Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer (August 9, 1774 – April 23, 1852) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the

state of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

, a lieutenant colonel during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years.

Early life

Solomon van Rensselaer was born on August 9, 1774 in Greenbush 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 ...

, the son of Hendrick Kiliaen "Henry" Van Rensselaer (1744–1816) and Alida Bratt. He completed preparatory studies in East Greenbush.

Career

He appointed as a cornet in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1792, was promoted to captain in July 1793, and then to major in January 1799, before being honorably discharged in June 1800. He was Adjutant General of New York from 1801 to 1809, 1810 to 1811, and 1813 to 1821. He served in the

as a lieutenant colonel of New York State Militia. He was elected as a Federalist to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth United States Congresses, and served from March 4, 1819 to January 14, 1822, when he resigned. He was postmaster 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 ...

from 1822 to 1839, and from 1841 to 1843 and a delegate from New York at the opening of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

on November 4, 1825. He owned slaves.

Personal life

In January 1797, he married his cousin, Harriet "Arriet" Van Rensselaer (1775–1840), the daughter of Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1747–1798), the owner of the Cherry Hill mansion. Of their many children, only five daughters and one son survived to maturity: *Adaline "Alida" Van Rensselaer (1797–1858) *Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1799–1835), who married Richard Van Rensselaer (1797–1880)Ancestry.com indicates that Elizabeth married her cousin Richard Van Rensselaer (1797–1880) and had 4 children with him. Richard was the son of Kiliaen Killiense VanRensselaer (1763–1845) and was previously married to Matilda Fonda Van Rensselaer (1804–1863). *Rensselaer Van Rensselaer (1802–1850), who married Mary Euphemia Forman in 1840. *Van Vechten Van Rensselaer (1806–1812), who died aged 6. *Rufus King Van Rensselaer (1809–1809), who died aged 3 months. *Margarita Van Rensselaer (1810–1880) *Stephen Van Rensselaer (1812–1813), who died aged 10 months. *Harriet Maria Van Rensselaer (1816–1896), who married Dr. Peter Elmendorf (1815–1881) *Catharine Visscher Van Rensselaer (1817–1891), who married Rev. Samuel W. Bonney (1815–1864) in 1856. Van Rensselaer died near Albany, aged 77. He was interred in the North Dutch Church Cemetery, in Albany, and reinterred in

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical A ...

. His home at Albany, Cherry Hill, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1971. As his sons had all predeceased Solomon, his daughter, Harriet Maria Elmendorf inherited Cherry Hill.

References

Notes Sources Retrieved on 2008-03-21

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Rensselaer, Solomon 1774 births 1852 deaths People from Rensselaer County, New York People of the Province of New York Solomon American people of Dutch descent Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) postmasters American slave owners Adjutants General of New York (state) United States Army officers American militia officers American militiamen in the War of 1812 Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery