Hendrick van Rensselaer

Hendrick van Rensselaer (October 23, 1667 – July 4, 1740) was director of the Eastern patent of the Rensselaerswyck manor. The estate was composed of land in Columbia County, New York, and land opposite Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, named Greenbush (later Rensselaer, New York). Early life Hendrick van Rensselaer was born in Watervliet, New York, the fourth child of Jeremias van Rensselaer (1632–1674) and Maria van Cortlandt van Rensselaer (1645-1689). His siblings included Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1663–1719), second lord of Rensselaerswyck Manor, who married Maria Van Cortlandt, Johannes van Rensselaer, Anna van Rensselaer, (b. 1665), who married Kilaen Van Rensselaer, their first cousin, and Maria van Rensselaer, who married Pieter Schuyler (1657–1724). His paternal grandparents were Anna van Wely (1601-1670) and Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company who was instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland. His maternal grandparents were Olaff Stevensz van Cortlandt (c. 1615–1684) and Annetje Loockermans (1618-1684). His mother was the sister of Stephanus Van Cortlandt (1643-1700) and Jacobus Van Cortlandt (1658-1739), both of whom served as Mayor of New York City.