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 The Schuyler family ( /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especiall ...

Early life

Philip Pieterse Schuyler was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

in the

Republic of the Seven United Provinces The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, in 1628 as the son of Pieter Tjercks (no family name) and Geertruyt Philips Van Schuylder.Schuyler Genealogy
/ref>''The name Schuyler is from the maternal line. The father, like most dutchmen of the time, had no family name. It was unusual but not unique for sons to adopt their mother's name. In the colonial records of the seventeenth century, the name of Schuyler is used irregularly; references to Philip Pieterse being as common as those to Philip Schuyler.'
Geni.com
/ref> His father was a German-born Amsterdam baker. His brother,

David Pieterse Schuyler David Pieterse Schuyler was a Dutch-born member of the Schuyler family. He was a fur trader, Alderman of Albany, captain, and merchant. Early life Schuyler was born in the Republic of the Seven United Provinces The United Provinces of the ...

, married Catharina Verplanck. They died in 1690 as a result of the

Schenectady massacre The Schenectady massacre was an attack against the colonial settlement of Schenectady in the English Province of New York on February 8, 1690. A raiding party of 114 French soldiers and militiamen, accompanied by 96 allied Mohawk and Algonquin wa ...

of 1690."An account of the burning of Schenectady by Mons. De Monsignat, comptroller General of the marine in Canada to Madam de Maintenon, the morganatic wife of Louis XIV.", ''Doc. Hist. N. Y., I,'' p. 186, noted in Pearson (1883), ''A History of the Schenectady Patent''
Schenectady History Digital Archives
''History of the Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times'', 1883, pp. 244-270 David was an ancestor of

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As New York City ...

, Loyalist Mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 ...

, as well as

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and

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 ...

Career

By 1650, he had emigrated to

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 ...

, settling in

Beverwyck Beverwijck ( ; ), often written using the pre-reform orthography Beverwyck, was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River in New Netherland that was renamed and developed as Albany, New York, after the English took cont ...

. Although nominally a carpenter or gunstockmaker, he entered the fur trade, using the profits to buy land, beginning with the house he built about 1659 on the corner of today's State and Pearl Streets in Albany. He also owned houses on Broadway and Beaver Street, where he resided at different times. On 1 November 1667 Philip Pietrse was commissioned

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(Kapitein) in the Albany militia in army of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. By 1672, he also had acquired land along the Hudson north of the Van Rensselaer manor house. That farm became a family summer home known as "the Flats". After he bought "the Flats", he built a new home on North Pearl Street, for winter use, in which he died. He also owned property in New Amsterdam, several hundred acres east of the Hudson below Rensselaerswyck, and lots in Wiltwyck and at Halfmoon as well.Bielinski, Stefan. "Philip Pieterse", New York State Museum
/ref> He took an active part in Indian Affairs.Schuyler, George W. ''Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family'', Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1885
/ref> In 1656, he was appointed by Governor Stuyvesant to the office of vice-director of

Fort Orange Fort Orange ( nl, Fort Oranje) was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland; the present-day city of Albany, New York developed at this site. It was built in 1624 as a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built on nearb ...

until it was captured by the English in 1664. From 1664, onwards he lived under English rule 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 ...

Personal life

On 12 December 1650 he married Margaretta van Slichtenhorst, daughter of Brant Aertsz van Slichtenhorst, the director of

Rensselaerwyck 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 ...

, appointed by

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 ...

.Roper, Louis H. and Van Ruymbeke, Bertrand. ''Constructing Early Modern Empires: Proprietary Ventures in the Atlantic World, 1500-1750'', Brill, 2007
/ref> Together, they had ten children: * Gysbert Schuyler (b. 2 July 1652 in

), and died after 13 March 1664/65 * Gertruj Schuyler (b. 4 February 1654), who married

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 ...

(1643–1700), the patroon of

Van Cortlandt Manor Van Cortlandt Manor is a 17th-century house and property built by the van Cortland family located near the confluence of the Croton and Hudson Rivers in the village of Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County, New York, United States. The colonial ...

and a

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 ...

from 1677–1678 and again from 1686–1688. *

Alida Schuyler 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 ...

(b. 28 February 1656), who married Nicholas van Rensselaer. After his death in 1678, she married

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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

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 ...

(b. 17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724), the first mayor of Albany * Brant Schuyler (b. 18 December 1659) *

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 ...

(b. 25 June 1662 – 26 November 1730) * Sybilla Schuyler (b. 12 November 1664) * Philip Schuyler (b. 8 February 1666) *

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 ...

(b. 5 April 1668), led an attack on

La Prairie, Quebec La Prairie is an off-island suburb ( south shore) of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Jacques River and the Saint Lawrence River in the Regional County Municipality of Roussillon. The population as of the ...

in 1690 * Margritta Schuyler (b. 2 January 1672), married Jacobus Verplanck Schuyler died in Albany, 9 May 1683.

Descendants

Schuyler was the progenitor of multiple generations of prominent New Yorkers as well as major players in American politics and business, including the

Livingston family The Livingston family of New York is a prominent family that migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic, and then to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from the 4th Lord Livingston, its members included signers of the Unite ...

, the

Bush family The Bush family is an American dynastic family that is prominent in the fields of American politics, news, sports, entertainment, and business. They were the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, and w ...

, and the Kean family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler, Philip Pieterse 1627 births 1683 deaths People from Amsterdam People of New Netherland Philip Pieterse People of the Dutch Republic