portion of his grandfather Killian's estate what was known as the Claverack patent, containing about 62,000 acres of land in Columbia county, and 1,500 acres out of the manor proper, opposite the city of Albany. He built a substantial brick house on the latter estate and one at Claverack, which is still standing. He was employed in many public capacities, being mayor of Albany, commissioner of Indian affairs, and a representative in the assembly. In 1698 he bought from the Schaghticoke Indians a tract of six square miles on Hoosac river, for which he procured a patent. This purchase interfered greatly with the city of Albany, and, 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. His wife was a granddaughter of Anneke Jans Bogardus, through whom their descendants became heirs to Trinity church farm. — His grandson, Henry Killian, soldier, b. near Albany in 1744; d. in Greenbush, N. Y., 9 Sept., 1816, commanded a New York regiment during the Revolution, was wounded at the capture of Gen. Burgoyne, and carried the ball in his body for thirty-five years. In July, 1777, he was attacked by a large force near Fort Ann, and made a brave resistance, but, learning of the abandonment of Fort Ticonderoga, withdrew after receiving another severe wound. He was subsequently a general of militia. —
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His son, Solomon, soldier, b. in Rensselaer county, N. Y., 6 Aug., 1774; d. in Albany, N. Y., 23 April, 1852, entered the service, 14 March, 1792, as a cornet of cavalry. He became captain, raised a volunteer company, and, pushing through the wilderness, joined Gen. Anthony Wayne in Ohio in the Miami campaign. At the battle of Maumee Rapids in August, 1794, he made a brilliant and effective charge against the savages, and was shot, it was supposed fatally, through the lungs. A litter was sent to take him from the battle-field, but he refused to be laid upon it. “You young dog, then how are you going?” exclaimed Gen. Wayne. “I am an officer of the cavalry, and I shall go on horseback,” was his reply. “You will drop by the road,” said Wayne. “If I do, just cover me up and let me die there,” said Van Rensselaer. He was mounted on his own charger, as he desired, and one of his own dragoons, on either side, supported him five or six miles. When his cousin, Stephen, became brigadier-general of the forces of the north in 1812, he became adjutant-general of New York militia, and negotiated the important agreement by which Lake Ontario was granted by the British during an armistice as a public highway for purposes of transportation of American troops and stores. At the assault of Queenston Heights, 13 Oct., 1812, he commanded the attacking party, was the first to spring ashore, on a large rock at the foot of the rapids, and with 225 men, formed under a fierce fire, climbed the bank and routed the enemy at the point of the bayonet, but fell with several wounds. He served in congress in 1819-'22, having been chosen as a Federalist, and was postmaster at Albany in 1822-'39. He accompanied Gov. George Clinton to Ohio in 1824 in the interest of the Erie canal, and was one of the delegates from the state of New York at its opening on 4 Nov., 1825. In 1797 he married Harriet, daughter of Col. Philip Van Rensselaer. He published a “Narrative of the Affair at Queenston” (New York, 1836). See “A Legacy of Historical Gleanings,” by his daughter, Mrs. Catherine Van Rensselaer Bonney (Albany, N. Y., 1875). — Henry's brother, Nicholas, soldier, b. in Rensselaer county, N. Y., in 1754; d. in Albany, N. Y., in 1848, was a colonel in the Revolution, and served with gallantry on the heights of Stillwater. After the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne he was despatched by Gen. Horatio Gates to announce the news at Albany. — Another brother of Henry, Killian K, congressman, b. in Rensselaer county, N. Y., in 1763; d. in Albany, 18 June, 1845, after receiving a thorough education entered the law, and attained reputation at the bar. He was chosen to congress as a Democrat in 1800, and served by re-election till 1811. — Another great-grandson of the first Jeremias, Robert, soldier, b. in Claverack, N. Y., in 1741; d. there, 11 Sept., 1802, was a general of militia during the Revolution, and commanded the force that pursued and defeated Sir John Johnson on his Mohawk valley raid in 1780. For a full history of the Van Rensselaer family, see “Colonial New York,” by George W. Schuyler (2 vols., New York. 1885).
VAN RENSSELAER, Mariana Griswold,
author, b. in New York city, 23 Feb., 1851. She
is the daughter of George Griswold, of New York
city. She was educated at home, married Schuyler
Van Rensselaer in 1874, and has devoted herself
to the study of art and architecture, contributing
on these subjects to magazines and newspapers.
She is the author of “American Etchers” (New
York, 1886), and “Henry Hobson Richardson and
his Works” (Boston, 1888).
VAN RENSSELAER, Maunsell, clergyman,
b. in Albany, N. Y., 15 April, 1819. He is the son
of Judge John S. Van Rensselaer. After gradua-
tion at Union college in 1838. and at the Episco-
pal general theological seminary in 1841, he was
made deacon in St. Paul's chapel, New York
city, 27 June 1841, by Bishop Benjamin T. Onder-
donk, and priest, in St. Paul's church, Whitehall,
N. Y., by the same bishop. He was rector of St.
Paul's church, Whitehall, N. Y, in 1841-'5 ; of
Grace church, Albany, N. Y., in 1846-7 ; of St.
John's, Mount Morris, N. Y., in 1847-'53 ; of St.
Paul's, Oxford, N. Y., in 1853-'4 ; of St. Paul's,
Rochester, in 1854-'9 ; and of Emmanuel church,
Geneva, Switzerland, in 1877-'8. He received the
degree of D. D. from Hobart in 1859, and that of
LL. D. in 1874. Dr. Van Rensselaer was president
of De Veaux college, N. Y., in 1859-69, professor
of ethics in Hobart in 1870-'2, and its president in
1872-6. Since 1886 he has been chaplain of the
House of the Holy Comforter in New York city.
He has published " Sister Louise, the Story of her
Life Work " (New York, 1883), and has made large
contributions to religious literature.
VAN SANTVOORD, Cornelius, clergyman, b. in Holland in 1637; d. in Schenectady, N. Y., 6 Jan., 1752. He studied in the University of Leyden, came to this country about 1718, and became pastor of the Reformed Dutch church of Staten island, organized in 1690. He was here from 1718 till 1742, preaching both in French and in Dutch, many of his hearers being French Protestant refu-
