Albany native General Philip Schuyler, 1733 - 1804, was a rockstar even before the American Revolution. His father, Johannes, was a wealthy landowner and politician and his mother, Cornelia Van Cortlandt, an even wealthier Dutch-American aristocrat. Alexander Hamilton was Philip’s son-in-law. He was related to the Van Rensselaers and, from childhood, was fluent in Dutch and English. His maternal grandfather, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, was the 17th major of New York City. After the war, he expanded his Saratoga estate to tens of thousands of acres, adding slaves, tenant farmers, a store, mills for flour, flax and lumber. He built several schooners on the Hudson River and named the first Saratoga. According to the Schuyler Mansion Historic Society, there were around 40 slaves between his Albany and Saratoga properties. It’s that last bit that’s making news today.
© 2024 John Oliver
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