Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (August 27, 1738February 19, 1810), 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.
Early life
thumb|Nassau Hall, at [[Princeton University (then, the College of New Jersey)]]
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer was born on August 27, 1738, at the main home of his family's manor, "Rensselaerswyck" in the Province of New York, in what is now the city of Watervliet.
His younger brother was Robert Van Rensselaer (1740–1802), a Brigadier General during the Revolutionary War, a member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1775 to 1777 and later a member of the New York State Assembly in the 1st, 2nd and 4th New York State Legislatures. Robert's son and Jeremiah's nephew was Jacob Van Rensselaer (1767–1835), a Federalist member of the New York State Assembly and the Secretary of State of New York from 1813 to 1815.
Education
Van Rensselaer 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. in New York including the Livingstons, Schuylers, Van Cortlandts, Van Schaicks, and Bayards.
His paternal grandfather was Hendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740), director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor, and his paternal grandmother was Catharina Van Brugh, daughter of merchant Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh (1624–1697). He had many noteworthy cousins, including Killian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845), who was also a U.S. Representative who served in Congress from 1803 until 1811.
His maternal grandparents were Robert Livingston Jr. (1663–1725) and Margarita Schuyler (b. 1682). His maternal great-grandparents were Pieter Schuyler (1657–1724), the first Mayor of Albany, and Engeltie Van Schaick (d. 1689).
Career
Van Rensselaer became a land agent, merchant, and surveyor. According to the 1790 and 1800 U.S. censuses, his household included three slaves. 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. but lost his bid for reelection to the Second Congress to James Gordon.
In 1789, he was member of the New York State Assembly. In 1791, he was a member of the first board of directors of the Bank of Albany, and from 1798 through 1806, served as president of the bank. He was a presidential elector in 1800, voting for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. he married Judith Bayard, the great-granddaughter of Nicholas Bayard (1644–1707). Together, they had one son:
- Johannes "John" Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1762–1828),
In February 1764, after his first wife's death of Yellow Fever,
- John Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (b. 1790), who died young,
- Glen Van Rensselaer (b. 1795)
- Elizabeth Bayard Van Rensselaer (b. 1797)
- Cornelius Glen Van Rensselaer (1801–1871), who married Catharine Westerlo Bleecker, daughter of John Bleecker and Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (the daughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer II)
- Archibald Van Rensselaer (b. 1803).