The Huyck Bain Crandell Collection, Document BH071
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1729-09-29 Receipt from Jacob Schermerhoorn to Arent Van Dyck for the Account of Burger Huyck in Full
"I have received from Arent Van Dyck the sum of four pounds ten shillings, being for the account of Captain Burger Huyck, in full settlement of all accounts due. Jacob Schermerhoorn"
Image: BH071.jpg
Transcription
Kinderhook den 29 Sept. 1729
Doen ontfange van Arent Van Dyck de Som van vier pont tien Schelling zijnde voor Rekoning van Cap. Burger Huyck ten volle van alle Rekoninglyden
Jacob Schermerhoorn
Translation
Kinderhook, the 29th of September, 1729
I have received from Arent Van Dyck the sum of four pounds ten shillings, being for the account of Captain Burger Huyck, in full settlement of all accounts due.
Jacob Schermerhoorn
— Transcribed and translated by Claude.ai on 2026-04-25 - jhc
Commentary
Notes:
- Kinderhook — the Columbia County village on the Hudson, about 20 miles south of Albany, well within the Livingston Manor orbit and a busy Dutch commercial community.
- Arent Van Dyck — a thoroughly Dutch Hudson Valley name, acting here as Burger Huyck's agent or messenger.
- "vier pont tien Schelling" — four pounds ten shillings, now in English currency rather than guilders, reflecting the gradual shift from Dutch to English monetary conventions in colonial New York after the 1720s.
- "Cap. Burger Huyck" — notably he is now styled Captain, giving him a military or civic rank. This is the same Burger Huyck from the earlier two documents (BH001 and BH093), now seven years on. The most probable explanation is that Huyck held a captain's commission in the Albany County militia. By the 1720s, the Hudson Valley militia was well organized into county regiments, and a captain's company typically covered a specific township or district. Militia captaincies were as much civic as military titles — they conferred real social prestige and were often held by prosperous merchants and landowners. The title would stick socially long after any active service. Less likely but worth noting — French and Indian War frontier service The 1720s were a period of relative peace between the major conflicts, but frontier tensions with the French in Canada were ever-present, and Albany was the primary staging ground for northern frontier defense. Some men carried militia captain titles from earlier Queen Anne's War service (ending 1713).
- The social weight of the title What's telling is that by the 1729 Kinderhook document, Arent Van Dyck — acting as his agent — makes a point of writing "Cap." It had become part of how Huyck was formally known in commercial contexts, suggesting it was an established and respected rank rather than a casual courtesy.
- "ten volle van alle Rekoninglyden" — "in full of all accounts outstanding" — a complete settlement formula.
- Jacob Schermerhoorn — one of the most prominent Dutch families of the Hudson Valley, with deep roots in Albany and Kinderhook going back to the 1650s.
— Notes by Claude.ai 4.6 2026-04-25 - jhc
Metadata
Document: BH071
Date: 1729-09-29
Language: Dutch
Type: Receipt
Subject: Commerce
Principals: Arent Van Dyck, Captain Burger Huyck, Jacob Schermerhoorn
Places Mentioned: Kinderhook
— page revised 2026-05-27 - jhc
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Huyck Bain Crandell Collection © 2026 by John H. Coxon is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
