
(m. 1742; died 1794)​
Children9
RelativesPeter Gansevoort (nephew)
Leonard Gansevoort (nephew)
Hendrick van Rensselaer (grandfather)

Early life

Douw was born on March 23, 1720 in Albany, New York.[2] He was the only surviving son of nine children born to Petrus Douw (1692–1775), of an old Dutch family,[3] and Anna (née Van Rensselaer) Douw (1696–1756).[4][5] His siblings included Magdalena Douw (1718–1796), who married Harmen Gansevoort (1712–1801), Maria Douw (1725–1759), who married Johannes Gansevoort, and Rachel Douw (1736–1806).[2]

His maternal grandparents were Hendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740), director of Fort Crailo, the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor, and Catharina Van Brugh, herself the daughter of merchant Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh (1624–1697) and sister of Pieter Van Brugh (1666–1740), mayor of Albany from 1699 to 1700 and again from 1721 to 1723.[6] Through his sister Maria, he was uncle to Brig. Gen. Peter Gansevoort (1749–1812) and State Senator and Assemblymen Leonard Gansevoort (1751–1810).[6]

Career

He worked as a skipper on the Hudson River but eventually returned to Albany to run the family store.[4] During the Seven Years' War, or the French and Indian War as it was known in the colonies, which took place from 1754 to 1763, he was a Captain of the Colonial Militia and the first Judge of Albany County Court, serving from 1757 to 1775.[1] From 1750 to 1760, he was City Recorder (Deputy Mayor) of Albany.[7] In 1760, Douw was appointed as mayor of Albany, New York, serving from 1761 to 1770, following Sybrant Gozen Van Schaick.[8] He was succeeded by Abraham Cuyler. From 1761 until the 1780s, he was a member of the Colonial General Assembly of New York.[8]

In 1774, and again in 1775, he served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in for the Province of New York.[9] During the first New York Provincial Congress, which was convened in New York City on May 22, 1775, Douw served as vice-president with Peter Van Brugh Livingston as president.[10] During the American Revolution, he was a member of the Albany Committee of Correspondence.[1]

Following the establishment of New York State, Douw served in the new government as a member of the New York State Senate, beginning on July 1, 1785 serving in the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th New York State Legislatures. He retired from the Senate on June 30, 1793 after representing one of five seats for the Western District which consisted of Albany, Montgomery, Herkimer, Ontario, Otsego, Saratoga and Tioga counties.[8] Following Virginia's Ratifying Convention in June 1788, where they became the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution, New York held their Convention held in Poughkeepsie, New York in July 1788 presided by Gov. George Clinton. Despite Douw's vote against ratification,[11] New York became the eleventh state to ratify on July 26, 1788.[8] By 1790, his household owned 14 slaves.[4]

Personal life

On May 20, 1742, Douw was married to Anna De Peyster (1723–1794),[12] the daughter of Johannes de Peyster III (1694–1783), who also served as mayor of Albany. They built a home in the country known as Wolvenhook,[13] located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about a mile below Albany.[1] Together, they were the parents of nine children, including:[2][12]

He was a lifelong friend of General Philip Schuyler,[16] and after his death it was said of him that he was "a true patriot; in civil and domestic relations, he was considered a pattern, and no man in Albany died more regretted."[3] He was described as:

He was tall and dignified, standing six feet two inches, as straight as an arrow; said by some to be handsome. He had a clean-shaven face, exposing a firm mouth and piercing eyes. He wore his hair in peculiar fashion, probably common to others of his standing in those times, tied in a queue, with his front hair brushed back in severe lines and powdered. He usually wore a longwaisted coat, the skirts reaching nearly to his ankles, which was adorned with large silver buttons made from Spanish coins. Knee breeches, silk stockings, and shoes with silver buckles shining, these set with rhinestones, heightened the general effect; but more prominent than these was his cocked hat. He carried a silver-headed cane, and bore a turnipshaped, silver watch, from which hung a heavy seal, while his tobacco or snuff-box was engraved with initials and coat-of-arms.[3]

Douw died on March 20, 1801 in Albany.[2] He was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery.[4][17]

Descendants

Through his son John, who was close friends with the Marquis de Lafayette,[18] he was the grandfather of Volckert Peter Douw (1790–1869),[19] Anna De Peyster Douw Cuyler (1798–1871), Margaret Livingston Douw Abbe (1798–1878), John De Peyster Douw (1812–1901),[18] Catharine Louisa Douw Townsend (1817–1891), and Harriet Maria Douw Johnson (1824–1852).[6]

Through his daughter Magdalena, he was the grandfather of James Stevenson (1788–1852), who also served as mayor of Albany from 1826 to 1828.[3]

See also

References
  1. Bielinski, Stefan. "Volkert P. Douw". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  2. Munsell, Joel (1871). Collections on the History of Albany: From Its Discovery to the Present Time ; with Notices of Its Public Institutions, and Biographical Sketches of Citizens Deceased. J. Munsell. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  3. Library, Robert G. Sullivan, Schenectady County Public. "Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: Douw". www.schenectadyhistory.org. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  4. "Volkert Petrus Douw". Times Union. September 8, 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  5. Bielinski, Stefan. "Petrus Douw". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  6. Reynolds, Cuyler (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  7. Waite, H. C.; Peckham, Buren. History of Cornelis Maessen Van Buren. p. 258. ISBN 9785878394376. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  8. Hough, Franklin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  9. Rhoden, Nancy L. (2014). English Atlantics Revisited: Essays Honouring Ian K. Steele. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 240–243. ISBN 9780773560406. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. State, New York (State) Dept of (1868). Calendar of Historical Manuscripts, Relating to the War of the Revolution, in the Office of the Secretary of State, Albany, N.Y. Weed, Parsons & Company, Printers. pp. 85–86. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  11. Schechter, Stephen L. (1985). The Reluctant Pillar: New York and the Adoption of the Federal Constitution. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 176. ISBN 9780930309008. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  12. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 51. The Society. 1897. pp. 340–341. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  13. Art, Albany Institute of History and (2007). Work and World of an Early Nineteenth-century Albany Potter. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780939072156. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  14. Art, Albany Institute of History and (1998). Albany Institute of History & Art: 200 Years of Collecting. SUNY Press. p. 252. ISBN 9781555951016. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  15. Bielinski, Stefan. "John Stevenson". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  16. "George Washington to Philip Schuyler and Volkert P. Douw, 28 M ..." founders.archives.gov. Founders Online, National Archives. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  17. Grondahl, Paul (2013). These Exalted Acres: Unlocking the Secrets of Albany Rural Cemetery. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780578134543. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  18. "DEATH LIST OF A DAY.; John de Peyster Douw". The New York Times. 31 January 1901. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  19. "DIED. -- DOUW". The New York Times. 18 June 1869. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Sybrant Gozen Van Schaick		 Mayor of Albany, New York
1761–1770		 Succeeded by
Abraham Cuyler
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