42°41′36.74″N 73°42′28.66″W / 42.6935389°N 73.7079611°W / 42.6935389; -73.7079611

Manor of Rensselaerswyck
Manor
Map from 1776
Country	Netherland
Colony	New Netherland
Manor of Rensselaerswyck	1630
Government
• Type	Feudal patroonship
Population  (1839)
• Total	About 3,000

New Netherland series
Exploration
Fortifications:
Fort Amsterdam Fort Nassau (North) Fort Orange Fort Nassau (South) Fort Goede Hoop De Wal Fort Casimir Fort Altena Fort Wilhelmus Fort Beversreede Fort Nya Korsholm De Rondout
Settlements:
Noten Eylandt Nieuw Amsterdam Rensselaerswijck Nieuw Haarlem Beverwijck Wiltwijk Bergen Pavonia Vriessendael Achter Col Vlissingen Oude Dorpe Colen Donck Greenwich Heemstede Rustdorp Gravesende Breuckelen Nieuw Amersfoort Midwout Nieuw Utrecht Boswijk Swaanendael Nieuw Amstel Nieuw Dorp
The Patroon System
Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
Cornelius Jacobsen May (1620–25) Willem Verhulst (1625–26) Peter Minuit (1626–32) Sebastiaen Jansen Krol (1632–33) Wouter van Twiller (1633–38) Willem Kieft (1638–47) Peter Stuyvesant (1647–64)
People of New Netherland
New Netherlander Twelve Men Eight Men Nine Men
Flushing Remonstrance

The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck,^[1] is the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship—owned by the van Rensselaer family that was located in what is now mainly the Capital District of New York in the United States.

The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and the company's primary investor.^{[citation needed]} Rensselaerswyck lay on both sides of the Hudson River near present-day Albany and included parts of the present New York counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene, and Rensselaer, and it extended as far east as Pownal, Vermont.^{[citation needed]}

The patroonship lasted successfully for more than two centuries, dying with its last patroon, Stephen van Rensselaer III in 1839. At his death, van Rensselaer's land holdings made him the tenth richest American in history to date.^[2] The manor was split between Stephen III's sons, Stephen IV and William. Farmers began protesting the fuedal system and the antirent movement was eventually successful, causing Stephen IV and William to sell off most of their land, ending the patroonship in the 1840s.

Establishing patroonships

Upon discovery of the Albany area by Henry Hudson in 1609, the Dutch claimed the area as their own and set up two forts: Fort Nassau in 1614 and Fort Orange in 1624, both named for the Dutch royal House of Orange-Nassau. This established a Dutch presence in the area, formally called New Netherland. In June 1620, the Dutch West India Company was established by the States General and given enormous powers. In the name of the States General, it had the authority to make contracts and alliances with princes and natives, build forts, administer justice, appoint and discharge governors, soldiers, and public officers, and promote trade in New Netherland.^[3]

In 1630, the managers of the West India Company, in order to tempt the ambition of capitalists, offered certain exclusive privileges to the members of the company. The terms of the charter stated that any member who founded a colony of fifty adults in New Netherland within four years of the charter's writing would be acknowledged as a patroon (feudal chief) of the territory to be colonized. The only restriction was that the colony had to be outside the island of Manhattan.^[3]

To meet such cases, the West India Company adopted its charter of "Freedoms and Exemptions" for the agricultural colonization of its American province. The chief features of this charter stated that lands for each colony could extend 16 miles (26 km) in length if confined to one side of a navigable river or 8 miles (13 km) if both sides were occupied. Additionally, the lands could extend into the countryside and even be enlarged if more immigrants were to settle there.^[3]

Each patroon would have the chief command within their respective patroonship, having the sole rights to fish and hunt. If a city were to be founded within its boundaries, the patroon would have the power and authority to establish officers and magistrates. Each patroonship was free of taxes and tariffs for ten years following its founding.^[3]

The patroonships were precisely feudal: no colonists of a patroonship could leave the colony during their term of service without the written consent of the patroon, and the West India Company pledged itself to do everything in its power to apprehend and deliver up all fugitives from the patroon's service.^[3]

Colonists of a patroonship were limited by the West India Company in some instances. For example, trading of furs was illegal for colonists; it was reserved for the Company. But, patroonships had the right to trade anywhere from Newfoundland to Florida, on the understanding that traders were to stop at Manhattan to possibly trade with Holland first.^[3]

