Samuel Arentse Bradt

Notes:

Came over in about 1635. He had 3 children in 1636. He was a tobacco farmer.

From the de Halve Maen, 71(Summer, 1998): 37

"Albert Andriessen quickly separated from the others and built his own house, for which he requested payment from the patroon. The patroon protested this independance but chalked it up to the personality of Albert Andriessen. Van Rensselaer wrote to Peter Cornelisz, the millwright who had been one of the trio, 'albart andries separated from you; I hear he is a strange character and it is therefore no wonder he could not get along with you.' (A.J.F. van Laer, trans. and ed., van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts (Albany, NY, 1908), 406) An industrious but volatile man, Albert Andriessen was admonished by the patroon for abusing his family and for not keeping good accounts. Never afraid to act independently, Andriessen was a leader of the underground Lutheran congregation which was not allowed to worship openly in Albany until after the English takeover of the village. He also ran sawmills for many years, acquired property in Manhattan as well as in Albany, and cooperated with his sons and sons-in-law in several business ventures. His 1637 tobacco plot near the Normanskill was near his house and included one or more barns. Although Albert Andriessen sent back word in 1638 that the tobacco looked fine, samples of the tobacco he was raising proved poor and thin. . . . Albert's brother, ARENT, aided in the tobacco project,. . .

"Kiliaen van Rensselaer was not satisfied with the tobacco accounts; he instructed Albert Andriessen in July 1640: "first you must calculate what your dwelling house costs you, which concerns you alone; then what the drying houses or the tobacco, costs you, half of which is to be charged to you and half to me; further, as to my half of your board and that of the men whom you have employed, this must not be mixed and entered with the expenses for board, clothes and household articles of the whole household." (VRBM, 448) Albert Andriessen's wife, Annetje Barents, was a vital part of the operation; she was allowed wages for her work, and, as with any farm help, one half of her wages were to be charged to the patroon. It appears her duties were to do the cooking, washing, and cleaning for the farm helpers; in addition, she tended a garden and domestic animals. Time spent on her own household and children was separate.

"Albert Andriessen's contract ran out; the patroon grudgingly permitted him to continue in the colony with the understanding that if he obtained any livestock, one-half of the issue was to be reserved for the patroon as usual. Within a few years, Albert Andriessen took charge of sawmills on the mill creek near his house. For this he had no authorization until 1652. He also became a fur trader, in violation of his original contract. This violation caused further disagreements with the patroon, even after 1639 when the trade was opened to all, as Van Rensselaer expected one-half of their profits from all his employees.

"A few years after Kiliaen van Rensselaer's 1643 death, a new planter, Jacob Havick, undertook to raise tobacco south of the fort, beside the Normanskill. . . . In time, there were a few other residents in the area. Albert Andriessen's son-in-law, Teunis Cornelis Slingerland and his wife, Engeltie Albertsen Bradt, lived in a house on the plain (pastures) south of Fort Orange and had other sites in Albany. They obtained farm land on both sides of the Normanskill near Albert Andriessen at least by 1670. That year, Slingerland had a dispute with a neighbor, Peter Winne, who then lived south of the Normanskill, over fencing Slingerland's corn on the land. The couple had a house on the property within a decade. In 1677 complaints were made to the court that Teunis Slingerland intended 'to cut off the path below his house, across his land lying on the Normanskill.' This was the well-traveled path to Bethleham which ran across the property; he was forbidden to do this by the court. There were rare disputes; Teunis and Engeltie, who still held property in Albany, had become successful Albany traders.

Albert married Andries Bradt in 1648 in Albany, Albany, New York, USA. Andries was born in Rensselaerwick, Albany, New York, USA; died on 9 Feb 1690 in Schenectady, Schenectady, New York, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Andries married Aefje Eva Kinetis. Aefje (daughter of Pieter Kinetis) was born in 1584 in Fredrikstad, Østfold, Norway; died in 1613 in Fredrikstad, Østfold, Norway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]