Van Rensselaer, Margarita, 1758-1801

Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer (September 19, 1758 – March 14, 1801) was the third daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler. She was the wife of Stephen Van Rensselaer III, sister of Angelica Schuyler Church, Philip Jeremiah Schuyler, and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and sister-in-law of John Barker Church and Alexander Hamilton. Peggy Schuyler was born in Albany, New York on September 19, 1758, the third daughter of Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler (1734–1803) and Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), In June 1783, Peggy married Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764–1839), a distant cousin, who was 19 at the time; she was almost 25 when they eloped. Stephen was the eldest child of Stephen Van Rensselaer II, the ninth patroon of Rensselaerswyck, and Catharina Livingston, daughter of Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.[7] By 1789, their marriage had resulted in three children, all of whom were baptized at the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany.[9] Only one survived to adulthood: Stephen Van Rensselaer IV (1789–1868).[10] Peggy became ill in 1799. Her condition worsened during the winter of 1800–01, and she died on March 14, 1801.