... Johannes, born February 11, 1708, see forward. ...
... (III) Johannes, ninth child (and second son) of Hendrick and Catharina (Van Brugh) Van Rensselaer, was born in the Crailo house at Greenbush, New York, February 11, 1708, died in 1783. Jeremias, his elder brother, died about ten years before the death of their father, hence he inherited the Crailo, which was the name given to the house built close to the east bank of the Hudson river, and was constructed with the idea of being a place of defence in case of attack by the Indians, for in several places in the brickwork were stone pieces, pierced for the operation of a gun. It has been said that the bricks were brought from Holland in 1642, and the house then erected, by Van Rensselaer; but one should notice in this connection that Colonel Jeremias Van Rensselaer was born in Amsterdam, Holland, only ten years previous to this date, and did not come to Rensselaerswyck (or America) until 1658, and the first of the name to come to this country was his older brother, Jan Baptist, who came in 1651, or nearly ten years after the date attributed to the erection of this house, mostly by tradition.
He was a member of the twenty-first provincial assembly; was appointed captain of a company of foot in 1743, and promoted to be colonel. Although at the time of the revolution he was too aged to participate in its conflicts, he was a strong patriot, and three of his sons took active part, as commissioned officers. It was here that General Abercrombie made his headquarters, with his troops encamped upon his property along the river shore, in June, 1758, on which date "Yankee Doodle" was composed by Surgeon Shackburg, while seated in Van Rensselaer's garden, before the army proceeded northward against Montcalm. All his children were born in this house and all were by his first wife.
Johannes Van Rensselaer married (first), January 3, 1734, Angelica Livingston ... daughter of Mayor Robert Livingston, Jr. ...
He married (second) Gertrude Van Cortlandt. ...
