Michigan Southern Railroad Co. issued to John Van Rensselaer and signed by 2 Van Rensselaerns - 1854 dated Autographed Railroad Stock Certificated

Stock issued to John Van Rensselaer and signed by 2 Van Rensselaers on the back of stock.

John Sanders Van Rensselaer (April 10, 1792 – March 19, 1868) was an American lawyer and soldier. Van Rensselaer was born on April 10, 1792, in New York into the prominent Van Rensselaer family. He was the eldest son of Margaretta "Margaret" (née Sanders) Van Rensselaer (1764–1830) and Killian K. Van Rensselaer, who served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1801 to 1811. Among his surviving siblings were William Van Rensselaer, Richard Van Rensselaer, and Bernard Sanders Van Rensselaer. His maternal grandparents were John Sanders and Deborah (née Glen) Sanders. His paternal grandparents were Ariantje "Harriet" (née Schuyler) Van Rensselaer and Col. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, who fought in the American Revolution leading Van Rensselaer's Regiment when he was wounded during the Battles of Saratoga. Among his large and prominent family were uncles Henry Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer, and Nicholas Van Rensselaer. His aunt, Catharine Van Rensselaer, married William Henry Ludlow. At the age of thirteen, he was placed in college in Montreal to learn French where he met many Royalists, including Cornelius Cuyler. He graduated from Union College in 1811, where he "took the honor for the Uranian Oration, and was president of the Philomathean Society." Van Rensselaer was admitted to bar and began practicing law in New York State in 1812. He also served as an Alderman of Albany. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sanders_Van_Rensselaer