The West India Company agreed to defend all colonists, whether free or in service, from all aggressors. Additionally, the Company agreed to supply the colonies with "as many [African slaves] as [it] conveniently could", but not "for a longer time than [it] should think proper."^[3]

Founding the Manor

Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a pearl and diamond merchant of Amsterdam, was a prominent investor in the West India Company^{[citation needed]} and one of the first to take advantage of the new settlement charter. On April 8, 1630, a representative for van Rensselaer purchased a large tract of land from its American Indian owners adjacent to Fort Orange, on the west side of the Hudson River. It extended from Beeren Island north to Smack's Island and extended "two day's journey into the interior."^[3]

In the meantime, van Rensselaer made vigorous preparations to send out tenants. Early in the spring, several emigrants, with their farm implements and cattle, were sent out from Holland under Wolfert Gerritson, who was designated the overseer of farms. These pioneers of the manor embarked at the island of Texel in the ship Eendragt, or Unity, under Captain John Brouwer. In a few weeks, they arrived at Fort Orange and began at once the actual settlement of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.^[3]

A few weeks after the arrival of the first colonists, the patroon's special agent, Gillis Hassett, secured for him a grant of land from the Indians, lying mostly to the north of Fort Orange and extending up the river to an Indian structure called Monemins Castle, situated on Haver Island at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. This and the earlier purchase completed the bounds of the manor on the west side of the Hudson.^[3]

The land on the east side of the river, extending north from Castle Island to the Mohawk River was then the private property of an Indian chief named Nawanemitt. This territory was called "Semesseck" by the Indians, and described in the grant as "lying on the east side of the aforesaid river, opposite the Fort Orange, as well above as below, and from Poetanock, the millcreek, northward to Negagonee, being about twelve miles, large measure."^[3]

These purchases took place on August 8, and August 13, 1630, respectively, confirmed by the council at Manhattan, and patents formally issued therefor. Fort Orange itself, however, with the land immediately around its walls, which grew into the city of Albany, still remained under the exclusive jurisdiction of the West India Company, and so Albany never was under the dominion of the patroon.^[3]

But this large purchase by van Rensselaer excited the jealousy of other capitalists, and van Rensselaer soon divided his estate around and near Fort Orange into five shares,^[3] in an effort to advance more rapidly the growth of the colony.^[4] Two of these shares he retained, together with the title and honors of the original patroon. One share was given to Johannes de Laet, another was given to Samuel Godyn, and the last to Samuel Bloommaert; these three men were influential members of the Amsterdam chamber of the West India Company. On the ancient map of the colony, "Bloommaert's Burt" is located at the mouth of what is now called Patroon's Creek. "De Laet's Island" was the original name of van Rensselaer Island, opposite Albany. "De Laet's Burg" equates to Greenbush. "Godyn's Islands" are a short distance below, on the east shore.^[3] These three separate patroonships were subsequently purchased and dissolved into Rensselaerswyck proper by 1685.^[4]

Government

The government of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck was vested in a general court, which exercised executive, legislative or municipal, and judicial functions. This court was composed of two commissioners, styled "Gecommitteerden", and two councilors, called "Gerechts-persoonen", or "Schepenen". These last equated to our modern justices of the peace. There was also a colonial secretary, a "Schout-fiscaal", or sheriff, and a "Greechts-bode", court messenger or constable.^[3]

The magistrates held their offices for a year, the court appointing their successors. The most important office in the colony was the schout-fiscaal, or sheriff. Jacob Albertsen Planck was the first sheriff of Rensselaerswyck. Arendt van Curler, who came out originally as assistant commissary, was soon after his arrival made commissary-general, or superintendent of the colony, and acted as colonial secretary until 1642, when he was succeeded by Anthony de Hooges.^[3]

Culture

The population of the colony of Rensselaerswyck in its early days consisted of three classes: freemen on top, who emigrated from Holland at their own expense; farmers next; and farm servants sent by the patroon at the bottom of the caste.^[3]

The first patroon judiciously applied his large resources to the advancement of his interests, and always was quick to assist his struggling people. To accomplish his purpose, several farms were set off by him on both sides of the river, on which he caused dwelling-houses, barns, and stables to be erected. The patroon, at his own expense, stocked these farms with cattle, horses, and sometimes with sheep, and furnished the necessary wagons, plows, and other implements. So the early farmer entered upon his land without being embarrassed by want of capital.^[3]

