Hendrick van Rensselaer
| Hendrick van Rensselaer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 23, 1667 Watervliet, New York |
| Died | July 4, 1740 (aged 72) Albany, New York |
| Residence | Fort Crailo |
| Nationality | Dutch-American |
| Occupation | Public Officer, Land owner |
| Known for | Director of the Eastern Manor |
| Parent(s) |
Jeremias van Rensselaer Marritje Van Cortlandt |
| Relatives | See Van Rensselaer family |
Hendrick van Rensselaer (October 23, 1667 – July 4, 1740) 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 (later Rensselaer, New York).
Hendrick van Rensselaer was born in Watervliet, New York, the fourth child of Jeremias van Rensselaer (1632–1674).
He received as his portion of his grandfather Kiliaen's estate, variously known as the "Eastern Manor" or "Greenbush." It covered about 62,000 acres of land in Columbia County, and encompassed lands south of Kinderhook, north of Livingston Manor and west to the Hudson River and was the “Lower Manor” to the “Upper Manor” of Rensselaerwyck. It was originally a part of Albany County, now Columbia County, New York. In addition, he received 1,500 acres out of the manor proper, opposite the city of Albany. Hendrick built a substantial brick house on the latter estate named Fort Crailo.
He was a merchant and ship owner who served the public as an alderman in the Albany assembly and on the Commission of Indian Affairs. In 1698 he bought from the Schaghticoke tribe a tract of six square miles on Hoosac River, for which he procured a patent. This purchase interfered greatly with the city of Albany. With van Rensselaer declining to sell his patent to the council, the controversy became a state affair. In 1699 the dispute was amicably settled, and he passed his patent over to the city.
In describing the Van Rensselaer family, historian author William L. Stone stated: "They consisted of eighteen males in 1776. During the war every adult, except two old men, and all minors, except four boys, bore arms in one or more battles during the Revolutionary struggle." George W. Schuyler later wrote in his Colonial New York, "... of the eighteen males, sixteen belonged to Hendrick Van Rensselaer's branch, and of these, five were of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer's family."
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