Stephen Van Rensselaer
Stephen Van Rensselaer III, c. 1790s, byGilbert Stuart
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York
In office March 12, 1822 – March 3, 1829
Preceded by	Solomon Van Rensselaer
Succeeded by	Ambrose Spencer
Constituency	9th district (1822–1823) 10th district (1823–1829)
Lieutenant Governor of New York
In office July 1, 1795 – June 30, 1801
Governor	John Jay
Preceded by	Pierre Van Cortlandt
Succeeded by	Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
Member of theNew York State Senate from the Western district at-large
In office 1791–1796
Member of theNew York State Assembly from theAlbany County district at-large
In office 1789–1791
Grand Master of the MasonicGrand Lodge of New York
In office 1825–1829
Preceded by	Joseph Enos
Succeeded by	Morgan Lewis
9th Patroon and 6th Lord of theManor of Rensselaerswyck
In office 1769–1839
Preceded by	Stephen Van Rensselaer II
Succeeded by	Stephen Van Rensselaer IV
Personal details
Born	(1764-11-01)November 1, 1764 New York City,Province of New York,British America
Died	January 26, 1839(1839-01-26) (aged 74) New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Albany Rural Cemetery,Menands, New York
Political party	Federalist Adams Republican
Spouses	Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler ​ ​ (m. 1783; died 1801)​ Cornelia Paterson ​ ​ (m. 1802)​
Children	12, includingStephen,Cortlandt andHenry
Relatives	SeeVan Rensselaer family
Alma mater	Harvard College
Profession	Landowner Businessman
Net worth	USD $10 million at the time of his death (equivalent to between $282 million and $349 million in 2023.)[1][2][3]
Signature

Stephen Van Rensselaer III (/ˈrɛnslər,-slɪər/;^[4] November 1, 1764 – January 26, 1839), was an American landowner, businessman, politician, and militia officer. He took control ofRensselaerswyck, his family's manor inupstate New York, at the age of twenty-one. He encouraged settlement by granting tenants seven years of free rent, although he retained ownership of timber, minerals, andwater power. He earned the sobriquet "the Good Patroon" for generally proving to be a lenient landlord; rather than eviction, he preferred to accept partial payment or goods and services in lieu of cash when tenants were in arrears.

AFederalist and brother-in-law ofAlexander Hamilton, Van Rensselaer served inboth houses of the state legislature and aslieutenant governor. After the demise of the Federalist Party, Van Rensselaer was aJohn Quincy Adams supporter and served in theUnited 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 theRensselaer 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 ofmajor general; he commanded troops on the New York–Canada border during theWar of 1812, but resigned his commission after defeat at theBattle of Queenston Heights. After Van Rensselaer's 1839 death, efforts by his sons to collect past due lease payments led to theAnti-Rent War, and the break up and sale of the manor. As the heir to and then owner of one of the largest estates inNew York, Van Rensselaer's holdings made him thetenth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporaryGDP.

Van Rensselaer was born in New York City, the eldest child ofStephen van Rensselaer II, the ninthpatroon ofRensselaerswyck, a large land grant inUpstate New York awarded to his ancestorKiliaen Van Rensselaer by theDutch Republic when the region was part of the colony ofNew Netherland. His mother was Catharina Livingston, daughter ofPhilip Livingston, a signer of theDeclaration of Independence. His family was very wealthy, and theVan 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. He grew up with the men on his maternal side and became very interested in the sciences such as mathematics, biology and chemistry.^[5]

Van Rensselaer was raised by his mother and stepfather, the ReverendEilardus Westerlo, whom his mother married in 1775, and his Livingston grandfather.^[6] 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.^[5] Stephen's younger brotherPhilip S. Van Rensselaer (1767–1824), later served asMayor of Albany from 1799 to 1816 and again from 1819 to 1820.

Van Rensselaer began attending theCollege of New Jersey (later Princeton); since it was near to battles of the ongoingAmerican Revolution, he was later sent toHarvard College, from which he graduatedPhi Beta Kappa^[7] with anA.B. degree in 1782.^[8][9]

On his 21st birthday, Van Rensselaer took possession ofRensselaerswyck, his family's 1,200 square mile (3,072 km²) estate, and began a long tenure as lord of the manor.^[10] Van Rensselaer desired to profit from the land, but was extremely reluctant to sell it off.^[11] Instead, he developed the land by granting perpetualleases at moderate rates; Van Rensselaer derived a steady rental income from his property while retaining timber, water, and mineral rights, while tenants were able to become successful farmers without having to pay a large purchase price up front.^[12][13] 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.^[14] He generally proved to be a lenient landlord; he accepted produce such as grain and firewood in place of cash for rent payments,^[15] and when tenants found themselves in financial difficulty, he usually preferred to accept late or partial payments rather than evict them.^[16] 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.^[17] Over time, this requirement became a point of contention between Van Rensselaer and the tenants, which in part led to theAnti-Rent War.^[17]

In the1790 United States census, it was recorded that he owned fifteenslaves.^[18] By the time of the1830 census, he had none, in keeping with New York's gradual emancipation law, under which allenslaved people in the state were freed by 1827.^[19] Van Rensselaer later became an advocate of enablingAfrican Americans to emigrate to colonies in Africa, such asLiberia, and he served as a vice president of the Albany Auxiliary Society and theAmerican Colonization Society.^[20][21]

In 1791, Van Rensselaer was one of the incorporators of the Albany Library, which evolved over time into theAlbany Public Library, and he was chosen to serve on the board of trustees.^[22] In 1797, Van Rensselaer was an organizer of theAlbany and Schenectady Turnpike Company, and served on its board of directors.^[23]

AFederalist, Van Rensselaer was a member of theNew York State Assembly from 1789 to 1791, and theNew York State Senate from 1791 to 1796.

