Jeremias van Rensselaer (Amsterdam, 16 May 1632 – October 12, 1674) was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders and directors of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

who was instrumental in the establishment of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

and was created the first

patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch ''patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms a ...

of the

Manor of Rensselaerswyck The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck ( nl, Rensselaerswijck ), was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the va ...

. Jeremias van Rensselaer was the acting

of the

, and the first of his family to establish himself permanently in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early life

Jeremias van Rensselaer was born on May 16, 1632 in Amsterdam, the second son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1586–1643) and Anna van Wely (1601–1670), his father's second wife. He grew up on

Keizersgracht The Keizersgracht (; "Emperor's canal") is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is the second of the three main Amsterdam canals that together form the Grachtengordel, or canal belt, and lies between the inner Herengracht and outer Prinsengr ...

, and received a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

education. Among his siblings was older half-brother

Johan van Rensselaer Johan van Rensselaer also Johannes van Rensselaer (Amsterdam, 4 September 1625 – Nijkerk , 6 May 1663), second patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, was the eldest son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, and his only son by his first wife, Hillegon ...

(the eldest son from his father's first wife Hillegonda van Bylaer), who eventually became the 2nd Patroon in 1643 upon their father's death. Another older brother,

Jan Baptist van Rensselaer Jan Baptist van Rensselaer (18 March 1629, in Amsterdam – 24 October 1678, in Amsterdam) was the second son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the first Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck. Early life Jan Baptist van Rensselaer was born in Amst ...

(the first son by Jeremias' father and mother), became the 3rd Patroon in 1652.

New Netherlands

In 1654, he sailed from Amsterdam on the ''Gelderse Blom'' ("Gelderland Flower"), to the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present day

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

). He returned to Holland by the ''Beaver'', October 28, 1655, and sailed the second time from Amsterdam on the ''Gilded Otter'', shortly after June 14, 1656. In 1658, his older brother Jan Baptist returned to Amsterdam and Jeremias succeeded him as Director of Rensselaerwyck on September 24, 1658. Jeremias was the first of his family to establish himself permanently in

, the remaining sixteen years of his life being devoted to the government of the colony.

Manor of Rensselaerswyck

Pursuing the policies begun under the vice-directors, he became a man of great influence among the Indians, and "so attached them to him that they guarded his estates as carefully as they did their own." To the French in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

he was known as one of the representative and ablest men of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

colonies. He had the good judgment to adjust the acute differences with

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...

(1612-1672) which had troubled the administrations of his brother and van Slichtenhorst, and during the brief residue of the

authority in

was on excellent terms with the governor. In 1661, eight chairs, a bed, a mirror and a cupboard were sent to him from the Dutch Republic. In 1664, Jan Baptist, Elisabeth van Twiller, the widow of Johan, Leonora and Susanna decided to sell all their property in and around Rensselaerswijck to Jeremias.NA 2241, f. 1233-1234, not A. Lock, 13 June 1673. His younger brother Rijckert went to the colony to assist him. On the occasion of the ''landtsdagh'' or diet summoned by Stuyvesant early in 1664 to deliberate on the critical condition of the province—this being the first general representative assembly held within the present state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

—he served as presiding officer of that body.

Province of New York

After the surrender to the English in September 1664, he took the oath to the new government, and the rights and immunities enjoyed by his family in its colony were recognized, though the precise future status of the property was not settled in his time. He desired to obtain a new patent in the name of his family, and, failing in this, was privately advised to move in the matter as an individual (being qualified to hold real estate by virtue of his British citizenship), and so obtained a regrant of Rensselarswyck in his personal name. This counsel he rejected indignantly, saying he was but a coheir, and would not defraud his brothers and sisters. He finally obtained from Governor Andros a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

"to the heirs of Kiliaen van Rensselaer," which, while in a sense only provisional, served all necessary purposes until the manor grant of 1685.

Succession

As his nephew, Kiliaen van Rensselaer, was still a minor upon Jeremias' death in 1674, Jeremias' younger brother, Nicholas van Rensselaer, succeeded him as Director of Rensselaerwyck until his death in 1678 at which point Kiliaen (Jeremias' son-in-law) became the 4th Patroon.

Personal life

On July 12, 1662, Jeremias married Marritje "Maria" van Cortlandt (1645–1689), daughter of Olaff Stevensz van Cortlandt and Annetje (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Loockermans) van Cortlandt. Maria was the sister of

Stephanus Van Cortlandt Stephanus van Cortlandt (May 7, 1643 – November 25, 1700) 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 ...

and

Jacobus Van Cortlandt Jacobus van Cortlandt (1658–1739) was a wealthy Dutch-born American merchant, slave owner, and politician who served as the 30th and 33rd Mayor of New York City from 1710 to 1711 and again from 1719 to 1720. Early life Jacobus Van Cortland ...

, both of whom served as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

. Together Jeremias and Maria were the parents of seven children, including: * Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1663–1719), who became the 5th patroon and 2nd Lord of

Rensselaerswyck The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck ( nl, Rensselaerswijck ), was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the va ...

Manor in 1687. He married his first cousin, Maria Van Cortlandt (daughter of

), in 1701. * Johannes van Rensselaer, who died without issue. * Anna van Rensselaer (1665–1723), who married her first cousin, Kilaen Van Rensselaer, the 4th patroon. After his death in 1687, she married William Nicoll, the

Speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of the American Revolution ...

. *

Hendrick van Rensselaer Hendrick van Rensselaer (October 23, 1667 – July 4, 1740) was director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor. The estate was composed of land in Columbia County, New York, and land opposite Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, ...

(1667–1740), who married Catharina Van Brugh (1665–1730), daughter of prominent fur and timber trader Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh, in 1689. * Maria van Rensselaer (1673-1713), who married

Pieter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

(1657–1724), the 1st

mayor of Albany From its formal chartering on 22 July 1686 until 1779, the mayors of Albany, New York, were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1779 until 1839, may ...

and acting

Governor of the Province of New York The territory which would later become the state of New York was settled by European colonists as part of the New Netherland colony (parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware) under the command of the Dutch West India C ...

. Jeremias died in Rensselaerswyck on October 12, 1674. He left a voluminous correspondence, together with a minute chronicle of events in America, under the title of the "New Netherland Mercury". His great industry and methodical habits have been remarked upon by many writers. His widow died in January 1689.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rensselaer, Jeremias Van 1632 births 1674 deaths American people of Dutch descent Dutch West India Company people from Amsterdam People of New Netherland People from New York (state) Jeremias