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'''Leendert "Leonard" Gansevoort''' (July 14, 1751 – August 26, 1810) was an American political leader from [[New York (state)|New York]] who served as a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] in 1788.<ref name="LGbioguide"/>

==Early life==
He was born in 1751 in [[Albany County, New York]] to Harmen Gansevoort (1712–1801) and Magdalena Douw Gansevoort (1718–1796), both from prominent Dutch families.  He was the younger brother of Brig. Gen. [[Peter Gansevoort]] (1749–1812).<ref name="Bassett1999">{{cite web|last1=Bassett|first1=Fred|title=Leonard Gansevoort Papers: Manuscripts and Special Collections: New York State Library|url=http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc6230.htm|website=www.nysl.nysed.gov|publisher=[[New York State Library]]|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en|date=December 1999|quote=Account books accessioned in 1925 from an unknown source. Collated with other items previously accessioned and catalogued separately, March 1995}}</ref><ref name="Gale1995">{{cite book|last1=Gale|first1=Robert L.|title=A Herman Melville Encyclopedia|date=1995|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313290114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7Fo3O4f9PkC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>

Gansevoort's ancestors had been in Albany since 1660, when it was the Dutch colony of [[Fort Orange (New Netherland)|Fort Orange]], and [[Harmen Harmense Gansevoort]] (ca. 1634–1709) owned a brewery and farms.<ref name="Gansevoort2014">{{cite book|last1=Gansevoort, Jr.|first1=Peter|title=Hero of Fort Schuyler: Selected Revolutionary War Correspondence of Brigadier General Peter Gansevoort, Jr.|date=October 1, 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786479481|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnSuBAAAQBAJ|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>  His brother's son, Peter Gansevoort, Herman Gansevoort (1779–1862) built the [[Gansevoort Mansion]] in 1813 on his father's {{convert|1,500|acre|km2}} tract at [[Gansevoort, New York|Gansevoort]] in [[Saratoga County, New York]].<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8123|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Gansevoort Mansion|date=April 1976|accessdate=2010-12-06|author=Doris Vanderlipp Manley|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017202311/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8123|archivedate=2012-10-17}}</ref><ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>  His father was the third of his family's generation in America, who were prominent brewers and merchants in Albany.<ref name="Bassett1999"/>

His mother was descended from the [[Van Rensselaer family]] as her mother, Anna Van Rensselaer, was a daughter of [[Hendrick van Rensselaer]] (1667–1740), who had married Peter Douw.  In addition, his first cousin, Leonard Gansevoort (1754–1834),<ref name="Harpers1881">{{cite book|title=A GLIMPSE OF AN OLD DUTCH TOWN|date=1881|publisher=Harper's New Monthly Magazine {{!}} Harper & Brothers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_7PacMVIukC&pg=PA536|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> an Albany lawyer and alderman, was married to Maria Van Rensselaer (1760–1841), the daughter of Col. [[Kiliaen van Rensselaer (colonel)|Kiliaen van Rensselaer]] (1717–1781), the granddaughter of [[Hendrick van Rensselaer]] and the sister of [[Henry K. Van Rensselaer]] (1744–1816), [[Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer]] (1747–1798), and [[Killian K. Van Rensselaer]] (1763–1845).

[Cuyler Reynolds, Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene, 1911, Lewis Historical Publishing Company]

==Career==
After the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], he became a member of the Albany [[committee of correspondence|Committee of Correspondence]] serving as treasurer until November 1775.  When the [[New York Provincial Congress|2nd New York Provincial Congress]] convened in New York City on December 6, 1775, he was one of the twelve deputies elected by the Albany Committee.<ref name="Jensen1987">{{cite book|last1=Jensen|first1=Merrill|last2=DenBoer|first2=Gordon|title=The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788-1790|date=February 1, 1987|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]]|isbn=9780299106508|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rklx9c7MJFoC&pg=PA253&lpg=PA253|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>

He wrote to his brother, [[Peter Gansevoort|Peter]] on October 31, 1775, stating:

