Catharina Schuyler was born in Albany in March 1704. She was the last child born to Elsie Staats Schuyler and her husband, Albany businessman Johannes Schuyler.

As the daughter of Albany's most prominent family, Catharina grew up in a bustling home on Albany's main street and passed summers with her even larger extended family on the Schuyler farm at the Flats. As the girl became a woman, she was introduced to many of the most eligible young men in the region.

In December 1726, she married Cornelis Cuyler, son of a recently established Albany trading family, at the Albany Dutch church. By 1747, the union had produced eleven children who were baptized in the Dutch church where both parents were prominent members.

These Cuylers first lived near the river. But by the 1730s, they had built a new home on the hill above Pearl Street in the second ward. Cornelis Cuyler became an Albany leader and was appointed mayor of the city in 1742. Catharina added to their fortune with bequests from her father and other family members.

By February 1758, fifty-three-year-old Catharina was seriously ill - suffering from pleurisy and "pain in the side." She died on February 21 and was buried from the Dutch church. Her son, Abraham C. Cuyler, became mayor of Albany in 1770.

first posted 12/31/01; last updated 2/13/18