Johannes Van Rensselaer

Johannes Van Rensselaer (January 3, 1708 – February 21, 1783) was a member of the prominent colonial Van Rensselaer family.[1]

Johannes Van Rensselaer
Born(1708-01-03)January 3, 1708
Rensselaerswyck, New York, British America
DiedFebruary 21, 1783(1783-02-21) (aged 75)
Spouse(s)
Angelica Livingston
​
​
(m. 1734; died 1747)​

Gertrude van Cortlandt
Children6, including Catherine, Jeremiah, Robert
Parent(s)Hendrick van Rensselaer
Catharina Van Brugh
RelativesJohannes Pieterse Van Brugh (grandfather)
Jeremias van Rensselaer (grandfather)

Early life

Van Rensselaer was born on January 3, 1708 at the family estate, "Rensselaerswyck", in what is now Watervliet, New York.[2] He was the eldest surviving son of Hendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740), director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor, and Catharina Van Brugh (1665–1730), daughter of merchant Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh (1624–1697).[3] He was descended from and married into "the best provincial families"[2] in New York including the Livingstons, Schuylers, Van Cortlandts, Van Schaicks, and Bayards.[4]

Career
Fort Crailo in 1907

In 1740 upon the death of his father, he inherited Fort Crailo and became proprietor or Lord of the lower manor of Rensselaerswyck, known as "Claverack". Around 1762, he added a wing and remodeled the building. During the mid 1760s, his holdings in Greenbush were almost three times more valuable as any others in the entire east Manor. He also owned a house in the city of Albany tracts of land outside the manor.[1]

During the later part of the 18th century, the Lower Manor was encroached on by New Englanders with Massachusetts titles to Van Rensselaer's lands. He fought a prolonged legal battle with the Massachusetts title owners in the courts, which reportedly "took its toll on the aging manor lord."[1] During this time, he called on the Sheriff of Albany to evict the people, which eventually led to bloodshed. Throughout that time, he was a colonel in the Albany County militia.[1]

Personal life

In 1734, Van Rensselaer was married to Engeltie "Angelica" Livingston (1698–1747).[5] She was the daughter of Robert Livingston the Younger (1663–1725) and Margarita Schuyler (b. 1682) and the granddaughter of Pieter Schuyler (1657–1724), the first Mayor of Albany. Together, they were the parents of six children:[6]

After his wife's death, he married Gertrude van Cortlandt.[1]

He died on February 21, 1783 and was buried in the Van Rensselaer Family Cemetery in East Greenbush, New York.[7]

Descendants
Further information: Van Rensselaer family

Through his daughter Catherine, he was the grandfather of Angelica Schuyler (1756-1814), who married British MP John Barker Church, Elizabeth Schuyler (1757-1854), who married Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, Margarita Schuyler (1758-1801), who married Stephen Van Rensselaer III, the son of Jeremiah's first cousin, Stephen van Rensselaer II (1742–1769), and Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (1768-1835), who served in the United States House of Representatives.[10]

Through his son Jeremiah, he was the grandfather of Johannes "John" Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1762–1828),[11] who married Catharina Glen (1765–1807).[6]

Through his son Robert, he was the grandfather of Jacob Van Rensselaer (1767–1835), a Federalist member of the New York State Assembly and the Secretary of State of New York from 1813 to 1815.[12]

References
  1. Bielinski, Stefan. "John Van Rensselaer". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  2. Bielinski, Stefan. "Robert Livingston, Jr". The People of Colonial Albany Live Here. The New York State Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  3. Bergen, Tunis Garret (1915). Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. 3. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. OCLC 39110613.
  4. "Descendants of Robert Livingston and Alida Schuyler". www.iment.com. InterMedia Enterprises. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  5. Reynolds, Cuyler (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1158. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. Munsell, Joel (1871). Collections on the History of Albany: From Its Discovery to the Present Time; with Notices of Its Public Institutions, and Biographical Sketches of Citizens Deceased. Albany, NY: J. Munsell. p. 184e. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  7. "VAN RENSSELAER, Jeremiah - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  8. McLachlan, James (March 8, 2015). Princetonians, 1748-1768: A Biographical Dictionary. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400870776. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  9. Reynolds, Cuyler (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  10. Spooner, Walter Whipple (January 1907). "The Van Rensselaer Family", American Historical Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 207.
  11. "Judith Bayard Van Rensselaer". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  12. Larry E. Gobrecht (July 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2017. See also: "Accompanying 28 photos". Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
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