20 Facts About Henry Rutgers

Henry Rutgers was a United States Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist from New York City.

Henry Rutgers was born in New York City, in the Province of New York which was then a part of British America.

Henry Rutgers was the son of New Netherland colonists Hendrick Rutgers and Catharine Rutgers.

Henry Rutgers was a third cousin twice removed of both US Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Henry Rutgers was a brewer and had a barn on Catherine Street to store the barley he grew.

Henry Rutgers graduated from King's College in 1766.

Henry Rutgers went on to serve as a captain of American forces at the Battle of White Plains, and later as a colonel for the New York militia.

Henry Rutgers continued to play a role in the defense of the young nation after the Revolution, presiding over a meeting held June 24,1812, to organize American forces in New York in anticipation of a British attack in the ensuing War of 1812.

In 1783, Henry Rutgers was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he served in the 7th New York State Legislature.

Henry Rutgers served on the New York Board of Education Regents from 1802 to 1826.

Henry Rutgers was a presidential elector, chosen by the legislature, in 1808,1816, and 1820.

Henry Rutgers supported the American Colonization Society, arguing against abolitionists that free people of color should be removed from the United States rather than allowed to grow as a population.

Henry Rutgers was himself a slaveowner, like many of his relatives.

Henry Rutgers continued to expand his holdings, extending his water lots further out into the river.

Henry Rutgers' most lasting legacy is due to his donations to Queen's College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which at the time was suffering considerable financial difficulties and temporarily closed.

Henry Rutgers donated a bond valued at $5000 to reopen the faltering school, and subsequently donated a bronze bell that was hung in the cupola of the Old Queens building which housed the college.

Henry Rutgers died in 1830 in New York City, at the age of 84.

Henry Rutgers's body was initially buried in the Reformed Church on Nassau Street in Manhattan.

However, as cemeteries in Manhattan were redeveloped during the mid-1800s, Henry Rutgers' body was re-interred several times.

The Green-Wood Historic Fund and members of the Henry Rutgers Community honored Henry Rutgers' memory on Flag Day, June 14,2008, by unveiling a bronze marker at his gravesite.