Stephen Van Rensselaer III built this modest two-story house at 153 Mulberry Street in 1816. Mr. Van Rensselear was 52 years old at the time and had an impressive political as well as a military resume, his rank was Major General. He was born into a very prestigious and wealthy family of the times. His father was Stephen van Rensselaer II, the 9th patron of Rensselaerswyck, and his mother was Catharina Livingston, daughter of Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He studied at Princeton and Harvard University. In 1783 he married Margarita Schuyler who also came from a highly respected family. Her father, Philip Schuyler was renowned as a Revolutionary War general.
A Federalist, Van Rensselaer was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1789 to 1791, and the New York State Senate from 1791 to 1796. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801, elected with Governor John Jay. Van Rensselaer, over his time in politics, acquired a reputation as a reformer, voting in favor of extending suffrage and going against much of New York's upper class in doing so. In 1801, Van Rensselaer presided over the state constitutional convention, was the Federalist nominee for Governor of New York, and lost to George Clinton, 24,808 votes to 20,843. He was also a member of the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1821, was elected to the House of Representatives a year later, and was a regent of the University of the State of New York.
During his lifetime, Van Rensselaer was among the richest men in America with a fortune of about $10 million, equal to about $68 billion today. Part of his fortune included a large amount of Manhattan real estate and the new house on Mulberry Street was part of it.
