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

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from the

state of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, a lieutenant colonel during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

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 was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

, 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 The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1792, was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in July 1793, and then to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in January 1799, before being honorably discharged in June 1800. He was

Adjutant General of New York The Adjutant General of New York is the highest-ranking military official in the New York National Guard as the state adjutant general. The adjutant general is part of the state government's executive branch, and serves as head of the New Yo ...

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 The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the Sixteenth and

Seventeenth United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...

es, and served from March 4, 1819, to January 14, 1822, when he resigned. He was postmaster of

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 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 navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

on November 4, 1825. He owned slaves; though he was opposed to the extension of slavery into newly-acquired territories, Van Rensselaer continued to own slaves until New York's gradual emancipation law ended the practice in 1827.

Personal life

In January 1797, he married his cousin, Harriet "Arriet" Van Rensselaer (1775–1840), the daughter of Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1747–1798), granddaughter of Robert Sanders, and the owner of the

Cherry Hill Cherry Hill often refers to: * Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a township in Camden County, New Jersey * Cherry Hill, Prince William County, Virginia, a census-designated place Cherry Hill may also refer to: Places Canada * Cherry Hill, Nova Scotia, a ...

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 Menands, 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 ...

. His home at Albany,

, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 East Greenbush, New York People from the Province of New York

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

American politicians of Dutch descent Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) postmasters Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 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 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives