The Many Graves of Philip Schuyler

by Jessie Serfilippi

Philip Schuyler's grave
 in Albany Rural Cemetery.

There are many questions and myths surrounding the journey Philip Schuyler’s body took after his death in 1804. Some people believe there was a burial vault on Schuyler property that both he and Catharine were interred in. Others believe he was placed in the Van Rensselaer vault upon his death.

In reality, there was no Schuyler vault, and the Van Rensselaer vault was not Schuyler’s first resting place. This begs the question: where did he go?

When Philip Schuyler died at the Schuyler Mansion on November 18, 1804, he was eulogized throughout Albany and beyond. One newspaper laments: “At Albany, on Sunday evening, at 6 o’clock, P.M. after a lingering illness, Gen. PHILIP SCHUYLER, in the 73^rd year of age,­­-- As an officer of Superior merit, a most valuable citizen, and enlightened and able statesman, his loss is deeply regretted.” The Boston Gazette reports his death “At Albany, on 18^th inft. Gen. PHILIP SCHUYLER, aged 73.” While both of these newspapers cite him as being 73 at the time of his death, he was actually days shy of his 71^st birthday. An Albany newspaper still incorrectly cites him as being 71, but spends half a column extolling him:

Albany, November 22, 1804.

IT is with deep regret that we announce the death of the Hon. MAJOR GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER, on Sunday evening last, in the 71^st year of his age… A man eminent for his useful labours, in the military and civil affairs of our country. Distinguished by strength and intellect, extensive knowledge, soundness and purity of moral and political principles. He was an active, not a visionary patriot. He was wise in divising [sic], enterprising and persevering in execution of plans of great and public utility. Too intelligent to found his notions of political or civil government, upon the perfectibility of man, or upon any other views of the human character, than those derived from the experience of ages: And too honest to tell the people, that their liberties could be preserved in any other way, than by the wholesome restraints of a constitution and laws, energetic, yet free.

In private life, he was dignified but courteous; in his manners, hospitable; a pleasing and instructive companion; ardent and sincere in his friendships; affectionate in his domestic relations, and just in his dealings.

                                     The death of such a man is truly a subject of private and public sorrow.

On Wednesday his remains were entered, with military honors, in the family vault of the Hon. ABRAHAM TEN BROECK.

It is from this obituary that we learn two important facts about Schuyler’s death: he received military honors at his funeral and he was buried in the Ten Broeck family vault.

The military honors Philip Schuyler received upon his death were not unlike what deceased veterans receive today. Schuyler’s casket was draped with the American flag, then decorated with fifteen stars instead of today’s fifty. He also would have been honored with three volleys over his gravesite. This tradition originates from a signal used during ceasefire in battle to let the opposing army know all the dead have been removed from the field and the fighting may continue. It likely serves as a sign of respect for deceased veterans both now and during Schuyler’s time.

After the funeral, Schuyler’s body was placed in Abraham Ten Broeck’s vault, which sat some distance behind the Ten Broeck mansion on the north side of Albany. Schuyler was the first to be interred there. He was followed by Abraham himself in 1810, the Ten Broeck’s daughter, Margaret, in 1812, and Abraham’s wife, Elizabeth, in 1813.

While Schuyler’s body rested there peacefully for some years, that changed in the late 1830s. According to Theodore H. Fossieck, who writes twice about the vault and journey the bodies inside of it took for the Albany County Historical Association’s newsletters in August and September of 1989, the Ten Broeck’s vault fell into disrepair and collapsed in 1836.

Preceding the collapse of the vault was its journey through numerous different owners. The plot the vault sat on was sold three times between Elizabeth Ten Broeck’s death in 1813 and 1831. In addition to this, in the 1830s the City of Albany proposed the creation of three new streets in the area surrounding Ten Broeck’s former grounds, including the vault. The construction of these streets is what caused the grounds around the vault to erode, leading to its collapse in 1836.         

It is between 1839 and the late 1860s that the location of Schuyler’s body becomes somewhat of a mystery. The bodies in the Ten Broeck vault were moved by 1839, but the grounds of Albany Rural Cemetery, Schuyler’s current resting place, were not purchased until 1844. What lends further credence to the theory that Schuyler was not buried in Albany Rural until at least the late 1860s is that no General Schuyler grave site is mentioned in the first walking tour of the cemetery, which was published in 1858. It is not until 1871, in another walking tour of the cemetery, that Schuyler’s grave site is mentioned. So where was his body for about fifteen to twenty years?

