van Laer

504 Pages·2011·20.12 MB·English

~ORRESPONDENCE
-......
OF
JEREMIAS _vA_N_~NSSELAER
165'1 " 1674
Translated and edited
by
A. J. F.
VAN LAER
Archivist, Archives and History Division
ALBANY
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
193 2

PREFACE
The correspondence of Jeremias van Rensselaer forms part of
the Van Rensselaer Papers which from time to time have been
deposited in the New York State Library and which by an
agreement made on November 26, 1910, between the Regents of
The University of the State of New York and the Van Rensse
laer Land Company acting through its vice president, Howard
Townsend, and Eugene Van Rensselaer, sole surviving executor
of the will of General Stephen Van Rensselaer, were turned over
to the State, on condition that they should be made available for
purposes of historical research and that those which were found
to be of sufficient interest should be published as a supplement to
the volume of Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, issued by the
State Library in 1908.
The correspondence consists partly of original letters, ranging
in date from 1651 to 1671, which for the greater part were re
ceived by Jeremias van Rensselaer from his relatives in Holland
after he came to the colony of Rensselaerswyck, and partly of
copies, some on loose sheets and others in the form of a Letter
Book, of letters written byhim from 1656until his death in 1674.
during the last 16 years of which period he was director of the
colony.
Thevalue ofthese letters as a historical source was duly appre
ciated by Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan, who in his Histof}) of New
Netherland refers to them as "still in good preservation" and as
affording "a valuable and interesting commentary on private and
public affairs." Unfortunately, the first statement is no longer
true, for, after having been carefully preserved in the hands of
the family for more than 250 years, they were shortly after their
transfer to the State Library severely damaged by the Capitol fire
of March 29, 1911, which destroyed a large part of the state
archives as well as many of the Van Rensselaer papers, so that·at
4 The UniversitJ} of the State of N York
elV
present hardly a single one of the letters is intact and the utmost
patience has been required to make anything approaching a con
nected translation of them.
Aside from the difficulty of deciphering the charred parts of
themanuscripts, muchtroublehasbeenexperiencedin ascertaining
the date of many of the letters and in arranging in proper order
the small fragments of letters which bore no date or other dis
tinguishing mark, so that it was difficult to determine to which
particular letter they belonged. After careful study of such frag
ments, however, in connection with the replies in the Letter Book,
it has in nearly all cases been possible to overcome these difficul
ties, sothat in the end a fairly completeand satisfactory translation
has been obtained.
In arranging the material, it has seemed best not to treat the
Letter Book as a separate entity, but to distribute the letters
according to their date. For the sake, however, of the conveni
ence of those who may wish to consult the original text, and also
to show the reason for assigning a certain date to letters which
either originally had no date or whose date was destroyed, but
which are enteredbetweenother letters of definite date, the paging
of the Letter Book has been indicated in the translations, even
though these translations as here printed are not consecutive.
While dealing primarily with the business management of the
colony of Rensselaerswyck, the letters give a more intimate pic
ture of the daily life of the colonists than can be gained from any
contemporary official documents, so that they form a valuable
source for the social history of the period. Being for the greater
part family letters, they are rich in biographical information about
members of the Van Rensselaer family and their immediate con
nections, of whom heretofore comparatively little was known.
All these factors combine to make the letters of intense human
interest. The information contained in them, however, is by no
means confined to such private matters, for Jeremias van Rensse
laer, in his capacity of director of the colony, took an active part
in public affairs, so that the letters also throw considerable light
Correspondence of Jeremias 'Van Rensselaer 5
on the political events of the time. Owing, moreover, to the close
connection which existed between the colony of Rensselaerswyck
and the village of Beverwyck, or Albany, whose courts were
consolidatedby Governor Richard Nicolls in 1665, the letters are
also of importance for the early history of the city of Albany, a
fact which is especially welcome for the reason that from Decem
ber 30, 1660, to September 3/13, 1668, there is a gap in the
court minutes of the village, so that for this period little other
information about the locality is available.
