The Sanders family of Schenectady date to early days in America and the Mohawk Valley. They have been an important family in all the generations, and through the alliance with the Glens of Schenectady combined the Sanders and Glen names as well as the family estates in "Scotia." Hon. John Sanders published in 1879 his Early History of Schenectady, which was originally delivered in the form of a centennial address at Schenectady, July 4, 1876. By unanimous request a resolution was adopted asking that he extend and publish the address, which he did later, and gave to the Mohawk Valley a most interesting and accurate history of her famous early settlers. This work is a standard work of reference, and is freely drawn upon by all writers on early Mohawk Valley days. The earliest ancestor was from Holland.
The Glen ancestor, Alexander Lindsey Glen (called by the Dutch Sander Leendertse Glen), was a Scotchman of the Highlands, born in the vicinity of Inverness, and a refugee to Holland, from whence he emigrated with the Dutch to New Amsterdam at an early day. In 1658 he built a mansion of stone on the north bank of the Mohawk, under protection and title of the Mohawks, for which site and adjacent uplands with some small islands and all the flats contiguous, he received title in 1665. Mr. Glen was allied by gratitude for many benefits conferred upon and an asylum offered him in his hour of need. In honor of his native land he named his estate Nova Scotia" (the Latin for New Scotland), and made that historic spot his future residence. His son, Major John A. Glen, built the present mansion at Scotia and occupied it the seventeen years preceding his death. His whole estate, real and personal, was spared when Schenectady was destroyed, by the express order of the governor of Canada for rescues made and kindnesses shown to sundry French prisoners captured by the Mohawks. Jacob Glen (colonel) had an only child, Deborah, who married John Sanders (generation IV), of Albany, who in 1765, by purchase of the interests of the Glen heirs, became sole owner of the whole Glen estate in Scotia and the present town of Glenville. The historic mansion which bears the marks of Indian conflict is still owned in the Sanders family and is the home of Charles P. Sanders, while other of the ancestral acres are cultivated by his brothers, L. Ten Broeck and Livingston Sanders. The Mansion, built in 1713, now nearly two hundred years old, is still a comfortable home, and is a famous historic landmark. The Glen estate was held in the Glen name by four generations, passing to the Sanders name in 1765. The Sanders emigration to America preceded the Glens by a few years.
(I) Thomas Sanders, of Amsterdam, Holland, married Sara Cornelise Van Gorcum, in New Amsterdam, September 16, 1640. She died in Albany, New York, in December, 1669. Thomas Sanders received a patent from Governor Kieft for a house and twenty-five morgens of land on Manhattan Island. In 1654 he owned a house and land in Beverwyck, which he sold, and probably returned to New York. His children, baptized in New Amsterdam, were:
- Robert, see forward.
- Cornelis, born November 25, 1643, died in infancy.
- Cornelis, November 17, 1644.
- Thomas, July 14, 1647.
(II) Robert, eldest son of Thomas and Sara (Van Gorcum) Sanders, was baptized in New Amsterdam, November 10, 1641. He settled in Albany and became a trader. In 1681 he and Hermanus Myndertse Van der Bogart received a patent for a mile square of land in Dutchess county, including the site of the present city of Poughkeepsie. He married Elsie Barentse, born August, 1641, died December 30, 1734, in her ninety-fourth year. Robert and Elsie Sanders made a joint will, April 19, 1673, in which the first four children were mentioned, they being the only ones then born. The birth years of the other children, except Barent and Elsie, are unfortunately erased from the following record, and their birth dates are conjectured (Pearson's). Children:
- Elizabeth, born April 11, 1666.
- Maria, August 28, 1668; married Garret Roseboom, November 24, 1689.
- Sarah, February 5, 1670.
- Anna, November 15, 1672.
- Barent, March 11, 1674, died young.
- Thomas, September 24, 1675.
- Barent, December 9, 1676, died in infancy.
- Barent, see forward.
- Amelia, May 16, 1680.
- Helena, January 22, 1682.
- Effie (Elsie), July 18, 1683, buried December 31, 1732.
(III) Barent, eighth child of Robert and Elsie (Barentse) Sanders, was baptized May 8, 1678, in Albany. He married, September 19, 1704, Maria, daughter of Evert Wendell. He was buried in the church at Albany, November 21, 1757. She was buried June 22, 1738. Children and dates of baptism:
- Robert, see forward.
- Maria, December 3, 1707.
- Johannes, see forward.
