Barclay, who was educated in Albany,[6] was the maternal grandson of Gertrud (née Van Schaick) Drauyer (a daughter of Levinius Van Schaick) and Capt. Andries Drauyer, a Dane in the Dutch navy.[2]
Career
Following the death of his father in 1726, he was sent from Albany to New York City to learn business.[3] Barclay married into the prominent Roosevelt family, which allied him to the Dutch families of the province, and he became a successful merchant.[6] He owned a sugar house and works in conjunction with his brothers-in-law, Jacobus Roosevelt Jr. and Isaac Roosevelt.[6]
From 1759 to 1761, he served as the fourth president of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, of which he was a founder in 1756. He had previously served as vice-president from 1758 to 1759.[6]
Personal life
On June 14, 1737, Barclay was married to Helena Roosevelt (1719–1772), daughter of James Jacobus Roosevelt and Catharina Hardenbroek.[7] Helena's paternal grandfather was Nicholas Roosevelt (the last common ancestor of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts and the Hyde Park Roosevelts).[8] Together they lived at 45 Hanover Square and were the parents of eleven children:[6]
Sarah Ann Barclay (1745–1806), who married Anthony Lispenard, son of Leonard Lispenard.[6]
Ann Margaret Barclay, who married Frederick Jay.[6]
Helena Barclay (d. 1775), who married Maj. Thomas Moncrieff of the British Army.[6]
Charlotte Amelia Barclay (1760–1778), who married Dr. Richard Bayley, the first professor of anatomy at Columbia College.[11]
His wife died in 1773,[12] and Barclay died on June 19, 1775.[2] In his 1763 will, he left his oldest son Thomas a special legacy of £100, in addition to the £600 he left to each living child.[6]