An Act to Incorporate the Rensselaer School

Passed March 21, 1826

Whereas the Honorable Stephan Van Rensselaer has procured suitable buildings in the City of Troy in Rensselaer County and therein set up a school and at his own private expense has furnished the same with a scientific Library chemical and Philosophical apparatus, instruments for teaching land surveying and other branches of Practical Mathematics which are useful to the agriculturalist the machinist and to other artists, has caused to be prepared and furnished separate and commodious for instruction in natural philosophy Natural History the Common operations in Chemistry and an assay room for the analysis of soils manures minerals and animal and vegetable matter with the application of these departments of science to agriculture domestic economy and the arts and Whereas said Van Rensselaer has employed Teachers and caused an experimental system of instruction to be adopted by them whereby each student is required to observe the operations of a select number of agriculturalists and artists in the vicinity of said school and to demonstrate the principles upon which the results of such operations depend be Experiments and specimens performed and exhibited by his own hands under the director of said Teachers – and whereas one important object of said school is to qualify Teachers for instructing youth in villages and in Common School Districts belonging to the Class of Farmers and Mechanic’s by lectures or other wise in the application of the most important principles of Experimental Chemistry Natural Philosophy, natural History and practical mathematics to agriculture domestic Economy the arts and manufactures – and whereas the Trustees of the said school who were appointed to take charge thereof by said Van Rensselaer by an instrument in writing dated November the Fifth in the year Eighteen Hundred and twenty four have represented to this Legislature that after having tested the plan of said school by a trial of one year they find it to be practicable and in their opinion highly beneficial to the public – and whereas the Legislature consider it their duty to encourage such laudable efforts and such munificent application of the Surplus wealth of individuals

Therefore Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly That Simeon DeWitt, Samuel Blatchford, John Dickinson, Guert Van Schoonhaven, Elias Tarmelee, Richard Hart, John Cramer and Theodore Romeyn Beck shall be and hereby are constituted a body corporate and politic by the name of the President and Trustees of the Rensselaer School and by that name they shall have perpetual succession and shall be capable of suing and being sued pleading and being impleaded answering and be answered into defending and be defended in all Courts and suits whatsoever and may have a Common Seal with power to charge or alter the same from time to time; and shall be capable of purchasing taking possession of holiday and enjoying to them and their successors any real estate in fee simple or otherwise and any goods Chattels and personal estate and of selling leasing or otherwise disposing of the said real and personal Estate or any part thereof at their will and pleasure Provided however that the funds of the said Corporation shall be used for and appropriated to the objects contemplated in the preamble of this act and provided also that the clear annual income of such real and personal Estate shall not exceed the sum of Twenty thousand Dollars

And be it further exacted that the said Trustees shall from time to time forever hereafter have power to make constitute ordain and establish such by-laws and regulations as they shall judge proper for the election of their Officers and prescribing their respective functions for the government of the Officers and students of said school as to their respective duties for collecting fines impositions and term fees for suspending expelling and otherwise punishing students so that it shall not extend farther then expulsion and retaining term fees and collecting the amount of any damages done by students to the property of said school for conferring on Students such honors as they may judge proper having relation to the object of said school as expressed in the said preamble and for managing and directing all the concerns of said school also for confirming the Constitution and by laws or any part thereof heretofore adopted by said Trustees Provided such by laws and regulations have relation to the Subjects of the preamble of this act exclusively

And be it further enacted that the Officers of said School shall consist of a President, two Vice Presidents, a Treasurer and Secretary two professors and such a number of adjunct Professors and assistants as the Trustees may from time to time appoint or authorize the appointment of a Librarian Monitor and Steward That whenever any vacancy shall happen among the Trustees of said school such vacancy or vacancies may be filled by a quorum of the remaining Trustees, so that Two trustees shall reside in Albany, two in Troy two in Lansingburgh and Two in Waterford – And be it further enacted that there shall be one annual meeting of the Trustees at said school on the last Wednesday in April at which meeting four members of the board of Trustees shall Constitute a quorum and that four members shall also form a Quorum at all special meetings to be called by the President at anytime after the passing of this act Provided a written notice of such meeting signed by the President or by one of the Vice Presidents shall be left at the dwelling house or place of residence of such member of the board seven days previous to such special meeting

And be it further enacted that Samuel Blatchford shall be President and that he together with all the other Officers of the said school shall remain as heretofore until a special meeting of a quorum of said Trustees shall be assembled at such school by the President or by a Vice President as prescribed in the fourth section of this act or until the annual meeting on the last Wednesday in April next then to be permitted to Continue in their respective Offices or their places to be filled at the pleasure of the Trustees And be it further enacted that the Legislature may at any time modify or repeal this act

State of New York
Secretary’s Office

I certify the preceding to be a true copy of an original act of the legislature of this State on file in this office (written on four pages of this book)

Albany April 1 1826
A.C. Flaff
Secretary

Fees $1.25