Alida van Rensselaer Livingston ( Schuyler; 1656–1727) was a Dutch businessperson in Dutch colony in America who exerted a considerable influence in the life of the colony.

Early life

She was born in Beverwyck (Albany), in the New Netherlands (New York) as the daughter of the wealthy fur trader

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 Repub ...

(1628-1683) and Margaretha van Slichtenhorst (1628-1711), originally immigrants from Germany. Schuyler, George W. ''Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family'', Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1885
/ref> She was one of ten children born to her parents, including

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),

Arent Schuyler Arent Philipse Schuyler (June 25, 1662 – November 26, 1730) was a member of the influential Schuyler family (among the first settlers to New Netherland). He was a surveyor, Native American trader, miner, merchant, and land speculator. Early l ...

(1662–1730) and Gertruj Schuyler (b. 1654), who was married to

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' ...

(1643–1700).Roper, Louis H. and Van Ruymbeke, Bertrand. ''Constructing Early Modern Empires: Proprietary Ventures in the Atlantic World, 1500-1750'', Brill, 2007
/ref>

Career

Alida Schuyler was a major businesswoman particularly during her second marriage: she acted as the business partner and political and economical adviser to him, and together, they divided the responsibility of the business and exerted a considerable economic and political influence in the colony. In 1686, the couple managed to acquire city privileges for Albany. She also participated in a long term lawsuit about the inheritance of her first spouse against his relatives. From 1686, she resided at Livingston Manor. She retired from business for health reasons in 1716. Alida Schuyler has been taken as an example of an independent American colonial businesswoman. She is also known as the matriarch of several American families.

Personal life

In 1675, she married Nicholas van Rensselaer (1636–1678), the fourth son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a

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 ...

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

and

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

merchant from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

who was 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 what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

and in 1630, became 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 ...

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 ...

. Her husband, Nicholas, a minister, died shortly after their marriage in 1678.Bielinski, Stefan. "Nicholas Van Rensselaer", New York State Museum
/ref> In 1679, she married her late husband's secretary,

Robert Livingston the Elder The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1654-1728), the first Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

, in 1679. Robert Livingston amassed one of the largest fortunes in 17th-century New York. They had nine children together: * Rebecca Livingston (1680-1747), who married John Buchanan (1676-1749) * Margaret Livingston (1681–1758), who married Samuel Vetch (1668–1732), the Royal Governor of Nova ScotiaPlank, p. 44 * Joanna Philipina Livingston (1683–1689), who died young *

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great ...

(1686–1749), the second Lord of the Manor who married Catherine Van Brugh * Robert Livingston (1688–1775), who married Margaret Howarden (1693–1758) and was the owner of the Clermont Estate * Hubertus "Gilbert" Livingston (b. 1690), who married Cornelia Beekman, granddaughter of

Wilhelmus Beekman Wilhelmus Hendricksen Beekman (April 28, 1623 – September 21, 1707) — also known as William Beekman and Willem Beekman (or Beeckman) — was a Dutch immigrant to America who came to New Amsterdam (now New York City) from the Netherlands in the ...

, Mayor of New York, and niece of Gerardus Beekman * William Livingston (1692–1692), who died young * Joanna Livingston (b. 1694) * Catherine Livingston (1698–1699), who died young

Descendants

She was the grandmother of

and William Livingston. Her granddaughter, Catherine Livingston, married Abraham De Peyster, who was a

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

Officer who served with the King's American Regiment and was at

Battle of King's Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took plac ...

. Through her son, Gilbert Livingston, she was the grandmother of Margaret Livingston (1738–1818), who married Peter Stuyvesant (1727–1805), a great-grandson of the

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 Ne ...

who commanded the

colony on Manhattan island, and Joanna Livingston (1722–1808), who married

Pierre Van Cortlandt Pierre Van Cortlandt (January 10, 1721 – May 1, 1814) was an American politician who served as the first Lieutenant Governor of New York. He was first elected to the New York Assembly in March 1768 and served in that body as the representative ...

(1721–1814), the first

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of the

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 * '' ...

.''Van Cortlandt, Pierre (1721-1814)''
at The Political Graveyard Many Americans are descended from the Livingston family, including George W. Bush, the entire

Fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

and Kean families,

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, First Lady of New York

Anna Morton Anna Livingston Reade Morton ( Street; May 18, 1846 – August 14, 1918) was the second wife of United States Vice President Levi P. Morton and Second Lady of the United States from 1889 to 1893. She was known as Anna Street Morton. Early life ...

, actors

Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...

and

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

, actress Jane Wyatt, medical resident Asad Rizvi, poet

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the '' Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

, cinematographer

Floyd Crosby Floyd Delafield Crosby, A.S.C. (December 12, 1899 – September 30, 1985) was an Academy Award-winning American cinematographer, descendant of the Van Rensselaer family, and father of musicians Ethan and David Crosby. Early life Crosby was b ...

and his son

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

, author

Wolcott Gibbs Wolcott Gibbs (March 15, 1902 – August 16, 1958) was an American editor, humorist, theatre critic, playwright and writer of short stories, who worked for '' The New Yorker'' magazine from 1927 until his death. He is notable for his 1936 parody ...

, and almost the entire

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...

References

Notes

Sources

* Kees Kuiken, Schuyler, Alida, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Schuyler 3/01/2014 * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler, Alida 17th-century American businesspeople 17th-century Dutch businesswomen 1656 births 1727 deaths Colonial American merchants Alida People of the Province of New York People of New Netherland Alida Alida 18th-century American businesswomen 18th-century American businesspeople