[3][4] A political ally and close friend to William Henry Seward, he was a Whig member of the New York State Assembly (Albany Co., 3rd D.) in 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852 and 1854.

[6] Pruyn was an experienced militia officer, including service as the state judge advocate general.

In 1855, Governor Myron Clark appointed him Adjutant General of the New York National Guard, replacing John Watts de Peyster.

[10] At the personal request of Seward, who was then Secretary of State, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him Minister to Japan in 1861, and he served in that capacity until 1865, when he returned to New York.

Her father, Gerrit Yates Lansing, was a U.S. Representative who served as the chancellor of the University of the State of New York.