Johannes Groesbeck

Johannes Groesbeck was born in March 1703. He was the eldest son of Albany leaders Stephanus and Elizabeth Lansing Groesbeck. He grew up in a large family in a wealthy merchant's home.

Although he witnessed a number of baptisms at the Albany Dutch church, neither his marriage nor subsequent christenings were recorded in the Albany church records.

In April 1741, Johannes and his five children were left bequests in the will of New York merchant Benjamin D'Harriette. In December, the will of his father-in-law, Thomas Bayeux of NewYork, identified Groesbeck as a person of trust but did not give the name of his wife - who probably was a member of the Bayeux family.

In 1743, he was accorded a birthright, a farm north of the Mohawk, and substantial shares of the estate of his father. That will was probated in September 1744.

However, by that time, Johannes Groesbeck was living in New York where he is said to have died in 1752.

Sources: The life of Johannes Groesbeck is CAP biography number 3352. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.