Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler

Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer
Margarita Schuyler Van Rensselaer, circa 1796. Original by James Peale.
Born	Margarita Schuyler (1758-09-24)September 24, 1758 Albany, Province of New York
Died	March 14, 1801(1801-03-14) (aged 42) Albany, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York
Spouse(s)	Stephen Van Rensselaer III
Children	Stephen Van Rensselaer IV
Parent(s)	Philip Schuyler Catharine Van Rensselaer
Relatives	Angelica Schuyler Church (sister) Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (sister) Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (brother) John Barker Church (brother-in-law) Alexander Hamilton (brother-in-law)
Family	Schuyler

Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler Van Rensselaer (September 24, 1758 – March 14, 1801) was the third daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler. She was the wife of Stephen Van Rensselaer III, sister of Angelica Schuyler Church, Philip Jeremiah Schuyler, and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and sister in law of John Barker Church and Alexander Hamilton.

Peggy Schuyler was born in Albany, New York on September 24, 1758, the third daughter of Catharine Schuyler (née Van Rensselaer) (1734–1803) and Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a wealthy patroon and major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. She had seven siblings who lived to adulthood, including Philip Jeremiah Schuyler (1768–1835), Angelica Schuyler Church (1756–1814) and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (1757–1854).

Her maternal grandparents were Johannes van Rensselaer (1707/08–1783) and his first wife, Engeltje Livingston (1698–1746/47). Johannes was the grandson of Hendrick van Rensselaer (1667–1740).

The Schuyler family was among the wealthy Dutch landowners who had settled around Albany in the mid-1600s, and both her mother and father came from wealthy and well-regarded families. Despite the unrest of the French and Indian War, which her father served in and which was fought in part near her childhood home, Peggy's childhood was spent comfortably, including receiving from her mother a basic education and training in domestic skills including sewing. Like most Dutch families of the area, the Schuylers attended the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany.