Steven Van Rensselaer III

Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1 November, 1764–26 January, 1839) was a New York (state) landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician. He is often referred to, by Katherine Adelia Foote, as "The Patroon," being one in a long succession of patroons of the manor

A graduate of Harvard University, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's manor. He developed the land by encouraging tenants to settle it, and granting them perpetual leases at moderate rates, which enabled the tenants to use more of their capital to make their farms and businesses productive.

Active in politics as a Federalist, Van Rensselaer served in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate, and as Lieutenant Governor of New York. After the demise of the Federalist Party, Van Rensselaer was a John Quincy Adams supporter, and served in the United States House of Representatives for one partial term and three full ones.

Van Rensselaer was a supporter of higher education; he served on the board of trustees for several schools and colleges, and was the founder of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was also a civic activist and philanthropist, and was a founder of Albany's public library and the city's Institute of History & Arts.

Long active in the militia, Van Rensselaer attained the rank of major general; he commanded troops on the New York-Canada border during the War of 1812, but resigned his commission after defeat at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

After Van Rensselaer's 1839 death, efforts by his sons to collect past due lease payments led to the Anti-Rent War, and the break up and sale of the manor. As the heir to and then owner of one of the largest estates in New York, Van Rensselaer's holdings made him the tenth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP.

Early life

Van Rensselaer was born in New York City, the eldest child of Stephen Van Rensselaer II, the ninth patroon of Rensselaerswyck, a large land grant in upstate New York awarded by the Dutch to his ancestor Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. His mother was Catharina Livingston, daughter of Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His family was very wealthy, and the Van Rensselaer Manor House was a rich childhood environment for the young boy to grow up in. However, his father died in 1769 when Van Rensselaer was only five.<ref name=Bielinski>Bielinski, Stefan. "Stephen Van Rensselaer III", nysm.nysed.gov.

Van Rensselaer was raised by his mother and stepfather, the Rev. Eilardus Westerlo, whom his mother married in 1775, and his Livingston grandfather.<ref></ref> His uncle, Abraham Ten Broeck, administered the Van Rensselaer estate after the untimely death of Van Rensselaer's father. From an early age, Van Rensselaer was raised to succeed his father as lord of the manor.<ref name=Bielinski/> Stephen's younger brother Philip S. Van Rensselaer (1767–1824), later served as Mayor of Albany from 1799 to 1816 and again from 1819 to 1820.

Van Rensselaer began attending Princeton College; since it was near to battles of the ongoing American Revolution, he was later sent to Harvard College, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa<ref></ref> in 1782.<ref name="ricketts"></ref>

Early career

On his 21st birthday, Van Rensselaer took possession of Rensselaerswyck, his family's 1,200 square mile (3,072 km²) estate, and began a long tenure as lord of the manor.<ref></ref> Van Rensselaer desired to profit from the land, but was extremely reluctant to sell it off.<ref></ref> Instead, he developed the land by granting perpetual leases at moderate rates; Van Rensselaer derived a steady rental income from his property, while tenants were able to become successful farmers without having to pay a large purchase price up front.<ref></ref> This meant that they could invest more in their operations, which led to increased productivity in the area. Over time, Van Rensselaer became landlord to more than 80,000 tenants.<ref></ref> He generally proved to be a lenient landlord; he accepted produce such as grain and firewood in place of cash for rent payments,<ref></ref> and when tenants found themselves in financial difficulty, he usually preferred to accept late or partial payments rather than evict them.<ref></ref> One facet of the leases Van Rensselaer granted was the "quarter-sale"—tenants who sold their leases were required to pay Van Rensselaer one fourth of the sale price or one additional year's rent.Template:Sfn Over time, this requirement became a point of contention between Van Rensselaer and the tenants, which in part led to the Anti-Rent War.Template:Sfn

In the First Census of the United States in 1790, it was noted that he owned fifteen slaves.<ref>Heads of Families at the First Census 1790, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1976, p. 52</ref> By the time of the 1830 Census, he had none, in keeping with New York's gradual emancipation law, under which all slaves in the state were freed by 1827.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Van Rensselaer later became an advocate of enabling African Americans to emigrate to colonies in Africa, such as Liberia, and he served as a vice president of the Albany Auxiliary Society and the American Colonization Society.<ref></ref><ref></ref>

In 1791, Van Rensselaer was one of the incorporators of the Albany Library, which evolved over time into the Albany Public Library, and he was chosen to serve on the board of trustees.<ref></ref> In 1797, Van Rensselaer was an organizer of the Albany and Schenectady Turnpike Company, and served on its board of directors.Template:Sfn

Political career

A Federalist, Van Rensselaer was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1789 to 1791, and the New York State Senate from 1791 to 1796.

