Maunsell Van Rensselaer was a descendant of New York City businessman William Rogers (c.1760-1817). Rogers was a merchant with family and professional ties to the West Indies. In 1801 he married Anne Markoe Cruger, the widow of Nicholas Cruger. In 1811 Rogers purchased a country home north of the city, near the Hudson River. He was a founder of the nearby St. Michaels' church. Rogers' obituary was published in the (New York) Commercial Advertiser on 27 December 1817. A portrait of Rogers in now in the NGA (1947.17.13). Rogers had an adopted daughter, Anne Béloste Taylor (d. 1832), who with her husband James Taylor had a daughter, Maria Taylor Hunt (Mrs. Ward Hunt, d. 1912). Mrs. Hunt was Maunsell Van Rensselaer's aunt. Maunsell's wife was Isabella Mason Van Rensselaer (1861-1955). [Compiled from sources and references recorded on CMS]
Bibliography
1995
Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 307-308