Solomon van Vechten van Rensselaer (August 9, 1774 – April 23, 1852) was a United States representative from the state of New York, a lieutenant colonel during the War of 1812, and postmaster of Albany for 17 years.

Early life

Solomon van Rensselaer was born on August 9, 1774, in Greenbush in the Province of New York, the son of Hendrick Kiliaen "Henry" Van Rensselaer (1744–1816) and Alida Bratt. He completed preparatory studies in East Greenbush.

Career

He appointed as a cornet in the United States Army in 1792, was promoted to captain in July 1793, and then to major in January 1799, before being honorably discharged in June 1800. He was Adjutant General of New York from 1801 to 1809, 1810 to 1811, and 1813 to 1821. He served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant colonel of New York State Militia. He was elected as a Federalist to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth United States Congresses, and served from March 4, 1819, to January 14, 1822, when he resigned. He was postmaster of Albany, New York from 1822 to 1839, and from 1841 to 1843 and a delegate from New York at the opening of the Erie Canal on November 4, 1825. He owned slaves; though he was opposed to the extension of slavery into newly-acquired territories, Van Rensselaer continued to own slaves until New York's gradual emancipation law ended the practice in 1827.

Personal life

In January 1797, he married his cousin, Harriet "Arriet" Van Rensselaer (1775–1840), the daughter of Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1747–1798), granddaughter of Robert Sanders, and the owner of the Cherry Hill mansion. Of their many children, only five daughters and one son survived to maturity: Van Rensselaer died near Albany, aged 77. He was interred in the North Dutch Church Cemetery, in Albany, and reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery. His home at Albany, Cherry Hill, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. As his sons had all predeceased Solomon, his daughter, Harriet Maria Elmendorf inherited Cherry Hill.