Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler (; also known as "Kitty", November 10, 1734 – March 7, 1803) was a Colonial and post-Colonial American socialite and the matriarch of the prominent colonial

Schuyler family The Schuyler family (Help:IPA/English, /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: Help:IPA/Dutch, 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 forma ...

as wife of

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and a United States Senate, United States Senator from New York (state), New York. He is usually known as ...

Early life

Kitty was born in 1734 to Col. Johannes Van Rensselaer (1708–1783), called the "Patroon of Greenbush," and Engeltie "Angelica" Livingston (1698–1747). As a child, she was known as "The Morning Star." Due to her family's social position, she was a part of the society of Albany and, once a year, would visit relatives in order to acquire "the polish of fashionable society" by being at the Court of the Royal Governor of New York." Her paternal great-grandfather was Hendrick van Rensselaer and her 2x great-grandfather was Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, one of the original founders of the Dutch colony,

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

. Her maternal grandparents were Robert Livingston the Younger (1663–1725) and Margarita Schuyler (b. 1682), the daughter of Pieter Schuyler (1657–1724), the first

mayor of Albany In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

.Schuyler, George W. ''Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler and His Family'', Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1885
/ref>

Life

Kitty was once described as "a lady of great beauty, shape and gentility" and was subject to a number of suitors in the future. Kitty's husband, Philip Schuyler, was known as a man of great wealth and intelligence as he commanded a militia in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and still managed to assume ownership of the large estate given to him by his father. Kitty was known as "a capable wife, mother..., and manager of the extensive Schuyler household of servants, slaves, and hired hands."

Personal life

On September 17, 1755, Catherine was married to

at the Albany Dutch Church. Philip was the son of Cornelia Van Cortlandt (1698–1762) and Mayor Johannes Schuyler Jr. (1697–1741), the third generation of the Dutch

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

in America. Together, Philip and Catherine had fifteen children, eight of whom survived to adulthood: * Angelica Schuyler (1756–1814), who married John Barker Church (1748–1818), later a British MP. * Elizabeth Schuyler (1757–1854), who married

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

(1755/7–1804), later the first

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. Elizabeth co-founded the first orphanage in New York City. * Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler (1758–1801), who married Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764–1839), 8th

Patroon 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 Free ...

. * Cornelia (1761–1762).''Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany, from 1630 to 1800''
/ref> * Unnamed Son Schuyler, Twin to Cornelia (1761–1761).Schuyler Family Bible, Collections of Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Albany, NY. * John Bradstreet Schuyler (1763–1764). * John Bradstreet Schuyler (1765–1795), who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (1768–1841), the sister of Stephen Van Rensselaer III who married his sister Peggy. * Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (1768–1835), who married first, Sarah Rutsen (d. 1805), and after her death, Mary Anna Sawyer. Philip served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. * Triplets (1770–1770, Unbaptized). * Rensselaer Schuyler (1773–1847), who married Elizabeth Ten Broeck, daughter of General Abraham Ten Broeck. * Cornelia Schuyler (1776–1808), who married Washington Morton. * Cortlandt Schuyler (1778–1778). * Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler (1781–1857), who married first, Samuel Malcolm (son of William Malcolm), and then James Cochran (1769–1848), her cousin and the son of John Cochran and Gertrude Schuyler, Philip Schuyler's sister. Catherine died of a stroke in March 1803 at the age of 68.

References

External links

*
Catherine Schuyler
' a novel by Mary Gay Humphreys, 1897 *
Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler
at the

New York State Museum The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and to ...

Schuyler, Catherine Van Rensselaer
at Encyclopedia.com
Portrait of Mrs. Philip John Schuyler (1734-1803)
at the

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Van Rensselaer Schuyler
dated April 14, 1780 regarding his engagement to her daughter. {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Rensselaer, Catherine 1734 births 1803 deaths

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Catherine Van Rensselaer Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler 18th-century American women People from colonial New York