Abraham Ten Broeck (1734-1810) built this grand mansion in the Federal style after the destruction of his family home on Broadway in the great fire of 1797.
Descended from one of Albany's founding New Netherland families, he was a businessman, landholder, and patriot soldier. He was administrator of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck from 1769 to 1784.
Ten Broeck was elected to the Albany City Council in 1759 and represented Rensselaerswyck in New York's provincial Assembly, where he stood for American rights. He served on the Albany Committee of Correspondence and in 1775 was a delegate to the Provincial Congress, and the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Throughout the most critical time of the Revolutionary War, he was a major military leader in the upper New York region. He accepted command of the Albany County militia at the outbreak of hostilities, rose to Brigadier General, and led the militia of several Hudson Valley counties. His soldiers fought at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
In 1779 Ten Broeck was elected to the State Senate and was appointed Mayor of Albany.
Mayor Abraham Ten Broeck welcomed General George Washington to Albany on June 27, 1782 preceding Washington's troop inspection tour of the region. The grand welcoming ceremonies occurred in front of City Hall, followed by church
bell ringing, cannon shots, and great festivities.
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