He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801, elected with Governor John Jay. Van Rensselaer, over his time in politics, acquired a reputation as something of a reformer, voting in favor of extending suffrage and going against much of New York's upper class in doing so. In 1801, Van Rensselaer presided over the state constitutional convention,<ref name="EB1911">Template:Cite EB1911</ref> was the Federalist nominee for Governor of New York, and lost to George Clinton, 24,808 votes to 20,843.<ref name="Horace Greeley"></ref>

He was one of the first to advocate for a canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and was appointed to a commission to investigate the route in 1810,<ref name=spooner189>Spooner, pp. 129</ref> reporting favorably to the Assembly in 1811.<ref name="EB1911"/> Van Rensselaer served on the Erie Canal Commission for 23 years (1816–1839), fourteen of which he served as its president. In 1821, he was a member of the New York State Constitutional Convention.<ref></ref>

In 1822, he won the special election for the seat in the House of Representatives from which his cousin Solomon had resigned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He served from February 27, 1822 to March 3, 1829, during the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Congresses; during the last three sessions, he was the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.<ref></ref><ref></ref>

Role in deciding 1824 presidential election

In 1825 Van Rensselaer cast the vote that likely decided the presidential election in favor of John Quincy Adams. Because none of the four candidates received a majority of electoral votes in the 1824 presidential election, the U.S. House had to choose from the top three finishers—Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William H. Crawford. House members voted first individually by state, and then each state cast one ballot for the candidate who received a majority of the state's House delegation; a candidate had to carry 13 state delegations to win the election. Van Rensselaer had intended to vote for Crawford, but changed his mind and voted for Adams. His vote gave Adams a majority of the New York delegation; winning New York gave Adams 13 states in the House vote, to seven for Jackson and four for Crawford.<ref name="Bassett2006"></ref>

Military career

In 1786, Van Rensselaer was appointed a major in the Albany County Regiment of the New York Militia.<ref></ref> He became commander of the regiment two years later as a lieutenant colonel,Template:Sfn and was subsequently promoted to colonel.Template:Sfn In 1801 he was promoted to major general as commander of the state militia's cavalry division.Template:Sfn

War of 1812

Van Rensselaer's militia experience led to an appointment to command troops during the War of 1812. When war was declared on Great Britain in June 1812, Van Rensselaer was a leading Federalist candidate for Governor of New York. Democratic-Republican Party leaders, including President James Madison and incumbent New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins devised a way to remove Van Rensselaer from the campaign by offering him command of the Army of the Centre—U.S. militia and regular Army troops massing in upstate New York for an invasion of Canada. If Van Rensselaer declined a military leadership role during a time of war, he would lose esteem in the eyes of the voters. If he accepted, he would likely be unable to run for governor.

Van Rensselaer accepted; despite having held high rank in the militia, he was largely inexperienced at leading large bodies of troops. As a condition of his acceptance, his cousin Solomon, who had more military experience, was appointed his aide-de-camp. But the Army of the Centre consisted largely of untrained, inexperienced militiamen; under the Constitution, which stressed that the role of the militia was to enforce laws, prevent insurrection, and repel invasion, they did not have to cross into Canada to fight.

The British were in the process of fortifying the Queenston Heights that Van Rensselaer would have to attack, and his officers were itching for action despite their general's desire to delay until his troops were better trained and organized. To make matters worse, Brigadier General Alexander Smyth, Van Rensselaer's subordinate, had a large force of regular Army troops that was theoretically under Van Rensselaer's command, but Smyth refused to subordinate himself to a militia officer. With some of his officers planning to try and force him from command, Van Rensselaer decided to act without Smyth.

On October 13, 1812, Van Rensselaer launched an attack on the British position that would evolve into the Battle of Queenston Heights. Though initially successful, Van Rensselaer's inadequate preparations and his plan of attack were clearly main reasons for what became a major defeat. He was unable to secure the element of surprise, he did not procure enough boats for his men to cross the Niagara River easily, and he was even unable to supply his soldiers with sufficient ammunition. Despite significantly outnumbering the British in the early stages of the battle, the American soldiers, untried and untrained, sometimes refused to cross to the Canadian side of the river. Once the tide of the battle turned, Van Rensselaer was not even able to coax the boatmen into going back over to rescue the doomed attack force. His forces were badly beaten by British troops under generals Isaac Brock and, after Brock's death, Roger Hale Sheaffe.

