His father was director of the Eastern patent of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck which covered roughly 62,000 acres of land in what is now Columbia County.
In describing the Van Rensselaer family, historian author William L. Stone stated: "They consisted of eighteen males in 1776.
"[3] His maternal grandparents were the former Catharine Roeloffe Jans and merchant Johannes Pieterse Van Brugh.
[4] He was commissioned as a colonel in his brother's 4th Regiment, Albany County Militia, Rensselaerswyck battalion on October 20, 1775, during the American Revolution.
[4] Van Rensselaer was seriously wounded by a shot in the hip during the Battles of Saratoga that forced him to discontinue further service.