Peter Van Ness (1734-1804)
Judge & Colonel Peter Van Ness, of Kinderhook, New York
Peter Van Ness served as an officer in French & Indian War. During the American Revolution he was appointed Colonel of the 9th Albany Militia and saw action at the Battle of Burgoyne in 1777. He was a member of the State convention that adopted the Federal Constitution and was elected Senator from New York. He was appointed the first judge of Columbia County. He owned land at Kinderhook where he died in 1804 in the house better known as Lindenwald, made famous by President Van Buren.