The Burial Places of Abraham Ten Broeck

General Abraham Ten Broeck was laid to rest twice before coming to his current and final burial place at the Rural Cemetery.

Born on this date (May 13) in 1734, his name is still a familiar one as a historic home, a street, and a neighborhood all carry it.  

The son of Albany merchant Dirck Ten Broeck and Maria Cuyler, Abraham Ten Broeck was educated in business under the supervision of his brother-in-law (and Signer of the Declaration of Independence) Philip Livingston.  Abraham Ten Broeck applied his learning to the lumber business; exporting lumber cut from forests north of Albany and importing other goods for sale.  Before the Revolution, he owned a dock, lumber yard, and substantial amounts of residential and commercial real estate.  In 1763, he married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer, sister of the Patroon, Stephen Van Rensselaer II.  When Stephen died at the young age of twenty-seven, Abraham Ten Broeck became an administrator of his estate, the vast Manor of Rensselaerwyck, until Stephen's son and namesake came of age. Ten Broeck's public service included two tenures as Mayor of Albany.  During the Revolution, he served with the Albany County Militia and led them at the Battle of Saratoga.  He eventually attained the rank of Brigadier General.

In 1798, Abraham Ten Broeck built a handsome brick mansion on a hill just north of Albany.  This house, then called Arbor Hill, still stands as a museum and headquarters of the Albany County Historical Association. 

When he died on January 19, 1810,  the seventy-six year old Abraham Ten Broeck was laid to rest in a private vault on his own estate.  The site of the vault (shown in the recent photograph above) was just behind the mansion along what is now Livingston Avenue.  The condition of the vault, however, deteriorated, and the remains of General Ten Broeck and his family were removed to the private vault of the Van Rensselaers.  This vault was located on the Manor, near the corner of modern day North Pearl and Pleasant Streets This vault was torn down after 1849 and no trace of it survives today.  All the remains it had contained were brought to the new Rural Cemetery where they were placed in a large underground vault.  Above the vault, a white marble monument forms the centerpiece of the lot.  Among the members of the extended Van Rensselaer family laid to rest here was Abraham Ten Broeck. 

Ten Broeck's name does not appear on the Van Rensselaer monument, but a small bronze marker and flag-holder at the base honor his memory.  It was placed there in 1950 by the Ten Broeck Chapter of the Daughters of the War of 1812.

A Colonel and A Faithful Slave

This tall, lichen-spotted sandstone with an urn and flame atop it stands on the old South Ridge within sight of the Ann Elizabeth Brown Wiles cross and the McIntyre lot.

Sandstone likes this tends to weather quite poorly, but this one is in fairly good condition and much of its lettering is still quite legible.

The Relatives and Descendants of Henry Quackenbush 
Whose remains are deposited here, to wit: 
Elizabeth Rosebone, his widow
Catherine and Catalina, his daughters
Jacob J. Lansing, his son in law
Jacob J. Lansing
Jacob Lansing and Susan Benedict, children of his grandson
Jacob Lansing,
John Quackenbush and Catherine, his wife
And Nancy, his servant.  A faithful slave.

Sacred to the memory of Col. Henry Quackenbush
Who having lived the life, died the death
Of the righteous on the 2d February 1813
Aged 76 years.
Co. Quackenbish was with Lord Amherst at
Ticonderoga, with Gen. Gates at Saratoga,
"In the days that tried mens soulds."
Chairman of the Committee of Safety, member
Of the Colonie Legislature, Elector of President
and Vice-President
In all the relations of life virtuous.
In all the stations which he filled faithful,
Respected and honored in life lamented
In death.
His POSTERITY as a memento of their regard
For his memory, have erected this monument.

Born in  1737, he was the son of Peter Quackenbush and Anna Oothout.  His family built the Quackenbush House, the city's second oldest building which now houses the Olde English Pub & Pantry.  Hendrick married Margaritta Oouthout in 1764, but she passed away in 1764* leaving him a widower with five children.  He married Elizabeth Roseboom six years later.

More details on his life can be found at the People of Colonial Albany site.

Given the date of his death, Quackenbush would likely have been interred in the Dutch Reformed lot at the State Street Burying Grounds and removed to this lot at the Rural Cemetery prior to 1868.

Census records indicate that Quackenbush owned nine slaves and this woman was likely one of them.  Unfortunately, there is almost no other information about her beyond these carved lines and one is simply left to wonder about her relationship with the Quackenbush family.  She was evidently valued enough to be buried with the family, but not enough to be given her freedom.

*In 1882, excavations in the area of the old Dutch Reformed burial ground near Beaver and South Pearl Streets uncovered several graves and headstones.  Among them was that of Margaritta Oothout.