Quick Facts
Biography
Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer (September 27, 1767 Claverack, Columbia County, New York – September 22, 1835 New York City) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician.
Early life
Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer was the son of Robert Van Rensselaer (1740–1802) and Cornelia (Rutsen) Van Rensselaer (1746–1790). He attended Washington Seminary, graduated from Yale University in 1787, studied law and attained admission to the bar.
Career
During the War of 1812, he commanded troops which were drafted in Columbia County, and were ordered to the defense of the city of New York.
Van Rensselaer was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1800, 1808, 1808–09, 1811, 1812, 1812–13, 1814, 1814–15 and 1819; and was Speaker in 1812–13. He was Secretary of State of New York from 1813 to 1815 and was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821.
Personal life
He married Cornelia De Peyster. Their home, the Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex, built circa 1805 is today listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After his death in New York City on September 22, 1835, he was buried in the cemetery at the Reformed Dutch Church of Claverack.