Johannes Van Ness was born in June 1739. He was the son of Albany residents Cornelis and Susanna Swits Van Ness.

In December 1762, he married Hester Gerritse of Niskayuna at the Schenectady Dutch Church. Over the next twelve years, their five children were baptized in Schenectady.

In 1763, Van Ness purchased a lot on the hill in Albany. In 1766, his modest property was listed on the Albany assessment rolls. Later, he added a vacant lot or two to his holdings. Over the next three decades, he was a cooper who lived on Orange Street and whose shop was on Pearl.

He was identified as a private in one of the Albany companies of the provincial militia in 1767. A decade later, he qualified for a bounty as a member of the first regiment of the Albany County militia. In 1790, he was living with his wife and two children in their second ward house. By 1800, Hester had passed and his household consisted of three adult men.

Johannes Van Ness died in April 1808 and was buried from the Albany Dutch church.

The life of Johannes Van Ness is CAP biography number 922. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Development of his biography is complicated by the lives of several John Van Nesses living at the same time in the Albany area!