Early Life
Ten Broeck was the son of Dirck Ten Broeck and Margarita Cuyler. His great-grandfathers included former Albany mayors Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck and Jan Jansen Bleecker. His father was a politician and also served as Albany's mayor beginning in 1746. Abraham was sent to New York City to learn business with his sister Christina's husband, Philip Livingston. He was then sent to Europe to learn international business after his father's death in 1751, returning to Albany in 1752.
Ten Broeck increased his wealth via trade while in Albany. During the 1750s, he was involved in the provincial militia. In 1759, he was elected to the city council and in 1760, he was elected to the Province of New York Assembly while continuing to serve Albany. In November 1763, he married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer, a sister of patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer II and great-granddaughter of the first native-born mayor of New York City, Stephanus Van Cortlandt. By the mid-1760s, Ten Broeck was one of Albany's wealthiest men. In 1769, his brother-in-law died at age 27 and Ten Broeck was named co-administrator of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a position he held until 1784 when his nephew, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, came of age.
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“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
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