Jeremiah Van Rensselaer

Portrait believed to be Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1738-1815)

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (August 27, 1738 – February 19, 1810) was a Representative from New York to the United States Congress. He was the cousin of Killian K. Van Rensselaer, who was also a Representative (as was Killian K.'s nephew Solomon Van Vechten Van Rensselaer.

Nassau Hall, at Princeton University (then, the College of New Jersey)

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer was born at the main home of his family's manor, "Rensselaerswyck" in what is now Watervliet, New York the son of John Van Rensselaer (1708–1793) and Engeltie Livingston Van Rensselaer who died before Jeremiah was 10. He was tutored at the manor house, attended private school in Albany, New York, and attended college at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) where he graduated in 1758.

He married Judith Bayard in 1760, but after she died, he married Lena Lansing and in February 1764 and they had one child, Solomon Van Vechten Van Rensselaer.

Van Rensselaer became a land agent, merchant, and surveyor. In 1766, he was a signer of the constitution of the Albany Sons of Liberty and became a member of the Albany Committee of Safety. During the American Revolutionary War he was commissioned as an ensign in the third regiment of the New York Line where he served as a paymaster.

He was elected to the First United States Congress and served from March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1791, but lost his bid for reelection to the Second Congress.

He was member of the New York State Assembly in 1789. In 1791 he was a member of the first board of directors of the Bank of Albany, and from 1798 through 1806 he was the president of the bank. He was a presidential elector in 1800, voting for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

Van Rensselaer was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1801 to 1804, serving under Governor George Clinton. He was curator of the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary at Albany in 1804.

He died in Albany and was buried in the Dutch Reformed Cemetery, but his body was later moved Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.

References

• Jeremiah Van Rensselaer by Stefan Bielinski, New York State Museum
• The Political Graveyard: Van Rensselaer family of New York
• Jeremiah Van Rensselaer at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

• Jeremiah Van Rensselaer at Find a Grave

Governors and Lieutenant Governors of New York Governors G. Clinton Jay G. Clinton Lewis Tompkins Tayler D. Clinton Yates D. Clinton Pitcher Van Buren Throop Marcy Seward Bouck Wright Young Fish Hunt Seymour Clark King Morgan Seymour Fenton Hoffman J. Adams Dix Tilden Robinson Cornell Cleveland Hill Flower Morton Black T. Roosevelt Odell Higgins Hughes White J. Alden Dix Sulzer Glynn Whitman Smith Miller Smith F. Roosevelt Lehman Poletti Dewey Harriman Rockefeller Wilson Carey M. Cuomo Pataki Spitzer Paterson A. Cuomo Lieutenant Governors Van Cortlandt S. Van Rensselaer J. Van Rensselaer Broome Tayler Clinton Tayler Swift Tayler Root Tallmadge Pitcher P. Livingston Dayan Throop Stebbins Oliver E. Livingston Tracy Bradish Dickinson Gardiner Lester Fish Patterson Church Raymond Selden Campbell Floyd-Jones Alvord Woodford Beach Robinson Dorsheimer Hoskins Hill McCarthy Jones Sheehan Saxton Woodruff Higgins Bruce Raines Chanler White Cobb Conway Glynn Wagner Schoeneck Walker Wood Lusk Lunn Lowman Corning Lehman Bray Poletti Hanley Wallace Hanley Moore Wicks Mahoney DeLuca Wilson Anderson Krupsak Cuomo DelBello Anderson Lundine McCaughey Donohue Paterson Bruno Skelos Smith Espada Ravitch Duffy Hochul Italics indicate acting officeholders

Van Rensselaer family This list is not complete, and should be taken as a rough guideline depending on the notability of a respective family member. 1st generation Hendrick Wolter van Rensselaer 2nd generation Issue of Hendrick Wolter Kiliaen van Rensselaer 3rd generation Issue of Kiliaen Hendrick van Rensselaer Johan van Rensselaer 4th generation Issue of Hendrick Kilian van Rensselaer† Maria (van Rensselaer) van Twiller 5th generation Issue of Kilian Johan van Rensselaer† Jan Baptist van Rensselaer† Jeremias van Rensselaer† Nicholas van Rensselaer (minister)† 6th generation Issue of Johan Kiliaen van Rensselaer† Issue of Jeremias Johannes (John) Van Rensselaer Kilian van Rensselaer† Hendrick van Rensselaer† 7th generation Issue of Kilian Jeremias van Rensselaer† Stephen van Rensselaer I† 8th generation Issue of Stephen I Stephen van Rensselaer II† 9th generation Issue of Stephen II Stephen van Rensselaer III† 10th generation Issue of Stephen III Stephen van Rensselaer IV Henry van Rensselaer †Served as patroon or director of Rensselaerswyck