Van
Rensselaer Manor Papers, 1643-1689 (NYSL SC7079)
The Van Rensselaer Manor Papers consist chiefly of the administrative
records of Rensselaerswyck, the large landed estate
of the Van Rensselaer family, which at one time included large
portions of Albany and Rensselaer counties of New York State. These
records include field books, surveys, maps, rent ledgers, contracts,
work and business records, ordinances, court records, militia
records and correspondence with tenants and employees of the
manor. Comprising the operational records of the manor,
the records date from the 1630’s, and the first patroon
of the manor, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, to the 1850’s following
the Anti-Rent Wars, by which time the Van Rensselaer family had
relinquished its feudal rights to most of the land holdings.
An online finding aid to the Van Rensselaer Manor Collection
is available at: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc7079.htm and
selected items from this collection have been scanned and are
available through the Digital Collections:
Correspondence of Jeremias Van Rensselaer, 1651-1674 (SC7079
boxes 1-5)
Correspondence of Maria Van Rensselaer, 1669-1689 (SC7079 boxes
6-8)
Minute book of the Court of Rensselaerswyck, 1648-1652 (SC7079
boxes 13-15)
Memorandum book kept by Antonio de Hooges, 1643-1648 (SC7079
box 16)
The following published translations are available at the New
York State Library and online:
Correspondence of Jeremias Van Rensselaer, 1651-1674,
translated and edited by A.J.F. Van Laer (Albany: University
of the State of New York, 1932); R 974.742 R414nv: http://www.nnp.org/nnrc/onlinepubs/JeremiasvanRensselaercorrespondence.pdf
Correspondence of Maria Van Rensselaer 1645-1689, translated
and edited by A.J.F. Van Laer (Albany: University of the State
of New York, 1935); D UNI 068-4 CORMR 209-2821 http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/1242838
Rensselaerswijk. Court. Minutes of the Court of Rensselaerswyck,
1648-1652, translated and edited by A.J.F. Van Laer (Albany,
NY: University of the State of New York, 1922); R
974.742 R414: http://www.nnp.org/nnrc/onlinepubs/CourtMinutes.pdf
More information about the New York State Library’s Van
Rensselaer Manor Papers and selected images from the collection
are available at: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/mssc/vrm/
