Johannes Schuyler (October 15, 1668 – November 5, 1747) was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the 10th

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

from 1703 to 1706, and later was a member of the provincial assembly. He was the paternal grandfather of U.S. Senator

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 ...

and Mayor Abraham Cuyler.

Early life and family

Coat of Arms of Philip Piterse Van Schuyler

Johannes Schuyler was born in 1668 in Albany, New York, the son of

Philip Pieterse Schuyler Colonel Philip Pieterse Schuyler or Philip Pieterse (1628 – 9 May 1683) was a Dutch-born landowner in New Netherlands and progenitor of the senior line of the American Schuyler family. Early life Philip Pieterse Schuyler was born in Amsterda ...

(1628–1683) and Margarita Van Slichtenhorst. His father was a Dutch-born landowner who was the progenitor of the American Schuyler family. He was the youngest of six sons and one of 10 children born to his parents, including Gysbert Schuyler (1652–1664/5), Gertruj Schuyler (b. 1654), 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 ...

(1643–1700) (the patroon of

Van Cortlandt Manor Van Cortlandt Manor is a 17th-century house and property built by the Van Cortlandt 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 coloni ...

and a

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 Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

from 1677 to 1678 and again from 1686 to 1688), Alida Schuyler (b. 1656), who first married Nicholas van Rensselaer (1636-1678) and then second,

Robert Livingston the Elder Robert Livingston the Elder (13 December 1654 – 1728) was a Scottish-born merchant and government official in the Province of New York. He was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km2/ 250 sq mi) of land along the Hudson River, becomin ...

(1654–1728), Brant Schuyler (1659-1702), who married Cornelia Van Cortlandt, Arent Schuyler (1662–1730), who married Jannetje Teller and later Swantje Van Duyckhuysen, Sybilla Schuyler (b. 1664), Philip Schuyler (b. 1666), and Margritta Schuyler (b. 1672), who married Jacobus Verplanck.

Career

Several English governors used him as an envoy to the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

because as he was well liked and trusted by them. In 1724, Lieutenant Governor

William Dummer William Dummer (bapt. October 10, 1677 – October 10, 1761) was an American-born politician and colonial administrator who spent the majority of his life in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Dummer served as the colony's lieutenant governor f ...

of Massachusetts appointed him a commissioner to negotiate with the Iroquois. He again visited Canada in 1713 and again in 1725 to seek the return of prisoners. Later, he became well known and wealthy as a trader and river transport operator. In 1703, he was appointed the 10th

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 ...

, serving until 1706, and later as a member of the provincial assembly. He enacted a law mandating that each homeowner had to build an eight-foot sidewalk. Also served as Indian Commissioner, member of Colonial Assembly and alderman. He also served in Albany as a justice of the peace, an alderman, a lieutenant of cavalry.

Personal life

In 1695, he married Elizabeth (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

) Staats Wendel (1659–1737), daughter of Abraham Staats (1620–ca. 1694), who was ten years his elder. She had previously been married to Johannes Wendell (1649–1692), who was already the father of her 11 children, including Jacob Wendell (1691–1761). Together, they were the parents of: * Philip Johannes Schuyler (1695–1745), who was killed during the French and Indian raid on Saratoga on November 28, 1745. * Johannes Schuyler Jr. (1697–1741), who married Cornelia van Cortlandt (1698–1762), his first cousin. * Margarita Schuyler (1701–1782), who married Phillipus Schuyler (1696–1758), her first cousin and the son of Schuyler's brother,

Pieter Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch language, Dutch form of Peter (name), Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from a ...

* Catalyntie "Catharina" Schuyler (1704–1758), who married Cornelis Cuyler (1697–1765), the son of Johannes Cuyler (1661–1740) Schuyler died on November 5, 1747, in Albany.

Descendants

Through his second son, Johannes Jr., Schuyler was the grandfather of Continental General

(1733–1804), whose cousin Hester Schuyler who married General William Colfax and were the grandparents of

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. ( ; March 23, 1823January 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 United Sta ...

, a Congressman and later

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

. Colfax 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 granddaughter,

'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. Through his youngest daughter, Catharina, he was also the grandfather of Abraham Cuyler (1742–1810), the last mayor of colonial Albany and the third generation in a row to serve in that office. 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 ...

(1749–1812), 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 (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

References

External links

Van Rensselaer/Schuyler genealogy
for reference only

in

Albany, NY Albany ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldest city in New York, and the county seat of and most popu ...

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler, Pieter 1668 births 1747 deaths Schuyler family 18th-century mayors of places in New York (state) American politicians of Dutch descent Mayors of Albany, New York People from New Netherland Members of the New York General Assembly