page_title: Maria van Cortlandt van Rensselaer
section_title: Manor of Rensselaerswyck
hierarchical_section_title: Maria van Cortlandt van Rensselaer / Manor of Rensselaerswyck
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the provinces of New York and New Jersey highlighting the Manor of Rensselaerswyck
context_page_description: Maria van Cortlandt van Rensselaer, also known as Maria van Rensselaer was the Dutch administrator and treasurer of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, now Albany, New York.
context_section_description: Upon the death of her husband, she became the administrator and treasurer of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck. The manor was owned by people in Holland, and Jeremias and then Maria, oversaw the property. Jeremias was paid for his role as Patroon, but Maria had to rely on whatever income she could generate from the farm. Rev. Nicholas van Rensselaer served as director until he died in 1678. Her brother Stephanus van Cortlandt was an advisor and bookkeeper. 
  The manor was a million acres, approximately 24 by 24 miles — or 24 by 48 miles. It had a gristmill and sawmill, which she oversaw as administrator of the manor. She also managed the finances, and negotiated agreements with Dutch family members who took income from the estate and with tenants. She had to manage attempts by van Rensselaer family members, like Nicholas, to take control of the manor, which she sought to hold for her children. Van Rensselaer became the acting director upon the death of Nicholas, with her brother, who lived in New Amsterdam, as the official director. Jasper Danckaerts, a Labadists missionary, visited the manor in 1680 and described van Rensselaer as "polite, quite well-informed, and of good life and disposition". She was a complicated woman who could be self-sacrificing and a woman of many positive traits and at other times could be "duplicitous and scheming, ambitious, avaricious, and mean-spirited". In 1687, her son Kiliaen became the fifth Patroon of the manor, upon the death of his cousin (and brother-in-law) Kiliaen.
caption: Map of Manor of Rensselaerswyck, 1777
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