(IV) Robert (2), eldest son of Barent and Maria (Wendell) Sanders, was born July 11, 1705, baptized July 15, 1705, died May 24, 1765. He was a merchant. He bore the title of captain, and acted most important parts in dealings connected with the Indian tribes. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed church, and was buried under the family pew in the Albany church, but in 1805 his body was removed to the Sanders family cemetery in Scotia, Glenville, Schenectady county, New York. He was appointed mayor of Albany by Governor George Clinton and served from October 15, 1750, to 1754. He married (first) December 6, 1740, Maria Lansing, who died February 16, 1743. Married (second) Elizabeth Schuyler, January 11, 1747. Among his children by second wife was Deborah, born February 8, 1758, died November 28, 1798, married John Sanders, her cousin, of Scotia.
(IV) Johannes (John), youngest son of Barent and Maria (Wendell) Sanders, of Albany, was baptized July 12, 1714. He married Deborah, only child of Colonel Jacob Glen, of Scotia; Colonel Glen was the eighth child of John Alexander Glen (called by the French and Indians "Major Coudre") who was the third and youngest son of Alexander Lindsey Glen, the founder of the Glen family in the Mohawk Valley and an original proprietor of Schenectady, owning a great deal of land both in Schenectady, the town of Glenville and Beverwyck, also many slaves. He was a man of solid wealth, well-educated in Scotland, full of zeal and benevolence for all Christian churches, but so far as can be learned himself a Presbyterian. He married Catherine Dongan. John Alexander Glen married (first) Anna, daughter of John Peek, an early settler in New Amsterdam; (second) Deborah, daughter of Evert Jans Wendell and widow of Myndert Wemp, a justice of the peace, killed at the massacre of 1690. Colonel Jacob Glen, born December 29, 1690, married, December 15, 1717, Sarah, daughter of Captain Johannes Wendell, of Albany. He inherited from his father (Major Coudre) the Scotia mansion and a considerable portion of his original estate. To this he added largely prior to his death at his Scotia residence, August 15, 1762. He was a man of much influence in the community, an extensive farmer, a noted surveyor, several times a member of the provincial legislature, and held command of all the militia forces west of Albany, constituting a regiment numbering over three thousand men. He left but one descendant, Deborah, born June 9, 1721, who married, December 6, 1739, Johannes (John) Sanders, of Albany. John and Deborah (Glen) Sanders moved immediately after their marriage to Scotia, and continued to reside there and at the city residence of Colonel Glen until his death. In 1765, by the purchase of the interest of John Glen, of Albany, and John Glen, Jr., of Schenectady, for four thousand pounds, John Sanders and wife Deborah became sole owners of the entire Glen estate in the present town of Glenville. He made his will January 27, 1779, proved February 11, 1783. He died September 13, 1782. His wife Deborah died March 8, 1786. Children, born and baptized in Schenectady:
- Maria, May 21, 1740; married, November 22, 1759, Johannes T. Beekman, of Albany.
- Sarah, February 20, 1743; married her cousin, John Sanderse Glen, of Scotia.
- Barent, August 6, 1744, died young.
- Elizabeth, September 19, 1746, died in infancy.
- Elizabeth, December 5, 1748, died February 5, 1776.
- Barent, December 22, 1750, died in childhood.
- Elsje, March 14, 1752; married Myndert Schuyler Ten Eyck.
- Jacob Glen, April 5, 1755, died at age of ten years.
- Johannes (John), see forward.
- Barent, December 26, 1759, died in infancy.
- Margarita, June 24, 1764; married Killian K. Van Rensselaer, of Claverack, New York, January 27, 1791.
(V) Johannes (2) (John), only son of Johannes (1) (John) and Deborah (Glen) Sanders to survive childhood, was born October 2, 1757. He inherited his father's large estate, and resided in the old Glen mansion in Scotia. He was a prosperous and influential man. He married (first) February 24, 1777, his cousin, Deborah, daughter of Major Robert Sanders and his second wife, Elizabeth Schuyler, and a granddaughter of Barent and Maria (Wendell) Sanders. She died November 28, 1793. He married (second) Albertina Ten Broeck, of Clermont, New York, November 30, 1801. She died July 30, 1840; he died March 30, 1834. Children:
- Elizabeth, December 20, 1777; married Dr. William Anderson and died June 21, 1850.
- Barent, January 12, 1779, died June 4, 1854: married Catalina Bleecker.
- Robert, September 8, 1781, died in infancy.
- Sarah, August 28, 1783, died August 13, 1869; married Peter S. Van Rensselaer.
- Catharina, October 10, 1785; married Gerard Beekman, of New York, April 9, 1810; child, Hon. James W. Beekman, of New York.
- Robert, July 18, 1787, died November 5, 1840.
- Jacob Glen, April 20, 1789, died March 26, 1867; married Catharine Mary Beekman.
- Peter, born February 17, 1792, see forward.
- John, December 27, 1802; graduated from Union College, 1822, completed his legal studies in 1825, admitted to the bar, practiced in Albany, Northampton, Catskill and Clermont, New York; settled in Schenectady, 1836; appointed surrogate in 1840 by Governor Seward, holding office until 1844; was county judge of Schenectady county, 1855-60. He was prominently identified with the New York bar and stood high in his profession. His History of Early Schenectady County is an authority. He married, October 2, 1826, Jane, daughter of Walter T. Livingston, of Clermont, Columbia county, New York. She died October 27, 1871. Judge Sanders died May, 1883. Children:
- Albertina, died in childhood;
- Walter T. L., born September 7, 1830;
- Eugene L., November 1, 1835; married Lizzie A. Passage, of Glenville;
- Mary Elizabeth, January 8, 1841; married Harold Wilson, of Clermont, N. Y.
- Dirk Wessels (Theodore W.), born October 20, 1804; married (first) 1829, Margaret N. Sill; (second) 1867, Rachel B. Winne, daughter of Gerrit V. S. Bleecker, of Albany. Children:
- Elizabeth N. S., born December 22, 1829;
- Catherine M., born December 7, 1831, married, 1854, William J. Mott;
- Margaret M., born February 5, 1834;
- Albertina, born April 26, 1836;
- William N. S., born August 24, 1838, married, 1864, Catherine V. R. Osborn;
- Alexander G., born October 29, 1840;
- Lydia M., born December 19, 1842;
- Lindsay G., born February 23, 1853.
The marriage of descendants of the founder, Thomas Sanders, had now allied the family with the oldest Dutch blood in New York: The Glens, Schuylers, Van Rensselaers, Livingstons, Bleeckers, Beekmans, Ten Broecks, and other less well known.
(VI) Peter, son of John and Deborah (Sanders) Sanders, was born February 17, 1792, in the old Glen-Sanders mansion in Scotia, town of Glenville, Schenectady county, New York. He was an active farmer, a man of high character and local prominence. He died on the old homestead where his life was passed, May 12, 1850. He married, February 3, 1824, Maria, daughter of Peter Edmund Elmendorf, of Albany, New York, and his wife, Eliza (Van Rensselaer) Elmendorf. Peter E. Elmendorf was an eminent lawyer of Albany. He lived on the west side of Pearl street, third house north of the Female Academy, which his wife inherited from her mother, Maria Sanders, daughter of Mayor Robert Sanders and Elizabeth Schuyler, and the wife of Philip Van Rensselaer. This property later descended to Maria, wife of Peter Sanders. Peter E. Elmendorf died May 15, 1835, aged seventy years. His wife, Eliza Van Rensselaer, died April 26, 1835, aged fifty-eight years. She was a direct descendant of Killian Van Rensselaer, the founder of the American Van Rensselaer family, the first patroon and projector of the Rensselaerwyck colony. He did not come to America from his native land, Holland. His interests in Schenectady were looked after by Arent Van Curler, and after his resignation by Arent Van Slichtenhorst. Killian Van Rensselaer married (first) Hillegonda Van Bylet; (second) Anna Van Wely, who were apparently cousins. His son, Jan Baptist, succeeded him as representative of the second patroon, and was an actual settler on the immense holdings of the estate. He had a stormy administration, and in 1658 withdrew and was succeeded by his brother, Jeremias, who was in charge of the colony sixteen years until his death in October, 1794. He married Maria Van Cortlandt and had five children, the eldest of whom, Killian, was the first Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck. He conveyed the Claverac of "Lower Manor" to his brother Hendrick. From these two, Killian and Hendrick, proceed the numerous members of this widespread family. Hendrick, son of Jeremias and Maria (Van Cortlandt) Van Rensselaer. married Catharina, daughter of Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh and Catharina Roeloffse, daughter of the celebrated Anneke Jans. Hendrick Van Rensselaer died in Greenbush, Rensselaer county, New York, July 2, 1740, leaving a son, Colonel Killian Van Rensselaer, baptized November 27, 1717, married (first) Ariantje Schuyler, born at Schenectady, March 16, 1720, died October 17, 1763. He married (second) Maria, daughter of Colonel John Low. By his first wife he had a son, Philip, born June 7, 1747, died at Cherry Hill, March 12, 1798. He married Maria, daughter of Mayor Robert Sanders, of Albany, granddaughter of Barent and Maria (Wendell) Sanders. Philip and Maria (Sanders) Van Rensselaer had a daughter, Eliza, who married Peter Edmund Elmendorf, of Albany. Peter E. and Eliza (Van Rensselaer) Elmendorf had children: Sarah, Maria, Edmund Peter, John Van Rensselaer, Catherine and Edmund Peter. Maria Elmendorf, the second daughter, born March 26, 1796, married, February 3, 1824, Peter Sanders. Children, born on the Sanders homestead in Glenville:
- Charles P., see forward.
