Van Cortlandt family

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Van Cortlandt
Van-cortland-manor.jpg
Current region New York
Place of originNetherlands
Connected families

The Van Cortlandt family was an influential political dynasty from the seventeenth-century Dutch origins of New York through its period as an English colony, then after it became a state, and into the nineteenth century. It rose to great prominence with the award of a Royal Charter to Van Cortlandt Manor, an 86,000-acre (35,000 ha) tract in today's Westchester County sprawling from the Hudson River to the Connecticut state line granted as a Patent to Stephanus Van Cortlandt in 1697 by King William III.

Contents

Among the Van Cortlandt family tree are members of the Philipse family, van Rensselaer family, Schuyler family, Livingston family, the de Peyster family, the Gage family, the Jay family (including John Jay, the Founding Father and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), and the Delanceys.

Its legacy includes Van Cortlandt Park and the Van Cortlandt House Museum in the Bronx, New York; the town of Cortlandt in northern Westchester County, New York; Van Cortlandt Upper Manor House in the hamlet of Cortlandt Manor, New York; Van Cortlandt Manor in the village of Croton-on-Hudson to its south; and the namesake for Cortland County, New York and the State University of New York College at Cortland.

History

Captain Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt, who was born in Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands, arrived in New Amsterdam in 1637. He was originally a soldier and bookkeeper who rose to high colonial ranks in service of the Dutch West India Company, serving many terms as burgomaster and alderman. [1] His descendants became involved in politics and married into the best American political and influential families including the Van Rensselaers, Schuylers, and Livingstons.

Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York derives its name from the family, as well as Manhattan's Cortlandt Street and Cortlandt Alley. The town of Cortlandt to the north, in Westchester County, New York carries the family name as well. The Van Cortlandt House Museum was initially the residence of Frederick Van Cortlandt.

Family tree

Coat of arms of Olav Van Cortlandt Coat of Arms of Olof Van Cortlandt.svg
Coat of arms of Olav Van Cortlandt
Van Cortlandt House Museum, in the Bronx, New York City Van-cortland-house-bronx.JPG
Van Cortlandt House Museum, in the Bronx, New York City
Mahogany table brought from Holland in 1668 by Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt Dutch New York (1909) (14579267869).jpg
Mahogany table brought from Holland in 1668 by Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanus Van Cortlandt</span> American politician

Stephanus van Cortlandt 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's executive council from 1691 to 1700. He was the first resident of Sagtikos Manor in West Bay Shore on Long Island, which was built around 1697. A number of his descendants married English military leaders and Loyalists active in the American Revolution, and their descendants became prominent members of English society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremiah Van Rensselaer</span> American politician

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, from the prominent Van Rensselaer family, was the lieutenant governor of New York and a member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York in the 1st United States Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieter Schuyler</span> British colonial military leader, acting governor of New York 1657–1724

Pieter Schuyler was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions – twice for brief periods in 1709, after the death of Lord Lovelace, and also from 1719 to 1720, after Robert Hunter left office.

Jacobus van Cortlandt (1658–1739) was a wealthy Dutch-born American merchant, slave owner, and politician who served as the 30th and 33rd Mayor of New York City from 1710 to 1711 and again from 1719 to 1720.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schuyler family</span> Dutch-American family

The Schuyler family 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 formation of the United States, in leading government and business in North America and served as leaders in business, military, politics, and society. The other two most influential New York dynasties of the 18th and 19th centuries were the Livingston family and the Clinton family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Ten Broeck</span> American politician, businessman, and brigadier general

Abraham Ten Broeck was a New York politician, businessman, and militia Brigadier General of Dutch descent. He was twice Mayor of Albany, New York and built one of the largest mansions in the area, the Ten Broeck Mansion, that still stands more than 200 years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingston family</span> Family that migrated from Scotland to the Province of New York in the 17th century

The Livingston family of New York is a prominent family that migrated from Ireland to the Dutch Republic, and then to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from the 4th Lord Livingston, its members included signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Several members were Lords of Livingston Manor and Clermont Manor, located along the Hudson River in 18th-century eastern New York.

