Author: Bleecker, Ann Eliza
Biography:
Bleecker, Ann Eliza, formerly Schuyler (1752-83: WBIS)
Born in New York City, daughter of Brandt and Margaret (Van Wyck) Schuyler. Her father died shortly before she was born but the family was well-to-do. In 1769 she married a lawyer, John James Bleecker of New Rochelle; the couple established a farm and started a family in Tomhanick but their peaceful life there was disrupted after 1777, first by the movements of the British forces under Burgoyne and later by the Indian Wars. The deaths of several members of the family in rapid succession--one of the children, Ann Eliza's mother, and a sister--took a toll on her strength and spirits. Her surviving daughter Margaretta (Bleecker) Faugeres (q.v.) edited her work after her death, including a captivity narrative, "The History of Maria Kittle," that has been occasionally reprinted on its own. (ANBO 5 Dec 2017)