Van Ness
The story of the Van Ness family of early Albany begins with Cornelis Van Ness, Gerrit Van Ness, and perhaps others who emigrated to New Netherland. Because of the wide variation in spellings of the surname that are readily encountered in the general community record, several unrelated families may have been melded together under the "Van Ness" name.
In 1697, three Van Ness-named households were listed on the Albany city census.
During the 1740s, Gerrit C. Van Ness was an albany alderman.
In 1756, two "Van Ess" households (Hendrick and Gerrit) were configured on the census.
In 1765, Jannetje Van Ness married eminent jurist Robert Yates.
By 1790, no Van Ness-named households were listed on the Albany census. However, two Van Ness homes were counted on the census of the town of Watervliet.
In 1815, two Van Ness addresses and the home of attorney John Van Ness Yates were listed in the city directory.
Sources: Our work on the Van Ness family is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Also written as "Van Ess," Van Epps (but a distinct, mostly not Albany family), and other variations as well! However, the family occurrs more widely in greater Albany County. Internet resources: David M. Riker; WVN;