This two part article came to me without proper attribution. I do not know for sure what paper published it or who wrote it. It appears here as written.

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"FIRST FAMILIES", by "Cholly Knickerbocker", written in the early thirties

and appearing (probably) in, The New York Herald Tribune

The Bleeckers are one of the few "First Families" of New York for whom a city street has been named. Up to the present the Bleeckers have not been honored by the grand moguls of the telephone company - but inns, cafeterias, window-cleaning copies and pastry shops have been named for the family that has been prominent in Gotham and up in Albany for almost 275 years.

The family name of Bleecker is derived from the Dutch and its significance is "one who is a bleacher by trade, or who is engaged in the bleaching industry."

JAN JANSEN BLEECKER was the first of the family to come to America. He was a native of Meppel, province of Overyssel, Holland and was born there on July 9, 1641-2. At the age of seventeen he turned his back on Holland and set sail for the "new" world. Arriving here in 1656-7 he settled in New Amsterdam. Like so many other early Dutch settlers he soon wearied of Manhattan Isle and moved up the Hudson to Albany. He engaged in commercial enterprises and was eminently successful, becoming (a respected member of the community.)

The children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jan Jansen Bleecker, the immigrant, made notable marital alliances and added to the social prestige of the Bleecker family by marrying into such established colonial families as the Cuylers, (F)osters, Lispenards, Dewitts, Van Benthuysens, Baches, Abeels, de Lancys, Rhinelanders, Ver Plancks, Van Rensselaers, Lansings, Schuylers, Wendells, Ten Eycks, and Schermrhorns.

At the time Albany became a city in (1686), Jan Jansen Bleecker ranked so high among his fellow citizens he was appointed the first city treasurer. Later the Earl of Bellemont, representing the English Crown, appointed Jan the seventh Mayor of the City of Albany.

Bleecker chose his business associates wisely, and among them were the highly placed Peter Phillipse Schuyler and his brother David Schuyler, Johannes Wendell and Robert Livingston. A member of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of America, Jan Jansen Bleecker married in Albany, on Jan. 2, 1667, Margaret van Schoenderwoert, daughter of Rutger J. van Schoenderwoert. Jan died in Albany in Nov., 1732, and his body was interred in the church as was the custom in those days. His widow passed into the great beyond the following year, 1733.

To Bleecker and his wife were born ten children, but out of this unusually large family there were only two sons who were to perpetuate the family name - JOHN BLEECKER, whose progeny (lived) mostly in and around Albany, and RUTGER BLEECKER whose descendents, through his son James Bleecker, are the socially consequential Bleeckers of New York City.

Of the daughters born to Jan Jansen and Margaret Bleecker, Catherine married Abraham Cuyler and was the ancestor of many of the top-lofty Cuylers of today.

JOHN BLEECKER was born in Albany in 1668 and died here in December, 1738. He was one of the leading men of the city, and, like his father, served as Mayor. This elder son of Jan Jansen Bleecker was noted for his ability to converse in the Indian dialects, and he was probably one of the first persons to be "kidnappedllin this country. While on a trading expedition among the Indians, envious French colonists captured him and carried him off to Canada. It was not until a substantial ransom was paid that he was returned to Albany in 1687.

John Bleecker married on October 29, 1693, in Albany, Anna Coster, daughter of Hendrick Coster. Their children were John Jr., Gertrude, Hendrick, Nicholas, Margarita, Anna, Jacob and Anthony. John Bleecker jr. married twice. His first wife, Jamecke Ten Eyck, and the second Mrs. John Bleecker, jr. was born Eva Bries. Gertrude Bleecker chose for her husband, Abraham Wendell; Nicholas Bleecker conferred his name on Margarita (Roseboom), Margarita married Gerrit Marselis, and Jacob Bleecker's wife was christened Margaret Ten Eyck. The descendents o f the above enjoy wide prestige today in Albany and the towns of the upper Hudson.

It is RUTGER BLEECKER who is paramount interest in this tale of the Bleeckers. This younger son of Jan Jansen Bleecker was born in Albany on May 13 (1675), and died there August 4, 1756. He was a merchant dealing mostly in furs which he acquired by barter with the Indians and shipped by sailing vessel to New York for the foreign trade. His wealth grew by leaps and bounds, and like his brother, John Bleecker, he served as Mayor of Albany - the fifteenth. On May 26, 1712 Rutger Bleecker married Catalina Schuyler,daughter of David Pieterse Schuyler, one of the foremost men of the time in Albany,and one of the richest. So it can be seen that the Bleeckers, from the very beginning were allied with the "First Families-"

Four children were born to Rutger and Catalina Schuyler Bleecker: JOHN RUTGERS BLEECKER, Margaret Bleecker, JAMES BLEECKER and Myndert Bleecker. The first mentioned, John Rutger Bleecker, was born in Feb. 1713, and was noted as a surveyor. He made some of the earliest maps of Albany and died in 1800, after having lived an honorable and useful life. Eliabeth Staats became Mrs. John Rutger Bleecker, and was the mother of Rutger Bleecker,(who married Catherine Elmendorf),James Bleecker (who married Rachel Van Santen), Barent Bleecker (who married Sarah Lansing), and Johannes Bleecker, (who married Elizabeth Van Renssalaer).

