Killian K. Van Rensselaer

Killian Killian Van Rensselaer (June 9, 1763 – June 18, 1845) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of New York.

Early life Killian Killian Van Rensselaer was born on June 9, 1763, at the old family mansion owned by his uncle Johannes in Greenbush in the Province of New York to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1717–1781) and his first wife, Ariantje "Harriet" Schuyler (1720–1763), who died four months after his birth. and was wounded during the Battles of Saratoga and received the highest compliments about his courage from General George Washington.

Killian K. completed preparatory studies and attended Yale College, where he studied law. He was private secretary to General Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a general in the American Revolutionary War and later a United States senator, and also a cousin through his mother.

In 1794, he corresponded with James Madison regarding a letter of introduction for Robert S. Van Rensselaer, the son of his brother Philip, on his trip to Europe, at which time he met with members of the extended Van Rensselaer family in Holland.

United States Congress Van Rensselaer was elected as a Federalist to the Seventh United States Congress, taking his seat on March 4, 1801, during the first Congress that met in Washington, D.C., The start of seventh Congress immediately followed the election of Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr by the preceding United States House of Representatives. Van Rensselaer went on to serve in the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh United States Congresses, serving until March 3, 1811.

Personal life On January 27, 1791, Van Rensselaer married Margaretta "Margaret" Sanders (1764–1830), daughter of John Sanders (d. 1782) and Deborah Glen (d. 1786) of Scotia, and a cousin of his brother Philip's wife. Her sister, Maria, was the wife of Mayor Johannes Jacobse Beekman. Together they had five children, one of whom died in infancy:

John Sanders Van Rensselaer (1792–1868), who married Ann Dunkin (1795–1845) who married Elizabeth Van Rensselaer (d. 1835), and later Matilda Fonda Van Rensselaer (d. 1863)

Descendants Killian's grandson was Charles van Rensselaer (1823–1857), the first officer on the SS Central America, when it was lost during a hurricane in September 1857.