Cornelis Cuyler or Cornelius Cuyler (baptized February 14, 1697 – March 14, 1765)[1] was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1742 to 1746.[2]

Cornelius Cuyler
20th Mayor of Albany, New York
In office
October 14, 1742 – September 28, 1746
Preceded byJohannes de Peyster III
Succeeded byDirck Ten Broeck
Personal details
Born(1697-02-14)February 14, 1697
New York City, Province of New York
DiedApril 14, 1765(1765-04-14) (aged 68)
Albany, Province of New York
Resting placeAlbany Rural Cemetery
Spouse
Catharina Schuyler
(m. 1726; died 1758)
RelationsDirck Wesselse Ten Broeck (grandfather)
Henry Glen (nephew)
Children11, including Cornelius, Abraham
Parent(s)Johannes Cuyler
Elsje Ten Broeck

Early life and family

edit
 
Coat of Arms of Cornelis Cuyler

Cuyler was born in 1697 and baptized in the New York City Dutch Church in the then Province of New York of British America. He was the oldest surviving son of twelve children born to Albany Mayor Johannes Cuyler (1661–1740) and Elsje (née Ten Broeck) Cuyler (d. 1752).[3][4] His father was an admitted freeman of New York City and served for 22 years as a Commissioner of Indian Affairs.[5] His siblings included Anna Cuyler (who married Anthony Van Schaick), Christina Cuyler, Hendrick Cuyler (who died unmarried), Sara Cuyler (who married Mayor Johannes Hansen), Elsie Cuyler (who married Hendrick Johannes Rosenboom), Johannes Cuyler (who married Catherine Glen, daughter of Johannes Jacob Glen), Maria Cuyler (who married Cornelius Cuyler Ten Broeck, son of Wessel Ten Broeck), and Elizabeth Cuylter (who married Jacob Sanders Glen and were the parents of Henry Glen).[3]

His paternal grandparents were Hendrick Cuyler,[6] a tailor who was born in the Netherlands, came to America, and went to Albany in 1664, and Annatje (née Schepmoes) Cuyler.[1] His maternal grandparents were Albany Mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck and Christyna (née Van Buren) Ten Broeck.[7]

Career

edit

Following his father, he became a prominent fur trader.[6] In 1717, he served as a constable in the Second Ward.[2] In 1724, he swore not to trade with the French and was, therefore, sent into Mohawk country and Canada to represent Albany's interests.[2]

From 1729 to 1735, he was elected and served as Alderman for the Second Ward.[2] In 1742, Cuyler was appointed and served as the Mayor of Albany, succeeding Johannes de Peyster III who was re-nominated but did not take the oath of allegiance required of officeholders. He served from October 14, 1742, to September 28, 1746, and was himself succeeded by Dirck Ten Broeck.[3]

For a total of fourteen years, he served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Province of New York, appointed in 1734, 1739, 1742, 1745, 1752, and 1754,[5] which brought him into contact with Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, both as a client and adversary.[2]

During the French and Indian War, which took place from 1754 to 1763, he was a supplier to the troops.[2]

Personal life

edit

On December 9, 1726, he was married to Catalyntie "Catharina" Schuyler (1704–1758).[8] She was the daughter of Johannes Schuyler (1668–1747), of the prominent Schuyler family, and Elizabeth Staats (1647–1737).[9][10] She was also the sister of Johannes Schuyler, Jr., making her aunt to Gen. Philip Schuyler, as well as the niece of Pieter and Arent Schuyler. Together, Cornelius and Catharina were the parents of eleven children, including:[3]

Cuyler died on March 14, 1765, in Albany. He was buried in Church cemetery but later moved to Albany Rural Cemetery.[2]

Descendants

edit

Though his son Cornelius, he was the grandfather of Sir Charles Cuyler, 2nd Baronet (1794–1862).[19]

Through his son Abraham, he was the grandfather of Jacob Glen Cuyler (1773–1854), who became a British army officer who was instrumental getting the 1820 Settlers to South Africa.[20][21]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Cuyler, Cornelius, Letterbooks, 1724-1736/7; 1752-1764" (PDF). americanantiquarian.org. American Antiquarian Society Manuscript Collections. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bielinski, Stefan. "Cornelis Cuyler". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Reynolds, Cuyler (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 32. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  4. ^ General Society of Colonial Wars (U S. ) District of Columbia; Peale, Albert Charles (1904). Register of the Society of Colonial Wars in the District of Columbia, 1904 ... The Society. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b Rhoden, Nancy L. (2014). English Atlantics Revisited: Essays Honouring Ian K. Steele. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 240–243. ISBN 9780773560406. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Nicoll, Maud Churchill (1912). The Earliest Cuylers in Holland and America and Some of Their Descendants. T.A. Wright, Printer and Publisher. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  7. ^ Runk, Emma Ten Broeck (1897). Ten Broeck Genealogy, Being The Records and Annals of Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck of Albany and his Descendants. New York, De Vinne press. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  8. ^ Bielinski, Stefan. "Catharina Schuyler Cuyler". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  9. ^ Laer, Arnold J. F. Van (2009). Early Records of the City and County of Albany and Colony of Rensselaerswyck: Volume 4 (Mortgages 1, 1658-1660, and Wills 1-2, 1681-1765). Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN 9780806351537. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Catalina Schuyler (1705-1758)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Sarah Tweedy Cuyler". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  12. ^ Bielinski, Stefan. "Philip Cuyler". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  13. ^ Mulder, Philip N. (2017). Colonial America and the Early Republic. Routledge. ISBN 9781351950565. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  14. ^ Bielinski, Stefan. "John Henry Lydius". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  15. ^ Bielinski, Stefan. "Hendrick C. Cuyler". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Committee, New York Colony; (State), New York (1968). New York Marriages Previous to 1784. Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 96. ISBN 9780806302591. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  17. ^ Bielinski, Stefan. "Margarita Cuyler Low". exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov. New York State Museum. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  18. ^ "LOW, Isaac - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Cuyler of St John's Lodge". Debrett's Baronetage of England. 1835. p. 375. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  20. ^ Stefan Bielinski (2008). "Jacob Glen Cuyler". New York State Museum. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  21. ^ "Cuyler Manor Museum". Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
edit
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of
Albany, New York

1742–1746
Succeeded by