Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. A long-serving member of the executive council of 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 ...

, he acted as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

on three occasions – twice for brief periods in 1709, after the death of Lord Lovelace, and also from 1719 to 1720, after Robert Hunter left office.

Early life and family

Pieter Schuyler was born in 1657 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 ...

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 P ...

. He was one of 10 children born to Philip Pieterse Schuyler, a Dutch- born landowner who was the progenitor of the American Schuyler family, and Margarita Van Slichtenhorst. His siblings were Gysbert Schuyler, Gertruj Schuyler, 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' ...

(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 from 1677 to 1678 and again from 1686 to 1688), Alida Schuyler, who first married Nicholas van Rensselaer and then second, Robert Livingston the Elder, Brant Schuyler, who married Cornelia Van Cortlandt,

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 ...

, who married Jannetje Teller and later Swantje Van Duyckhuysen, Sybilla Schuyler, Philip Schuyler,

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 Margritta Schuyler, who married Jacobus Verplanck. The many Schuyler children established the family name and homes, including the

Schuyler Mansion Schuyler Mansion is a historic house at 32 Catherine Street in Albany, New York. The brick mansion is now a museum and an official National Historic Landmark. It was constructed from 1761 to 1765 for Philip Schuyler, later a general in the Co ...

in Albany. They were closely related to the great family

patroons 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 New York, the Van Cortlandts.

Career

In March 1685, Governor Dongan appointed Pieter Schuyler lieutenant of cavalry in the Albany militia. He later attained the rank of Major, and then Colonel. In 1690, during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

, Schuyler's younger brother 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 ...

. Colonel Schuyler led a second attack the following year.Bielinski, Stefan. ''Pieter Schuyler'', New York State Museum
/ref>

First mayor of Albany

In April 1685, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. On 22 July 1686, Albany was incorporated as a city, and Pieter Schuyler was named its first mayor, serving for eight years.Schuyler, George W. ''Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family'', Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1885
/ref> As mayor, Schuyler was also chairman of the Board of the

Commissioners for Indian Affairs The Commissioners for Indian Affairs were a group of officials of colonial Albany, New York charged with regulating the fur trade and dealing with the Iroquois. History Originally the local magistrates, functioning informally, performed these tas ...

Acting governor of the Province of New York

From 1692, Schuyler was a member of the executive council, which was the unelected

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of New York's colonial legislature. He was the first man from Albany to be appointed to the council. When Lord Lovelace died in May 1709, the lieutenant governor,

Richard Ingoldesby Richard Ingoldesby (or Ingoldsby; died 1 March 1719) was a British army officer and lieutenant governor of both New Jersey and New York. He became the acting governor for the two colonies from May 1709 to April 1710. Life Ingoldesby served ...

, was absent. Under the terms of Lovelace's commission as governor, the executive council's most senior member was next in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Robert Hunter had his commission as governor revoked, Schuyler was still the most senior member of the executive council, and consequently served a third term as acting governor. The new governor, William Burnet, did not take office until September 1720. Burnet removed Schuyler from the executive council in 1721, along with another Councillor, Adolphus Philipse, who like Schuyler, was a

New Netherlander New Netherlanders were residents of New Netherland, the seventeenth-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the northeastern coast of North America, centered on the Hudson River and New York Bay, and in the Del ...

Personal life

Pieter Schuyler was married twice. His first wife was Engeltie Van Schaick, who died in 1689. Together, they had: * Margarita Schuyler (born 1682), who married

Robert Livingston the Younger Robert Livingston the Younger (1663 – April 1725), sometimes known as Robert Livingston Jr., or The Nephew was a wealthy merchant and political figure in colonial Albany, New York. Early life Livingston was born in 1663 in Edinburgh, Scotland ...

* Philip Schuyler (born 1684), who died young * Anna Schuyler (born 1686), who died in childhood * Gertruj Schuyler (born 1689), who died young After Engeltie's death in 1689, he married Maria Van Rensselaer, daughter of

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 ...

and brother of

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, ...

. Hendrick's wife and Maria's sister-in-law, Catherina Van Brugh, was the sister of the 6th Mayor of Albany

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 ...

. Together, Pieter and Maria Van Rensselaer had: *Maria Margreta Schuyler (born 1692), who married Abraham Staats. * Gertruj Schuyler (born 1694), who married Johannes Lansing. * Philip Schuyler (1696–1758), who married Margarita Schuyler, daughter of Pieter's brother,

. * Pieter Schuyler (born 1698), a twin of Jeremiah who married Catherine Groesbeck. * Jeremiah Schuyler (born 1698), a twin of Pieter who married Susanna Bayeux. Schuyler died on 19 February 1724, aged 66, in Albany.

Descendants

Pieter Schuyler third son's granddaughter married Col. Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer of " Cherry Hill" in Albany, great-grandson of

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 ...

. His great-nephew was Continental General

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 Alb ...

whose cousin Hester Schuyler married General William Colfax, the grandparents of Congressman and Vice President

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th speaker of the Hous ...

, who married a niece of Senator Benjamin Franklin Wade and who was related to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.See link on

to Dudley-Winthrop family. His grand-niece,

's sister, married Dr. John Cochran, the Director General of the Military Hospitals of the Continental Army, and were the grandparents of U.S. General and Congressman John Cochran. His great-grandchildren included Richard Livingston and Col. James Livingston. Schuyler's sister-in-law, Catherina Van Rensselaer (née Van Brugh) was the great-grandmother of Continental General

Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...

, who married Catherina Van Schaick, the sister of Continental General Goose Van Schaick. Catherine and Goose were the children of Albany mayor Sybrant Van Schaick. The Gansevoort's were the grandparents of author

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

References

External links

Van Rensselaer/Schuyler genealogy-for reference only
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler, Pieter 1657 births 1724 deaths Schuyler family Governors of the Province of New York American people of Dutch descent Mayors of Albany, New York People of New Netherland Members of the New York Executive Council