Rensselaer Westerlo

Rensselaer Westerlo (May 6, 1776 – April 18, 1851) was a United States representative from New York and a member of the prominent Livingston family. Born during the closing months of the American Revolution, he came of age in a period when New York was emerging as a political and commercial center of the new nation. Through both birth and marriage he was connected to influential Hudson Valley families, a background that helped shape his later public career and positioned him within the Federalist political tradition of the early republic.

Details of Westerlo’s early life and formal education are not extensively documented, but his family’s standing and connections to the Livingston lineage indicate that he likely received the kind of classical and legal education typical of young men of his social class in New York at the turn of the nineteenth century. Growing up in an environment closely tied to the political and legal affairs of the state, he would have been exposed from an early age to public questions of law, commerce, and governance, which prepared him for later service in elective office.

Before entering national politics, Westerlo established himself within the civic and social life of New York. As a member of a well-known family with extensive ties in Albany and the surrounding region, he was part of the network of landholders, lawyers, and merchants who played a central role in the state’s political culture. His connections to the Livingston family, one of the most influential dynasties in New York, further reinforced his status and helped to situate him within the Federalist Party, which drew much of its strength from established commercial and professional elites.

As a member of the Federalist Party representing New York, Rensselaer Westerlo contributed to the legislative process during one term in office as a United States representative. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, when the young republic was still defining the balance between federal and state authority, shaping its financial institutions, and navigating complex foreign relations. In this context, Westerlo participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents, aligning with Federalist principles that emphasized a strong national government, support for commerce, and a cautious approach to democratic expansion.

Westerlo’s personal life reflected the interwoven relationships of leading New York families in the nineteenth century. He was the father of several children, including Catherine Westerlo (1806–1890), Elizabeth Van Rensselaer Westerlo (born 1816), Cornelia Lansing Westerlo (1826–1876), Mary Lansing Westerlo (1826–1876), Eliardus Westerlo (who died in 1859), and Joanna Westerlo. Through these children and their marriages, the Westerlo family remained connected to the Van Rensselaer and Lansing families and continued to occupy a place in the social and civic life of the region.

In his later years, Westerlo continued to reside in Albany, New York, where he remained associated with the city’s legal, political, and social circles. He lived to see the transformation of New York from a post-revolutionary state into a rapidly industrializing and expanding center of commerce and politics. Rensselaer Westerlo died in Albany on April 18, 1851. He was interred at Albany Rural Cemetery, a resting place for many of the state’s notable political and social figures, underscoring his position within the civic and familial elite of his time.