He was the son of Revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler (1733–1804) and Catherine Van Rensselaer (1734–1803).

Alexander Hamilton, John Barker Church, and Stephen Van Rensselaer were all his brothers-in-law.

She was a daughter of Micajah Sawyer (1737–1817), a founding member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences[4] and Sibyl Farnham (1747–1842).

His home, an estate he called The Grove, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

[9] Schuyler was a prominent society figure who was featured in Ward McAllister's famous The Four Hundred.