
Van Cortlandt family

The Van Cortlandt family was an influential political dynasty from the seventeenth-century Dutch origins of New York through its period as an English colony, then after it became a state, and into the nineteenth century.
Among its legacy is Van Cortlandt Park and the Van Cortlandt House Museum in the Bronx, New York; the town of Cortlandt in northern Westchester County, New York; Van Cortlandt Upper Manor House in the hamlet of Cortlandt Manor, New York; Van Cortlandt Manor in the village of Croton-on-Hudson to its south; and the namesake for Cortland County, New York.
Among the family tree are members of the Philipse family, van Rensselaer family, Schuyler family, Livingston family,the de Peyster family, the Jay family (including John Jay, the Founding Father and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), and the Delanceys.
History.
Captain Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt, who was born in Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands, arrived in New Amsterdam in 1637. He was originally a soldier and bookkeeper who rose to high colonial ranks in service of the Dutch West India Company, serving many terms as burgomaster and alderman. His descendants became involved in politics and married into the best American political and influential families including the Van Rensselaer family, Schuyler family, and Livingston families.
Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York derives its name from the family. The town of Cortlandt to the north, in Westchester County, New York carries the family name as well. The Van Cortlandt House Museum was initially the residence of Frederick Van Cortlandt.