<blockquote>''"Dr Brother<br>I can hardly express my Distress upon receiving a Letter from Mr [[James van Rensselaer (military figure)|James Van Rensselaer]] acquainting me with your indisposition and that you in consequence thereof had been obliged to leave [[Fort Chambly|Chanblee]] and that you was then in Coll: Biddels Camp on the North side of [[Siege of Fort St. Jean|St John's]]; every thing seem'd to consire to confirm me in the Opinion that you must have been very ill you cannot be ignorant of the Emotions in my Breast when you consider that Fraternal Affection which has always subsisted between us, and in what Manner I must have also felt when prompted by Duty I communicated the Contents of the Letter to our Joint Parents, I was oblig'd to meliorate the News by telling them that your indisposition was the Fever Ague but do assure you that upon reading the Letter from the same Gent. to Mr [[Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer|Philip Van Rensselaer]] that tho' you was then yet pretty Weak you was greatly recovered, I seem'd to be rais'd from the lowest Abyss of dispondence to the highest pinnacle of Hope and I will leave you to reflect how industrious I was to communicate it to the old people - I beg Dear Brother as you Love your Friends who are under the greatest uneasiness yet that you will write us a Line if you are able, and if not procure some one to write for you - and beg further that if you are not recovered on receipt of this that you will apply for leave to come down and write me before you set out that I may meet you on your Way - I should have been up with you already If I could possibly have obtained leave of Hetty<br>We are well I am Your loving Brother<br>Leonard Gansevoort<br>Albany Octr 31 1774<br>To Peter Gansevoort Junr Esqr [Provincial Camp at St Johns]"''<ref name="Gansevoort2014"/></blockquote>

He was also appointed to the [[New York Provincial Congress#Third Provincial Congress|3rd]] and [[New York Provincial Congress#First Constitutional Convention|4th Provincial Congresses]] in 1776 and 1777, where the [[New York Constitution|Constitution of the State of New York]] was adopted on April 20, 1777.<ref>{{cite book|title=Roots of the Republic: American Founding Documents Interpreted|page=169|editor1-first=Stephen|editor1-last=Schechter|chapter=The New York State Constitution, 1777|first=Stephen|last=Schechter|year=1990|isbn=1461642795|lccn=90-6396|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PU17AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA169}}</ref>  From April 18, 1777 to May 14, 1777, he was the president of the New York Provincial Congress committee of safety.<ref name=Launitz-Schurer> Launitz-Schurer, Leopold, ''Loyal Whigs and Revolutionaries, The making of the revolution in New York, 1765-1776''</ref>

Following the end of Revolution in 1789, he bought a country house and estate known as Whitehall, which was located a mile and a half from Albany, from [[John Bradstreet Schuyler]], the son of [[Philip Schuyler]].<ref name="nysmLG">{{cite web|last1=Bielinski|first1=Stefan|title=Leonard Gansevoort|url=https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/g/leogans4666.html|website=exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov|publisher=[[New York State Museum]]|accessdate=20 April 2017}}</ref>  Gansevoort was known for his entertainment of many prominent state and national political figures.<ref name="Bassett1999"/>  In 1778 and 1779, he served as a member of the [[New York State Assembly]].<ref name="LGbioguide"/>

Early in his political career he was aligned with the patrician group of the large estates owners and commercial interests, but later became involved with the early evolution of the Democratic Party in New York. He served in the State Assembly again from 1787–1788 and in the [[New York State Senate|State Senate]] from 1791–1793 and 1796–1802,<ref name="Hutchins1891">{{cite book|last1=Hutchins|first1=Stephen C.|title=Civil List and Constitutional History of the Colony and State of New York|date=1891|publisher=Weed, Parsons & Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnY0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA418|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> where he was chairman of the committee,<ref name="Jensen1987"/> as a [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]].

In 1794, he was appointed a colonel in the [[New York militia]]. From 1794 to 1797 he was a judge in Albany. From 1799 to 1810, he was a judge of the court of probates.<ref name="LGbioguide"/>

==Personal life==
On April 10, 1770, he married Hester Cuyler (1748–1826),<ref name="NYMarriages1968">{{cite book|last1=New York Colony Committee|last2=New York State|title=New York Marriages Previous to 1784|date=1968|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com|isbn=9780806302591|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxaFZzGqEmAC&pg=PA148|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> the daughter of Abraham Cuyler, Jr. (1713–1749), a cousin of [[Abraham Cuyler]], and Jannetje Beekman (1719–1798),<ref name="HesterCG">{{cite web|last1=Bielinski|first1=Stefan|title=Hester Cuyler Gansevoort|url=https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/c/hecuyler537.html|website=exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov|publisher=[[New York State Museum]]|accessdate=20 April 2017}}</ref> a descendant of [[Wilhelmus Beekman]] (1623–1707). Together, they had:<ref name="Munsell1871">{{cite book|last1=Munsell|first1=Joel|title=Collections on the History of Albany: From Its Discovery to the Present Time ; with Notices of Its Public Institutions, and Biographical Sketches of Citizens Deceased, Vol. IV|date=1871|publisher=J. Munsell 82 State Street|location=Albany, N.Y.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ydgRAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>

