der Hamilton, on the centennial of the formation of the New York State constitution, on the life and character of Grarfield, on the unveiling of the Bartholdi statue of Liberty, and on the 82d anniversary of the Young Men's Christian association. Yale gave him the degree of LL. I), in 1887.
DE PEYSTER, Johannes, merchant, b. in
Haarlem, Holland, about 1600; d. in New Amsterdam
(now the city of New York) about 1685. The
name was originally spelled “Peijster,” “Peister,”
or “Pester.” He came of a French Huguenot family
that took refuge in the United Provinces about
the time of the massacre of St. Bartholomew. He
emigrated to this country on account of religious
persecution. During the brief period in 1673-'4
in which the Dutch regained possession of New
Netherland, he took a prominent part in the
conduct of public affairs, and he was one of the last
to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown
on the final cession of the province to that power.
Notwithstanding this, he still continued active in
municipal affairs, under English supremacy, at
different times serving as alderman and deputy mayor,
but refusing the mayoralty on account of his
ignorance of English. At the time of his death he
was one of the wealthiest citizens of the province.
Of his sons (besides Abraham, mentioned below),
Johannes filled the mayor's chair; Isaac was a
member of the provincial legislature; and Cornelius
was the first chamberlain of the city of New
York, besides acting in various other public capacities.
— Abraham, chief justice, and eldest son of
the preceding, b. in New York city, 8 July, 1658;
d. there, 10 Aug., 1728. He was a merchant, and
amassed much wealth. He was mayor of New
York in 1691-'5, and subsequently became chief
justice of the province and president of the king's
council, in which latter capacity he acted (in 1701)
as governor. He was also appointed colonel of the
forces of the city and county of New York, and
treasurer of the provinces of New York and New
Jersey. The mansion erected by him in 1695,
which at one time was the headquarters of
Washington, remained standing until 1856. It occupied
the site now partly covered by the buildings
numbered 178 and 180 Pearl street. The bell
presented by him to the Middle Dutch church, in
Nassau street, a short time before his death, now
hangs in the Collegiate church, on Fifth avenue
and 29th street, and is in constant use. His eldest
son, Abraham, was treasurer of the province from
1721 till 1767. — Arent Schuyler, soldier, grandson
of Col. Abraham Schuyler, b. in New York city,
27 June, 1736; d. in Dumfries, Scotland, in
November, 1832. He entered the 8th regiment of
foot in 1755, served in various parts of North
America under his uncle, Col. Peter Schuyler, and
commanded at Detroit, Mackinac, and various
places in Upper Canada during the American
Revolutionary war. The Indian tribes of the northwest
were then hostile to the British, but De
Peyster, by his tact and the adoption of conciliatory
measures, entirely weaned them from the colonists.
Having risen to the rank of colonel, and
commanded his regiment many years, he retired to
Dumfries, where he resided until his death.
During the French revolution he had a large share in
enlisting and drilling the 1st regiment of Dumfries
volunteers, one of the original members of which
was Robert Burns, who dedicated to him his poem
on “Life,” and with whom he once carried on a
poetical controversy in the columns of the
Dumfries “Journal.” His nephew, Capt. Arent
Schuyler De Peyster, an American navigator,
sailed several times around the globe, and, in a pas-
sage from the western coast of America to
Calcutta, discovered in the South Pacific a group of
seventeen islands, which bear his name. — Abraham,
soldier, nephew of Arent Schuyler De
Peyster, b. in New York city in 1753; d. in St. John,
N. B., about 1799. He entered the British service,
and rose to be captain in the 4th, or “King's”
American regiment, ranking in the loyal militia as
colonel. He was originally second in command at the
battle of King's Mountain, S. C. (7 Oct., 1780), and
succeeded to the command on the death of Maj.
Ferguson. Capt. De Peyster had been paid off on the
morning of the engagement, and, when he was struck
by a bullet, its course was stopped by a doubloon
among the coin in his vest-pocket. He was, however,
wounded and taken prisoner. At the close of the
war in 1783 he was placed on the half-pay list,
retired to St. John, N. B., and was one of the grantees
of that city. He also acted as treasurer of the province.
— Frederick, soldier, brother of the preceding,
b. in New York city. While still a minor he
commanded a company raised for the protection of his
uncle, William Axtell, a member of the council.
He was subsequently a captain in the New York
(loyalist) volunteers. While he was swimming a
river on horseback in South Carolina, a bullet
passed through both of his legs and killed the horse.
At the storming of Fort Montgomery in 1777, a
detachment of his regiment was the first to enter the
works. Like his brother Abraham, he settled in St.
John, N. B., after the war, and received the grant
of a city lot. In 1792 he served as a magistrate in
the county of York. He afterward returned to
the United States. — James, soldier, brother of the
preceding, b. in New York city; d. in battle in
Flanders, 18 Aug., 1793. He was captain-lieutenant, or
lieutenant commanding the colonel's company, in
the 4th, or “King's” American regiment, entering
the service when nineteen years of age. In 1786 he
was commissioned 1st lieutenant in the Royal artillery,
commanded by his brother-in-law, Col. James.
At that time he had the reputation of being one of
the handsomest men in the British army. He was
killed, near Menin, during the campaign in Flanders.
The month previous he had a remarkable
escape from death at the siege of Valenciennes, being
buried alive by the explosion of a mine. —
Frederic, Jr., lawyer, son of Frederick, b. in New York
city, 11 Nov., 1796; d. in Tivoli, N. Y., 17 Aug.,
1882. He was graduated at Columbia in 1816,
and admitted to the bar in 1819. In 1820 he had
been appointed master in chancery, and held the
office until 1837, when his inherited fortune had
been so largely increased by judicious investments
that he was compelled to resign his office and
devote himself to the management of his estate. He
was at various periods a trustee of the Bible society,
and served on the boards of management of
many charitable and educational institutions,
besides giving liberally to their support. He was at
different times president of the New York historical
society, a founder and director of the Home
for incurables, and vice-president of the Society
for the prevention of cruelty to children, founder
of the Soldiers' home erected by the Grand Army
of the Republic, and a trustee of the New York
society library. In 1867 he received the degree of
LL. D. from Columbia, and in 1877 was elected
an honorary fellow of the Royal historical society
of Great Britain. Several of his addresses have
been published in pamphlet-form. — John Watts,
son of the preceding, author, b. in New York city,
9 March, 1821. He was educated at Columbia, but
was not graduated on account of his health. In
1845 he was elected to the colonelcy of the 111th
