The Wendell Family Papers are a collection of documents both created and collected by descendants of the Wendell family. Some documents may have been collected for signatures of family members and historic figures from colonial and early New York State, a practice common in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection contains records related to notable leaders, traders, and artisans in Albany, NY including architect Philip Hooker (1766-1836), Governor Thomas Dongan (1634-1715), Albany Mayors, businessmen, and attorneys Pieter Van Burgh (1666-1740), Robert Livingston Jr. (1663-1725), and Johannes Beekman (1733-1802), and Judge Robert Yates (1738-1801). A signature from Abraham Ten Broeck (1734-1810) is also in the collection; Abraham Ten Broeck was a businessman and banker who served as a general in the American Revolution and was twice mayor of Albany, NY.
The earliest document dates to 1687 and is signed by Governor Thomas Dongan (1634-1715). The latest document is an indenture to move property lines in the City of Albany from 1838. Documents include a copy of Albany Common Council Minutes from 1706, a 1724 memorandum written by Philip Livingston (1686-1748), and the fragment of the will of Engeltje Wendell Hewetson (b. 1728) who married a former British Army officer and Loyalist during the American Revolution. This collection documents the role women played in legal proceedings and land distribution in the transition from Dutch to English legal systems.
The collection contains a significant document that provides insight into African American history: a receipt for the sale of an enslaved boy named Thom, sold to Evert Wendell (1681-1749). Thom was about 15 years old when he was sold by a man named Joseph Flora [Flory]. An enslaved woman or girl named Susana is also mentioned in the document as a part of the sale, it is unclear how old she was or if there was a family relation between her and Thom. In New York as both colony and state, the enslavement of African Americans was the highest of the northern states. In 1790, New York had a larger enslaved population than those of every state north of Delaware combined. (“Free and Slave Populations by State (1790).” Teaching American History, July 19, 2021.
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/resource/the-constitutional-convention-free-and-slave-populations-by-state-1790/). A document, available in the ACHA Van Allen Family Papers collection, states that “It was considered necessary for each family to own two or more [slaves]...” (Van Allen Family Papers, Albany Historical Association at Ten Broeck Mansion. “Van Allen Family Register: Biographical Sketch of William Van Allen Head of Family 16 (2).” New York Heritage Digital Collections. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll94/id/1196/rec/1) As one of the wealthiest families in Albany, NY the Wendell family engaged in enslavement to grow their material wealth.
Any language and views expressed in these historical documents do not necessarily represent those of the Albany County Historical Association.
