Angelica Schuyler Church - Early Life

Early Life

Angelica Schuyler was born in Albany, New York; the eldest daughter of Philip Schuyler and Catharine Van Rensselaer Schuyler. Both parents came from wealthy Dutch families prominent since early colonial days. Catharine was a descendant of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, one of the founders of New Netherlands. The Schuylers were also fourth-generation residents.

Angelica came of age during the troubled times leading up to the American Revolution, and met many of the prominent revolutionary leaders. Because of her father's rank and political stature, the Schuyler house in Albany was the scene of many meetings and war councils. One of the visitors, in 1776, was John Barker Church, a British-born merchant who made a fortune during the war supplying the American and French armies. At the time of their meeting and subsequent courtship, Church was on a mission from the Continental Congress to audit army supply records. Knowing that her father would not bless their marriage because of his suspicions about Church's past, Angelica and John eloped in 1777. In 1783, they and their four children left for Europe, not to return to New York until 1797.