The members of the Van Rensselaer family whose letters are
included in the present volume are too well known to require
further identification. Suffice it say that when Kiliaen van Rens
selaer, the first patroon, died, in the beginning of October 1643,
he was survived by his widow, Anna van Rensselaer, and nine
children, namely: Johannes, who was a son by his first marriage
with Hillegonda van Byler, Jan Baptist, Maria, Jeremias, Hille
gonda, Leonora, Nicolaes, Susanna and Richard van Rensselaer.
With the possible exception of the eldest son, Johannes, who suc
ceeded his father as patroon of the colony, all the sons of Kiliaen
van Rensselaer received a business education, even Nicolaes, who
afterwards studied at Leyden and became a minister of the Dutch
Reformed Church. Johannes van Rensselaer, the second patroon,
was born in 1625. He married in 1655, his cousin Elizabeth van
Twiller and died on May 6, 1662, without having visited the
colony, in which, judging from the letters, he never took a very
active interest.
Jan Baptist van Rensselaer, the eldest sonby the first patroon's
second wife, Anna van Wely, came to the colony in 1651, and
the next year succeeded Brant Aertsen van Slichtenhorst as direc
tor of'the colony. He returned to Holland in 1658, when
he entrusted the directorship to his younger brother, Jeremias.
From that time until shortly before the latter's death, in 1674,
Jan Baptist van Rensselaer carried on an active correspondence
with his brother about the management of the colony. These
letters form the bulk of the correspondence that is included in
6 The UniversitJ) of the State of Netv York
the present volume and give the impression that, with the possible
exception of his brother Richard, who afterwards became treas
urer of Vianen, Jan Baptist van Rensselaer was the ablest and
most business-like member of the family.
Jeremias van Rensselaer first came to the colony in the fall of
1654, and returned to Holland in the latter part of 1655. He
came over the second time in the summer of 1656, and from that
time until his death on October 12, 1674, resided in the colony.
He married, on July 12, 1662, Maria van Cortlandt, a daughter
of Oloff Stevensen van Cortlandt, by whom he had several chil
dren, of whom five, namely, Kiliaen, Anna, Hendrick, Johannes
and Maria van Rensselaer are mentioned in his will. He left,
besides his correspondence, a considerable body of carefully kept
accounts, which testify to his industry and methodical habits as
an administrator. In spite of this industry, however, he was
unable to bring about the prosperity of the colony which, owing
to a combination of circumstances, such as the effects of the
Esopus wars, severe freshets, the scarcity of farm labor and the
uncertainty which followed the surrender of New Netherland to
the British in 1664, steadily declined in importance during the
period of his administration, so that he quite despaired of its
future and advised the sale of the most valuable farms.
It should be noted that there is no portrait of Jeremias van
Rensselaer in existence, that which in O'Callaghan's HistorJ) of
New Netherland, volume 2, opposite page 506, is represented
as his likeness being evidently of a later period and in all prob
ability a portrait of his namesake, Jeremiah van Rensselaer, the
later patroon, who from 1728 until 1742 represented the manor
of Rensselaerswyck in the colonial Assembly.
Richard van Rensselaer, the youngest of the children of the
first patroon, arrived in the colony on July 30, 1664, but a few
weeks before the surrender of New Netherland. He served as a
member of the court of Albany, Rensselaerswyck and Schenec
tady and resided from 1668 until his return to Holland, in
October 1670, on the farm called The Flatts, about four miles
Correspondence of Jeremias van Rensselaer 7
north of Albany, on which he made many improvements and
which in 1672 was soldto Philip PietersenSchuyler. He married
after his return to Holland Anna van Beaumont and on August
8, 1681, was appointed by Hetwich Agnes van Brederode
Stadthouder van de Leenen (administrator of the fiefs) of the
manors of Vianen, Ameyde and Harlaer, which belonged to the
Brederode family. After the death of his brother Jeremias van
Rensselaer, he carried on a regular correspondence with the
latter's widow about the management of the colony, which in
part has been salvaged from the Capitol fire and which may
hereafter be published in another volume.