The defeat at Queenston Heights spelled the end to Van Rensselaer's active military career; after the battle he resigned his post. He continued to serve in the militia, and was the senior major general in the state at the time of his death.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Despite his military setback, Van Rensselaer was still the Federalist candidate for governor in April 1813; he lost to Tompkins 43,324 votes to 39,713.<ref name="Horace Greeley"/>

Later career

File:Stephen Van Rensselaer (1828).jpg

Portrait of Van Rensselaer by Chester Harding, 1828

File:Stephen van Rensselaer III.png

Engraving of Van Rensselaer by G. Parker, from a miniature by Charles Fraser, c. 1835

After the war, Van Rensselaer continued his service on the Erie Canal Commission, and between 1820 and 1823 commissioned an agricultural and geological survey of the canal's surroundings, at his own expense.<ref name="EB1911"/> He also held many significant posts after the war. In 1820, he was elected president of the state Board of Agriculture.<ref></ref> Also in 1820, he was an incorporator of the Albany Savings Bank, and was elected to serve as the bank's president.Template:Sfn

In 1824, Van Rensselaer was one of the organizers of the Albany Institute, and was elected its president. This organization later merged with another to form the Albany Institute of History & Art.Template:Sfn He was also active in the American Lyceum organization, and served as its president.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

When the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company received its corporate charter from the State of New York in 1830, Van Rensselaer was an original incorporator, and he went on to serve as a member of the company's board of directors.<ref></ref> New York Life Insurance and Trust operated until 1922, when it merged with the Bank of New York to become the Bank of New York & Trust Company.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Following the 1834 death in France of the Marquis de Lafayette, Van Rensselaer was appointed marshal for the Albany-area commemorations.Template:Sfn He led the parade of militia members, fire fighters, Revolutionary War veterans and others, which culminated in speeches and a eulogy by William Buell Sprague.Template:Sfn

Higher education advocate

Van Rensselaer was elected one of the members of the Williams College Corporation in 1794.Template:Sfn

In 1812, Van Rensselaer took part in the incorporation of the Lancaster School, an institution dedicated to providing an education for children whose parents could not afford to send them to school, and he served on the school's board of trustees.<ref></ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1813, Van Rensselaer was one of the organizers of The Albany Academy, and was chosen to serve as the first president of the school's board of trustees.Template:Sfn

In 1824 Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton established the Rensselaer School (now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI) "for the purpose of instructing persons, who may choose to apply themselves, in the application of science to the common purposes of life".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since its founding, RPI has developed a reputation for academic excellence, particularly in the field of engineering.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Religious activities

Van Rensselaer was long active in the Dutch Reformed Church; he served several terms as a deacon and elder of the First Reformed Church in Albany, and attended numerous synod meetings and similar gatherings as a delegate.<ref></ref><ref></ref> He was active in the American Home Missionary Society, and served as the organization's president in the 1820s.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1834, he donated a lot at the corner of Green and South Ferry Streets in Albany for construction of the Third Reformed Church.<ref></ref> For many years, Van Rensselaer was a member of the Albany Bible Society, and he served on its board of managers.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was also active on the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and served as vice president.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Masonic Grand Master

Van Rensselaer was an active Mason beginning early in his adulthood; from 1825 to 1829 he served as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York.<ref></ref> His leadership of the statewide organization coincided with the rise of the Anti-Masonic Party in Western New York, and Van Rensselaer forged an alliance with the Democrats of the Albany Regency led by Martin Van Buren and Enos T. Throop as a way to blunt the political influence of the Anti-Masons.<ref></ref>

Personal life

Several members of Van Rensselaer's extended family served in Congress including Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1741–1810), Killian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845), and Solomon Van Rensselaer (1774–1852).

In June 1783, Van Rensselaer married Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler (1758–1801), a distant cousin and the daughter of Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler.[Bielinski2]. Their marriage resulted in three children, all of whom were baptized at the First Dutch Reformed Church in Albany. Only one of their children survived to adulthood:<ref name="sullivanrobertg"/>

• Catherine Schuyler Van Rensselaer (1784–1797), who died young
• Stephen Van Rensselaer (1786–1787), who died young
• Stephen Van Rensselaer IV (1789–1868), inherited the east side of Rensselaerwyck and inherited the manor in 1839 by his father's will. He graduated from Princeton in 1808. He served as major general of militia. During the anti-rent troubles in 1839 he sold his townships, and at his death the manor passed out of the hands of his descendants.<ref name="sullivanrobertg"/>

