Schuyler Mansion

There was no one else there so we had a private tour. Philip Schuyler was born in 1733, a descendent of Albany’s earliest settlers. In 1755 he received a captain’s commission during the French and Indian War and married Catherine Van Rensselaer whose family home still stands across the river from Albany in the City of Rensselaer. Schuyler built a home for his family on a bluff in southern downtown Albany overlooking the Dutch Church pasture. It was finished in 1764.

Schuyler was a delegate to the Continental Congress and named major general in command of the Northern Department. His Albany home became the center of his military activities was he was visited by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold, among others. Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, one of Philip’s eight children in 1780.

Schuyler had been in command of the American forces that were defeated by the British at Ticonderoga. He was relieved of his command following that battle and replaced by General Gates who led the victory at Saratoga. British General Burgoyne who was defeated at Saratoga was held as a “prisoner-guest” at the Schuyler mansion in Albany for a time.

The home had several owners following Schuyler’s death in 1804, including a Roman Catholic orphanage. In 1912 the State of New York bought it at the urging of several patriotic societies. Since 1977 a non-profit group has supported projects at the site. A number of the rooms have been restored with reproductions of the flocked wallpaper Schuyler purchased in London. All rooms are painted in the colors Schuyler chose in the 1790s. They continue to work to recreate the interior as it was when the Schuyler family lived there.