Herman Knickerbocker was born in Albany on July 27, 1779. He was the son of Johannes Knickerbocker. His grandfather, Colonel Johannes Knickerbocker, who was the commander of the 14th Regiment of the Albany County militia during the American Revolution, was a grandson of Harmen Jansen Knickerbocker, of Friesland, Holland, one of the earliest settlers of New York. Knickerbocker completed preparatory studies, studied law in the offices of John Vernon Henry and John Bird, was admitted to the bar in 1803 and commenced practice in Albany. He moved to Schaghticoke and became known as "the Prince of Schaghticoke" because of his hospitality and liberality.
Military service
Knickerbocker served in the militia in the early 1800s. Initially appointed the commander of a cavalry troop with the rank of captain, in 1810 he was promoted to major in New York's3rd Cavalry Regiment. According to an 1816 newspaper article from Troy, New York, Knickerbocker was still active in the militia as the commander of a squadron in the 3rd Regiment, and led it during its annual muster and parade.
Career
Knickerbocker served on several occasions as Schaghticoke's town supervisor, including 1805 to 1806, 1813, 1818 to 1823, and 1825 to 1826. In 1808, Knickerbocker was elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh Congress, holding office from March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1811. During his term, Knickerbocker was concerned chiefly with alleviating the effects of the Jefferson administration's Embargo Act of 1807. According to a newspaper article that appeared in 1833, his maiden speech argued against the embargo, and he described the economic and financial condition of his constituents caused by the embargo so dramatically that the members of the House were reduced to convulsions of laughter. Knickerbocker was not a candidate for reelection in 1810 and opposed U.S. involvement in the War of 1812. He served in the New York State Assembly in 1816. Knickerbocker became an adherent of Andrew Jackson in the mid 1820s, and joined the Democratic Party. He was judge of the Rensselaer County court from 1828 to 1838.
Personal life
In 1801, he married his first wife, Arietta Lansing, the daughter of Abraham Lansing and Else Van Rensselaer. They had five children before her death in 1814, four of his daughters attended the Troy Female Seminary:
Abraham Lansing Knickerbocker
Elizabeth Maria Knickerbocker
Catharine Knickerbocker
Rebecca Knickerbocker
In December 1814, he married for the second time to Rachel Wendell, daughter of John H. Wendell, an officer in the Revolution, and Catherine Van Benthuysen. Together, they had five children:
Arietta Knickerbocker
Cathalina Wendell Knickerbocker
Maria Van Veghten Knickerbocker
John Knickerbocker, who died in childhood
Rachel Jane Knickerbocker
On July 20, 1826, he married for the third time to Mary Delia Buel, who was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, and was the daughter of David Buel and Rachel McNeil. Together, they had:
Sarah Bird Knickerbocker, who married Reverend Samuel Haskins
He died in Williamsburg in 1855; his interment was in the Knickerbocker family cemetery, Schaghticoke.
Legacy
Through his friend Washington Irving borrowing his name for a fictional figure, Diedrich Knickerbocker, he gave rise to the name Knickerbockers for a kind of trousers. During one of Irving's visits to Washington to meet President James Madison, he introduced Knickerbocker to the President as "My cousin Diedrich Knickerbocker, the great historian of New York."
