Jacobus (James) La Grange was born in January 1763 and baptized at the Schoharie Lutheran church. He was the first child born to Albany residents Arie and Maria Van Antwerpen La Grange.

In February 1784, he married Anna Visscher - the mother of five children were born before her death in 1793. In February 1796, he married Maria Mc Crea, with whom he had nine more children. He was a member and an officer of the Albany Dutch church. Later, he was involved in the operations of the Second (South) Reformed church. He also seems to have belonged to the Albany Presbyterian church.

Jacobus (sometimes referred to as James) was a boat captain or skipper - probably starting out by running his father's sloop on the Hudson. In April 1780 Arie La Grange posted a bond on behalf of Jacobus with the Albany Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies. That guarantee was required for those expecting to sail on the Hudson during the latter years of the war. A few years later, Jacobus served as a firemaster and chimney viewer. However, he did not achieve the political prominence of his father.

By 1788 and 1790, his growing family had settled into a house in the second ward. Withion a decade, he would relocate to the first ward (probably to his father's house after Arie's death in 1798) and become a mainstay at 68 Hudson Street.

Captain Jacobus La Grange died in February 1827 at the age of sixty-four. An obituary in the Albany Gazette called him "one of the oldest inhabitants of Albany." His will passed probate at the end of the month!

Sources: The life of Jacobus La Grange is CAP biography number 5917. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.