Volkert P. Douw
| Volkert P. Douw | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New York State Senate |
|
|
In office July 1, 1785 – June 30, 1793 |
|
| Preceded by | William B. Whiting |
| Succeeded by | Jacobus Van Schoonhoven |
| Member of the Colonial General Assembly of New York | |
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In office 1761 – 1780s |
|
| Mayor of Albany, New York | |
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In office 1761–1770 |
|
| Governor |
Cadwallader Colden Sir Henry Moore, Bt. |
| Preceded by | Sybrant Gozen Van Schaick |
| Succeeded by | Abraham Cuyler |
| Recorder of Albany, New York | |
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In office 1750–1760 |
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| Preceded by | John G. Roseboom |
| Succeeded by | John Ten Eyck |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Volkert Petrus Douw March 23, 1720 Albany, Province of New York, British America |
| Died | March 20, 1801 (aged 80) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Albany Rural Cemetery |
| Spouse(s) | Anna De Peyster (m. 1742; her death 1794) |
| Children | 9 |
| Relatives |
Peter Gansevoort (nephew) Leonard Gansevoort (nephew) Hendrick van Rensselaer (grandfather) |
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.
Douw was born on March 23, 1720 in Albany, New York. He was the only surviving son of nine children born to Petrus Douw (1692–1775), of an old Dutch family, and Anna (née Van Rensselaer) Douw (1696–1756). 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).
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. Through his sister Maria, he was uncle to Brig. Gen. Peter Gansevoort (1749–1812) and State Senator and Assemblymen Leonard Gansevoort (1751–1810).
He worked as a skipper on the Hudson River but eventually returned to Albany to run the family store. 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. From 1750 to 1760, he was City Recorder (Deputy Mayor) of Albany. In 1760, Douw was appointed as mayor of Albany, New York, serving from 1761 to 1770, following Sybrant Gozen Van Schaick. He was succeeded by Abraham Cuyler. From 1761 until the 1780s, he was a member of the Colonial General Assembly of New York.
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