Hendrick van Rensselaer was director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor. The estate was composed of land in Columbia County, New York, and land opposite Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, named Greenbush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen van Rensselaer II</span> Dutchlord

Stephen van Rensselaer II was the sixth and youngest child of Stephen van Rensselaer I and Elizabeth Groesbeck. He served as Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arent Schuyler</span> American surveyor (1662–1730)

Arent Philipse Schuyler was a member of the influential Schuyler family. He was a surveyor, Native American trader, miner, merchant, and land speculator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip S. Van Rensselaer</span> Mayor of Albany, New York

Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer was the mayor of Albany, New York on two occasions. He has the third longest tenure of service by an Albany Mayor, after Erastus Corning 2nd and Gerald Jennings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Rensselaer family</span> Family of Dutch and New York patroons

The Van Rensselaer family is a family of Dutch descent that was prominent during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in the area now known as the state of New York. Members of this family played a critical role in the formation of the United States and served as leaders in business, politics and society.

Frederick Van Cortlandt was an American merchant and landowner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Van Rensselaer IV</span> American landowner, last patroon of Rensselaerswyck

Stephen Van Rensselaer, known as the "Young Patroon" and sometimes the "last of the patroons" was the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Van Rensselaer</span> American socialite

Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler ;, also known as "Kitty", was a Colonial and post-Colonial American socialite and the matriarch of the prominent colonial Schuyler family as wife of Philip Schuyler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Schuyler Jr.</span> Mayor of Albany, New York

Johannes Schuyler Jr. was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1740 to 1741, and was a merchant, alderman, and Indian commissioner. Schuyler married Cornelia van Cortlandt. Her family offered a large dowry to Schuyler and a large inheritance. Together, they were the parents of ten children.

Cornelis Cuyler or Cornelius Cuyler was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1742 to 1746.

Johannes Van Rensselaer was a member of the prominent colonial Van Rensselaer family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekman family</span>

The Beekman family is a family of Dutch descent that was prominent during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries in the area now known as the state of New York. Members of this family played a critical role in the formation of the United States and served as leaders in business, politics and society.

Abraham de Peyster, was a Dutch-American who served as the treasurer of the Province of New York.

References

  1. Allaben, Frank (1908). John Watts de Peyster, Volume 1. Frank Allaben Genealogical Co. pp. 42–43. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 Fraser, Sir William (1897). The Elphinstone Family Book of the Lords Elphinstone, Balmerino and Coupar. T. and A. Constable at the Edinburgh University Press. p. 149. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Reynolds, Cuyler (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p.  1158 . Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Reynolds, Cuyler (1906). Albany Chronicles: A History of the City Arranged Chronologically, from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time; Illustrated with Many Historical Pictures of Rarity and Reproductions of the Robert C. Pruyn Collection of the Mayors of Albany, Owned by the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society. Albany, New York: J. B. Lyon Company, printers. p.  110 . Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  5. Benjamin, Aline (30 October 1977). "From Rags to Riches in 1686". The New York Times . Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  6. "The History of Van Cortlandt House and Museum". vchm.org. Van Cortlandt House Museum . Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  7. Reynolds, Cuyler (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p.  32 . Retrieved 8 September 2017.
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  9. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York (1905). The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York: History, Customs, Record of Events, Constitution, Certain Genealogies, and Other Matters of Interest. V. 1-. p.  84 . Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  10. "William Astor Is Dead; Stricken Suddenly at the Hotel Liverpool, Paris. He Leaves a Fortune of Many Mill- Ions -- John Jacob Astor Will Inherit It -- the Body Will Be Brought Home for Burial" (PDF). The New York Times . April 27, 1892. Retrieved January 14, 2018.