* Magdalena Gansevoort (b. 1771)<ref name="Munsell1871"/>
* Catharina Gansevoort (b. 1772)<ref name="Munsell1871"/>
* Abraham Cuyler Gansevoort (b. 1775)<ref name="Gansevoort2014"/>
* Magdalena Gansevoort (1777–1863), who married [[Ten Eyck family|Jacob Ten Eyck]] (1771–1862),<ref name="Gebhard1910">{{cite book|last1=Gebhard|first1=Elizabeth Louise|title=The Parsonage Between Two Manors: Annals of Clover-Reach|date=1910|publisher=Bryan Printing Company|location=Claverack, N.Y.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUAYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA147|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> on March 6, 1795, the son of Abraham Ten Eyck and grandson of Mayor [[Ten Eyck family|Jacob Coenraedt Ten Eyck]].<ref name="Looney2014">{{cite book|last1=Looney|first1=J. Jefferson|last2=Woodward|first2=Ruth L.|title=Princetonians, 1791-1794: A Biographical Dictionary|date=July 14, 2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9781400861279|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NB4ABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA532|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>
* Catharine Cuyler Gansevoort (1789–1853), who married Teunis Van Vechten (1785–1859), nephew of [[Abraham Van Vechten]]<ref name="DAR1899">{{cite book|last1=Seymour|first1=Mary Jane|title=Lineage Book|date=1899|publisher=National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Qr2m9QY-EAC&pg=PA96|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Reynolds1906">{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Cuyler|title=Albany Chronicles: A History of the City Arranged Chronologically, from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time; Illustrated with Many Historical Pictures of Rarity and Reproductions of the Robert C. Pruyn Collection of the Mayors of Albany, Owned by the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society|date=1906|publisher=J. B. Lyon Company, printers|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XNU0AAAAIAAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_XNU0AAAAIAAJ/page/n792 522]|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>

He died in 1810 at home in Albany and was buried in [[Albany Rural Cemetery]]. [Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]

===Descendants===
Through his daughter, Magdalena, he was the grandfather of Hester Gansevoort Ten Eyck (1796–1861), Abraham Gansevoort Ten Eyck (1798–1830), Leonard Gansevoort Ten Eyck (1801–1881), Jacob L. Ten Eyck (1804–1875), and Herman Gansevoort Ten Eyck (1806–1881), and Peter Gansevoort Ten Eyck (1810–1891).<ref>{{cite web|title=TEN EYCK, Peter Gansevoort - Biographical Information|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000126|website=bioguide.congress.gov|publisher=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]|accessdate=20 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Peter Gansevoort Ten Eyck|url=https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/peter-gansevoort-ten-eyck/|website=www.newnetherlandinstitute.org|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Reynolds1911"/>

Through his daughter, Catharine, he was the grandfather of Elizabeth Ann Van Vechten (1812–1812), Leonard Gansevoort Van Vechten (1813–1837), Hester Elizabeth Van Vechten Trotter (1815–1881), Teunis Van Vechten (1819–1859), Cuyler Van Vechten (1823–1825), and Cuyler Van Vechten (1830–1875).

==Sources==
* Kenney, Alice P.; ''The Gansevoorts of Albany: Dutch Patricians in the Upper Hudson Valley''; 1969, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, {{ISBN|0-8156-2137-X}}.
* Kenney, Alice P.; ''Stubborn for Liberty: The Dutch in New York''; 1975, Syracuse University Press, {{ISBN|0-8156-0113-1}}. (1989 Paperback: {{ISBN|0-8156-2482-4}})
* Launitz-Schurer, Leopold, ''Loyal Whigs and Revolutionaries, The making of the revolution in New York, 1765-1776'', 1980, {{ISBN|0-8147-4994-1}}

==External links==
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000040 Leonard Gansevoort Congressional Biography]
*[http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc6230.htm Finding Aid to Leonard Gansevoort Papers, 1778-1799] at the [[New York State Library]], accessed May 16, 2016.
*BielinskiLGJr">{{cite web|last1=Bielinski|first1=Stefan|title=Leonard Gansevoort, Jr. |url=https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/g/leogans4667.html|website=nysm.nysed.gov|publisher=[[New York State Museum]]

[[Category:Foote Family Papers]]
[[Category:1810 deaths]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from New York (state)]]
[[Category:18th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the New York Provincial Congress]]
[[Category:New York State Assembly]]
[[Category:New York state senators]]
[[Category:Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery]]
[[Category:Gansevoort family]]
[[Category:Van Rensselaer family]]