The Wendell family of early Albany descends from Evert Janse who came to New Netherland during the 1640s. His two marriages produced a large family that remained prominent in Albany and other business centers for many generations.

His sons, Johannes, Jeronimus, and Evert Janse Jr., built on their father's successes in the latter decades of the seventeenth century.

The third generation established the family at the highest levels of the community mainstream. The career of attorney Evert Wendell provides a blueprint for wealth and prestige in mid-eighteenth century Albany. In 1756, seven Wendell-named households were listed on the Albany census.

Albany-born Jacob Wendell (1691-1761) became one of the wealthiest men in colonial Massachusetts.

The careers of attorney Johannes Wendell, real estate broker and processor Abraham E. Wendell, and Philip Wendell also stand out as case studies in achievement. Wendell's Mills, located along the Beaverkill was a community landmark for most of the eighteenth century.

In 1790, five Wendell households were configured prominently on the first Federal census for the city of Albany.

In 1815, the city directory listed these eleven Wendell addresses:

Wendell, Harmanus, 633 s Market
Wendell, Catalina, boarding house, 78 n Pearl
Wendell, John I, mer, 52 State
Wendell, Peter, physician, 19 Division, cor. Liberty
Wendell, Misses, boarding house, 22 Maiden lane
Wendell, widow of Philip, 112 State
Wendell, Harmanus Jr, Att. & mas. in chan., 93 n Pearl
Wendell, Daniel, skipper, 61 n Market
Wendell, Harmanus A, sup. of market, 67 Hamilton
Wendell, Jacob, cartman, Frelinghuysen
Wendell, Jacob, cartman,
Wendell, Jacob H., 27 Columbia
Wendell, John H, Jus. peace, 31 n Market

Sources: Our work on the family is informed by family and community-based resources. Online resources:  HMGF;