A letter from a Schuyler descendant to the Albany Rural Cemetery board of trustees provides a clue. In yet another walking tour of the cemetery published in 1893, the letter, written in 1869, from this descendant, Mrs. W. Starr Miller, is included. In it she refers to “the funeral of the late Patron Van Rensselaer.” The funeral she writes about is likely that of Stephen Van Rensselaer IV, sometimes known as the “young Patroon” or “last Patroon,” who died in 1868, one year before the letter is written.

Letter from Mrs. W. Starr Miller as published
 in 1893 walking tour of the cemetery.

The Van Rensselaer Manor Home.

 

In the letter she laments finding “the old family vault broken up,” and relays surprise when she discovered that its “contents had all been removed.” Among those remains said to be moved were “Gen. Schuyler, his wife and son, John Bradstreet Schuyler [who] had been placed, and interred in the Van Rensselaer lot […] without note or mark as to the spot, save the diagram of the lot [in Albany Rural]!”

The old family vault she refers to is likely the Van Rensselaer family vault, which sat on the Van Rensselaer Manor property in Albany. When the property was later surrounded by railroads the family abandoned it, and it was eventually dismantled in the early 1890s. But even as early as 1868—at the time of Stephen Van Rensselaer IV’s funeral—the vault which held the remains of the family had crumbled beyond repair.

It is with the help of this letter that the journey Schuyler’s body took after his death becomes slightly clearer. It seems as if, after his removal from the Ten Broeck vault in the late 1830s, he was placed in the Van Rensselaer family vault. He remained there until it was pillaged, and was then removed to Albany Rural Cemetery at some point before 1868, when Mrs. Starr Miller was present for Stephen Van Rensselaer IV’s funeral, and was placed in the Van Rensselaer plot at the cemetery with no headstone to mark his resting place. While so far the exact year when this transfer took place cannot be determined, it was at some point between 1858—when the walking tour that does not include him is published— and 1868.

Monument to Philip Schuyler as pictured
in 1893 walking tour of cemetery.

In 1870 Mrs. Starr Miller was granted permission by the Albany Rural Cemetery board of trustees to move Schuyler’s body to its current resting place within those grounds. She then commissioned the monument which still marks his grave site.

Where Catharine Van Rensselaer Schuyler’s body is remains somewhat of a mystery. If she actually was in the Van Rensselaer vault with her husband at the time of his removal then it is likely that she—and her son, Johnny Bradstreet, who was said to be buried there, as well—is still in the Van Rensselaer plot in Albany Rural, where her daughter, Margaret “Peggy” Schuyler Van Rensselaer, her husband, and his second wife, are buried. Also buried there is Abraham Ten Broeck, whose grave is marked not by a headstone, but by a flag holder that declares him a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Philip Schuyler’s body went on quite the journey after his death in 1804, leading him from the Ten Broeck vault, then to the Van Rensselaer vault, and finally to Albany Rural Cemetery. Hopefully this is his final destination!

Back Hall

In the back hall you will find the rear entrance of the home which would have led into the working courtyard of the estate. From maps and descriptions, we know that this courtyard included two twenty foot by twenty foot wing buildings - a public office and a nursery; likely for plants rather than children - the kitchens, and the "necessary" (outhouse). Other buildings were interconnected with these by a covered walkway or "shed" which extended from this back entrance, but 19th-century changes to the property left modern historians with little evidence of where precisely these buildings may have been during the Schuyler's residence. They included a "lumber loft", "fowl yard" (chicken houses), a "small room to warm in", a gardening shed for tools and seeds, an ice house, and a coach house. Reference to a room with an "ash hole" beneath may imply that a furnace for smithing was also available, or that this building was intended for soaking wood ashes to make lye, needed in the making of soaps.

A scaled portion of a 1790s map of Albany
shows less than half of Philip's estate,
including a 2 acre enclosed yard where
the labor for the house was done by
enslaved servants and laborers.