Nicolaes van Rensselaer was born at Amsterdam in Septem
ber 1636, and came to America in 1674. The next year he was
appointed director of the colony of Rensselaerswyck, in the place
of his deceased brother Jeremias, and also became minister at
Albany. He was accused of preaching false doctrine and in
1677, after various troubles with the church of Albany, was
deposed by Governor Andros. He died in November 1678, a
month later than his brother Jan Baptistvan Rensselaer. His wife
was Alida Schuyler, who in 1679, married Robert Livingston.
Of the sisters of Jeremias van Rensselaer, Maria, Hillegonda
and Eleonora died without issue and Susanna married Jan de la
Court.
A. ]. F. VAN LAER
October /93/

CORRESPONDENCE OF
JEREMIAS RENSSELAER
VAN
FROM JAN BAPTIST VAN RENSSELAER
[ ]1
[ ] have done and at the same time [
] which I have entered with the Company for not more
[than ] and a half, since one [ ].
Jan2 has [accepted] for mother also 22yz ofthose beavers, which
are not worth more than 20YZ. Jan was afraid that he would go
bankrupt and therefore took what he could get. You must charge
mother 32 stivers for duty and the freight in addition. Tell your
sisters, Marie, Hillegonda, [Leonora] and Susanna, not to make
such' extravagant calculations any more about their merchandise,
but to put such thoughts out of their minds a little, for they can
not expect much profit from it, and to have patience until Jan,
next year, comes home.
In reply, write me how everything is at home and how the dogs
and the birds are, and take good care that the spotted dog does
not get lost. My falcon came over in good shape. He is still
keen and alert and is king of all New Netherland. He now dares
to take a chance against one twice his size, but he soon gives up.
Givemy complimentsto the peltier3 and tell himthat I shall expect
him here with his king's gun,4 to shoot some geese, for which I
already have had a yawl made.
Having nothing else to write, I commend you, together with
my dear mother and the brothers and sisters, to the protection of
the Lord. With hearty greetings, also to Jacobus and Samuel,5
Your affectionate brother
]. B. V. RENSSELAER
Several lInes destroyed.
1
Jan van Twiller, a younger brother of Wouter van Twiller.
2
3 Cornelis van Schel, alias Peltier, or the furrier. He was a cousin of
the van Rensselaers and sailed to New Netherland in 1654, with Jeremias
van Rensselaer.
4 Kooninghs roer; apparently a prize gun won in a contest as king of :the
marksmen.
Jacobus and Samuel Zuerius. See letter of Nicolaes van Rensselaer,
5
December, 1657.
[ 9]
10 The Universit;y of the State of N York
etv
[At the] Manhatans, the
[ ] September, 1651
[In New] Netherland
Addressed:
Monsieur
Monsr Jeremias Van Rensselaer
inAmsterdam
per Couverto
Endorsed: 15 November
BOND OF ARENT VAN CURLER TO GERRIT VASTRICK6
I, the undersigned, ackRowledge that I am duly indebted to
Gerrit Vastrick, or the bearer hereof, in the sum of two thousand
one hundred and ninety-eight (2198) guilders, fourteen stivers,
for merchandise received to my satisfaction, which I promise to
pay in July of next year in good merchantable beavers at eight
guilders apiece, binding therefor all my property.
This 28th of August 1652, in Beverwyck in New Netherland.
A. VAN CURLER
Endorsed: Correlaer
Geldertsz Bloem
FROM JAN BAPTIST VAN RENSSELAER
[ ]7
[ ] sadcondition [ ]
war in the fatherland8 can [ ] many
went bankrupt, but I hope that it will soon change for the better.
The bond is in the handwriting of Gerrit Vastrick and signed by
6
Arent van Curler. Vastrick was a trader, who was in New Netherland
as early as 1644. In April, 1648, Stuyvesant wrote to the commissary
on the Delaware: "Mr. Vasterick has arrived here from Fatherland a
month or 6 weeks ago." Doc. rel. to Col. Hist. N. Y., 12:55.
Several 'lines destroyed.
7
8 Meaning the first war between England and Holland.. 1652-54.