David Pieterse Schuyler


David Pieterse Schuyler was a Dutch-born member of the Schuyler family. He was a fur trader, Alderman of Albany, captain, and merchant.

Early life

Schuyler was born in the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, in 1636 as the son of Pieter Tjercks and Geertruyt Philips Van Schuylder. His brother was Philip Pieterse Schuyler, the progenitor of the Schuyler family, the ancestor of the descendants of founding father Alexander Hamilton with his wife Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, several members of the van Cortlandt, van Rensselaer and Livingston families.

Marriage and children

Schuyler was married to Catharina Verplanck in 1657 at the New Amsterdam Dutch Church, daughter of Dutch-born Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck and French-born Maria de la Vigne. They had 8 children between 1659 and 1678. David Pieterse Schuyler died before 29 Nov 1692, when his wife was recorded as his widow. His wife Catharina died between 1699, when she petitioned for an addition of 14 feet to her lot, and 1709, when the lot was occupied by her sons Their children included Myndert Schuyler, who was Mayor of Albany and David Davidse Schuyler who was a fur trader as well as a Mayor of Albany.
His second great-granddaughter, Maria Helen Roosevelt was the second great grandmother of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. His great-grandson Johannes Abeel was the father of the Seneca war chief Cornplanter. Some of his other descendants and relatives married into families such as the van Rensselear family and the Roosevelt family.