This courtyard would have been the work space for many of the people enslaved by the Schuylers. This grueling labor involved long days working as carters, cart-wrights, laundresses, cooks, servants, smiths, and carpenters. Census records show between 8 and 13 enslaved laborers in residence at the property at any given time, and references in family letters imply that they did the majority of the skilled and semi-skilled labor that kept this household running. This back hall space was their entrance to the home.Shipping barrels are on display to demonstrate the types of goods the family was importing from Europe and the other colonies. [Read about the movement of goods by enslaved laborers Lisbon, Dick, and Bob]

The most famous feature of the back hall is the noticeable gouge in the railing of the staircase, purportedly the result of a historically documented attack on the house - when a force of Loyalist militia and British soldiers attempted to kidnap Philip Schuyler from his home in August 1781. While Philip and the family were unharmed, several defenders were wounded during the fighting and two of Philip's "life guards" (body guards) were taken prisoner. The gouge in the Bannister became infamous through a later family legend attached to this Loyalist attack which attributes the mark to a tomahawk. The story claims that the Schuyler's infant daughter Caty was left downstairs during the attack, and a throwing ax was thrown at 3rd daughter Margaret "Peggy" Schuyler when she went to retrieve her baby sister. Primary sources from both Philip Schuyler and the Loyalist band led by Captain Jans Waltermeyer however, make this story unlikely, and the true origins of the mark remain a mystery.

A legend, first told in a memoir of youngest daughter Catharine Schuyler Cochran Malcolm (Caty) in the 1830s, spread like wildfire during the 19th-Century as an explanation for a cut discovered in the banister of the Schuyler's former home. There are no contemporary mentions of the mark in the railing, or the story that spawned from it, during the Schuyler's residence (c.1765-1804). The earliest versions of the story relate it to the Loyalist kidnapping attempt in 1781 (see the British uniforms in the background of far left) whereas later versions turn the story into an Indian raid, which never occurred on the property.

With the Front Entrance at Your Back:

Going backwards will bring you to the Central Hall

Left will bring you to the Library

Right will bring you to the Dining Chamber

The staircase will bring you upstairs into the Salon

Other Rooms:

Formal Parlor

Family Parlor

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Bed Chamber

Schuyler describes parterre gardens in the French style to the
south of the house (image from OldHouseOnline). These gardens
would have provided a view to the guests of the Formal Parlor
and Green Bedchamber, as well as a recreational area where
guests could take strolls and have lively conversations in the
beauty of nature. Burgoyne described such walks during his stay.

This room was considered the best bedchamber of the house due to the elegant woodwork and furnishings, the sunlight it receives throughout the day, and the views - the rolling pastures which led to the Hudson River to the east, and the 200ft by 200ft formal parterre gardens which would have lain to the south. This room was used by Philip and Catharine but could also be given over to their most esteemed guests, inlcuding Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, the Marquis de Chastellux, and British General John Burgoyne.

British General John Burgoyne
by Joshua Reynolds. Virtually
unknown for his military career
in England, John Burgoyne
was a famous poet and playwright
  before and after fighting
in the American Revolution.

Burgoyne's stay is particularly intriguing and well documented, as he was taken as "Prisoner Guest" after his surrender to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga. Much of the battle of Saratoga took place on Schuyler's industrial estate in Bemis Heights (Schuylerville) by his design, and since many of his buildings were burned as part of Burgoyne's attack, Schuyler remained at that property while Burgoyne, along with an entourage of other prisoners, French and Continental officers, aides-de-camp, and other personnel, were escorted to the Albany home and placed under Catharine's care. Despite their status as prisoners, Catharine treated Burgoyne and the other captured officers as esteemed guests, surrendered the nicest rooms in the house to them, fed them multiple course meals, and treated them with respect and dignity. This "gentlemanly" treatment was an expectation of warfare of the period, and benefited Schuyler and wealthy officers like him, who hoped to be treated the same should they be captured by the British. It also served to remind people of Philip's insturmental role in the 1777 campaign, in which he led the Northern Army prior to Gates being given command by teh Continental Congress in August.The chaos described on Catharine's behalf - as Continental (American) troops stationed in the farmland uprooted crops, stole fruits and vegetables, ate the laying hens, and milked the dairy cows, making it difficult for her to supply the visitor's inside - did not seem to phase Burgoyne, who later described the stay as pleasant and purportedly sent a pair of shoe-buckles back to 3rd daughter Peggy, as thanks for the friendship extended to him during his stay (the buckles in question are on display in the Visitor's Center).

Philip Schuyler's house in Bemis Heights (Schuylerville), as rebuilt by Schuyler after the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. The house still stands and is open to the public seasonally as part of the Saratoga National Battlefield Park operated by the National Park Service. Philip spent the fall of 1777 rebuilding while Burgoyne and co. were sent to Schuyler's Albany home.

Philip and Catharine would also invite guests to share more intimate meals with them in this room.

