Pierre Van Cortlandt

Pierre Van Cortlandt (* January 10, 1721 in New York; † May 1, 1814 in New York City ) was the first Lieutenant Governor (Lieutenant Governor ) of the U.S. state of New York.

Career

Van Cortlandt served a short time in the colonial forces during the American Revolution, despite the efforts, British officials to assure his loyalty to Great Britain.

He was the 1777 Chairman of the Committee of Safety in the Provincial Congress of New York. His primary work was the creation of a political structure of the state during the war. He had presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the first National Assembly, and was the first Lieutenant Governor until 1795 with his longtime friend and comrade Governor George Clinton.

Family

Pierre Van Cortlandt was the son of Philip Van Cortlandt (1683-1748), who was the son of Stephen Van Cortlandt, mayor of New York City, and Catherine DePeyster, granddaughter of John DePeyster, an ancestor of Abraham DePeyster and Arent Schuyler DePeyster, . Furthermore, was a great-uncle, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, mayor of New York City.

Van Cortlandt was with a certain Joanna, daughter of Gilbert Livingston, married. His eldest son, Philip Van Cortlandt, was a general in the Continental Army and congressman from New York.

The first wife of his second son, Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr., Catherine, daughter of George Clinton, Governor of New York and a general in the Continental Army was. A brother of Catherine, George Clinton was also a congressman from New York and the son- Congressman William Floyda. Another sister of Catherine, Mary Clinton, was married to Dr. Stephen D. Beekman, a grandson of Pierre Van Cortlandt and Joanna Livingston.

Honors

The Cortland County and the cities of Cortland Cortlandt and New York are named after him.