DE LANCEY, Etienne

   General Notes:

Note: An emigrant to America from Caen, in Normandy. He fled France at the repeal of the Edict of Nantes and travelled via Rotterdam and London (1686). He came from an ancient family from Picardy. He sold family jewels to get a £300 stake, became a merchant - Stephen DeLancey & Co., and one of the richest men in NY. De Lancey's NY mansion, built in 1719, at Pearl and Broad Sts later became his warehouse, served as HQ of De Lancey [Oliver], Robinson [Beverley] and Company. It was the home of Col Joseph Robinson until his death in 1759. It was converted to a tavern by Edward Willet in 1754, became the Queen's Head Tavern in 1763, later the City Tavern, was bought by a West Indian named Sam Francis, became Fraunces Tavern in 1765, where Washington gave his farewell address to his officers on Dec 3, 1783. It still stands today in lower Manhattan, NYC's oldest surviving building. He gave NYC its first public clock. He was amember of the Board of Aldermen, NYC for 26 years. Note: Their children, particularly the daughters, married well and the habit seemed to continue down the generations. There are several titled families today among their descendants including: Marquess of Ailsa; Earl of Abingdon; Viscount Gage; Duke of Munster; Johnson of New York Bt; Codrington Bt; Cathcart Bt; Baird Bt. Ludovic Kennedy, the TV presenter, is also a descendant as was the wife of James Fennimore Cooper, the author.

   Marriage Information:

Etienne married Anne VAN CORTLANDT, daughter of Stephanus VAN CORTLANDT and Geertruj VAN SCHUYLER, on 23 Jan 1699 in Albany, New York. (Anne VAN CORTLANDT was born about 1681 and died in 1743.)