Pieter Schuyler
Encyclopedia
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and the head of the Albany Commissioners for Indian Affairs. He also served as acting Governor of New York in 1709 and from 1719 – 1720.
Pieter Schuyler was born in 1657 in Beverwyck
Beverwyck
Beverwijck was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River in New Netherland that was to become Albany, New York, when the English took control of the colony in 1664....
, New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
the son of Philip Pieterse Schuyler
Philip Pieterse Schuyler
Colonel Philip Pieterse Schuyler was born in Amsterdam, Holland, Republic of the Seven United Provinces, in 1627 as the son of Pieter Tjercks and Geertruyt Philips Van Schuylder. He married Margaretta van Slichtenhorst in Beverwyck or Rennsaelaerwyck, New Netherland, on 12 Dec 1650.Pieter Schuyler...
and Margarita Van Slichtenhorst.
He was the commander of the British forces during King William's War
King William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
, at the Battle of La Prairie
Battle of La Prairie
The Battle of La Prairie was an attack made on the settlement of La Prairie, New France, a frontier settlement not far from Montreal...
.
Marriage and children
Pieter Schuyler was married twice.His children with his first wife Engeltie Van Schaick (died 1689):
| Name | Birth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Margarita | 1682 | married Robert Livingston the Younger Robert Livingston the Younger Robert Livingston the Younger was the mayor of Albany, New York from 1710 to 1719. He was the son of James Livingston and nephew of Robert Livingston the Elder. Born in Scotland, he emigrated to America from Rotterdam in 1687 and in 1697 married Margareta Schuyler, the daughter of Pieter... . |
| Philip | 1684 | died young. |
| Anna | 1686 | died in childhood. |
| Gertruj | 1689 | died young. |
His children with his second wife Maria Van Rensselaer:
| Name | Birth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gertruj | 1694 | married Johannes Lansing. |
| Philip | 1696 | married Margarita Schyuler. |
| Pieter | 1698 | twin, married Catherine Groesbeck. |
| Jeremiah | 1698 | twin, married Susanna Bayeux. |
Family
Their many Schuyler children established the family name and the Schuyler MansionSchuyler Mansion
Schuyler Mansion is a historic house at 32 Catherine Street in Albany, New York, United States. The brick mansion is now a museum and an official National Historic Landmark. It was constructed from 1761 to 1762 for Philip Schuyler, later a general in the Continental Army and early U.S. Senator,...
in Albany. They were closely related with the great family patroons of New York, the Van Cortlandts and Van Rensselaers:
- Pieter's sister Gertrude was the wife of Mayor of New York Stephanus Van CortlandtStephanus Van CortlandtStephanus van Cortlandt was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of Van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor's executive council from 1691 to 1700. His brother, Jacobus Van Cortlandt also served as...
- Pieter's sister Alida was the wife, first, of Nicholas van Rensselaer and, second, of Robert Livingston.
- The father of Pieter Schuyler's second wife Maria was Jeremias Van RensselaerJeremias van RensselaerJeremias van Rensselaer was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselear and the fourth patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.-Life:...
. - A son of Jeremias and a brother of Maria was Hendrick Van Rensselaer whose wife Catherina was the sister of the mayor of Albany Pieter Van BrughPieter Van BrughPieter Van Brugh was the Mayor of Albany, New York from 1699 to 1700 and from 1721 to 1723.Pieter Van Brugh was a member of the Dutch aristocracy of Albany. His sister, Catharina, was the daughter-in-law of Rensselaerswyck patroon, Jeremias van Rensselaer, and Pieter was the great-granduncle of...
. (Catherina Van Brugh was the great-grandmother of Continental General Peter GansevoortPeter GansevoortPeter Gansevoort was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also the maternal grandfather of Moby-Dick author Herman Melville.-Early life:He was born...
—the grandfather of author Herman MelvilleHerman MelvilleHerman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
. Peter Gansevoort was married to Catherina—sister of Continental General Goose Van SchaickGoose Van SchaickColonel Goose Van Schaick was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War.He was born September 5, 1736, the son of Sybrant Van Schaick, mayor of Albany New York, and Alida Rosebloom. In 1758, he was a captain of a New York regiment that participated in the attack on Fort...
. Catherine & Gose were the children of Albany mayor Sybrant Van Schaick). - Pieter Schuyler third son's granddaughter married Philip Van Rensseler of "Cherry Hill" in Albany (Philip was a great-grandson of Jeremias Van RensselaerJeremias van RensselaerJeremias van Rensselaer was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselear and the fourth patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.-Life:...
). - Two great-grandsons of Pieter Schuyler and Maria Van Rensselaer were Richard Livingston and Colonel James Livingston (American Revolution)James Livingston (American Revolution)Colonel James Livingston was born in the French province of Canada to New York-born parents. He was living in Quebec when the American Revolutionary War broke out...
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Other relatives:
- Pieter Schuyler's great nephew was Continental General Philip SchuylerPhilip SchuylerPhilip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
whose cousin Hester Schuyler married General William Colfax-the grandparents of Congressman and Vice President Schuyler ColfaxSchuyler ColfaxSchuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
who married a niece of Senator Benjamin Franklin Wade and who was related to Justice Oliver Wendell HolmesOliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
; see link on Schuyler ColfaxSchuyler ColfaxSchuyler Colfax, Jr. was a United States Representative from Indiana , Speaker of the House of Representatives , and the 17th Vice President of the United States . To date, he is one of only two Americans to have served as both House speaker and vice president.President Ulysses S...
to Dudley-Winthrop family. - Philip SchuylerPhilip SchuylerPhilip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
's sister was married to Director General of the Military Hospitals of the Continental Army Dr. John Cochran (military physician)John Cochran (military physician)John Cochran was the 4th Surgeon General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.-Biography:Cochran was born in Sadsbury, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants. He served as physician under Lieutenant-Colonel John Bradstreet during his march on Fort Frontenac in 1758...
. They were the grandparents of US General/Congressman John Cochran (general). - Philip SchuylerPhilip SchuylerPhilip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
's daughter Elizabeth SchuylerElizabeth Schuyler HamiltonElizabeth Hamilton was the wife of Alexander Hamilton. She was born in Albany, New York, the second daughter of Philip Schuyler, an American Revolutionary War general, and Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler, one of the richest and most political families in the state of New York...
married Alexander HamiltonAlexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
. They were the grandparents of Union General Schuyler HamiltonSchuyler HamiltonSchuyler Hamilton was an American soldier, a grandson of Alexander Hamilton. He was born in New York, graduated at West Point in 1841, served with great gallantry in the Mexican War, and was brevetted first lieutenant in 1846 and captain in 1847. From the latter year until 1854 he was...
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