Barclays of New York

PART VII.
Line of Descent from Rev. Thomas Barclay, the first Rector of St.
Peter's Church at Albany.
IT SEEMS to have been generally assumed, although er-
roneously, that Rev. Thomas Barclay had but three sons, —
Thomas, Henry and Andrew. Mr. George L. Rives, in his
book already referred to, — "Correspondence of Thomas Barclay"
(New York, Harper & Bros., 1894), — states that the sons were
Thomas, Anthony and Henry, and that Anthony married Helena,
daughter of Jacobus Roosevelt ; but this was undoubtedly a mere
clerical error on the part of Mr. Rives. There was no Anthony
in the family until Rev. Henry Barclay so named his second son,
in honor, doubtless, of the boy's maternal grandfather, Col. An-
thony Rutgers. 1
That Rev. Thomas Barclay had four children is certain from
his wife's letter to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
under date of May 22, 1722, quoted in Part II above; and that
the fourth child was also a son and bore the name John, are the
only inferences which it seems to the writer the facts about to be
considered will permit.
In the office of the Surrogate of New York County, in Liber
36 of Wills, at page 194, is recorded the will of "John Barclay,
mayor of the City of Albany." This will was dated January
30th, 1779, and was proved before the Surrogate of Albany
County on June 20th, 1783. It refers to a previous wife of the
testator, without naming her; appoints his present wife, Mar-
garet, an executrix, and gives to her a life interest in his residuary
estate; makes specific bequests to "Charlotte, wife of Coenradt
Ten Eyck" and to "Peter Ten Eyck, son of Andries Ten Eyck ;"
and then, and upon the death of his wife, gives one half of his
residuary estate to "the children" (unfortunately not naming
x See Rev. Henry Barclay's will, proved October r, 1764, and recorded in the
office of the Surrogate of New York County in liber 24 of Wills, at page 498; also,
Andrew Barclay's will, proved May 25, 1776, and recorded in the same office in liber
30 of Wills, at page 184.
99