Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I, Part 1

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 656

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1900

Glass F118

Book. .246

Cuyler Reynolds,

HUDSON -MOHAWK GENEALOGICAL AND

FAMILY MEMOIRS.

A RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS IN NEW YORK STATE, INCLUDED WITHIN THE PRES- ENT COUNTIES OF ALBANY, RENSSELAER, WASHINGTON, SARATOGA, MONTGOMERY, FULTON, SCHENECTADY, COLUMBIA AND GREENE.

PREPARED UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF CUYLER REYNOLDS

Curator of The Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society, since 1898; Director of New York State History Exhibit at Jamestown Exposition, 1907; Author of "Albany Chronicles," "Classified Quotations," and several other published works.

VOLUME I.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY

1911

RAS

CCIA256850

FOREWORD

That many hundreds of persons have shown their personal interest in the publication of these volumes is sufficient evidence that it is a deserving field in historical literature. But this is by no means the limitation, for these family sketches will be a matter of daily reference by persons throughout this country, and thus they will be rendering a proper service, warranting the painstaking labor expended'in their preparation. As time goes on, a work of this nature will be considered as a godsend.

But aside from individual interest in family matters and the consequent inclusion of historical information, there is a special and pertinent value in this work, for instead of being an affair which some would heedlessly consider lightly, the effect on the student of these matters is known to be an inspiration, because through understanding the hardships and the successes of our ancestors, and reading of worthy feats, one certainly becomes imbued with an esprit de corps which builds character, and good results invariably follow.

In the times when the French and Indian wars were engaging the attention of every colonist from Maine to Florida, who never was able to rest easily at home lest the savage pillage his house within the high palisade, the settlements near Albany, although protected in the crude fashion of that day, were the sub- ject of attack time and time again. This was, in part, because the vicinity of Albany was the seat of settlement of several tribes of continually warring Indians, principally the Mohawks and Mohicans. Not only were the bergs of Albany and Schenectady surrounded in entirety by stockadoes, and the villagers warned not to build outside of them, but the residents erected their dwellings for defense, much in the manner of individual forts, by providing their walls, massive in those days, with portholes through which the musket could be directed at the enemy ; and such houses, although rare, are still standing there. Notable among these conflicts with the aborigines and French was the frightful massacre at Schenectady in the winter of 1690, when few in the peaceful village were permitted to escape the tomahawk, and later on the Beukendaal massacre shocked the settlers, fraught with as high a percentage of brutal murders.

When the French wished to possess the land in America, their armies came by way of the Adirondack lakes, as a facile passage from Canada, and Albany had to be the resisting point to save the other sections of the country. The orders issued in Europe by the higher officials who directed operations, were generally to the effect that Albany must first be taken ; but it never was a place which suffered conquest. Its citizenship was composed of such men as would extract the lead from their windows in order to have it cast into bullets, and naturally such valor was indomitable.

Some fifty years after the massacre mentioned, the French were once more decidedly active, and it was necessary to check them before they came further south than Ticonderoga, or, at worst, Fort William Henry, on Lake George's southern end. The region in and about Albany was then given over to the massing of troops, and under General Abercrombie, in 1758, a large army was gathered and the raw recruits drilled. It was then that "Yankee Doodle" was composed by the surgeon in his army, while in the camp at Greenbush.

In the Revolutionary period, the citizens sacrificed everything down to the condition of depriving themselves of their cattle, which were driven from their fields to supply the soldiers, while produce had to be brought in in such quan- tities that, when winter approached, the inhabitants made an appeal that they

FOREWORD

could not survive the winter if the drain continued. The best citizens were turned into officers, and the stories of their lives, headed with such names as Generals Schuyler, Ten Broeck and Gansevoort, furnish us to-day with both interesting and instructive reading. It was in 1777 that Albany was made the center of attack by large armies of British troops, planned to attack it from the north by General Burgoyne; from the west, by General St. Leger, proceeding from Oswego, and Lord Howe, coming up the Hudson. It was a brilliant enter- prise and a fierce campaign ; but the men of Albany were victorious.