Philip’s personal attendant, an enslaved man named Prince, would have assisted Philip with his morning and evening toilette, pouring hot water into the wash basin, combing and powdering Philip’s hair (a lengthy process in itself), and assisting him with his garments. Catharine would have had a similar attendant, perhaps a woman referred to as "CatyBetty" (Caty's Betty) in letters and receipts.

The medicine chest on the floor is representative of Schuyler’s poor health, for which he was regularly treated by Dr. Samuel Stringer. Stringer’s treatments included bleeding and purging, the use of “Peruvian Bark”, an early form of quinine for fevers, opium as a pain killer, and an early oxygen machine for Philip’s use. [Read about Dr. Stringer in the Revolution.]

As You Exit:

You will pass through the Salon

Straight ahead you will find the Yellow Chamber

Diagonal from this room is the Blue Chamber

Left will bring you downstairs to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber (Downstairs)

Central Hall (Downstairs)

Formal Parlor (Downstairs)

Family Parlor (Downstairs)

Yellow Bed Chamber

Portraits of 4 of the Schuyler daughters & 1 of
the sons are shown throughout the house. Here
is the 3rd daughter, Peggy. The existence of
portraits of all of the daughters likely speaks
to the relative success of the women, and the
middle son of the family, compared to their
two other brothers.

The Schuyler’s five daughters, Angelica, Elizabeth, Peggy, Cornelia, and Caty may have used this room as a bedchamber from the 1760’s onward. If, that is, guests did not require the space, which resides on the brightest side of the house, and therefore would have been the second most desirable chamber (see the Green Chamber across the hall for more on this).

The girls were quite spread-out in age with the oldest and youngest daughters sharing a birthday 25 years apart. The same year that mother Catharine birthed her youngest daughter at 47 years old (1781), Angelica was home pregnant with her third child, and Elizabeth home pregnant with her first. The older girls would often return to visit, perhaps sharing their old room with their younger sisters. The cradle on display is believed to be original to the family.

Examples of the girls’ academic and artistic pursuits are visible in the room. Margaret (better known as Peggy) and Elizabeth were talented painters, while needlework was an important and refined skill for all young ladies of the family. On the chest of drawers against the east wall is Elizabeth’s day-box, used to carry sewing materials and other important items. Among English colonists, in particular, women's education could seem proscribed and ornamental. [Read colonial doctor and educational philosopher Benjamin Rush's Thoughts upon Female Education]. However, Philip, following in the traditions of his Dutch heritage, encouraged his daughters to read a broad variety of subjects, including history, geography, arithmetic, philosophy, and French. Later letters from the girls indicate that their education did not end with these subjects. Instead, the girls explored subjects such as German, Latin, finance, astronomy, and many more.

Read about the enslaved women who would have attended on Catharine and her daughters.

As You Exit:

You will pass through the Salon

The door to your right along this wall is the Blue Chamber

Straight ahead you will find the Green Chamber

Right will bring you downstairs to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber (Downstairs)

Central Hall (Downstairs)

Formal Parlor (Downstairs)

Family Parlor (Downstairs)

Blue Bed Chamber

This William Hogarth drawing shows men meeting in a home of
a common size for most 18th-Century people. If one was lucky
enough to have a second floor, that was typically used to separate
out a space for sleeping, but the space was still used by a whole
family. Even in wealthy households like the Schuylers', it was not
common to designate rooms or beds to particular family members.

This room interpreted as a bedchamber for the Schuylers’ three sons, John Bradstreet, Philip Jeremiah, and Rensselaer. [Read about eldest son, John Bradstreet Schuyler's flamboyant style.] However, within the 18th-Century, there was very little privacy, even in wealthy households where space was not an issue. It was not uncommon for the boys to lose their bed (singular, as it was common for young people to share a single bed with 2-4 other people), or even give up their room to guests. Mattresses on the floor represent one possible location for the boys as guests took over the beds.

The two “travelling beds” or "field beds" on display are of a style popular with wealthy travelers and high-ranking military officers, who would bring such beds and mattresses with them on long trips and out onto the campaign trail. The rope net under the mattress made it possible to disassemble the bed, which could then collapse and fit into a wagon. In the home, the labor of setting up and breaking down the beds, aided by the T-shaped bed key, visible on the left-hand mattress, fell to the enslaved servants of the family who would also be responsible for carrying luggage.

This mezzotint image shows a young girl, Charlotte
Mercier, playing with a "bilbo catch" style of cup and ball toy.  

