Schuyler Hall

Schuyler Hall is named for the prominent local Dutch Schuyler family. Pieter Schuyler became the first mayor of Albany by royal appointment in 1686 on traveling to New York to receive the Albany Charter. As commissioner of the Indian Board he is credited with conducting many successful negotiations with Native American tribes. Pieter served as presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1691-1706. Schuyler was a member of the Provincial Assembly and served as Vice Governor. Philip John Schuyler, 1733-1804, is best known as an American Revolutionary War general. Schuyler served in the French and Indian Wars, and in the New York Assembly, 1768-1775. He was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1775 where he was a strong supporter of the colonial cause declaring "I care not what others may do; as for me and my house, we will serve our country." Schuyler was named a major general and put in charge of the Northern Department. Schuyler planned the defenses of Albany in the face of British General John Burgoyne's military expedition from Canada, but was dismissed from command after the surrender of Fort Ticonderoga without a shot. Schuyler's replacement, General Horatio Gates, won the Battle of Saratoga. Schuyler insisted on a court-martial and was acquitted. He became a member of the Continental Congress, 1779-1780, where he favored adopting the Constitution, and twice served as U.S. Senator from New York. He was an early advocate of the Erie Canal and a founder of Union College. The Schuyler homes in Schuylerville and Albany (the present-day Historic Cherry Hill) are now both museums. His daughter Elizabeth married Alexander Hamilton in the family's Albany home.