Van Ranslaer (or Renslaer), Nicholas, was ordained as a deacon by Dr. Earle, bishop of Sarnm, and as a presbyter by the bishop of Salisbury ; was chaplain to the ambassador of the States-General at London ; minister of the Dutch Church at Westminster; and lecturer at St. Margaret's, Loathbury, London. He came to Aitierica in 1G75, with letters of recommenda- tion from the duUe of York to governor Andros, with a view to a living in one of the Dutch churches of the colony ; and also laid claim to the manor of Rensselaer- wyck. The governor assigned him to the Dutch Clnirch in Albany, against the protests of their minister, (iideon Schaats, and the people. They denied both the valid- ity of his ordination, which was not a tenable objection, and the right of ihe English governor to intrude him upon an unwilling Church and congregation. A bitter contest and trial at law followed. Dominie Van Niew- enhuysen, of New York, was sent to aid in the contro- versy. Van Ranslaer, however, continued to officiate for about one year. For a short time he was imprison- ed for utterances in his pulpit, for which Jacob Leisler (afterwards governor) and Jacob Milborne brought charges against him. This litigation ended in the de- feat of his opposers, and in the reconciliation of Schaats and Van Ranslaer, The latter died soon after, and thus
ended the disturbances of Church and State produced by his coming. He was suspected as a papist in dis- guise. His widow, nee Alida Schuyler, afterwards be- came the wife of Robert Livingston. See Documentary Hist. N. Y. p. 872-879. Corwin, Manual of the lief. Church in A nierica, s. v. (W. J. R. T.)
Van Rensselaer, Cortlandt, D.D.. an eminent Presbyterian divine, son of general Stephen Van Rensse- laer, was born in Albany, N. Y., May 25, 180S. He grad- uated at Yale College in 1827, and was admitted to the bar in 1830 ; but studied theology in the Princeton The- ological Seminary, N. J., and was licensed to preach in 1834, and ordained in 1835 by West Hanover Presby- tery, Va. He organized the First Presbyterian Church in Burlington, N. J., and was installed its pastor by Philadeliihia Second Presbytery in 1837. He became corresponding secretary of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian Church from 1841) until his death, Jidy 24, 18G0. Dr. Van Rensselaer established in 1848 The Presbt/terian Treasury, a quarto publication, issued monthly. This journal was qinte popular, but owing to the earnest solicitation of other parties, at the end of two years it gave place to the Home and Forehjn Rec- ord, edited by all the secretaries of the Boards of the Church. He, however, issued, in January, 1851, the first annual volume, entitled The Home, School, and Church, a thick octavo pampldet. In 1851 he also issued the first number of The I'reshi/terian Mar/azine ; and it was thus that, by means of all these, the mind of the Churcli became enlightened upon the subject of education. Af- ter his death appeared a selection from his published writings, under the title of Miscellaneous Sermons, Es- says, and Addresses, edited by his son, C. Van Rensse- laer (Phila. 18G1, 8vo). "They bear the impress of his vigorous intellect, and illustrate his various reading, his manly independence, his genuine patriotism, and his ini- swerving devotion to the cause and kingdom of the Redeemer." His critical reviews were discriminating, searching, and free from partiality, eminently readable, and wholly trustworthy. See Wilson, Pre,s-Z», Hist. Al- manac, 18G1, p. 107; Allibone, Did. of Brit, and Amer. A uthors, s. v.; North A mer. Rev. July", 1861, p. 286 ; Me- moirs of S. Grellet (Phila. 18G0), ii", 486, note; Jiclect. Mag. of For. Lit. Dec. 1860. (J. L. S.)
Van Rensselaer, Hon. Stephen, a distinguished statesman and general in the War of 1812-15, patroon of the manor of Rensselaerwyck, and an eminent Chris- tian, was born in New York city Nov. 1, 1764, and grad- uated at Harvard University in 1782. In 1789 he was elected a member of the Legislature, and in 1795, at the age of thirty-one, was lieutenant-governor and president of the Senate of his native state. He held this office six j-ears. From 1800 to 1820 he was often a member of the Assembly, and also sat in two Constitidional con- ventions. He was elected to Congress in 1822; was president of the Board of Canal Commissioners fourteen years before his death ; and was chancellor of the Board of Regents of the University of New York at his de- cease. In 1787 he began his military career, and was a major-general of Volunteers, commanding on the Niag- ara frontier, dm-ing the War of 1812-15 with Great Britain. He was honorably engaged in the battle of (iueenstown. Yale College conferred on him the degree of doctor of laws in 182.5. He was one of the first Board of Managers of the American Bible Society in 181G, and was always foremost with its illustrious foiniders and friends. In the affViirs of the Reformed Church, of which he was '-a burning and a shining light," he held many positions of great prominence and usefulness. With perhaps one exception, he was the most wealth}' man in the United States, and he dispensed his money with a munilicence that was worthy of his ancient patrimony, which embraced a territory of twenty-four miles square, having Albany as its centre. From this inheritance he was called the patroon, a title now extinct by law with " the death of his eldest son, and for gener-