File:Mrs. Stephen Van Rensselaer III (Cornelia Paterson).jpg

His second wife, Cornelia Paterson

After Schuyler's death in 1801, he married Cornelia Bell Paterson in 1802,<ref name="Reynolds"></ref> the daughter of William Paterson, the 2nd Governor of New Jersey, and later, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.<ref>Template:Appletons'</ref> Together, they had:<ref name="sullivanrobertg">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Catherine Van Rensselaer (1803–1874), who married Gouverneur Morris Wilkins (d. 1871)<ref name="Reynolds"/>
• William Paterson Van Rensselaer (1805–1872), who married Eliza Bayard Rogers (1811–1835), and after her death, her sister, Sarah Rogers (1810–1887), both were granddaughters of William Bayard Jr.<ref name="Reynolds"/>
• Philip Stephen Van Rensselaer (1806–1871), who married Mary Rebecca Tallmadge (1817–1872), daughter of James Tallmadge Jr.<ref name="Reynolds"/>
• Cortlandt Van Rensselaer (1808–1860), a noted Presbyterian clergyman.<ref name="Reynolds"/>
• Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (1810–1864), a politician and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, who married Elizabeth Ray King, a granddaughter of Rufus King.<ref name="Reynolds"/>
• Cornelia Paterson Van Rensselaer (1812–1890), who married Robert James Turnbull Jr. (1807–1854), son of Robert James Turnbull.<ref name="sullivanrobertg"/>
• Alexander Van Rensselaer (1814–1878), who married Mary Howland in 1851. In 1864, he married Louisa Barnewell.<ref name="sullivanrobertg"/>
• Euphemia White Van Rensselaer (1816–1888),<ref name="Reynolds"/> who married John Church Cruger (1807–1879)<ref name="sullivanrobertg"/>
• Westerlo Van Rensselaer (1820–1844), who died aged 24.<ref name="Reynolds"/>

Van Rensselaer died in New York City on January 26, 1839. He was buried in a family cemetery at the Van Rensselaer Manor House, and was later reinterred at Albany Rural Cemetery, Section 14, Lot 1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Stephen Van Rensselaer IV.jpg

  Artotype of Van Rensselaer's son, Stephen, by Edward Bierstadt, 1888

• Alexander Van Rensselaer.jpg

  Van Rensselaer's son, Alexander, painted by George P. A. Healy, 1837

• Euphemia Van Rensselaer.jpg

  Van Rensselaer's daughter, Euphemia, painted by George P. A. Healy, 1842

• Appletons' Van Rensselaer Killian - Cortlandt.jpg

  Drawing of Van Rensselaer's son, Cortlandt, 1889

• Gen. Henry Bell Van Rensselaer.jpg

  Photograph of Van Rensselaer's son, General Henry Bell

Descendants

Template:Main

File:Portrait of a Child as Cupid by Francesco Anelli.JPG

Portrait of a Child as Cupid, a portrait of Van Rensselaer's grandson, William Paterson Van Rensselaer Jr., painted by Francesco Anelli, Template:Circa

File:StephenVanRensselaerIIIGrave.jpg

Van Rensselaer's gravesite in Albany Rural Cemetery

His granddaughter, Justine Van Rensselaer (1828–1912), married Dr. Howard Townsend, a noted physician at Albany Medical College.<ref></ref> His grandson, Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger married Julia Grinnell Storrow, a popular American novelist.<ref name="S.V.R.CrugerObit">Template:Cite news</ref>

His great-grandson was John Eliot Thayer (1862–1933), an amateur ornithologist.<ref name="Spooner">Template:Cite journal</ref> His great-granddaughter, Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer (1849–1903) married J. Hampden Robb (1846–1911), a New York State Senator, in 1868.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Their daughter—Van Rensselaer's 2x great-granddaughter, Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer (b. 1881)—married Danish Count Carl Moltke (1869–1935) in 1907.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Through his great-grandson, Stephen Van Rensselaer Crosby (1868–1959),<ref name="StephenVRCrosbyObit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> he was the 2x great-grandfather of Henry Sturgis Crosby (1898–1929), a bon vivant, poet, and publisher who for some epitomized the Lost Generation in American literature,Template:Sfn who was married to Mary Phelps Jacob (1891–1970).<ref name="Conover"></ref>

Through his son Henry Bell Van Rensselaer and Henry's granddaughter Julia Floyd Delafield, Stephen Van Rensselaer was the great-great-grandfather of Floyd Crosby (1899–1985) and great-great-great grandfather of David Crosby and Jane Wyatt.<ref name="NYTWedding">Template:Cite news</ref>

Legacy and honors

The town of Stephentown, New York is named for Stephen Van Rensselaer.<ref></ref>

In 1791, Van Rensselaer was elected as an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.<ref></ref> In 1822, Van Rensselaer received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Yale University.<ref></ref> In 1998, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Hall of Fame inducted Van Rensselaer as a member.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin
• Henri de Saint-Simon
• Saint-Simonianism
• War of 1812
• List of richest Americans in history
• List of wealthiest historical figures

Sources

• Template:Bioguide

External links

• Stephen Van Rensselaer III biography from the New York State Museum
• HISTORY OF THE ALBANY INSTITUTE
• New York history with election result 1813
• Van Rensselaer's explanation to Gen. Dearborn as to why the Americans lost the Battle of Queenston
• Template:Findagrave

The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck (Template:Lang-nl Template:IPA-nl),Template:Refn was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the van Rensselaer family that was located in what is now mainly the Capital District of New York in the United States.