- Peter E., born April 2, 1827, died on the old homestead, where he was born, August 4, 1898, injured by a bull, his injuries proving fatal; he was unmarried.
(VII) Charles P., eldest son of Peter and Maria (Elmendorf) Sanders, was born in the old Sanders mansion in Scotia, town of Glenville, Schenectady county, New York, November 26, 1824, died March 26, 1891. He owned and cultivated the ancestral acres and resided in the old mansion, built in 1713. He was a prominent man of the town, an attendant of the Dutch Reformed church, and a leading Democrat. He was supervisor and held all of the town offices at various times. He married in Columbia county, September 15, 1846, Jane Livingston, daughter of Leonard W. and Helen (Livingston) Ten Broeck, of Columbia county, New York. She was born in 1824, died December 5, 1898. Her mother, Helen (Livingston) Ten Broeck, was a daughter of Walter Tryon Livingston and lineal descendant of Robert Livingston, born in Ancram, Scotland, about 1624, emigrated to America, where he died. He bought and had patents issued for about one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land in Columbia county, commencing about five miles south of the city of Hudson, running twelve miles along the Hudson river and extending back to the Massachusetts line, widening as it went. On July 22, 1686, Governor Dongan issued a patent erecting the vast territory into a lordship and manor to be recognized as the lordship and manor of Livingston, the government of Great Britain requiring in consideration for the same the simple annual rent of twenty-eight shillings sterling to be paid at the city of Albany on March 25 of each year. In 1715, the grant being confirmed by royal authority, the additional privilege was conferred on the inhabitants of the manor of electing a representative to the general assembly and two constables. About 1710 some five or six thousand acres were taken from the manor to constitute a settlement for the Palatines, which was called Germantown. It was purchased by the crown for this purpose for the sum of two hundred pounds sterling. The manor of Clermont, comprising some thirteen thousand acres, was severed from the upper manor by the last will of Robert, first Lord of the Manor, and given to his youngest son, Robert, as a reward for discovering and frustrating a plot formed among the Indians for the massacre of the white inhabitants of the province. A mansion was erected on the manor as early as 1692, but he did not reside here until 1711. In that year he was elected member of the assembly from the city and county of Albany, and in 1716 representative from his manor. In 1718 he was chosen speaker of the assembly, which position he maintained until 1725, when ill health compelled him to retire from public life. He died in 1725-26. He married Alida, daughter of Philip Schuyler and widow of Rev. Nicholas Van Rensselaer, son of Killian. He came to Albany in 1674, and died previous to 1683, as in that year his widow married Robert Livingston. The line of descent to Helen Livingston is through Philip, son of Robert Livingston, second proprietor of the manor, born at Albany, 1686, resided on Broad street, New York City, where he died February, 1749. He married Catherine, only daughter and heiress of Peter Van Brugh, who was for many years mayor of the city of Albany and member of the assembly. Their son, Robert, third proprietor of the manor, died November 27, 1790; married (first) Mary Tong; (second) Mrs. Gertruyd Schuyler. His son, Peter R. Livingston, born May 8, 1737, died November 15, 1794: married, June 6, 1758, Margaret Livingston, born July 4, 1738. Their youngest son, Walter Tryon Livingston, born January 24, 1772, died December 24, 1827; married (first) Eliza Platner; (second) Elizabeth McKinstry. Helen, daughter of Walter Tryon and his first wife, Eliza (Platner) Livingston, married, October 11, 1820, Leonard W. Ten Broeck, of Livingston, Columbia county, New York. He was a lineal descendant of Major Dirk Wesselse Ten Broeck, born in 1642, an extensive trader and fur dealer, first recorder of Albany under the charter of 1686, and from 1696 to 1698 was mayor of the city. Leonard William, youngest child of Leonard and Gertrude (Schermerhorn) Ten Broeck, was born February 14, 1797, died January 24, 1852. He was major-general of state militia, member of assembly from Columbia county in 1832, and was sheriff of that county. Helen Livingston, his wife, was a member of the Dutch church, and the mother of four children. She died December 21, 1855. Jane Livingston, eldest daughter of Leonard W. and Helen (Livingston) Ten Broeck, married Charles P. Sanders, of Scotia. Children, born in Scotia:
- Alexander, born June 25, 1847, died October 29, 1847.
