Wynant Gerritse Vanderpoel by Stefan Bielinski (first posted 8/25/02; recast and last revised 1/23/14)
Traditional sources tell us that Wynant Gerritse Vanderpoel was born in Europe about 1620. Thus, he would have been the son of Gerrit Vanderpoel and Cornelia Wynants. He married Tryntie Melchoir about 1640. The marriage produced at least two sons and two daughters before Tryntje's death about 1671. By the 1650s, these Vanderpoels were living in Beverwyck in a house on the south side of what became State Street. In 1660, his name was included on a petition regarding the fur trade. During these decades, he was counted among the substantial members of the community. In 1674, he purchased half interest in a sawmill east of the Hudson on a stream that later would be called the "Wynantskill." But during that time, he was a mainline Albany resident, involved in business, and a frequent litigant. He also was a member of the Albany Dutch church. During the early 1690s, he appears to have removed his family to New York City. Wynant Gerritse Vanderpoel filed a will in February 1695. It stated that he was a former resident of Albany but then was living in New York. It named a son and son-in-law but not a wife. He is said to have died in 1699. His will passed probate in New York in April 1702.
notes
The people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Wynant Gerritse Vanderpoel is CAP biography number 6276. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.
At one time, he was identified as a trunkmaker. His business (chiefly involving the fur trade) is loosely chronicled in the Early Records of Albany and in the minutes of the Albany court.