Signs can be found in this room of the boys' play. See if you can find the 18th-Century toys, including a cup & ball or "bilbo catch", Jacob's ladder, and hoop & stick. As the boys grew up, play would have turned into leisure activities only available to the wealthy, like sport hunting, represented by the hunting boots and the fowling gun in the northeast corner. You may have noticed fire buckets, like the one near to the stanchions in this room throughout the house. Read about them here.

As You Exit:

You will pass through the Salon

The door to your left along this wall is the Yellow Chamber

Diagonal from this room is the Green Chamber

Right will bring you downstairs to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber (Downstairs)

Central Hall (Downstairs)

Formal Parlor (Downstairs)

Family Parlor (Downstairs)

Salon

This spacious hallway, referred to as the “Salon” or “Saloon” by the Schuyler family, served as the

venue for dancing, parties, concerts and other social activities. As in the rest of the house, guests could expect to be waited on by enslaved servants throughout the festivities.

Dancing, posture, and etiquette would have been part of the schooling for both the girls and boys of the family, in order to ready them for the social life that awaited them as adult members of wealthy society. The boys may have learned swordsmanship from the same instructors as dancing and posture since both involved intricate footwork. [Swordsmanship was more than a gentleman's sport in the 18th-Century. Read about it.]

Musicians may have been placed in front of the back window, leaving more space for socializing and tactfully redirecting visitors’ attention away from the view of the working courtyard behind the house, and towards the majestic view of the Hudson River offered by the East-facing windows at the other end of the Salon. As indicated by a 1766 painting by British military artist Thomas Davies, which you see reproduced and enlarged on the East windows, visitors would have been able to watch vessels sailing the Hudson from this vantage point, including vessels owned or hired by Philip Schuyler to transport goods to and from his farming estate and mills at Saratoga or to and from New York City. The trip from Albany to New York or vise versa, averaged about a week's journey. [Read more about trade goods and fashion items the Schuylers were importing from New York and Europe.]

Based off of landscape features shown on the far side of the river, this painting was painted from just in front of Schuyler Mansion. The Dutch building shown in the center pane is likely meant to represent Crailo, the heart of the Van Rensselaer estate belonging to Catharine's father. This building still stands today as Fort Crailo State Historic Site in the city of Rensselaer.

Like Philip Schuyler, Thomas Davies, the painter of this "View of Green Bush" served in the British military during the French and Indian War. That conflict had come to an end only a few years before he painted this image. While there is no evidence that Davies knew Schuyler personally, Davies would have been familiar with the officer on whose land he sat when he painted this image. Some historians posit that the man in the brown coat at the front of this image may be Philip Schuyler, painted in by Davies as a nod to the gentleman property owner.

[The first door on the right is a temporary exhibit space which is only open to the public when there is an exhibit installed. During the Schuyler's time, this would have been an additional bedchamber, but changes made to the home over the 19th-Century - including the addition of the servants' staircase seen here - has led modern historians not to interpret this space with historic furnishings. If the door is open, you are welcome to enter the exhibit space. For your safety, please DO NOT use the gated servants' stair at any time.]

With the Stairs at Your Back:

The first door on your left is the Blue Chamber

The second door on your left is the Yellow Chamber

The second door on your right is the Green Chamber

Going downstairs will bring you to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Central Hall (Downstairs)

Library (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber (Downstairs)

Formal Parlor (Downstairs)

Family Parlor (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber

This model, in the Visitor's Center, gives an impression
of the working courtyard which once stood, connected
by a covered walkway, to the back of the house. This area
would have been the working, and likely living area for
the people enslaved by the Schuyler family. The kitchen
was the second building on the north wall of the courtyard.

"Dining rooms" as we know them today - a separate space used only for meals and post-meal socialization - did not become popular in America until the 1790s. Since most houses in Europe and the Colonies were only one or two rooms, the concept of using one's limited space for a singular purpose was not even possible for most families. Though this space would have served other purposes in the early years of the house, the Schuylers would have been early adapters of the dining chamber.

The novelty of this type of space would have been only the beginning of the decadence of this room when the Schuylers entertained guests. Polished silver and wood work, shining mirrors, exotic fruits, and elegant twisted-stem glassware reflected a deep sense gentility. The silver epergne on the side board, which displayed fruits, desserts or garnishes, is an original family piece, engraved with Schuyler's crest. 

Volunteer Donald Hyman portrays Prince, a valet
and personal attendant enslaved by Philip Schuyler.
He is dressed in livery - the wool and silk uniform worn
by household servants who would be seen by guests.