The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the company's original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on each side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as parts of Columbia and Greene counties.

Under the terms of the patroonship, the patroon had nearly total jurisdictional authority, establishing civil and criminal law, villages, a church (in part to record vital records, which were not done by the state until the late 19th century). Tenant farmers were allowed to work on the land, but had to pay rent to the owners, and had no rights to property. In addition, the Rensselaers harvested timber from the property.

The patroonship was maintained intact by Rensselaer descendants for more than two centuries. It was split up after the death of its last patroon, Stephen van Rensselaer III in 1839. At his death, van Rensselaer's land holdings made him the tenth-richest American in history to date.<ref name=10thRichest /> The manor was split between Stephen III's sons, Stephen IV and William. Tenant farmers began protesting the feudal system and their anti-rent movement was eventually successful. Stephen IV and William sold off most of their land, ending the patroonship in the 1840s. For length of operations, it was the most successful patroonship established under the West India Company system.<ref name="WDL">Template:Cite web</ref>

Establishing patroonships

Upon discovery of the Albany area by Henry Hudson in 1609, the Dutch claimed the area and set up two forts to anchor it: Fort Nassau in 1614 and Fort Orange in 1624, both named for the Dutch noble House of Orange-Nassau. This established a Dutch presence in the area, formally called New Netherland. In June 1620, the Dutch West India Company was established by the States-General and given enormous powers in the New World. In the name of the States-General, it had the authority to make contracts and alliances with princes and natives, build forts, administer justice, appoint and discharge governors, soldiers, and public officers, and promote trade in New Netherland.Template:Sfn

In 1630, the managers of the West India Company, in order to attract capitalists to the colony, offered certain exclusive privileges to the members of the company. The terms of the charter stated that any member who founded a colony of fifty adults in New Netherland within four years of the charter's writing would be acknowledged as a patroon (feudal chief) of the territory to be colonized. The only restriction was that the colony had to be outside the island of Manhattan.Template:Sfn

To meet such cases, the West India Company adopted the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions for the agricultural colonization of its American province. The chief features of this charter stated that lands for each colony could extend Template:Convert in length if confined to one side of a navigable river or Template:Convert if both sides were occupied. Additionally, the lands could extend into the countryside and even be enlarged if more immigrants were to settle there.Template:Sfn

Each patroon would have the chief command within their respective patroonship, having the sole rights to fish and hunt. If a city were to be founded within its boundaries, the patroon would have the power and authority to establish officers and magistrates. Each patroonship was free of taxes and tariffs for ten years following its founding.Template:Sfn

The patroonships were precisely feudal: no colonists of a patroonship could leave the colony during their term of service without the written consent of the patroon, and the West India Company pledged itself to do everything in its power to apprehend and deliver up all fugitives from the patroon's service.Template:Sfn

Colonists of a patroonship were limited by the West India Company in some instances. For example, fur trading was illegal for colonists; it was reserved as a Company monopoly. But, patroonships had the right to trade anywhere from Newfoundland to Florida, on the understanding that traders were to stop at Manhattan to possibly trade first with the Dutch.Template:Sfn

Each patroon was required to "satisfy the Indians of that place for the land", implying that the land must be bought (or bartered) from the local Indians, and not just taken.<ref name=articleXXVI>15px Dutch West India Company: Article XXVI of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource.</ref> Additionally, the Company agreed to defend all colonists, whether free or in service, from all aggressors,<ref>15px Dutch West India Company: Article XXV of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource</ref> and supply the patroonship— for free —"with as many blacks as it possibly can... for [no] longer [a] time than it shall see fit".<ref>15px Dutch West India Company: Article XXX of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource</ref>

Founding the Manor

Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a pearl and diamond merchant of Amsterdam, was one of the original directors of the West India CompanyTemplate:Sfn and one of the first to take advantage of the new settlement charter. On January 13, 1629, van Rensselaer sent notification to the Directors of the Company that he, in conjunction with fellow Company members Samuel Godyn and Samuel Blommaert, sent Gillis Houset and Jacob Jansz Cuyper to determine satisfactory locations for settlement. This took place even before the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was ratified, but was done in agreement with a draft of the Charter from March 28, 1628.Template:Sfn On April 8, 1630, a representative for van Rensselaer purchased a large tract of land from its American Indian owners adjacent to Fort Orange, on the west side of the Hudson River. It extended from Beeren Island north to Smack's Island and extended "two day's journey into the interior."Template:Sfn

