Famous Families of New York;
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•••/ <s. 0* .• '^^ *'T7r»' vv •••• ''b ^ °-.. .-^''' ;!» -t. i'- ".. ./ yjkm>:^ \. .-^^ik' .^^f-^^ /«^K-. •»^^. /^%^av ..^ '\^</ ;]^^\ "^^^ ^"^ y^^'" " ^°'-^.. f^ FAMOUS FAMILIES or NEW YORK *ju. Historical and Biographical Sketches of Families which in successive generations have been Identified with the Development of the Nafion 1666^ BY MARGHERITAARUNA HAMM } / ILLUSTRATED VOL II G.P.PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK LONDON =&tir THE LIBB*(!rV OF CONHHEBS, '^'-•... CoPtfca fUocivCD OCT. 3D 190? Di.awB A«rXo Ma COPV B. Copyright, 1901, bv THE NEW YORK EVENING POST Copyright. 1902, by G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Ube Vtnfcfierbocher |)Tee0, t^ew ]j?orft — CONTENTS rAGB XXII. Livingston i XXIII.—Morris 19 /^ XXIV.—Osgood 39 XXV. Potter 49 XXVI.—Rapalje 61 XXVII.—Remsen 71 XXVIII.—Renwick 81 XXIX.—Roosevelt 93 XXX, Rutgers 103 XXXI. —SCHERMERHORN II5 l XXXII.—Schuyler 125 XXXIIl.—Smith 139 XXXIV.—Stuyvesant 149 XXXV.—Tappen 161 XXXVI.—Van BuREN 17 ^'^'^ XXXVII.—Van Cortlandt • , ., . : . XXXVIII.—Van Cott i^.^i" . ,^.^f.?95'^^^ XXXIX.—Vanderbilt 203 XL.—Van Rensselaer 213 XLL—Van Siclen 225 XLIL—Wendell • 237 . ILLUSTRATIONS Robert Livingston Frontispiece First Lord of the Manor Judge Robert R. Livingston .... 10 From the original portrait Mrs. Robert R. Livingston (Margaret Beekman) ID. From the original portrait Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston 14 Maturin Livingston .... 16 From a miniature Mrs. Maturin Livingston (Margaret Lev^is) 16 From a miniature Lewis Morris 20 Signer of the Declaration of Independence Robert Hunter Morris .... 26 Pennsylvania, Governor of 1 754 " Old Morrisania," New York " . 26 Gouverneur IVlorris's residence Mrs. Lewis Morris IIL (Katrintje Staats) 28 Richard Morris 30 Chief Justice under the Crown Frances Ludlum . 32 Wife of Robert Morris Lewis Gouverneur Morris 34 From a steel engraving by Samuel Sartain Samuel Osgood 40 From the painting by J. Trumbull Rev. Dr. Samuel Osgood 46 From a steel engraving VI miuetrations Mrs. Samuel Osgood . From the painting by J. Trumbull Bishop Alonzo Potter . From a painting Maria Nott .... Wife of Bishop Alonzo Potter Clarkson N. Potter. From a photograph Jacob Rapalje From a steel engraving The Rapalje Family Bible, in possession of Henry S. Rapalje, Esq Title-page of the Rapalje Family Bible and page showing family records The Rapalje Estate, 35th Street and North River . Redrawn from an old print George Rapalje From a photograph in possession of Henry S. Rapalje, Esq. The Remsen Farmhouse From an old print Bedford Corners in 1776 From a print in Valentine's Manual. 18158 Professor James Renwick From an oil painting owned by Mrs. James Renwick Grace Church, Broadway St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue . Mrs. William Rhinelander Renwick (Eliza S. Crosby) From a miniature owned by Edmund Abdy Hurry, Esq. William Rhinelander Renwick .... From a miniature owned by Edmund Abdy Hurry, Esq. Jean Jeffrey From a picture in the possession of Edmund Abdy Hurry, Esq. Theodore Roosevelt From a photograph by Rockwood Isaac Roosevelt From an India ink drawing in the Emmett Collection, Lenox Library flUustratlons vii lit PAGE The Administration Building loo Roosevelt Hospital Colonel Henry Rutgers 104 From a steel engraving The Old Rutgers Mansion, New York, 1768 . .108 From a print in Valentine's Manila! " The Old Glebe House," Woodbury, Conn. .112 (At the time of thie Revolution it was the home of the Rev. John Rutgers Marshall) The Rutgers House, Rutgers Place 112 Between Jefferson and Clinton Streets From a print in Valentine's Manual, 1858 The Schermerhorn Residence, 84th Street and East River . 120 From a print in Valentine's Manual, i860 General Philip Schuyler 126 From the painting by Trumbull Philip Jeremiah Schuyler 128 From an oil painting Mrs. Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (Mary Anna Sawyer) . .128 From an oil painting Philip Schuyler 132 Fiom a miniature Grace Hunter 132 Wife of Philip Schuyler From a miniature Louise Lee Schuyler 134 The Interior of the Schuyler House on 31st Street . .134 Philip Schuyler 136 From a painting by R. M. Stagg The Schuyler Home "Nevis," at Tarrytown on the Hudson . 136 William Smith 140 Justice of the Supreme Court William Smith i44 Chief Justice of New York and of Canada From a steel engraving Peter Stuyvesant i^'O After an engraving of the picture owned by the N. Y. Historical Society vm miustrations The Residence of Nicholas W. Stuyvesant . .156 Which stood in 8th Street, between First and Second Avenues From a print in Valentine's Manual, 1857 Frederick D. Tappen 162 From a photograph Martin Van Buren 172 From a steel engraving Pierre Van Cortlandt 184 From the painting by J. W. Jarvis Cornelius Vanderbilt 204 From a steel engraving William H. Vanderbilt 206 From a steel engraving The Obelisk in Central Park 208 Brought from Egypt by Wm. H. Vanderbilt Residence of the late Cornelius Vanderbilt, 57th Street and Fifth Avenue 210 Kiliaen Van Rensselaer 214 First Lord of the Manor Margaret Schuyler 216 Wife of Stephen Van Rensselaer 111. Philip Van Rensselaer 216 Mayor of Albany Maria Van Cortlandt 218 Wife of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the Fourth Patroon Anna Van Wely 218 Second wife of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the First Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer 111 220 Patroon of the Manor of Van Rensselaerwyck Major-General of the United States Army Cornelia Paterson 222 Second wife of Stephen Van Rensselaer 111. From a miniature The Old Van Siclen House in Ghent, Belgium . 