The status of the family would have been further displayed by the presence of enslaved servants. The men, and sometimes young boys [read more about Hanover, a child born into enslavement at the house], clad in bright yellow livery coats waited upon the Schuylers and their guests at meals. The absence of windows along the east wall helped to hide the labor taking place in the courtyard from view, including the food preparation, which was done by enslaved women in a detached kitchen [read about uncovering the identities of these female slaves]. The door on the east wall would have led into a covered walkway that attached the working buildings of the courtyard and allowed food to be brought directly into this space.

On the same wall are portraits of middle son Philip Jeremiah and his second wife, Mary Ann Sawyer. Philip Jeremiah attended Trinity College (formerly Kings College, currently Columbia University) and became a New York State Assemblyman, and is often considered the most successful of the three sons. The second youngest daughter, Cornelia, is depicted on the south wall with her husband, Washington Morton, with whom she eloped in October of 1797. Morton claims that Cornelia leapt from a second-story bedroom window in order to elope with him, but other parts of the story (and common sense) suggest that this was exaggeration. All four paintings are by artist Thomas Sully, who was commissioned by the two couples in turn to paint portraits as gifts to one another. Sully also painted the portrait of president Andrew Jackson which is currently on the US twenty dollar bill.

Left; Sarah Rutsen Schuyler and Right; Philip Jeremiah Schuyler. Young Philip's first wife Sarah died in childbirth. The fact that multiple portraits are available of Philip J. while no portraits seem to exist of oldest son John B. or youngest son Rensselaer Schuyler, is an indicator of the comparative success of this middle son. Note also the changes in  hair and clothing styles from these Robere portraits (c.1795) to the Thomas Sully paintings (c.1810) in the dining chamber.

As You Exit :

You will pass through the Back Hall

Left will bring you to the Central Hall

Straight ahead, you will find the Library

Right will bring you upstairs into the Salon

Other Rooms:

Formal Parlor

Family Parlor

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)

Library

Philip Schuyler’s library generally contained over two hundred books at any one time, including books on law, math, science, philosophy, architecture and engineering, navigation, history, and a smattering of popular fiction and poetry. There were books in at least six languages - Dutch, English, French, German, Latin, and Greek- suggesting Philip had some of level of literacy in each of these languages. Tutors would have taught Philip in his youth, but given a dearth of university education available in the area (a problem Philip hoped to rectify when he helped found Union College in Schenectady), much of Schuyler's "higher education" would have been acquired through self-study.

Schuyler likely worked on personal, political, and military business from this room, perhaps from a round-about chair like the one on display, designed for writing [read about the green round-about chair]. Around the room you will see objects reflecting his many and varied careers, including maps indicating his work as New York State Surveyor; papers and currency indicating his business affairs as manager of a 20,000 acre industrial estate in Saratoga County; and maps, letters, and sword as tokens of his military career, during which he served first during the French and Indian War under the command of John Bradstreet, and then during the American Revolution as Major General under the command of George Washington. Throughout, and even after his military service, Philip Schuyler was operating a "Cabinet Noir" and spy network out of Albany. He was writing encoded letters, reading the majority of mail that was sent through Albany, and had agents, including some masquerading as Loyalists, who would report back to him with sensitive information, which was used to gain advantage in several battles throughout the Revolution. [Philip wasn't the only Schuyler interested in military intelligence; read about Angelica and women's military activity]. The painting above the mantel is of the Cahoes Falls just North of Albany on the Mohawk river. These were an obstacle to early water travel on the Mohawk, which inspired Philip to orchestrate a canal system to Lake Ontario as founder and president of the Northern and Western Inland Lock and Navigation Company.

A page from a 1780 letter from John Jay to Philip

Schuyler requesting Schuyler "send me a Plan and

Explanation of the Cypher you once shewed me at

Rhynebeck", referring to a Vigenère cypher which

used the name of Philip's personal attendant,
and enslaved man named Prince, to encode letters.

Though the Library was a private study, Philip occasionally invited guests, including John Jay and Benjamin Franklin, into this space for conversation, study, or to view his papers, all the while attended by servants bound to the family. [Read about Lewis, Schuyler's coachman who served Benjamin Franklin on one such visit] Alexander Hamilton used Philip’s library to study for his bar exams beginning in 1782. A young Aaron Burr also received such an invitation after establishing his law firm in Albany. Conversations in the library could continue well into the night, with the enslaved bringing in regular refreshments and tending to the candles as the evening wore on with discussions of politics, military affairs, business, or horticulture.