He wasLieutenant Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801, elected with GovernorJohn Jay. Van Rensselaer, over his time in politics, acquired a reputation as something of a reformer, voting in favor of extendingsuffrage and going against much of New York's upper class in doing so. In 1801, Van Rensselaer presided over the stateconstitutional convention,^[24] was the Federalist nominee forGovernor of New York, and lost toGeorge Clinton, 24,808 votes to 20,843.^[25]

He was one of the first to advocate fora canal from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and was appointed to acommission to investigate the route in 1810,^[26] reporting favorably to the Assembly in 1811.^[24] Van Rensselaer served on theErie 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 StateConstitutional Convention.^[27]

In 1822, he won thespecial election for the seat in theHouse of Representatives from which his cousin Solomon had resigned.^[28][29] He served from February 27, 1822, to March 3, 1829, during theSeventeenth,Eighteenth,Nineteenth, andTwentieth Congresses; during the last three sessions, he was the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.^[30][31]

In 1825 Van Rensselaer cast the vote that likely decided the presidential election in favor ofJohn Quincy Adams. Because none of the four candidates received a majority of electoral votes in the1824 presidential election, the U.S. House had to choose from the top three finishers—Adams,Andrew Jackson, andWilliam 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.^[32]

In 1786, Van Rensselaer was appointed amajor in the Albany County Regiment of theNew York Militia.^[33] He became commander of the regiment two years later as alieutenant colonel,^[34] and was subsequently promoted tocolonel.^[34] In 1801 he was promoted tomajor general as commander of the state militia's cavalry division.^[34]

Van Rensselaer's militia experience led to an appointment to command troops during theWar of 1812. When war was declared on Great Britain in June 1812, Van Rensselaer was a leadingFederalist candidate forGovernor of New York.Democratic-Republican Party leaders, including PresidentJames Madison and incumbent New York GovernorDaniel 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 cousinSolomon, who had more military experience, was appointed hisaide-de-camp. But the Army of the Centre consisted largely of untrained, inexperienced militiamen; under theConstitution, 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 theQueenston 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 GeneralAlexander 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 theBattle 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 theNiagara 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 generalsIsaac 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.^[35] 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.^[25]

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.^[24] He also held many significant posts after the war. In 1820, he was elected president of the state Board of Agriculture.^[36] Also in 1820, he was an incorporator of the Albany Savings Bank, and was elected to serve as the bank's president.^[23]

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 theAlbany Institute of History & Art.^[23] He was also active in the AmericanLyceum organization, and served as its president.^[37]

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.^[38] New York Life Insurance and Trust operated until 1922, when it merged with theBank of New York to become the Bank of New York & Trust Company.^[39]

Following the 1834 death in France of theMarquis de Lafayette, Van Rensselaer was appointed marshal for the Albany-area commemorations.^[23] He led the parade of militia members, fire fighters, Revolutionary War veterans and others, which culminated in speeches and a eulogy byWilliam Buell Sprague.^[23]

Van Rensselaer was elected one of the members of theWilliams College Corporation in 1794.^[23]

In 1812, Van Rensselaer took part in the incorporation of Albany's 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.^[40][41] In 1813, Van Rensselaer was one of the organizers ofThe Albany Academy, and was chosen to serve as the first president of the school's board of trustees.^[23]

Van Rensselaer was a member of theUniversity of the State of New York Board of Regents from 1819 to 1839, and from 1835 to 1839 he was the board's chancellor.^[42]

In 1824 Van Rensselaer andAmos Eaton established the Rensselaer School (now known asRensselaer 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".^[43] Since its founding, RPI has developed a reputation for academic excellence, particularly in the field of engineering.^[44]

From 1829 to 1839, Van Rensselaer served as a member of theRutgers College board of trustees.^[9]

Van Rensselaer was long active in the Dutch Reformed Church; he served several terms as adeacon andelder of theFirst Reformed Church in Albany, and attended numeroussynod meetings and similar gatherings as a delegate.^[45][46] He was active in theAmerican Home Missionary Society, and served as the organization's president in the 1820s.^[47] In 1834, he donated a lot at the corner of Green and South Ferry Streets in Albany for construction of the Third Reformed Church.^[48] For many years, Van Rensselaer was a member of the Albany Bible Society, and he served on its board of managers.^[49] He was also active on theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and served as vice president.^[50]