Margaret Bleecker, daughter of Rutger and Catalina Schuyler Bleecker, chose for her husband Edward (Collins), and their wedding in 1733 was a great social event. Her brother, Myndert, was born in 1720, and still another brother, JAMES BLEECKER, first saw the light of day on Dec. 9, 1716.

JAMES BLEECKER was the favorite of his well-born mother and he was reared in a manner befitting the grandson of David Schuyler. Upon his coming of age James Bleecker was sent to Europe to master such languages as French and Spanish. Before starting for Europe he visited the French Huguenot settlement at New Rochelle, where he met and fell in love with Abigail Lispenard, daughter of Anthony Lispenard, and granddaughter of Antoine L'Espinard, who was born in France and who came to these shores about 1670. James and Abigail were married on July 6, 1740, and made their home in New Rochelle. His house, I believe, still is standing up on Davenport Neck. It was used during the Revolutionary War by the British as a military hospital.

Nine children blessed the union of the houses of Bleecker and Lispenard. They were:

1) ANYHONY LISPENARD BLEECKER,

2) Rutger Bleecker,

3) JOHN J. BLEECKER,

4) James Bleecker,

5) David Bleecker,

6)another James Bleecker, the earlier James having died in infancy,

7) Elizabeth Bleecker,

8)Leonard Bleecker,

9) Andrew Bleecker.

Of the above JOHN first married Elizabeth Schuyler, and took for his second wife Esther Rhinelander. David married Susan Renoud; Elizabeth became the wife of Col.Wm. DeHart, an aide to George Washington; James married Catherine De Lancey, and Leonard's first wife was Johanna Abeel, and his second, Grace More Berrian.

ANTHONY LISPENARD BLEECKER, brother of the above, is the Bleecker in -whom we are the most interested. He was born at New Rochelle, June 13, 1741, and died in this city April 26, 1816. His body lies in a vault he had built in Trinity churchyard in Lower Broadway.

A prominent and wealthy shipping merchant, ANTHONY LISPENARD BLEECKER also acted as an auctioneer. For many years he resided on Broadway, opposite Rector St. His garden and stable were reached by a roadway from Wall St. The summer home of this Bleecker ancestor was - think of it! out in the wilderness of what is now 10th St. and Second Ave. Anthony Lispenard Bleecker owned much real estate, and i t was in his honor that the city named a thoroughfare running through his property, "Bleecker St."

Next Sunday I will tell about the social and civic exploits of the distinguished children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Anthony Lispenard Bleecker.

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The azure-blooded Bleeckers of today have not kept in step with the Mayfair parade. Socially speaking, they are -er, "back numbers." But no-one will dispute their claim to being one of New York's eminent "First Families."

Less than a quarter of a page of the 1932 "Social Register" is given over to the descendents of Jan Jansen Bleecker, who landed on these shores from Meppel province of Overyssel, in Holland, back in 1657-8. It would take more than ten full pages of that same illustrious and informative index of society to record the names of all the ancestral Bleeckers of today.

Perhaps it is a lack of interest in the activities of the smart set which keeps the majority of the Bleeckers from filling in the blanks issued annually by the committee that controls the "Social Register." I can think of no other reason for so few Bleeckers being recorded in the only recognized roster of society.

While many of the earlier Bleeckers - children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Jan Jansen Bleecker made advantageous marriages and thus increased the social prestige of their family, it was Anthony Lispenard Bleecker, who, to lapse into the parlance, really put the Bleeckers on the social map.

As I recorded last Sunday, Anthony Lispenard Bleecker was a son of James and Abigail Lispenard Bleecker. He was born in New Rochelle on June 13, 1741 and died here in New York City, April 26,1816. His body lies in a vault in Trinity churchyard, lower Broadway, and may be located (just) to the south west of the church at the vestry entrance. Anthony Lispenard Bleecker lived a useful life and was one of the most distinguished of New York's early citizens. It was in his honor that Bleecker St. was named and George Washington hailed Bleecker as one of his closest friends. When Washington returned to New York after the evacuation of the British, Anthony Lispenard Bleecker was one of the committee chosen to met Washington and extend the welcome of the city. In those days Mr. Bleecker lived in a handsome mansion in Broadway, just opposite Rector St., and had a summer home where 10th St. now crosses 2nd Ave.