As You Exit :

You will pass through the Back Hall

Right will bring you to the Central Hall

Straight ahead, you will find the Dining Room

Left will bring you upstairs into the Salon

Other Rooms:

Best Parlor

Yellow Parlor

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Parlor

After the formal entertainment of the Best Parlor, friends and family would gather in the more intimate Yellow Parlor for conversation and relaxation. They may have played cards, viewed detailed prints through the perspective glass on the desk, read, served afternoon tea, and even dined in this chamber.

It was a space used daily during the winter months, when the Schuylers would condense their activities to only a few rooms, avoiding the cold in the rest of the unheated home. Every morning before sunrise at this time of year, enslaved servants would close doors, shutter the windows inside and outside, and stoke a fire to prepare the room for the family's use. With its colorful flocked wallpaper, Brussels carpet, and painted woodwork, this room was bright and cheerful in the summer, and comfortably warm in the winter. [Read about: the wallpaper  -  the carpeting  - and the comparative cost of such items. You can also see the receipts for these furnishings, purchased by Philip Schuyler, on the table in the Center Hall]. The textiles and furniture that make this room so welcoming would have required frequent attention to remain at their most vibrant; work performed by enslaved women.

A portrait of youngest daughter Caty, an adult with one of her own children, adorns the far wall [see Best Parlor for a portrait of young Caty]. 

A page from the back of the Schuyler family bible shows birth
and death records recorded in Philip Schuyler's hand.

To the left of the fireplace is displayed the Schuyler family's 1719 Dutch-print bible, passed down from Philip Schuyler's father and grandfather. In addition to illuminated scripture, it also contains Philip’s handwritten record of his marriage to Catharine in 1755, the births of the fifteen children born to Catharine over the years, and the unfortunate, but all too common, deaths of 7 of those children, including a set of twins and a set of triplets, in infancy [read about mortality and life span in the 18th century]. These family records are also written in Dutch, both Philip's and Catharine's first language.

As You Exit :

You will pass through the Central Hall

Straight ahead, you will find the Best Parlor

Right will bring you to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library

Dining Room

Salon (Upstairs Hall)

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)

Best Parlor

Receipts and visitor descriptions for the Best Parlor

suggest that wallpaper and carpeting for the space

incorporated blue designs. Recent grants from 

Governor Cuomo and Parks & Trails New York will

allow us to reproduce the 18th century carpet shown

 here for future display in this room.

The Southeast chamber served as a room for formal entertainment and important family functions. In its day, it was a showpiece of refined furnishing. While today the walls and floor are bare, this room would have displayed bright silk wall-coverings and an ornamental carpet, as well as a papier-mâché ceiling [read more about papier-mâché and the future restoration] and rich upholstery. The shield-back chairs and sofa are original to the family [read about the fabric on these family pieces, and see them deconstructed]. The furniture positioned against the wall would have been rearranged by enslaved servants to accommodate whatever function the parlor was serving at the time, whether it be military meetings, musical entertainment, or festive dinners.

This parlor served as the venue for important family events, including musical performances by the Schuyler children, baptisms, the funeral of oldest son John Bradstreet Schuyler, and the famous wedding between
Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler (both depicted on the South wall) on December 14th, 1780. This wedding was a small affair by modern standards, but typical of the time. The Schuylers family members present at the home that winter, and Captain James McHenry, who accompanied Hamilton on his military leave, were likely the only guests. The winter setting of the wedding necessitated the use of the parlor, as the larger hallways had no fireplace openings and could not be heated.

Caroline McIntosh (née Carmichael) was living as a widow
in the Schuyler Mansion in the 1850s. Her meeting with
Millard Fillmore is speculated to have been arranged by
Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, who grew up and married
in the home more than 70 years prior.

In 1858, former-president Millard Fillmore also married - to then owner Caroline McIntosh - in this room. There are usually pamphlets, "A Century of Change" available at the rear door of the mansion which can tell you more about the 19th century history of the home, or ask a staff member.

Portraits of eldest daughter Angelica (left, with her son and a servant) and youngest daughter Caty (right, sitting in front of a piano forté) flank the doorway. Angelica became an infamous part of this family's history when she became the first of the Schuyler children to elope, marrying the dashing, young Englishman, John "Carter" in 1777. "Carter" turned out to be an alias for John Barker Church, and his hidden identity was likely the reason the couple did not seek parental permission, instead marrying in Greenbush and staying with Angelica's maternal grandparents at Crailo. At least 3 more of the Schuyler children- Philip Jeremiah, Cornelia, and Caty - followed in Angelica's footsteps by eloping.