In the meantime, van Rensselaer made vigorous preparations to send out tenants. Early in the spring, several emigrants, with their farm implements and cattle, were sent out from the Netherlands under Wolfert Gerritson, who was designated the overseer of farms. These pioneers of the manor embarked at the island of Texel in the ship Eendragt, or Unity, under Captain John Brouwer. In a few weeks, they arrived at Fort Orange and began the development and settlement of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.Template:Sfn

A few weeks after the arrival of the first colonists, the patroon's special agent, Gillis Hassett, secured a grant of land from the Indians, lying mostly to the north of Fort Orange and extending up the river to an Indian structure called Monemins Castle. This was situated on Haver Island at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. This and the earlier purchase completed the bounds of the manor on the west side of the Hudson.Template:Sfn

Each tenant was required to swear an oath of loyalty to the patroon, without question. The following is the oath stated by each tenant:

File:Patroon Street Historical Marker.jpg

Historical marker at the dividing line between the Manor of Rensselaerswyck and the City of Albany.

At that time, the land on the east side of the river, extending north from Castle Island to the Mohawk River was then the private property of an Indian chief named Nawanemitt. This territory was called "Semesseck" by the Indians, and described in the grant as "lying on the east side of the aforesaid river, opposite the Fort Orange, as well above as below, and from Poetanock, the millcreek, northward to Negagonee, being about twelve miles, large measure."Template:Sfn

These purchases took place on August 8, and August 13, 1630, respectively, confirmed by the council at Manhattan, and patents formally issued therefor. Fort Orange and the land immediately around its walls, still remained under the exclusive jurisdiction of the West India Company. It eventually developed as the city of Albany, which was never under the direct dominion of the patroon.Template:Sfn

But this large purchase by van Rensselaer excited the jealousy of other capitalists. He soon divided his estate around and near Fort Orange into five shares,Template:Sfn in an effort to advance more rapidly the growth of the colony.Template:Sfn Two of these shares he retained, together with the title and honors of the original patroon. One share was given to Johannes de Laet, another was given to Samuel Godyn, and the last to Samuel Bloommaert; these three men were influential members of the Amsterdam chamber of the West India Company. On the ancient map of the colony, "Bloommaert's Burt" is located at the mouth of what is now called Patroon Creek. "De Laet's Island" was the original name of van Rensselaer Island, opposite Albany. "De Laet's Burg" equates to Greenbush. "Godyn's Islands" are a short distance below, on the east shore.Template:Sfn These three separate patroonships were subsequently purchased and dissolved into Rensselaerswyck proper by 1685.Template:Sfn

Government

The government of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck was vested in a general court, which exercised executive, legislative or municipal, and judicial functions. This court was composed of two commissioners, styled "Gecommitteerden", and two councilors, called "Gerechts-persoonen", or "Schepenen". These last equated to our modern justices of the peace. There was also a colonial secretary, a "Schout-fiscaal", or sheriff, and a "Gerechts-bode", court messenger or constable.Template:Sfn

The magistrates held their offices for a year, the court appointing their successors. The most important office in the colony was the schout-fiscaal, or sheriff. Jacob Albertsen Planck was the first sheriff of Rensselaerswyck. Arent van Curler, who immigrated as assistant commissary, was soon after his arrival promoted to commissary-general, or superintendent of the colony. He also served as colonial secretary until 1642, when he was succeeded by Anthony de Hooges.Template:Sfn

Culture

The population of the colony of Rensselaerswyck in its early days consisted of three classes: freemen on top, who emigrated from Holland at their own expense; farmers next; and farm servants sent by the patroon at the bottom of the caste system. [Sylvester, 1880]

The first patroon judiciously applied his large resources to the advancement of his interests, and was quick to assist people on the estate. He initially defined several farms on both sides of the river, on which he ordered houses, barns, and stables to be erected. The patroon paid to stock these farms with cattle, horses, and sometimes with sheep, and furnished the necessary wagons, plows, and other implements. So the early farmer entered upon his land without being embarrassed by want of capital.Template:Sfn

Sustaining the Manor

History is almost certain that Kiliaen van Rensselaer never visited his land in New Netherland. The Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, a collection of translated primary documents from that time, state,

The present letters show beyond the possibility of doubt that Kiliaen van Rensselaer did not visit his colony in person between 1630 and 1643, and the records preserved among the Rensselaerswyck manuscripts make it equally certain that he did not do so between the last named date and his death…Template:Sfn Upon van Rensselaer's death in the 1640s,Template:Refn

