Jacobus Van Cortlandt

Jacobus van Cortlandt
30th and 33rd Mayor of New York City
In office
1719–1720
Preceded byJohn Johnstone
Succeeded byRobert Walters
In office
1710–1711
Preceded byEbenezer Wilson
Succeeded byCaleb Heathcote
Personal details
Born1658 (1658)
New Amsterdam, New Netherland
Died1739 (aged 80–81)
Bergen, Province of New Jersey, British America
Spouse
Eva de Vries
​
(before 1739)​
RelationsSee Van Cortlandt family

Jacobus van Cortlandt (1658–1739) was a wealthy New Amsterdam-born American merchant, slave owner, and politician who served as the 30th and 33rd Mayor of New York City from 1710 to 1711 and again from 1719 to 1720.

Early life

Jacobus Van Cortlandt was born in 1658 in New Amsterdam, a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in what was then New Netherland. He was the son of Flemish-born Annetje (née Loockermans) Van Cortlandt (b. 1618)[1] and Dutch born Captain Olof Stevense van Cortlandt (d. 1684), who arrived in New Amsterdam in 1637. His father was originally a soldier and bookkeeper that rose to high colonial ranks through his work with the Dutch West India Company, eventually serving many terms as burgomaster and alderman.[2] Reportedly, his mother, known as "Anna", began the "Santa Claus" tradition in America.[3]

Jacobus was the second of four children born to his parents. his siblings included Stephanus van Cortlandt, who married Geertruy van Schuyler; Maria van Cortlandt, who married Jeremias van Rensselaer; and Catherine van Cortlandt, who first married Johannes Derval and after his death, married Frederick Philipse, the 1st Lord of Philipsborough Manor. Philipse was previously married to Margaret Hardenbroeck and during that marriage, had adopted her daughter, Eva de Vries, who changed her last name to Philipse and eventually became Jacobus' wife.[4]

Career

Van Cortlandt, who became a wealthy merchant, purchased a parcel of land in what is now Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, from John Barrett after the death of John's father, Samuel Barrett, around 1691. At that time, the plantation was considered Yonkers.[4]

From 1710 to 1711 and again from 1719 to 1720, Van Cortlandt served as the 30th and 33rd Mayor of New York City.[4]

Personal life

Further information: Van Cortlandt family
Coat of arms of Jacobus Van Cortlandt

Van Cortlandt was married to Eva de Vries (born 1660-year of death unknown), the daughter of Margaret Hardenbroeck and Peter Rudolphus de Vries, and the adopted daughter of Frederick Philipse, the 1st Lord of the Philipsburg Manor. Together, Jacobus and Eva were the parents of:[4]

Van Cortlandt died in 1739 in Bergen, New Jersey.[7]

Descendants

Through his son Frederick, he was the grandfather of Augustus Van Cortlandt (1728–1823), who married Elsie Cuyler, daughter of Albany mayor Cornelis Cuyler in 1760. After her death in 1761, he married Catherine Barclay, daughter of Andrew Barclay and Helena (née Roosevelt) Barclay.[4]

Through his daughter Mary, he was the grandfather of Dr. James Jay (1732–1815), a noted physician, and John Jay (1745–1829), a Founding Father of the United States and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Through his grandson Dr. James Jay, Van Cortlandt is the 3x great-grandfather of the 19th century strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914).[4]

References

  1. ^ Baeckelandt, Dave (17 March 2011). "Annetje Loockermans - Flemish Mother of America". The Flemish American. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  2. ^ Allaben, Frank (1908). John Watts de Peyster, Volume 1. Frank Allaben Genealogical Co. pp. 42–43. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  3. ^ "The Flemish American". flemishamerican.blogspot.com. December 6, 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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.
  5. ^ a b Patricia Heintzelman (May 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Frederick Van Cortlandt House". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  6. ^ "City Readers". www.nysoclib.org. The New York Society Library. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. ^ Significant Dates Archived 2007-03-18 at the Wayback Machine