On May 10, 1764 Anthony Lispenard Bleecker married Mary Noel. She was the daughter of Gerard Noel and through her father was a member of the English family headed by the Earl of Gainsborough. (MY NOTE: Incorrect). Mrs. Bleecker was born in Cadiz, Spain, owing to the fact that her English born father had migrated to that country about 1740. In (1750), following the death of 'his wife, Gerard Noel came to America with his daughter.

He opened a classical school at the lower end of Broad St. in (1754), but later went into the book business with Ebenezer Hazard, who was made the first Postmaster General under Washington.

Anthony Lispenard and Mary Noel Bleecker reared a family of thirteen children. another (of the large families "First Families" of.) Their eldest born, a son, they named JAMES - and of him I shall have more to say later. The eldest daughter, Frances Bleecker, married Commodore Francis H Ellison; Garrett Noel Bleecker married Jane (Anthony L. Bleecker Jr., who incidentally was one of the eleven founders of the N.Y. Historical Society, married Elizabeth Robinson, and his brother, John Bleecker married Phoebe Smith.

Continuing with the children of the senior Anthony Lispenard Bleeckers, we have Alexander Bleecker, who married Frances Wade; Mary, who remained a spinster; Abigail who married Dr. John Neilson; Leonard Augustus who married Sarah Popham; Elizabeth, who married Alexander L. McDonald, and Alice and Josepha Matilda, who never walked to the hymeneal altar.

The eldest son, JAMES BLEECKER, like his father, was a vestryman of Trinity Church ( following in his pater's) footsteps, he became a celebrated merchant., JAMES Bleecker married twice. His first wife, whom he wed in Sept. (1788), was Elizabeth G. Bache -and to this day the Bleeckers are especially proud of their Bache connections and many have "Bache" included among their given cognomens.

After the death of his first wife, James Bleecker married her sister, Sarah Bache. He had no children by his first wife, and by the second his issue were: Mary Bleecker, who married Thomas W. Clerke; Helena Bleecker, who wed the Rev. Cornelius Roosevelt Duffie; Theophlact Bache Bleecker, who took for his wife Lydia Witt, of an old and distinguished family; Sarah Bleecker, whose first husband was Theodore Low and who became Mrs. William P. Hansford by her second marriage.

ANTHONY JAMES BLEECKER, the eldest son of James and Sarah Bache Bleecker, was born Oct. 20, 1799, and died January 14, 1884. He was the Joseph P. Day of his generation and enjoyed the reputation of being the best known and most successful real estate auctioneer of his time.

Anthony James Bleecker married in 1824 Cornelia VAN BENTHUYSEN, and in 1856 ran for Mayor of New York. He was defeated. It will also be remembered that this Mr. Bleecker was one of a committee of five that laid out the Hudson River R.R. to Albany.

Four children blessed the union of Anthony James and Cornelia Van Benthuysen Bleecker: l) JOHN VAN BENTHUYSEN BLEECKER, who married Rosalie Lynch; 2) Sarah Bache Bleecker, who married one of her cousins, a later Anthony L. Bleecker; 3) Helena Bleecker, who died in infancy, and 4) JAMES BLEECKER, JR. who was born August 9, 1834.

JAMES BLEECKER, JR. married in March(1856), Jane Clarkson (Clarkson) Hill and like his father and grandfather was engaged in the real estate business. Of the children born to James and Jane Clarkson Hill Bleecker only two are of importance to this tale: ANTHONY JAMES BLEECKER and WILLIAM HILL BLEECKER.

ANTHONY JAMES BLEECKER first saw the light of day up in Scarsdale on Sept.. (16, 1864). Like so many of the Bleeckers, he received his early education at the Trinity School in this city, of which his grandfather, the senior Anthony J. Bleecker, was a trustee. On September (8, 1892) Anthony James Bleecker married Bertha de la Vergne Gilman, a daughter of Winthrop Sargent Gilman of this city. 'they now reside in Tenafly, New Jersey and are the parents of Mrs. Ripley Hitchcok,Jr; Winthrop Gilman Bleecker and Anthony Lispenard Bleecker.

Now to return to WILLIAM HILL BLEECKER, the other son of James Bleecker and brother of Anthony James Bleecker. He was born on May 15, 1857, and married on April 2, 1891, Emma White Fish, daughter of Stephen Bayard Fish. Seven children were born to William Hill and Emma White Fish Bleecker. In the order of their birth they are: WILLIAM HILL BLEECKER, Jr.; James Barclay Bleecker, Laura Frances Bleecker, Kenneth Bayard Bleecker; John Crosby Malcolm Stuart Bleecker; and Fish Bleecker.

The T. Bache Bleeckers of 33 Washington Square, W., Mr. and Mrs. Charles Moore Bleecker of Cold Spring Harbor, L.I., Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin de Witt Bleecker of 1100 5th Ave., and Lyman C. Bleecker are all descendents of Jan Jansen Bleecker who landed on these shores 275 years ago.

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