Stephen Van Rensselaer

Stephen Van Rensselaer III, was an American landowner, businessman, politician, and militia officer. He took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's manor in upstate New York, at the age of twenty-one. He encouraged settlement by granting tenants seven years of free rent, although he retained ownership of timber, minerals, and water power. He earned the sobriquet "the Good Patroon" for generally proving to be a lenient landlord; rather than eviction, he preferred to accept partial payment or goods and services in lieu of cash when tenants were in arrears.