Colonel Kiliaen van Rensselaer (December 27, 1717 – December 28, 1781) was a colonial American soldier and politician who was a member of the prominent

Van Rensselaer family The Van Rensselaer family () is a family of Dutch descent that was prominent during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in the area now known as the state of New York. Members of this family played a critical role in the formation of the Unite ...

Early life

Kiliaen was born on December 27, 1717, around Albany in the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

. He was the youngest of eleven children born to

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, ...

Fort Crailo The Crailo State Historic Site (also known as Fort Crailo and Yankee Doodle House) is a historic, fortified brick manor house in Rensselaer, New York which was built in 1707. The word ''Crailo'' is derived from ''kraaien bos'' (Dutch for "crow's w ...

by Catharina (

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 ...

Van Brugh) Van Rensselaer. Among his older siblings were

Johannes Van Rensselaer Johannes Van Rensselaer (January 3, 1708 – February 21, 1783) was a member of the prominent colonial Van Rensselaer family. Early life Van Rensselaer was born on January 3, 1708, at the family estate, "Rensselaerswyck", in what is now Waterv ...

. His father was director of the Eastern patent 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 ...

which covered roughly 62,000 acres of land in what is now Columbia County. His paternal grandparents were

Maria van Cortlandt van Rensselaer Maria van Cortlandt van Rensselaer, also known as Maria van Rensselaer (July 20, 1645 – January 29, 1689,) was the Dutch administrator and treasurer of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, now Albany, New York. Early life Maria van Cortlandt was born ...

(sister of New York City mayors Stephanus 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 ...

) and

Jeremias van Rensselaer 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 who was instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland ...

, the acting

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 Rensselaerswyck from 1658 to 1674 (who was a 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 ( ...

). Among his nephews were Brig. Gen.

Robert Van Rensselaer Robert Van Rensselaer (December 16, 1740 – September 11, 1802) was Brigadier General during the American Revolutionary War, a member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1775 to 1777 and later a member of the New York State Assembly in the ...

. In describing the

, historian author William L. Stone stated: "They consisted of eighteen males in 1776. During the war every adult, except two old men, and all minors, except four boys, bore arms in one or more battles during the Revolutionary struggle." George W. Schuyler later wrote in his ''Colonial New York'', "... of the eighteen males, sixteen belonged to Hendrick Van Rensselaer's branch, and of these, five were of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer's family." His maternal grandparents were the former Catharine Roeloffe Jans and merchant Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh. His uncle,

Pieter Van Brugh Pieter Van Brugh (1666 – July 1740) was the Mayor of Albany, New York from 1699 to 1700 and from 1721 to 1723. Early life and family Pieter Van Brugh was a member of the Dutch aristocracy of Albany. Pieter Van Brugh was the oldest son of J ...

, served as the

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 ...

from 1699 to 1700 and from 1721 to 1723.

Career

Van Rensselaer was a gentleman farmer and landlord. Through inheritances and marriages, he received additional landholdings on the east side of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

American Revolution

He was commissioned as a colonel in his brother's 4th Regiment, Albany County Militia,

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 ...

battalion on October 20, 1775, during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. He was the representative for Rensselaerswyck on the

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

as hostilities broke out in 1775. Van Rensselaer was seriously wounded by a shot in the hip during the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

that forced him to discontinue further service. General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

paid the highest of compliments about his courage.

Personal life

On January 1, 1742, he was married to Ariantje "Harriet"

Schuyler Schuyler may refer to: Places United States * Schuyler County, Illinois * Schuyler County, Missouri * Schuyler, Nebraska, a city * Schuyler County, New York * Schuyler, New York, a town * Schuyler Island, Lake Champlain, New York * Schuyler C ...

(1720–1763), a daughter of Nicolas Schuyler and Elsie (née Wendell) Schuyler and granddaughter of

Philip Pieterse Schuyler Colonel Philip Pieterse Schuyler or Philip Pieterse (1628 – 9 May 1683) was a Dutch-born colonist landowner who was the progenitor of the American Schuyler family. Early life Philip Pieterse Schuyler was born in Amsterdam, Holland in the Republ ...

(grandfather of General and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War 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. Born in Alba ...

and Mayor

Abraham Cuyler Abraham Cornelius Cuyler (April 11, 1742 – February 5, 1810) was a businessman and the last mayor of colonial Albany, New York, the third generation in a row to serve in that office. Early life Abraham was born in 1742 to Mayor Cornelis Cuyler ...

). Her uncle was Albany mayor

Johannes Schuyler Johannes Schuyler (October 15, 1668 – November 5, 1747) was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the 10th Mayor of Albany, New York from 1703 to 1706, and later was a member of the provincial assembly. He was the paternal grand ...

and her first cousin was Johannes Schuyler Jr. Together, they lived on the east side of Rensselaerswyck, overlooking Papsknee Island, and were the parents of nine children, including: * Hendrick Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1744–1816), a general in the Revolution who married Alida Bradt, a daughter Hendrick Bradt and Rebecca Van Vechten. *

Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (May 19, 1747 – March 3, 1798) was the second son of Colonel Kiliaen van Rensselaer and Ariaantie (Schuyler). He was a merchant by trade, and his experience in transporting cargo may have helped qualify him as kee ...

(1747–1798), a colonel in the Revolution who married Maria Sanders (1749–1830), daughter of Robert Sanders and granddaughter of

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 ...

, in 1768. * Nicholas Van Rensselaer (1754-1848), a Colonel and '' aide-de-camp'' under General

, who married Elsie Van Buren (1759–1844), a daughter of Cornelis Van Buren, in 1780. * Catharine Van Rensselaer (d. 1778), who married William Henry Ludlow in 1771. * Elsie Van Rensselaer (1758–1796), who married Abraham Lansing (1752–1822) in 1774. * Maria Van Rensselaer (1760–1841), who married Leonard Gansevoort Jr. (1754–1834) (a first cousin of

New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan compo ...

Leonard Gansevoort Leendert "Leonard" Gansevoort (July 14, 1751 – August 26, 1810) was an American political leader from New York who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1788. Early life He was born in 1751 in Albany County, New York to Harmen Ga ...

) in 1777. * Killian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845),

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

who married Margaret Sanders (1764–1830), a daughter of John Sanders and cousin to Philip's wife, in 1791. His wife died October 17, 1763, four months after the birth of their last child. On September 18, 1769, he remarried to Maria Low of John Low of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Her father died in 1774 and Van Rensselaer was one of the executors of his estate. Van Rensselaer died on December 28, 1781.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen 1717 births 1781 deaths Van Rensselaer family Van Cortlandt family Van Rensselaer's Regiment People from Albany County, New York Albany militia American militiamen in the American Revolution American Revolution spies Van Brugh family