[1] He was the son of Brigadier General Goose Van Schaick (1736–1789), a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War,[2] and Maria (née Ten Broeck) Van Schaick (1750–1829).
[5] During his tenure in the City Council, Assembly and State Senate, he was the driving force behind the planning, and enacting of the pertinent legislation, of the construction of the Croton Aqueduct.
[6] When the aqueduct was inaugurated in 1842, Van Schaick was appointed to the Water Board, and remained in office until 1848, part of the time as Chairman.
Together, they were the parents of:[9][10] Van Schaick died at his residence on December 1, 1865.
1863), who married Count Alexander in Florence, Italy on June 8, 1886, and Eugene Van Schaick (1865–1916), who married Minnie Delamater Haulenbeck (1863–1922), daughter of Peter Delamater and Ellen (née Kronkjeit) Haulenbeck.