The estate was inherited by his eldest son Jan Baptist, who acquired the title of patroon. He died in 1658 and his younger brother Jeremias van Rensselaer became patroon. Acknowledging the surrender of New Amsterdam and Fort Orange to England in 1664 following a surprise incursion by the English during a time of peace (which led to the Second Anglo–Dutch War),Template:Sfn Jeremias took the oath of allegiance to the King of England that October.<ref name = jeremias>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1666, he also built the original Manor House, also known as Fort Crailo for its defensive reinforcement, located north of Fort Orange. The Manor House was the seat of the patroonship and the home of the patroon until 1765.<ref name = house>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Fort Crailo.png

Manor House, or Fort Crailo, c.1663

Jeremias died in 1674 and the estate was passed on to his oldest son, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, grandson to the first patroon, his namesake. Kiliaen was eleven when his father died. The estate was managed on his behalf, and he did not acquire the title of Lord of the Manor until he was twenty-one.<ref name = kiliaen2/>

In 1683, one year before Kiliaen became Lord of the Manor, New York Governor Thomas Dongan established Albany County, one of the original twelve counties in New York. The county was to "containe the Towns of Albany, the Collony Renslaerwyck, Schonecteda, and all the villages, neighborhoods, and Christian Plantacons on the east side of Hudson River from Roelof Jansen's Creeke, and on the west side from Sawyer's Creeke to the Sarraghtoga."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1685, Governor Dongan granted a patent for Rensselaerswyck, making it a legal entity.<ref name = rens>Template:Cite web</ref> The patent included a detailed description of its boundaries, stating:

One year later in 1686, Albany was chartered as a city under the Dongan Charter, authored by Governor Dongan.<ref name=Charter>Template:Cite web</ref> During Kiliaen's tenure as patroon, he served in many political appointed positions in Albany, including assessor, justice, and supervisor, and represented Rensselaerswyck in the New York General Assembly.<ref name = kiliaen2>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1704, Kiliaen split Rensselaerswyck into two portions, the southern portion, or "Lower Manor" (comprising Greenbush and Claverack), placed under the eye of his brother Hendrick. The northern portion retained the title Rensselaerswyck.<ref name = rens />

Hendrick von Rensselaer lived in Albany until a year after receiving the Lower Manor, representing Rensselaerswyck in the General AssemblyTemplate:Refn from 1705 until 1715,<ref name = hendrick>Template:Cite web</ref> just as his brother had from 1693 to 1704.<ref name = kiliaen2 />

File:Rensselaerswyck Map Bleeker Downsampled.png

1767 map of Rensselaerswyck

Kiliaen died in 1719<ref name = kiliaen2/> and the patroonship passed on to his oldest son Jeremias.<ref name = stephen1>Template:Cite web</ref> Jeremias died in 1745 and the estate passed to his brother Stephen. Stephen, sickly at the time, died two years later in 1747 at the age of forty.<ref name =stephen1/> The estate was passed on to his son, Stephen van Rensselaer II, who was five when his father died.<ref name = stephen2>Template:Cite web</ref> Stephen II was active in the Albany County Militia and active in restructuring loose land leases created by his predecessors. One of his land deals was made in the eastern region of Rensselaerswyck; the Town of Stephentown in southeastern Rensselaer County was named for him.<ref name = stephen2/> He also rebuilt the Manor House in 1765.<ref name = house/>

File:Stephen van Rensselaer III.png

Stephen van Rensselaer III

Stephen II died in 1769 at the age of 27 as one of the richest men in the region.<ref name = stephen2/> The Manor passed on to his eldest son Stephen van Rensselaer III, who was five at the time of his father's death.<ref name = stephen3>Template:Cite web</ref> The estate was controlled by Abraham Ten Broeck until Stephen III's twenty-fifth birthday.<ref name = stephen3/> Stephen III attended school in Albany and then New Jersey and Kingston during the Revolution. He graduated from Harvard College in 1782.

Stephen van Rensselaer III became well known for his many achievements. In 1825, he was elected Grand Master of the New York State Grand Masonic Lodge. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1789 and was re-elected until chosen by the legislature for the New York State Senate in 1791. In 1795 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1822, serving until 1829. He was also commissioned a Lieutenant General in the New York State Militia, and led an unsuccessful invasion of Canada at Niagara in the War of 1812. His most lasting achievement was to found, with Amos Eaton, the Rensselaer School, which developed into the present-day Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.<ref name = stephen3/>

Anti-rent movement and downfall

Stephen III lived to be 75, dying in 1839. He is remembered as "The Good Patroon" and also "The Last Patroon" because he was legally the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck.<ref name = stephen3 /> At the time of his death, Stephen III was worth about $10 million (about $88 billion in 2007 dollars) and is noted as being the tenth-richest American in history.<ref name=10thRichest>Template:Cite news</ref>

