The Stuyvesant family is a family of American politicians and landowners in New York City. The family is of Dutch origin and is descended from Peter Stuyvesant (1610–1672), who was born in Peperga, Friesland, Netherlands and served as the last Dutch Director-General of New Netherland.
Members
Peter Stuyvesant (1610–1672), the Director-General of New Netherland who was involved with the Dutch West India Company. Peter Stuyvesant (1727–1805), a landowner and philanthropist in New York. Nicholas William Stuyvesant (1769–1833), a New York landowner and merchant Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847), a New York landowner and philanthropist Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), a U.S. Representative, Lieutenant Governor of New York, Governor of New York, U.S. Senator from New York, and U.S. Secretary of State. John Winthrop Chanler (1826–1877), a lawyer and a U.S. Representative from New York. Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1843–1909), a socialite and land developer. Stuyvesant Fish (1851–1923), president of the Illinois Central Railroad. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (1864–1945), an Assistant Secretary of War. Edith Stuyvesant Gerry (1873–1958), a philanthropist who was married to George Washington Vanderbilt II and U.S. Senator Peter Goelet Gerry.
Legacy
Peter Stuyvesant, the son of a Calvinist minister, and his family were large landowners in the northeastern portion of New Amsterdam arising from his period as the last Dutch Director-General of New Netherland. Stuyvesant was known as:
"a man of strong individuality, great firmness and remarkable foresight, he so impressed himself upon the affairs that the story of his life from 1647 to 1664 is practically a history of the colony during that period."
Currently, the Stuyvesant name is associated with several places in Manhattan's East Side, near present-day Gramercy Park: the Stuyvesant Town housing complex; Stuyvesant Square, a park in the area; and the Stuyvesant Apartments on East 18th Street, and Stuyvesant Street.
His farm, called the "Bouwerij" – the seventeenth-century Dutch word for "farm" – was the source for the name of the Manhattan street and surrounding neighborhood named "The Bowery". The contemporary neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn includes Stuyvesant Heights and retains its name.