228 Built about 1338, and still standing Xivinoston XXII LIVINGSTON ^^ELIGIOUS zeal and persecution were powerful factors in the settlement of the New Netherlands, as of New Eng- land. With the Dutch colonists went Huguenots, seeking that freedom in the New World which was denied to them in the Old, and British indepen- dents who could not adapt them- selves to the conditions of life then existing in England and Scotland. Settlers of this type exert a more po- tent influence than do such as emi- grate from motives of gain, glory, or power. The intensity of their moral and intellectual life reacts upon their social environment, causing them, it may be said, to become either martyrs or monarchs. Running through the agricultural and commercial fabric of Dutch life in America, were strong threads of religious devotion and heroism. They modified their surroundings and imparted their force and tendencies to whatever came within the circle of their influence. Fanaticism caused the exile of the Rev. John Livingston, a Scotch clergyman of remarkable ability. Like other non-conform- ists, he went to Holland, where he became a noted preacher. His family tree runs back to 1124 a.d. During the five centuries 4 Xivlncjston between that time and the exile, they were Lords Livingston and Earls of Linlithgow. They were among the noblest families of Scotland, and for generations were in the front rank of the court- iers at Holyrood. The distinguished divine had, therefore, the strongest social influence and position when he began his sacred calling anew in the Netherlands. There he became acquainted with the merchant princes of the time, among them Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the First Patroon. The New Netherlands were a fre- quent subject of conversation in the society wherein these men moved, and those who were far-sighted perceived the future im- portance of the fertile territories in America. None took a livelier interest than the Scotch minister, who made no less than two un- successful attempts to emigrate. What the father was unable to do, the son, Robert [1654], achieved. Provided with strong letters of introduction, and well acquainted with many of the foremost Dutchmen al- Robert FirstLordof ready in the New Netherlands, he sailed from Green- ock, April 18, 1673, bound for Charlestown, in New England, and arrived in New Amsterdam about 1674. He was a well-educated man, and had a fair knowledge of surveying and certain useful arts. He worked hard from the day of landing, saved all he could, and in a few years seems to have accumulated a large amount of money. At the end of five years, he married, July 9, 1679, Alida, ncc Schuyler, the widow of Dr. Nicolaus Van Rensselaer. The union proved a happy one. The issue was four sons and two daughters. In 1686, Robert obtained from Governor Dongan a patent of Livingston Manor, which consisted of one hundred and sixty thousand acres of fertile country on the Hud- son River, half way between New York and Albany, and opposite the Catskills. It seems curious that the cost of this magnificent estate amounted to not more than two hundred dollars worth of merchandise, including blankets, shirts, stockings, axes, adzes, paint, scissors, jack-knives, and pocket looking-glasses. He led a busy life, attending to his great domain and serving in many offices of honor and trust. The records show that he was a secretary to the Albany Commissary, Town Clerk and Xivlngston 5 Town Collector, Secretary of Indian Affairs, member of the Coun- cil, member of the General Assembly (1709-171 1), and Speaker of the General Assembly (1718). He bestowed great care upon the education of his children, and lived to see several of them occupy high places in the community. He loved adventure, and was noted, even among the Indians, for his skill in hunting. In 1694, he made a trip across the ocean, and was wrecked on the coast of Portugal. He displayed great fortitude during the disaster, and was instrumental in saving several lives. A thoroughly pious man, he saw in his preservation the answer to his prayers, and commemorated his escape, family tradition says, by making an appropriate change in the family escutcheon. For the ancient crest of a demi-savage, he substituted the figure of a ship in dis- tress. This will account for the fact that both coats-of-arms are found in the family records.