Sustaining the Manor

Upon van Rensselaer's death in 1643, the estate was passed on to his eldest son,^[who?] who acquired the title of patroon. He died in 1658 and his younger brother Jeremias van Rensselaer became patroon. Acknowledging the surrender of New Amsterdam and Fort Orange to England in 1664 following a surprise incursion by the English during a time of peace (which led to the Second Anglo–Dutch War),^[5] Jeremias took the oath of allegiance to the King of England that October.^[6] In 1666, he also built the original Manor House, located north of Fort Orange, which was the seat of the patroonship and the home of the patroon until 1765.^[7]

Jeremias died in 1674 and the estate was passed on to his oldest son, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, grandson to the first patroon, who shared his name. At the time of his father's death, Kiliaen was eleven and did not acquire the title of Lord of the Manor until he was twenty-one.^[8] In 1683, one year before Kiliaen became Lord of the Manor, New York Governor Thomas Dongan established Albany County, one of the original twelve counties in New York. The county was to "containe the Towns of Albany, the Collony Renslaerwyck, Schonecteda, and all the villages, neighborhoods, and Christian Plantacons on the east side of Hudson River from Roelof Jansen's Creeke, and on the west side from Sawyer's Creeke to the Sarraghtoga."^[9] In 1685, Governor Dongan granted a patent for Rensselaerswyck, making it a legal entity.^[10] The patent included a detailed description of its boundaries, stating:

"... the banks of Hudsons River ... beginning att the south end ... or Berrent Island on Hudsons River and extending northwards up along both sides of the said Hudsons River unto A place heretofore Called the Kahoos or the Great Falls of the said River & extending itselfe east and west all along from each side of the said river backwards into the woods twenty fouer english miles As Also A Certaine tract of land situate lyeing and being on the east side of Hudsons River begining at the Creeke by Major Abraham States and soe Along the said River southward to the south side of Vastrix Island by a creek called Waghankasigh stretching from thence with an easterly line into the woods twenty fouer english miles to a place called Wawanaquaisick And from thence northward to the head of the said Creeke by Major Abrahams States as Aforesaid."^[10]

One year later in 1686, Albany was chartered as a city care of the Dongan Charter, authored by Governor Dongan.^[11] During Kiliaen's tenure as patroon, he served in many positions in Albany including assessor, justice, and supervisor, and represented Rensselaerswyck in the New York General Assembly.^[8] In 1704, Kiliaen split Rensselaerswyck into two portions, the southern portion, or "Lower Manor" (comprising Greenbush and Claverack), placed under the eye of Kiliaen's brother Hendrick. The northern portion retained the title Rensselaerswyck.^[10] Hendrick lived in Albany until a year after receiving the Lower Manor, representing Rensselaerswyck in the General Assembly^[12] from 1705 until 1715,^[13] just as his brother had from 1693 to 1704.^[8]

Kiliaen died in 1719^[8] and the patroonship passed on to his oldest son Jeremias.^[14] Jeremias died in 1745 and the estate passed on to his brother Stephen. Stephen, sickly upon receiving the estate, died in 1747 at the age of forty.^[14] The estate was then passed on to his son, Stephen van Rensselaer II, who was five when his father died.^[15] Stephen II was active in the Albany County Militia and active in restructuring loose land leases created by his predecessors. One land deal made in the eastern region of Rensselaerswyck led to the name of the town Stephentown in southeastern Rensselaer County.^[15] He also rebuilt the Manor House in 1765.^[7]

Stephen II died in 1769 at the age of 27 as one of the richest men in the region.^[15] The Manor passed on to his eldest son Stephen van Rensselaer III, who was five at the time of his father's death.^[16] The estate was controlled by Abraham Ten Broeck until Stephen III's twenty-fifth birthday.^[16] Stephen III attended school in Albany and then New Jersey and Kingston during the Revolution. He graduated from Harvard College in 1782. Stephen III is well known throughout history for many achievements. In 1825, he was elected Grand Master of the New York State Grand Masonic Lodge. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1789 and remained there until elected to the New York State Senate in 1791. In 1795 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York and he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1822 to 1829. His most lasting achievement was to found, with Amos Eaton, the Rensselaer School, which developed into the present-day Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.^[16]

Antirent movement and downfall

Stephen III lived to be 75, dying in 1839. He is remembered as "The Good Patroon" and also "The Last Patroon" because he was legally the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck.^[16] At the time of his death, Stephen III was worth about $10 million (about $88 billion in 2007 dollars) and is noted as being the tenth richest American in history.^[2]