- L. Ten Broeck, see forward.
- Ann Maria, born September 9, 1851, died October 24, 1851.
- Charles P., see forward.
- Livingston, see forward.
(VIII) L. Ten Broeck, son of Charles P. and Jane Livingston (Ten Broeck) Sanders, was born October 12, 1848. He was educated in McGeorges Academy, Poughkeepsie, New York, and was graduated from that institution. He was employed four years, 1870 to 1874, in the offices of the surrogate of Schenectady county. He was for some time engaged in the office of Judge John Sanders. Later he returned to the Scotia farm, where he associated with his father and later with his brother in agriculture. He is well informed on all matters pertaining to early Schenectady county history, and a source of much valuable information. He is unmarried.
(VIII) Charles P., (2) son of Charles P. (1) and Jane Livingston (Ten Broeck) Sanders, was born November 16, 1856. He was educated in the public schools, entered Union College, where he was graduated, class of 1878. He prepared for the practice of law and was admitted to the bar. He maintained a legal practice in Schenectady, and occupies the ancient Glen-Sanders mansion, which has been in possession of the Sanders family since 1765. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed church, and is an Independent in politics. He is thoroughly informed on the early history of the county and village, and takes great pleasure in showing to visitors the interesting landmarks and marks of Indian conflict that are plainly visible in the old historic home that he inhabits, and in relating the facts concerning these troubulous times. He married, February 22, 1882, Annie Maria Beekman, daughter of William H. B., and Rebecca P. (De Graff) Lee, a descendant of the old Mohawk Valley and Albany county families. Children:
- Douw Lee, born November 26, 1882, now in the west; unmarried.
- J. Glen, born July 22, 1892; student in the high school.
(VIII) Livingston, son of Charles P. and Jane Livingston (Ten Broeck) Sanders, was born on the homestead in Scotia, July 10, 1867. He was educated in the public schools, and has developed the ancestral lands in Scotia into a highly productive truck farm, where all kinds of market produce are grown for consumption in nearby and distant markets. He is a member of the Reformed church of Scotia, and an Independent in politics. He married, October, 1901, Adelaide, born in Dutchess county, New York, daughter of Lorenzo and Susan (Nelson) Ten Broeck, both born in Dutchess county, granddaughter of Samuel Ten Broeck, born at Clermont, New York, September 9, 1813, married, March 20, 1836, Maria Barks, born at Claverack, October 1, 1816, died at Rhinebeck, New York, April 7, 1881. She is the great-granddaughter of Leonard Ten Broeck and Gertrude Schermerhorn, who were also the parents of Leonard William Ten Broeck, who married Helen Livingston. Leendert (Leonard) Ten Broeck was born November 10, 1752, died November 11, 1836; married (license dated March 7, 1776) Geertje (Gertrude), born October 23, 1756, died September 2, 1838, daughter of Jacob and Magdalena Schermerhorn. Leendert was a son of Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck, baptized May 1, 1715, and his first wife, Catharina Conyn, daughter of Leendert and Jannetje Van Alen. Dirck Wesselse was a son of Samuel Ten Broeck, born 1680, died April 5, 1756, and Maria, daughter of Hendrick and Catherine Van Brugh Van Rensselaer. Samuel Ten Broeck was a son of Dirck Wesselse, born December 18, 1638, died September 18, 1717, at Clermont, New York, second son of Wessel Ten Broeck, whom tradition says came to America in the colony of New Netherland with Peter Menuit [i.e., Minuit], the first Dutch director-general in 1626. Dirck Wesselse married, at Albany, in 1663, Christiana Van Buren, born May 19, 1644, died November 24, 1729, daughter of Cornelis Maessen and Catalyntje (Martenser) Van Buren. Lorenzo Ten Broeck, father of Adelaide (Ten Broeck) Sanders, was born October 1, 1843, died March 29, 1900. Married, October 25, 1876, Susan Nelson, of Rhinebeck, New York, born in 1847, now resides with her daughter in Scotia. Children:
- Nelson.
- Adelaide, married Livingston Sanders, of Scotia. They have no issue.