Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
Portrait believed to be Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, attributed toRichard Morrell Staigg
Lieutenant Governor of New York
In office July 1, 1801 – June 30, 1804
Governor	George Clinton
Preceded by	Stephen Van Rensselaer
Succeeded by	John Broome
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's6th district
In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	James Gordon
Personal details
Born	(1738-08-27)August 27, 1738 Rensselaerswyck,Province of New York,British America
Died	February 19, 1810(1810-02-19) (aged 71) Albany, New York, U.S.
Party	Anti-Administration Democratic-Republican
Spouses	Judith Bayard ​ ​ (m. 1760; died 1764)​ Helena Lansing ​ ​ (m. 1764; died 1795)​
Children	Johannes Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
Parents	Johannes Van Rensselaer Angelica Livingston

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (August 27, 1738 – February 19, 1810), from the prominentVan Rensselaer family, was thelieutenant governor of New York and a member of Congress in theU.S. House of Representatives, representingNew York in the 1stUnited States Congress.

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer was born on August 27, 1738, at the main home of his family's manor,"Rensselaerswyck" in theProvince of New York, in what is now thecity of Watervliet.^[1] His parents wereJohannes Van Rensselaer (1708–1793) andEngeltie "Angelica" Livingston (1698–1747),^[2] who married in 1734.^[3][2] He was the third of six children: Catherine (b. 1734), Margarita (b. 1736), Jeremiah, Robert (b. 1740), Hendrick (b. 1742), and James (b. 1747).^[2] His mother died before he was 10 years-old and his father remarried, to Gertrude van Cortlandt.

His older sister was Catherine van Rensselaer (1734–1803) who in 1755 marriedPhilip Schuyler (1733–1804), aRevolutionary general andUnited States Senator fromNew York. This relationship made him the maternal uncle toAngelica Schuyler (1756–1814), who married BritishMPJohn Barker Church,Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854), who marriedAlexander Hamilton, the firstUnited States Secretary of the Treasury,Margarita Schuyler (1758–1801), who marriedStephen Van Rensselaer III, the son of Jeremiah's first cousin,Stephen van Rensselaer II (1742–1769), andPhilip Jeremiah Schuyler (1768–1835), who also served in theUnited States House of Representatives.^[4]

His younger brother wasRobert Van Rensselaer (1740–1802), a Brigadier General during the Revolutionary War, a member of theNew York Provincial Congress from 1775 to 1777 and later a member of the New York State Assembly in the1st,2nd and4th New York State Legislatures. Robert's son and Jeremiah's nephew wasJacob Van Rensselaer (1767–1835), aFederalist member of theNew York State Assembly and theSecretary of State of New York from 1813 to 1815.^[5]

Van Rensselaer wastutored at the manor house, attended private school inAlbany, New York, and attended college at the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University) where he graduated in 1758.^[6]

Jeremiah was descended from and married into "the best provincial families"^[1] in New York including theLivingstons,Schuylers,Van Cortlandts,Van Schaicks, andBayards.^[7]

His paternal grandfather wasHendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740), director of the Eastern patent of theRensselaerswyck manor, and his paternal grandmother was Catharina Van Brugh, daughter of merchantJohannes Pieterse Van Brugh (1624–1697).^[8] He had many noteworthy cousins, includingKillian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845), who was also a U.S. Representative who served in Congress from 1803 until 1811.^[9]

His maternal grandparents wereRobert Livingston Jr. (1663–1725) and Margarita Schuyler (b. 1682). His maternal great-grandparents werePieter Schuyler (1657–1724), the firstMayor of Albany, and Engeltie Van Schaick (d. 1689).

Van Rensselaer became a land agent, merchant, and surveyor. According to the 1790 and 1800 U.S. censuses, his household included three slaves.^[10] In 1766, he was a signer of the constitution of the AlbanySons of Liberty and became a member of the AlbanyCommittee of Safety. During theAmerican Revolutionary War he was commissioned as an ensign in the third regiment of the New York Line where he served as a paymaster.^[1]

He was elected to theFirst United States Congress and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1791,^[6] but lost his bid for reelection to theSecond Congress toJames Gordon.^[6] He later ran for the7th congressional district in 1793, losing to Federalist nomineeHenry Glen.^[11]

In 1789, he was member of theNew York State Assembly. In 1791, he was a member of the first board of directors of theBank of Albany, and from 1798 through 1806, served as president of the bank.^[12] He was apresidential elector in1800, voting forThomas Jefferson andAaron Burr.^[6]

Van Rensselaer wasLieutenant Governor of New York from 1801 to 1804, serving under GovernorGeorge Clinton. He was curator of theEvangelical Lutheran Seminary at Albany in 1804.^[1]

On July 3, 1760,^[13] he married Judith Bayard, the great-granddaughter ofNicholas Bayard (1644–1707). Together, they had one son:^[14]

• Johannes "John" Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1762–1828),^[14] who married Catharina Glen (1765–1807).^[2]

In February 1764, after his first wife's death of Yellow Fever,^[13] he married Helena "Lena" Lansing.

He died on February 19, 1810, inAlbany and was buried in theDutch Reformed cemetery there. His body was later moved to theAlbany Rural Cemetery inMenands, New York.^[6]

Although Van Rensselaer only had one son, he had many grandchildren, including:

• Catharina Glen Van Rensselaer (1785–1866), who married Nanning Visscher,^[3][15]
• John Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (b. 1790), who died young,^[3]
• Jeremias "Jeremiah" Van Rensselaer (1796–1871),^[2] a well known physician who was the first American to climbMont Blanc, who first married Charlotte Foster and later Anne F. Waddington^[3][16]
• Glen Van Rensselaer (b. 1795)
• Elizabeth Bayard Van Rensselaer (b. 1797)
• Cornelius Glen Van Rensselaer (1801–1871), who married Catharine Westerlo Bleecker, daughter of John Bleecker and Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (the daughter ofStephen Van Rensselaer II)
• Archibald Van Rensselaer (b. 1803).^[2][3]

• The Political Graveyard: Van Rensselaer family of New York
• Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1738–1810), inPrincetonians, 1748-1768: A Biographical Dictionary (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1977). 252ff.
• United States Congress."Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (id: V000053)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1738 births
• 1810 deaths
• People from Capital District (New York)
• People from the Province of New York
• Van Rensselaer family
• American people of Dutch descent
• Lutherans from New York (state)
• Anti-Administration Party United States representatives from New York (state)
• New York (state) Democratic-Republicans
• Lieutenant governors of New York (state)
• Members of the New York State Assembly
• Princeton University alumni
• 1800 United States presidential electors
• Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery
• United States representatives who owned slaves
• 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature
• 18th-century United States representatives
• 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature
• Candidates in the 1792 United States elections

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• Use mdy dates from October 2020