Background

Van Rensselaer was born on May 26, 1808, in Albany, New York. He was the son of Stephen Van Rensselaer by his second wife, Cornelia, daughter of the distinguished jurist William Paterson.

He grew up with all the advantages that wealth and the high social position of his family afforded.

Education

Having received his preliminary education in a boarding school at Hyde Park, conducted by Dr. Benjamin Allen, Van Rensselaer entered Yale College in 1823 and was graduated four years later. He then studied law and in 1830 was admitted to the New York bar.

Believing, however, that a man of property "is under a peculiar obligation to make himself useful, " and doubting that it was possible for him to retain proper religious feelings and be "occupied with the ordinary vanities and pursuits of the world", he abandoned law and prepared for the ministry. After spending two years at Princeton Theological Seminary, he completed his course at Union Seminary, Hampden Sidney, Virginia.

He received the degree of D. D. from the University of the City of New York in 1845.

Career

For a time, Van Rensselaer devoted himself to giving religious instruction to the slaves on Virginia plantations, but increasing opposition to such work soon compelled him to abandon it. On August 2, 1836, he was called by a few Presbyterians in Burlington, New Jersey, to become their pastor and establish a church. He at once began work and on June 29, 1837, was formally installed.

During his comparatively short pastorate, lasting only to May 19, 1840, he developed a vigorous organization and superintended the building of a church edifice. Never again a regular pastor, he maintained a lively interest in the welfare of this congregation for the remainder of his life. Following his resignation, he ministered to a feeble church in Washington, D. C. , for a time and in 1843 was drafted by Princeton Theological Seminary to raise much-needed funds. As a result of his solicitations in various parts of the country, he presented the institution with an endowment of $100, 000.

In February 1846, he was called to the work in which he rendered his most conspicuous service that of corresponding secretary and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Board of Education. During the fourteen years, he occupied this position he greatly widened the scope of the board's activities. When he assumed office these activities were confined chiefly to furnishing support to candidates for the ministry; under his direction, the board furthered the organization of parochial schools, a project in which he was much interested, and the establishment of Presbyterian academies and synodical colleges.

He wrote and lectured extensively, originated and edited the Presbyterian Magazine (1851 - 59), and published each year from 1850 until his death a volume of articles, The Home, the School, and the Church, on the subject of education. Shortly after his death there was issued, 1861, a collection of his writings, Essays, and Discourses, which includes a considerable work entitled, "Historical Contributions Relative to the Founders, Principles, and Acts of the Presbyterian Church, with Special Reference to the Division of 1837-8. "

In 1857, he was elected moderator of the General Assembly (Old School). His death occurred in his fifty-third year on July 25, 1860, at his residence on the Delaware River, Burlington, New Jersey, and he was buried in the family vault at Albany.

Achievements

• Van Rensselaer founded the Presbyterian Magazine and was a large contributor to its pages. Every year he compiled and published a volume on the Church, the Ministry, and the School, which he distributed with a liberal hand.

Works

More photos

• book

  • New Jersey's tribute to Massachusetts : a eulogy pronounced on Daniel Webster, before the citizens of Burlington, N.J., at the Lyceum, on November 4th, 1852

    (This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)

  • The Presbyterian Magazine, Volume 8

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Essays And Discourses, Practical And Historical

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Presbyterian Magazine, Volume 2

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Presbyterian Magazine, Volume 7

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Home, the School and the Church, Or, the Presbyterian Education Repository, Volume 10

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Miscellaneous sermons, essays, and addresses

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Fight, Faith, and Crown: A Discourse, on the Death of Stephen Grellet, with a Sketch of His Life and Labours. Delivered December 16, 1855, in the Presbyterian Church, Burlington, N. J.

    ( About the Book Christian ministry refers to activities ...)

  • The Presbyterian Magazine, 1856, Vol. 6 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Presbyterian Magazine, 1856, Vol. 6 Son...)

  • The Presbyterian Magazine, 1853, Vol. 3 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Presbyterian Magazine, 1853, Vol. 3 Pra...)

  • The apostasy of Mr. Newman and some traces of Newmania on New Jersey soil

    (The apostasy of Mr. Newman, and some traces of Newmania o...)

  • "One faith": Or, Bishop Doane vs. Bishop M'Ilvaine, on Oxford theology exhibited in extracts from their writings. Together with some remarks on ... as a preservative of doctrinal purity.

Personality

Van Rensselaer was a man of large frame and everything about him suggested strength and endurance. Seemingly never at rest, he studied and wrote through long hours of travel, and even at business meetings, when his attention was not required, he composed letters or made notes for future use. During his last illness, he continued to dictate almost to the end.

He was well informed, but not a scholar; an instructive preacher, rather than an effective one. His administrative gifts were marked, and what he lacked in other respects he made up for in perseverance and industry. His devotion to his calling was complete and his services were rendered gratuitously; of his wealth he gave freely to many causes.

Connections

On September 13, 1836, Van Rensselaer had married Catharine Ledyard Cogswell, by whom he had seven children.

Father:

Stephen Van Rensselaer III

November 1, 1764 – January 26, 1839 Was a New York landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician.

Mother:

Cornelia Bell Paterson Van Rensselaer

4 June 1780 - 6 August 1844

Half-brother:

Stephen van Rensselaer, IV

29 March 1789 - 25 May 1868

Half-brother:

Stephanus Van Rensselaer

1786 - 1787

Hals-sister:

Catherine Schuyler Van Rensselaer

1784 - 1787

Brother:

Henry Bell Van Rensselaer

14 May 1810 - 23 March 1864

Brother:

Alexander Van Rensselaer

5 November 1814 - 8 May 1878

Brother:

Westerlo Van Rensselaer

1820 - 8 July 1844

Brother:

Philip Stephen Van Rensselaer, Sr

14 October 1806 - 1 June 1871

Brother:

William Paterson Van Rensselaer

6 March 1805 - 13 November 1872

Sister:

Catherine Van Rensselaer Wilkins

17 October 1803 - 5 November 1874

Sister:

Euphemia White Van Rensselaer Cruger

25 September 1816 - 27 April 1888

Sister:

Cornelia Paterson Van Rensselaer Turnbull

8 July 1812 - 16 January 1890

Wife:

Catherine Ledyard Van Rensselaer

22 September 1811 - 24 December 1882

Daughter:

Elizabeth Wadsworth Van Rensselaer Grubb

22 February 1848 - 17 April 1886

Daughter:

Alice Cogswell Van Rensselaer Hodge

19 March 1846 - 13 April 1878

Son:

Philip L. Van Rensselaer

1839 - 10 March 1873

Son:

Alexander Van Rensselaer

1 October 1850 - 18 July 1933

Son:

Cortlandt Van Rensselaer

5 January 1838 - 7 October 1864

Son:

Ledyard Van Rensselaer

20 November 1843 - 24 March 1892

References

• Memorial of Cortlandt Van Rensselaer