The spectacle of a landed gentleman living in semi-feudal splendor among his three thousand tenants was an anachronism to a generation which had become acclimated to Jacksonian democracy. Stephen III's leniency toward his tenants created a serious problem for his heirs, who were instructed by his will to apply the back rents (approximately $400,000) toward the payment of the patroon's debts. As soon as the rent notices went out, the farmers organized committees and held public meetings in protest. Stephen IV, who had inherited the "West Manor" (Albany County), refused to meet with a committee of antirenters and turned down their written request for a reduction of rents. His brusque refusal infuriated the farmers. On July 4, 1839, a mass meeting at Berne called for a declaration of independence from landlord rule but raised the amount the tenants were willing to pay.^[17]

The answer to this proposal was soon forthcoming. The executors of the estate secured writs of ejectment in suits against tenants in arrears. Crowds of angry tenants manhandled Sheriff Michael Archer and his assistants and turned back a posse of five hundred men. Sheriff Archer called upon Governor William H. Seward for military assistance. Seward's proclamation calling on the people not to resist the enforcement of the law and the presence of several hundred militiamen overawed the tenants. The tenants, however, persisted in their refusal to pay rent. Of course the sheriff could and did evict a few, but he could not dispossess an entire township.^[17]

By 1844 the antirent movement had grown from a localized struggle against the van Rensselaer family to a full-fledged revolt against leasehold tenure throughout eastern New York. Virtual guerilla warfare broke out. Riders disguised as Indians and wearing calico gowns ranged through the countryside, terrorizing the agents of the landlords. In late 1844, Governor William Bouck sent three companies of militia to Hudson, where antirenters threatened to storm the jail and release their leader, Big Thunder (Dr. Smith A. Boughton, in private life). The following year Governor Silas Wright was forced to proclaim Delaware County in a state of insurrection after an armed rider had killed an undersheriff at an eviction sale.^[17]

The antirenters organized town, county, and state committees, published their own newspapers, held conventions, and elected their own spokesmen to the legislature. The success of candidates endorsed by antirenters in 1845 caused politicians in both parties to show a "wonderful anxiety" to "give the Anti-renters all they ask." The legislature abolished the right of the landlord to seize the goods of a defaulting tenant and taxed the income which landlords derived from their rent. Shortly thereafter, the Constitutional Convention of 1846 prohibited any future lease of agricultural land which claimed rent or service for a period longer than twelve years. Yet neither the convention nor the state legislature was willing to disturb existing leases.^[17]

The antirenters played politics with remarkable success in the years between 1846 and 1851. They elected friendly sheriffs and local officials who virtually paralyzed the efforts of the landlords to collect rents. They cleverly threw their weight to the candidates of either major party who would support their cause. The bitter rivalries between and within the Whig and Democratic parties enabled the antirenters to exert more influence than their numbers warranted. As a result they had a small but determined bloc of antirent champions in the Assembly and the Senate who kept landlords uneasy by threatening to pass laws challenging land titles. The antirent endorsement of John Young, Whig candidate for governor in 1846, proved decisive. Governor Young promptly pardoned several antirent prisoners and called for an investigation of title by the Attorney General. The courts eventually ruled the state of limitations prevented any questioning of the original titles. Declaring that the holders of perpetual leases were in reality freeholders, the Court of Appeals outlawed the "quarter sales," i.e., the requirement in many leases that a tenant who disposed of his farm should pay one-fourth of the money to the landlord.^[17]

Assailed by a concerted conspiracy not to pay rent and harassed by taxes and investigations of the Attorney General, the landed proprietors gradually sold out their interests. In August 1845, seventeen large landholders announced that they were willing to sell. Later that year, Steven IV agreed to sell his rights in the Helderberg townships. His brother, William, who had inherited the "East Manor" in Rensselaer County, also sold out his rights in over five hundred farms in 1848. Finally, in the 1850s, two speculators purchased the remaining leases from the van Rensselaers.^[17]

Notes and references

Additional Reading

• Griffis, William Elliot (1909). "VII". The Story of New Netherland. The Dutch In America. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Company. The Riverside Press.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1972) [1965]. "From the Hudson to the James 1626-1675: 1. New Netherland and New York". The Oxford History of the American People: Prehistory to 1789. New York: New American Library. pp. 118–119.

External links

Template:Hvportal

• Rensselaerswijck at the Virtual Tour of New Netherland, New Netherland Project of the New Netherland Institute
• Rensselaerswyck at the Colonial Albany Social History Project of the New York State Museum

This article incorporates text from History of Rensselaer Co., New York, by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester (1880), a publication now in the public domain.