In its later life. the people of this section of the country have placed then- selves creditably on record in the walks of peace, and one finds commerce, the arts and sciences, represented most worthily. There is no reason to gloss over the list by generalities, for definite cases are readily to be cited ; but one should take up these families one by one and read them thoughtfully. The entire country never furnished a more wonderful scientist than Professor Joseph Henry, born in Albany, who successfully demonstrated there the feasibility of his invention of the electric telegraph. The military men, lawyers, artists, authors, clergymen and doctors, have been among the foremost, and added a luster to a section of the country which furnishes itself as a topic for a history.

For the benefit of those who seek details about this section of the state, as regards its topography and legislative formation, besides the more important information in other lines, there has been added a section of this work, devoted to this subject.

Many persons will take special interest in salient features about the early settlers, and for their benefit a compilation of names and facts about six hundred different families, who arrived in that part of the State before the year 1700, has been purposely made. With the idea of making a creditable, authentic and full record of these families, each person associated with this work has put forth his best endeavor in the hope of affording abundant satisfaction.

The editor and publishers are grateful to several gentlemen for valuable advisory assistance-to W. Max Reid. of Amsterdam; Frank W. Thomas, of Troy : Rev. Dr. E. C. Lawrence, of Schenectady, and William Richard Cutter, of Woburn, Massachusetts-all well known in historical and antiquarian circles.

In various instances there are differing forms of names in the same family. different lines preserving their own nomenclature, and these differences have been preserved in these volumes. In all cases the narratives have been submitted to the person in interest, and their corrections have been carefully regarded.

Some corrections and additional data were received after the pages had gone through the press, and these have been carried into a page of addenda and errata preceding the index, in the last pages of Volume IV.

CUYLER REYNOLDS.

HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS.

It is beyond pos- sibility to write the VAN RENSSELAER history of the city of Albany, New York, without making promi- nent mention of the Van Rensselaer family. This is because the deeds for every foot of land now comprising the site of the capital city were executed by the owners of the soil, the Mohawk tribe of aborigines, to Patroon Van Rensselaer and his associates, so that this family will ever stand in history as the origi- nal owner of a very important and large area of land in the New World ; but it is likewise true that every one in the United States either bearing that name or of the blood, must turn to Albany in order to trace his or her descent, which leads to the single progenitor of the family in America.

For nearly three centuries it has been a family whose members have invariably main- tained, by culture and mode of living, an in- disputed prominence, yet with a well-known reluctance to force itself into public affairs, preferring that retirement which refinement usually seeks, avoiding notoriety and the con- flict concomitant with affairs of business life and public office. The family, however, has never suffered the complaint of any lack of patriotism, nor of failing to respond to a genuine appeal to serve the government in an official capacity. It can with full right count its numbers who have done both with a verdict of fullest credit from the people. The direct line has had its representation in the congress of the nation, in the state senate and assembly of New York, and in the chair of the lieu- tenant-governor of the Empire State.

The patriotic qualities of the family have been fully demonstrated by their figuring with prominence in all the great military struggles which have convulsed this nation, and their acts have placed high in the memorable rolls of American history the names of a large number. To their special credit it is recorded also that they served either as officers or in the

ranks without pay or emolument, and, more- over, devoted the advantages of their estates to the cause of freedom. The well-known war historian, William L. Stone, states that "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, in his "Colo- nial New York," explains further, that of the eighteen males, sixteen belonged to Hendrick Van Rensselaer's branch, and of these, five were of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer's family. To bear out such statements by facts it is neces- sary to examine only a few of the records. Colonel Kiliaen Van Rensselaer departed with his three sons, two of them officers and all true patriots in the revolution, was wounded in the battle of Saratoga when participating in the fierce conflict against Burgoyne, and General Washington paid him the highest compliment upon his courage. One of his sons, Colonel Hendrick Van Rensselaer, was directed by General Schuyler to go in com- pany with Colonel Long to hold the enemy in check at Fort Anne until the cannon and arma- ment of Fort George could be removed to a place of safety. The English under Colonel Hill were in pursuit of the patriots from Lake Champlain up Wood creek, and, on their ap- proach to Fort Anne, Van Rensselaer and Long sallied from the fort on the morning of July 8, 1777, and attacked them so vigorously that they were obliged to retire, leaving their wounded on the field. Colonel Van Rensse- laer was so severely wounded that he was obliged after that to relinquish further service, and on his death, thirty-five years later, the ball then received was extracted from his thigh bone. Likewise there was Major James Van Rensselaer, who served with honor and without pay on the staff of the brave Mont- gomery, and who was near him when he fell mortally wounded before the walls of Quebec, December 31, 1775. Colonel Nicholas Van

HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS

Rensselaer participated in the decisive battles on the heights of Stillwater, and after the surrender of General Burgoyne, October 17, 1777, was despatched by General Gates to convey the intelligence to Albany. Philip Van Rensselaer was engaged in the commissary de- partment, where he rendered efficient service.

In the war of 1812, Generals Stephen and Solomon Van Rensselaer will ever be remem- bered as the leaders in command of the forces which crossed into Canada and captured Queenstown, October 13, 1812. In this fight the latter was disabled, being wounded no less than six times. In 1794, as a captain of cav- alry, he took prominent part in the battle with the Indians on the Maumee river, where he was wounded, August 20, 1794, while fighting under General Wayne. General Robert Van Rensselaer commanded the militia who pur- sued and defeated Sir John Johnson when on his famous raid in the Mohawk Valley in 1780.

In the civil war there were many of the name and descent who sustained the Union, most prominent among them being Colonel Henry Kiliaen Van Rensselaer and his nephew, Captain Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, who fought bravely under both Grant and Han- cock, participating in no less than fourteen stubborn engagements. William Van Rensse- laer, of Seneca Falls, served in the New York Volunteers, Engineering Corps, and fought with gallantry in the Army of the Potomac.

For several other pertinent reasons atten- tion has been directed to this family. It made one of the earliest attempts at colonization in America, the enterprise having received its initiatory movement in Holland at about the same time that the Pilgrims were planning their cruise to avoid religious persecution, and it was originally intended, so some maintain, that both should scek the free soil of what became New Netherland and then New York.

The family will long be remembered be- cause it was identified with the movement for establishment of a landed aristocracy of the New World, its leader to enjoy the ancient Dutch title of Patroon, and after the super- sedure of the Dutch by the English, to be known by that of Lord of the Manor. It was a stalwart race and fought strenuously for high ideals; but the titles vanished with the revo- lution. If ever a feudal aristocracy could have been perpetuated in the New World, this fam- ily was best fitted to perform the task.

After that period they added another chap- ter by being one of the parties participating in the famous anti-rent feud, for, although the revolution had abolished titles, the system of leasing land remained unchanged. It was a

matter which was fought by arms and in the courts from 1839 until about 1860. The Van Rensselaers made a stubborn fight for the cause with which they had so long been iden- tified, and the last Patroon finally bowed gra- ciously to the will of the court when the con- struction of the change from the English laws made it imperative.

A fourth matter of interest taken by many in this family is the importance of the mar- riage connection with a great number of fam- ilies also of note, in the seventeenth and eight- eenth centuries, among which alliances may be mentioned the Schuyler, Hamilton, Livingston, Jay, Morris, Bayard. Van Cortlandt, Bleecker, Cuyler, Douw, Lansing, Ten Broeck, Ver Planck and Paterson lines. In the younger generations of half a century ago they inter- married with the families of Atterbury, Bay- lies, Bell, Berry, Biddle. Cogswell, Crosby, Cruger, Delafield, Erving, Fairfax, Grubb, Hodge, Howland, Johnson, Kennedy, King, Lorillard, Pendleton, Pruyn, Reynolds, Robb, Rogers, Tallmadge, Thayer, Townsend, Turn- bull, Waddington and Wilkins. Each of these families holds a recognized position in the various cities where they reside, and in every instance their connection with the Van Rensse- laer line is well known, for it signifies that in each case one of the name traces with pride to the progenitor of the Van Rensselaer family.

