Johannes Van Alen

Biography

Johannes Van Alen was a landowner born in 1770 in Kinderhook, New York, continuing the Van Alen family's tradition of property ownership and community prominence in the Hudson Valley. He was part of the Dutch-American gentry class that had established itself in the region during the colonial period and maintained influence through the early republic.

Van Alen managed his family's estates during a transformative period in American history, witnessing the transition from colonial rule to independent nationhood. He passed away in 1805 at the age of 35 and was buried in Kinderhook Cemetery alongside other members of his family. Though his life was relatively brief, he represented the continuity of the Van Alen family's landholding legacy in New York.