Solomon Van Vechten Van Rensselaer   [1774-1852]

Solomon Van Vechten Van Rensselaer represented a New York district in the U. S. House of Representative. He was elected as a Federalist to the 16^th and 17^th U. S. Congresses, but only served in Congress for three years. He served from March 1819 until January 1822 when he resigned to take the position of Albany Postmaster. He served as Albany Postmaster from 1822 until 1839, and again from 1841 until 1843.

Van Rensselaer was the son of General Henry K. Van Rensselaer [1744-1816] who served honorably during the Revolutionary War’s battle at Fort Anne. His mother was Alida Bratt who named her son after her grandfather Solomon Van Vechten.

During the war of 1812, Van Rensselaer served as a lieutenant colonel or brigadier general of the New York Volunteers. He was active in the battle for Queenston Heights and was seriously wounded in that battle. His cousin Stephen Van Rensselaer was the general in charge of the American forces during the battle at Queenston, Ontario, Canada and Lewiston, New York on the Niagara Frontier.

Earlier Van Rensselaer had entered the U.S. Army, and later was promoted to captain of a volunteer company. In January 1799 he was promoted to major and a little over a year later, in June 1800 he mustered out of the military and became an adjutant general in the New York State Militia in 1801 and retained that title during his military services in 1810 and 1813.

In November 1825 he was a delegate of New York at the opening of the Erie Canal. His fellow Dutch American DeWitt Clinton was the main person responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal.

Solomon Van Rensselaer was born on August 9, 1874 and died on April 23, 1852 at the age of 77. He was interred in the North Dutch Church Cemetery, in Albany. Later he was re-interred in Albany Rural Cemetery. His Albany home, Cherry Hill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

See the appendix at the end of the bio profile for Kiliaen Van Rensselaer [1595-1644] to see the relationship between the ten Van Rensselaers in this listing

 

REFERENCES

Solomon Van Vechten Van Rensselaer, http://bioguide.congress.gov

Other web sources such as Wikipedia and others were also used.

New York Times, April 26, 1852, “Obituary of Solomon Van Vechten Van Rensselaer”

 

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PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICANS, CURRENT AND HISTORIC

EIGHT PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE ROOSEVELTS, VANDERBILTS AND OTHERS, 2015

FIFTEEN PROMINENT DUTCH AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE VAN BURENS, KOCH BROTHERS, VOORHEES AND OTHERS, 2015

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THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE NETHERLANDS: MEMOIRS, 2017

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