The arms of the Van Rensselaer family, in use three centuries ago in Holland and em- ployed by the Patroons and their descendants in America, consists of : A shield, the first and fourth quarters gules a cross moline argent ; second and third quarters argent, six fleurs- de-lys gules. 3. 2 and 1. On an escutcheon of pretence argent bordered sable a cross moline. The crest displays a high, iron fire-basket ar- gent, from which issue flames proper. The motto is Niemand zonder. The interesting tradition regarding the crest has it that on a certain occasion of festival a grand illumina- tion took place in Holland, and the Van Rensselaer family on that day ordered huge iron baskets, similar to that depicted in the crest, to be filled with combustibles and placed on the gate and fence posts, where they added to the effect of the night illumination. The result was so startling that it called forth special commendation from the Prince of Orange, who wished accordingly to bestow a favor such as royalty allows people to whom a money recompense would not be fitting, and he begged Van Rensselaer to adopt the motto, "Omnibus effulgeo," signifying "I outshine all." Before that time the motto had been "Niemand Zonder," meaning "No one without

HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS

a cross," referring to the cross appearing upon the shield, being of silver upon a red field. The arms as an entirety and sometimes the crest have been employed as the family book- plate for several generations, and they like- wise form an attractive feature upon the silver handed down from oldest son to oldest son, as was the English custom so long a common practice of this family.

The Van Rensselaer family was one of im- portance in Holland before coming to America, respected and honored by their countrymen, holding such positions of trust as burgomaster, councillor, treasurer, etc. In the Orphan Asy- lum at Nykerk, Holland, there still hangs a picture of Jan Van Rensselaer, in which he is represented as a "Jonkheer," or nobleman, by the distinguishing costume, and he is iden- tified by the small representation of the arms painted on the shield above his head. The original Manor of the Van Rensselaer family, from which they took their name, was as late as 1880 called Rensselaer, and was located about three miles southeast of Nykerk. It was originally a "Reddergoed," the possession of which conferred nobility. The last member of the family who bore the name was Jeremias Van Rensselaer, who died there April 11, 1819. He had married Julie Duval (Judic Henrietta Duval), and they had no children. In his will he states that he had no heirs except the Van Rensselaer family then living in America.

These facts were gleaned by Eugene Schuy- ler, who purposely journeyed to the ancient family seat, and whose letter, printed in the Albany Argus, September 21, 1879, reads in part as follows :

"I went to Amersfoort, to Nykerk, and to sev- eral other towns in Guelderland. At Amersfoort, there is a Table in the Church of St. Joris or St. George, on which is mentioned Harmanus Van Rensselaer, as one of the Regents in 1639. Dr. is prefixed to his name, which may mean Doctor of Laws, Divinity, or Medicine. There is also a tomb of a Captain Van Rensselaer, who died from a wound received at the battle of Nieuport. This is covered by the wood flooring, and is not visible. In the Orphan Asylum at Nykerk, there is a very fine picture of its first Regents, 1638. The picture is painted by Breecker in 1645. There are two noblemen in this picture, Jan, or Johannes Van Rensselaer, and Nicholas Van Delen; one of the four others is Ryckert Van Twiller, the father of Walter Van Twiller, who married the sister of Kiliaen, the first Patroon. There are two other Van Rensselaers named among the later Regents- Richard, in 1753, and Jeremias, in 1803.

"The estate of Rensselaerswyck is now only a farm, all the old buildings have lately been taken down-they were covered with gables, weathercocks of the arms and crest of the family; but all have now disappeared. There is scarcely a church in Guelderland that did not have somewhere the Van Rensselaer arms on the tombstones, either alone or quartered with others. The exact coat-of-arms

is a white or silver cross on a red ground. The crest is a white basket, with yellow flames above a closed, or knight's helmet."

The Crailo, as the seat of the family was called in Holland, was a large and productive estate some time before any of the family came to America, and it is believed that the family was related to that of Olden Barne- veldt, the famous patriot and statesman, be- cause portraits of John of Olden Barneveldt and of his wife Marie, of Utrecht, were pre- served as heirlooms until the Crailo estate was sold in 1830. The Manor of Olden Barne- veldt was close to Rensselaer, and about six miles south of Nykerk, between it and Amers- foort. This Crailo estate passed into the possession of the female line, the last of whom was Joanna Jacoba Sara Van Rensselaer, from Amsterdam, who married Jonkheer Jan Bow- ier. She was the mother of twelve children, and when she died in 1830, the Crailo was sold. Two sons of this marriage, Jonkheer Hugo Jan Jacob Bowier, and Jonkheer Mar- tin Bowier, colonel in the royal marines and at one time commandant of the Dutch naval forces off Atchin. were permitted by royal license to assume both the name and the arms of the Van Rensselaer family. In this way the Bowier family came into possession of many heirlooms and valuable papers relating to the Van Rensselaers. These documents were brought from Holland through the ef- forts of Mrs. Alan H. Strong, of New Jer- sey, and after being translated by Arnold J. F. van Laer, New York State Archivist, were published in 1908 by the state of New York, and make a volume of over nine hundred pages.