John Barker Church was a rakish figure who came
to the Colonies under the assumed name "Carter"
in 1774. He was sent to the mansion to audit Philip
Schuyler's accounts on behalf of Congress in 1777.

As You Exit :

You will pass through the Central Hall

Straight ahead, you will find the Yellow Parlor

Left will bring you to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library

Dining Room

Salon (Upstairs Hall)

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)

Central Hall - Introduction

Welcome to Schuyler Mansion's Digital Self-Guided Tour! 

After this introduction, you can explore the Mansion in any direction you want. Please refer to the map to find the correct information for each room. You will find links for each room at the bottom of the post. Links interspersed throughout the text of this article will take you to further reading material on the topic from within Schuyler Mansion's Blog (unless otherwise noted). If you have any questions, please ask a staff member or volunteer.

An Introduction to the Home and Family:

Built between 1761 and 1765, this English-style Georgian Mansion was the centerpiece of a more than 80-acre estate belonging to Philip John Schuyler and Catharine van Rensselaer Schuyler. This elegant and spacious Georgian-style mansion, originally situated in a rural setting just outside of the 18^th century city of Albany, was a powerful symbol of the family’s status and affluence, and of the important role Philip Schuyler played in the politics and military affairs of his time. Over the course of his life, Philip Schuyler would serve as a Major General in the Continental Army, Delegate to the Continental Congress, Senator at both a State and Federal level, Surveyor General for New York, and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. He also operated an extensive military intelligence and espionage network, incorporated the Western and Northern Inland Lock Navigation Companies, and was a major landholder and land-speculator in the early American republic.

This 1805 James Eights painting shows Albany as it would have looked when Schuyler begins construction of Schuyler Mansion  in 1761. Philip grew up in a Dutch home similar to the brick structures, shown here, on the corner of modern S. Pearl & State Streets. Though Philip and Catharine are both Dutch, they built an English Georgian home, which would have been a novelty in contrast with Dutch Albany.

The Schuylers raised eight children to adulthood in this home, and hosted such notable guests as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Madame de la Tour du Pin, Talleyrand, and British General John Burgoyne. The family and their guests would have enjoyed a refined lifestyle, surrounded by elegant textiles and the most tasteful furniture available. Entertainment included sumptuous meals, enlightened conversation, strolls in the garden, music and dancing; all of the trappings of an aristocratic 18^th century lifestyle.

This house was also home to approximately thirty people of African descent over the years, enslaved by the Schuyler family. This included eight to fourteen men, women, and children held in bondage at any one time. Some of these individuals worked in the house itself, waiting on the Schuylers and their guests and attending to household chores. Others labored in the courtyard originally located behind the house, cooking, making and repairing necessary goods, driving carts and wagons, and tending to livestock.

Today the home has been decorated to represent the family’s interests, as well as the tastes and styles of the period. The house is also undergoing long-term efforts to restore it as nearly as possible to the period of the Schuylers’ residence.

This is a portrait of Catharine Schuyler's cousin,
Catharine van Cordtland van Rensselaer. The dress shown
in both images did not belong to either woman, but instead
was copied from painting to painting, by multiple artists,
as these wealthy ladies tried to emulate one-another.
[Read about what was and wasn't appropriate in 
18th-Century Women's Fashion]

The Central Hall:

The wide center space you are standing in now was used to receive guests, hold small gatherings, and sometimes served as a dining chamber.  The wallpaper, The Ruins of Rome, was an English import and a clear symbol of the family’s wealth and refinement [learn more about this wallpaper and the 2016/17 restoration effort to display it on the walls once more]. Prominent guests arriving at the home may have been greeted personally by Philip Schuyler. For others, the first person to greet them often would have been one of the enslaved members of the household, possibly a man named Prince, who served as Philip’s personal attendant [read our brief overview of slavery in NY/Albany]. Due to the volume of guests that came through the home, a floor cloth, like the one you are standing on, was the perfect material for a hallway [read more]. The arch in the center of the space reinforced social protocol and class distinctions, serving as a buffer between the more public chambers at the front of the house, and the more exclusive areas beyond. Portraits of Philip and Catharine Schuyler hang either side of the arch.

With the Front Entrance at Your Back:

Left will bring you to the Best Parlor

Right will bring you to the Yellow Parlor

Straight ahead, you will find the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library

Dining Room

Salon (Upstairs Hall)

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)