Jeremias van Rensselaer
| Jeremias Van Rensselaer | |
|---|---|
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Acting Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck |
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In office 1658 – 1674 |
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| Preceded by | Jan Baptist van Rensselaer |
| Succeeded by | Kiliaen van Rensselaer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 May 1632 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Died |
October 12, 1674 (aged 42) Manor of Rensselaerswyck, New York |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Spouse(s) | Marritje Van Cortlandt |
| Children |
Kiliaen Van Rensselaer Hendrick van Rensselaer |
| Parents |
Kiliaen van Rensselaer Anna Van Wely |
| Relatives | See Van Rensselaer family |
| Occupation | Merchant, Patroon |
| Signature |  |
Jeremias van Rensselaer (Amsterdam, 16 May 1632 – October 12, 1674) was the third son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company who was instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland. Jeremias van Rensselaer was the acting patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, and the first of his family to establish himself permanently in America.
Jeremias van Rensselaer was born on May 16, 1632 in Amsterdam, the second son of Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1586-1643) and Anna van Wely (1601-1670), his father's second wife. He grew up on Keizersgracht, and received a Calvinist education. His eldest brother was Johan van Rensselaer (1625-1663), the first son of his father and his father's first wife Hillegonda van Bylaer (1598-1626). His older brother, Jan Baptist van Rensselaer (1629–1678) was the first son by Kiliaen and Jeremia's mother, Anna van Wely.
In 1654, he sailed from Amsterdam on the Gelderse Blom (Gelderland Flower), to New Netherland (present day United States). He returned to Holland by the Beaver, October 28, 1655, and sailed the second time from Amsterdam on the Gilded Otter, shortly after June 14, 1656.
In 1658, Jan Baptist van Rensselaer returned to Amsterdam and Jeremias succeeded him as Director of Rensselaerwyck on September 24, 1658. Jeremias was the first of his family to establish himself permanently in America, the remaining sixteen years of his life being devoted to the government of the colony.
Pursuing the policies begun under the vice-directors, he became a man of great influence among the Indians, and "so attached them to him that they guarded his estates as carefully as they did their own." To the French in Canada he was known as one of the representative and ablest men of the Dutch and English colonies. He had the good judgment to adjust the acute differences with Peter Stuyvesant (1612-1672) which had troubled the administrations of his brother and van Slichtenhorst, and during the brief residue of the Dutch authority in New Netherland was on excellent terms with the governor.
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