The spectacle of a landed gentleman living in semi-feudal splendor among his 3,000 tenants was an anachronism to a postwar generation that had become acclimated to Jacksonian democracy. Stephen III's leniency toward his tenants had created a serious problem for his heirs. His will directed them to collect and apply the back rents (approximately $400,000) toward the payment of the patroon's debts. As soon as the rent notices went out, the farmers organized committees and held public meetings in protest. Stephen IV, who had inherited the "West Manor" (Albany County), refused to meet with a committee of anti-renters and turned down their written request for a reduction of rents. His brusque refusal infuriated the farmers. On July 4, 1839, a mass meeting at Berne called for a declaration of independence from landlord rule but raised the amount the tenants were willing to pay.Template:Sfn

The answer to this proposal was soon forthcoming. The executors of the estate secured writs of ejectment in suits against tenants in arrears. Crowds of angry tenants manhandled Sheriff Michael Archer and his assistants and turned back a posse of 500 men. Sheriff Archer called upon Governor William H. Seward for military assistance. Seward's proclamation calling on the people not to resist the enforcement of the law and the presence of several hundred militiamen overawed the tenants. The tenants persisted in their refusal to pay rent. Of course the sheriff could and did evict a few, but he could not dispossess an entire township.Template:Sfn

File:Anti-Rent Poster.jpg

Poster announcing an Anti-Rent meeting in the town of Nassau

By 1844 the anti-rent movement had grown from a localized struggle against the van Rensselaer family to a full-fledged revolt against leasehold tenure throughout eastern New York, where other major manors existed. Virtual guerrilla warfare broke out. Riders disguised as Indians and wearing calico gowns ranged through the countryside, terrorizing the agents of the landlords. In late 1844, Governor William Bouck sent three companies of militia to Hudson, where anti-renters threatened to storm the jail and release their leader, Big Thunder (Dr. Smith A. Boughton, in private life). The following year Governor Silas Wright was forced to declare Delaware County in a state of insurrection after an armed rider had killed undersheriff Osman N. Steele August 7, 1845 at an eviction sale.Template:Sfn

The anti-renters organized town, county, and state committees, published their own newspapers, held conventions, and elected their own spokesmen to the legislature. The success of candidates endorsed by anti-renters in 1845 caused politicians in both parties to show a "wonderful anxiety" to "give the Anti-renters all they ask." The legislature abolished the right of the landlord to seize the goods of a defaulting tenant and taxed the income which landlords derived from their rent. Shortly thereafter, the Constitutional Convention of 1846 prohibited any future lease of agricultural land which claimed rent or service for a period longer than twelve years. Yet neither the convention nor the legislature was willing to disturb existing leases.Template:Sfn

The anti-renters played politics with remarkable success in the years between 1846 and 1851. They elected friendly sheriffs and local officials who virtually paralyzed the efforts of the landlords to collect rents. They threw their weight to the candidates of either major party who would support their cause. The bitter rivalries between and within the Whig and Democratic parties enabled the anti-renters to exert more influence than their numbers warranted. As a result, they had a small but determined bloc of anti-rent champions in the Assembly and the Senate who kept landlords uneasy by threatening to pass laws challenging land titles.Template:Sfn

The anti-rent endorsement of John Young, the Whig candidate for governor in 1846, proved decisive. Governor Young promptly pardoned several anti-rent prisoners and called for an investigation of title by the Attorney General. The courts eventually ruled the statute of limitations prevented any questioning of the original titles. Declaring that the holders of perpetual leases were in reality freeholders, the Court of Appeals outlawed the "quarter sales," i.e., the requirement in many leases that a tenant who disposed of his farm should pay one-fourth of the money to the landlord.Template:Sfn

Assailed by a concerted conspiracy not to pay rent and harassed by taxes and investigations of the Attorney General, the landed proprietors gradually sold out their interests. In August 1845, seventeen large landholders announced that they were willing to sell. Later that year, Stephen IV agreed to sell his rights in the Helderberg townships. His brother, William, who had inherited the "East Manor" in Rensselaer County, also sold out his rights in over 500 farms in 1848. Finally, in the 1850s, two speculators purchased the remaining leases from the van Rensselaers.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

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External links

• Rensselaerswijck at the Virtual Tour of New Netherland, New Netherland Project of the New Netherland Institute
• Rensselaerswyck at the Colonial Albany Social History Project of the New York State Museum

15px This article incorporates text from History of Rensselaer Co., New York, by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester (1880), a publication now in the public domain.