the Governor had given Peter permission to travel to England to have a cataract treated. Peter Van Schaack travelled to England and remained there for seven years. “While in England,” Benjamin F. Butler wrote, “he was consulted in many cases involving intricate and important legal questions, and on one occasion in particular he was associated with Lord Chancellor Eldon, whose reputation, it is believed, was much enhanced by pursuing the advice and adopting the views of Mr. Van Schaack.” He was often asked by his fellow countrymen to help them secure remuneration from the British government for the losses they suffered as a result of the revolution. He rendered his services often and without compensation. Van Schaack gradually became disillusioned with the British government. In January 1780, he came to the conclusion that he no longer had allegiance to it. He wrote that he initially believed that British actions towards the American colonies were motivated by a need for “solid revenue,” but that he came to realize that “the real design was to enhance the influence of the Crown, by multiplying officers dependent on it. In short, to establish in the Colonies the system of corruption by which their government here is carried on.” Van Schaack came to believe that the British constitution, he had so admired, was no longer in existence. Return to New York In 1784, an act was passed by the New York Legislature restoring Peter Van Schaack and three other men, "all their rights, privileges and immunities, as citizens" upon taking the oath of allegiance as prescribed by law. Van Schaack returned to Kinderhook in 1785, complied with the law, and built a house in which to live. He was readmitted to the bar in 1786 and resumed practice in Kinderhook. Law School His eyesight had been plaguing him for many years and, in 1786, he went blind. He relinquished his professional duties and began teaching law students in his home. His law school operated from 1786 to 1830 and he taught more than 100 students. In 1809, he owned 1900 pounds of real estate and had a personal estate of 1200 pounds, making him one of the wealthier residents of Kinderhook. In 1826, Columbia College conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. Personal life In 1765, while still in college, he met and married Elizabeth Cruger (1747-1778), daughter of Henry Cruger (1707–1780) –