The first historical mention of the family refers to Johan Van Rensselaer, a captain of a hundred men, who did good service in Friesland for the King of Spain in the early part of the sixteenth century. It also refers to Captain Harmanus Van Rensselaer, who was seriously wounded at the battle of Nieu- port, in the year 1600, and died in 1601, as is stated upon the tomb at Amersfoort.

In tracing the descent from the earliest known records and family traditions, an early chart shows that the primordial name is that of Hendrick Wouter Van Rensselaer, who married Swene Van Imyck, and had children : Johannes Hendrick, married Derykebia Van Lupoel ; Geertruj, married Advocate Swaas- kens ; Wouter (Walter) Hendrick; Anna and Betje.

Johannes Hendrick Van Rensselaer and Derykebia Van Lupoel had a son Kiliaen, who married Nelle Van Wenckom, and another son named Wouter Jans.

HUDSON AND MOHAWK VALLEYS

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer and Nelle Van Wenckom had a son named Hendrick, who married Maria Pafract ; a daughter, Engeltje, who married Gerrit Guilliam Van Patten ; Claas, who married Jacobina Schrassens ; Jo- hannes, who married Sandrina Van Erp, styled Waredenburgh, and Johannes, who died without issue.

The foregoing statement figured on the chart brings one to a period when there are documents and dates which are reliable.

Captain Hendrick Van Rensselaer, son of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer and Nelle Van Wenc- kom, was probably born upon the estate named Rensselaer, near Nykerk, in Holland, and died at Ostende. Belgium, June 6, 1602. He mar- ried Maria Pafraet ; children : 1. Kiliaen, born at Hasselt, Province of Overyssel, Nether- lands, about 1580; died at Amsterdam, Hol- land, in 1644; married (first) Hillegonda Van Bylaer, (second) Anna Van Wely, who died June 12, 1670. 2. Maria, married Ryckert Van Twiller, and had: Wouter Van Twiller, who was the ( third) director-general of New Netherland, 1633-38: Elizabeth, married Jo- hannes Van Rensselaer, son of Kiliaen, the first Patroon. 3. A third child (apparently), also nanied Maria, who married Obelaers, and died at Munnikendam, Holland, in 1673.

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. son of Hendrick Van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet, was born in Hasselt, Province of Overyssel, in the Netherlands, about 1580, and died in Amster- damı, Holland, in 1644. He was the first Patroon and the founder of the colony of Rensselaerswyck in America.

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer was a wealthy mer- chant of Amsterdam, known to be a dealer in pearls and precious stones, to have had some reputation as a banker and general merchant, and owned large estates in Holland. He was a leader in the famous guild of trading princes which at that time played so prominent a part in the commerce of the world, and it is quite evident that he must have been both shrewd and farsighted. The innumerable documents which he has left demonstrate great thoughtfulness in planning even the de- tails, and he could grasp a situation in a for- eign country with the same perfection in every respect as though present and overseeing all. Ile exhibited sagacity in his stand taken with regard to the policy of the colony as against the desires of his associates who de- sired to grow wealthy with rapidity. They sought to have those sent out engage in hunt- ing for the purpose of making immediate and large shipments to foreign lands, while he desired that the colonists should become set- tlers, owning their houses, and leading happy

and contented lives, so that they would be willing to remain ; should raise large families, and long continue to progress the work on an ever increasing scale as they prospered. He not only had the courage to found a colony in the wilds of an unknown America, but pos- sessed the energy to push the work, once be- gun and discouraging at times, until it pros- pered.

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Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I, Part 1

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed Publication date: 1911 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 656

Author: Reynolds, Cuyler, 1866-1934, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 656