Henry Rutgers (October 7, 1745 – February 17, 1830) was a

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist from

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 ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

was named after him, and he donated a bond which placed the college on sound financial footing. He also gave a bell that is still in use today.

Early life

Rutgers was born in New York City, 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 U ...

which was then a part of

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas fro ...

. He was the son 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 ...

colonists Hendrick Rutgers and Catharine (

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 ...

DePeyster) Rutgers. His maternal grandparents were

Johannes de Peyster Johannes de Peyster or Johannes de Peyster II (September 21, 1666 – September 25, 1711) was the 23rd Mayor of New York City between 1698 and 1699.Wilson, James Grant (ed.The memorial history of the City of New-York, Vol. II p. 54 (1892)Allaben, ...

, the 23rd

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 ...

, and Anna (née Bancker) de Peyster, the sister of Evert Bancker, the 3rd and 12th Mayor of Albany, New York. His paternal grandparents were Harmanus Rutgers and Rachel (née Meyers) Rutgers, herself a granddaughter of Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt, the first Roosevelt to arrive in America. Through his father's sister, he was a first cousin of Samuel Provoost, the first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of New York The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing three New York City boroughs and seven New York state counties.

. He was a third cousin twice removed of both

U.S. Presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

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

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. In 1728 Harmanus Rutgers, Jr. purchased a farm near present-day East Broadway and Oliver Streets. Rutgers was a brewer and had a barn on Catherine Street to store the barley he grew. A lane that would later become Cherry Street ran along the southern border. His son Hendrick inherited the property and in 1754 built a new farmhouse farther to the north and nearer the East River. The Rutgers extended their holdings, purchasing water lots. Fill was added to the water on either side at the ends of the larger streets that ran perpendicular to the shore, forming slips or inlets where small boats could dock.Meade, Elizabeth D., "Rutgers Slip", AKRF, Inc., May 2009
/ref>

Career

Henry graduated from King's College (now

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

) in 1766. Following his graduation, he promptly became an advocate for independence of the American colonies from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

. He went on to serve as a captain of American forces at the

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 28, 1776 near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward f ...

, and later as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

for the New York militia. During the British occupation of New York, Henry withdrew to Albany. During his absence, the British used the family home as an army hospital. Colonel Rutgers would continue to play a role in the defense of the young nation after the Revolution, presiding over a meeting held June 24, 1812 to organize American forces in New York in anticipation of a British attack in the ensuing

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

Politics and public life

Old Queens, New Brunswick, NJ - cupola and brownstone

In 1783, Colonel Rutgers was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

, where he served in the 7th New York State Legislature. He also served on the New York Board of Education Regents from 1802 to 1826. He was a

Presidential Elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

, chosen by the legislature, in

1808 Events January–March * January 1 ** The importation of slaves into the United States is banned, as the 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves takes effect; African slaves continue to be imported into Cuba, and until the island ab ...

, 1816, and

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). *January 8 – General Maritime T ...

. Rutgers supported the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

, arguing against

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

that

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...

should be removed from the United States rather than allowed to grow as a population. He was himself a slaveowner, like many of his relatives. Rutgers continued to expand his holdings, extending his water lots further out into the river. In his later years, Rutgers, a bachelor, devoted much of his fortune to

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. As a landowner with considerable holdings on the island of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

(especially in the vicinity of

Chatham Square Chatham Square is a major intersection in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City. The square lies at the confluence of eight streets: the Bowery, Doyers Street, East Broadway, St. James Place, Mott Street, Oliver Street, Worth Street and Park ...

), he donated land for the use of schools, churches, and charities in the area. Both Henry Street and

Rutgers Street Essex Street is a north-south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, which goes north to 14th Street. South of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street, the ...

in lower Manhattan are named for him, as well as the Rutgers Presbyterian Church (formerly the Collegiate Presbyterian Church) which was also named for Colonel Rutgers who donated the parcel of land at the corner of Henry Street and

on which the original church was built in 1798. Colonel Rutgers's most lasting legacy however, is due to his donations to Queen's College in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, which at the time was suffering considerable financial difficulties and temporarily closed. The college had been founded as a seminary for the

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed ...

and appealed to Colonel Rutgers, a devout member of the church with a reputation for philanthropy, for aid. Rutgers donated a bond valued at $5000 to reopen the faltering school, and subsequently donated a bronze bell that was hung in the cupola of the Old Queens building which housed the college. In gratitude, and hoping the college would be remembered in the Colonel's will, the trustees renamed it Rutgers College on December 5, 1825. (Colonel Rutgers left nothing to the college upon his death.) The institution later became "Rutgers University," then "Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey".

Death and legacy

Henry Rutgers died in New York City, at the age of 84. Rutgers was initially buried in the Reformed Church on Nassau Street (the same church in which he was baptized). However, as cemeteries in Manhattan were redeveloped during the mid-1800s, the Colonel's body was re-interred several times (first moved in 1858 to the Middle Church in Lafayette Place, on the corner of Nassau Street and Cedar Street in Manhattan, and then, in 1865, interred in Green-Wood Cemetery). For many years, no one remembered where his body had been finally laid to rest, although it was long believed that he was buried in a Dutch Reformed churchyard in

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population wa ...

. One road running alongside this New Jersey graveyard is now called Rutgers Street (signed as, but not technically part of, Route 7). Misplaced by history for over 140 years, Henry Rutgers' final "final resting place" was rediscovered in October 2007 by Civil War research volunteers sifting through burial records of the historical

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

. In 1865, Rutgers' body had been finally laid to rest in an unmarked grave (he is interred in Lot 10776, Sec. 28, in an underground vault) within the Dutch Reformed Church's plot at Green-Wood Cemetery in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The Green-Wood Historic Fund and members of the Rutgers Community honored the Colonel's memory on Flag Day, June 14, 2008 by unveiling a bronze marker at hi
gravesite
Elsewhere in Green-Wood Cemetery lies the grave of

Mabel Smith Douglass Mabel Smith Douglass (February 11, 1874 – September 21, 1933) was the first dean, in 1918, of the New Jersey College for Women in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1955, the college was renamed Douglass College in her honor. Life Douglass was appoint ...

, founder and first dean of the New Jersey College for Women (renamed

Douglass College Douglass Residential College, is an undergraduate, non degree granting higher education program of Rutgers University-New Brunswick for women. It succeeded the liberal arts degree-granting Douglass College after it was merged with the other und ...

in her honor.) Douglass College is part of Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus.

References

External links

Rutgers University

Rutgers Presbyterian Church
in New York City.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutgers, Henry 1745 births 1830 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni Rutgers University people American people of Dutch descent De Peyster family Military personnel from New York City Members of the New York State Assembly Huguenot participants in the American Revolution Continental Army officers from New York (state) Philanthropists from New York (state) Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 1808 United States presidential electors 1816 United States presidential electors 1820 United States presidential electors University and college founders Roosevelt family American slave owners