Johannes Schuyler Jr. (October 1697 – November 5, 1741) was an American politician and merchant of Dutch ancestry who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, from 1740 to 1741, and as an alderman and Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Schuyler married Cornelia van Cortlandt. Her family offered a large dowry to Schuyler and a large inheritance. Together, they were the parents of ten children.
Early life and family
Schuyler was born in 1697 in Albany, New York, Province of New York. He was one of four children born to Johannes Schuyler Sr. and Elizabeth (née Staats) Wendell.[1] His father was appointed and served as the 10th Mayor of Albany from 1703 to 1706,[2] and was later a member of the provincial assembly.[3][4] His mother was a widow when she married his father and already had 11 children from her first husband, Johannes Wendell.[5] His older brother, Philip, was killed during the French and Indian raid on Saratoga in 1745.[6]
In 1733, he was a commissary at Oswego[10] and a Commissioner of Indian Affairs for eight years, having been appointed in 1734 and again in 1739.[11] Schuyler was elected alderman of the first ward in 1738 and 1739.[12] In 1739, while a prominent merchant, his father gave him the family farm at the Flats,[13] and he became seen as the head of the Albany Schuyler family. In September 1740, Schuyler was appointed and served as the Mayor of Albany, succeeding Edward Holland. He served from 1740 to 1741 when he was re-nominated, but did not take the oath of allegiance required of officeholders. Therefore, Johannes de Peyster III was appointed Mayor after Schuyler.[14]
Schuyler died on November 5, 1741, in Albany,[7] leaving his entire estate to his widow as long as she did not remarry.[14] She never remarried, and died 21 years later, at the age of 64, in Albany, New York.