Van Rensselaer was an activeMason beginning early in his adulthood; from 1825 to 1829 he served as theGrand Master of theGrand Lodge of New York.^[51] His leadership of the statewide organization coincided with the rise of theAnti-Masonic Party inWestern New York, and Van Rensselaer forged an alliance with theDemocrats of theAlbany Regency led byMartin Van Buren andEnos T. Throop as a way to blunt the political influence of the Anti-Masons.^[52]

Several members of Van Rensselaer's extended family served in Congress includingJeremiah Van Rensselaer (1741–1810),Killian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845), andSolomon Van Rensselaer (1774–1852).^[5]

In June 1783, Van Rensselaer marriedMargarita "Peggy" Schuyler (1758–1801), a distant cousin and the daughter ofRevolutionary War generalPhilip Schuyler,^[53] and sister-in-law ofAlexander Hamilton. Their marriage resulted in three children, all of whom were baptized at theFirst Dutch Reformed Church in Albany. Only one of their children survived to adulthood:^[54]

• 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 fromPrinceton in 1808. He served as major general of militia. During theanti-rent troubles in 1839 he sold his townships, and at his death the manor passed out of the hands of his descendants.^[54]

After Schuyler's death in 1801, in 1802 Van Rensselaer married Cornelia Bell Paterson,^[55] the daughter ofWilliam Paterson.^[56] Together, they had:^[54]

• Catherine Van Rensselaer (1803–1874), who married Gouverneur Morris Wilkins (d. 1871)^[55]
• 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 ofWilliam Bayard Jr.^[55]
• Philip Stephen Van Rensselaer (1806–1871), who married Mary Rebecca Tallmadge (1817–1872), daughter ofJames Tallmadge Jr.^[55]
• Cortlandt Van Rensselaer (1808–1860), a notedPresbyterian clergyman.^[55]
• Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (1810–1864), a politician and general in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War, who married Elizabeth Ray King, a granddaughter ofRufus King.^[55]
• Cornelia Paterson Van Rensselaer (1812–1890), who married Robert James Turnbull Jr. (1807–1854), son ofRobert James Turnbull.^[54]
• Alexander Van Rensselaer (1814–1878), who married Mary Howland, daughter of merchantSamuel Shaw Howland, in 1851. In 1864, he marriedLouisa Barnewell.^[54]
• Euphemia White Van Rensselaer (1816–1888),^[55] who married John Church Cruger (1807–1879)^[54]
• Westerlo Van Rensselaer (1820–1844), who died aged 24.^[55]

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 atAlbany Rural Cemetery, Section 14, Lot 1.^[57]

• 
  Artotype of Van Rensselaer's son,Stephen, byEdward Bierstadt, 1888
• 
  Van Rensselaer's son, Alexander, painted byGeorge P. A. Healy, 1837
• 
  Van Rensselaer's daughter, Euphemia, painted byGeorge P. A. Healy, 1842
• 
  Drawing of Van Rensselaer's son,Cortlandt, 1889
• 
  Photograph of Van Rensselaer's son, GeneralHenry Bell

His granddaughter, Justine Van Rensselaer (1828–1912), marriedDr. Howard Townsend, a noted physician atAlbany Medical College.^[58] His grandson, Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger marriedJulia Grinnell Storrow, a popular American novelist.^[59]

His great-grandson wasJohn Eliot Thayer (1862–1933), an amateurornithologist.^[60] His great-granddaughter, Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer (1849–1903) marriedJ. Hampden Robb (1846–1911), aNew York State Senator, in 1868.^[61] Their daughter—Van Rensselaer's 2× great-granddaughter, Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer (b. 1881)—married Danish CountCarl Moltke (1869–1935) in 1907.^[62]

Through his great-grandson, Stephen Van Rensselaer Crosby (1868–1959),^[63][64] he was the 2× great-grandfather ofHenry Sturgis Crosby (1898–1929), a bon vivant, poet, and publisher who for some epitomized theLost Generation in American literature,^[65] who was married toMary Phelps Jacob (1891–1970).^[66]

Through his sonHenry Bell Van Rensselaer and Henry's granddaughterJulia Floyd Delafield, Stephen Van Rensselaer was the great-great-grandfather ofFloyd Crosby (1899–1985) and great-great-great-grandfather ofDavid Crosby andJane Wyatt.^[67]

Van Rensselaer can be counted among the top ten of the richest individuals in United States history.^[68] By one measure, his fortune would be worth approximately $150 billion in 2022.^[a]

The town ofStephentown, New York is named for Stephen Van Rensselaer.^[72]

In 1791, Van Rensselaer was elected as an honorary member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati.^[73] In 1822, he received thehonorary degree ofLL.D. fromYale University.^[74] In 1998, theRensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Hall of Fame inducted Van Rensselaer as a member.^[75]

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

•  This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
• Turner, Wesley B. (2011).The Astonishing General: The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Brock. Dundurn Books, 376 pages.ISBN 9781459700079.
• Spooner, Walter Whipple (1907).The Van Rensselaer Family. American Historical Magazine.
• Wolff, Geoffrey (1976).Black Sun. Random House Incorporated.ISBN 0-394-47450-3.

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