2. Gertrude Van Cortlandt, born 23, February, 1715; married Johannes Van Rensselaer.
3. Stephanus Van Cortlandt, born 19, September, 1716; died without issue.
4. Samuel Van Cortlandt, born 22, December, 1717; died without issue.
5. John Van Cortlandt, born 16, February, 1721; died 29, June, 1786. Married Hester Bayard.
6. Philip Van Cortlandt, born in 1725; died 1800 without issue. He commanded a New Jersey Regiment in the Revolution.
7. Sarah Van Cortlandt died without issue.
John (above) had a son Stephen, born 11, August, 1750, and Stephen had two daughters—Elizabeth, who married John Van Rensselaer, and Hester, who married James Van Cortlandt. (The above is from Mrs. Catharine T. R. Mathews, nee Van Cortlandt, an authority on the family genealogy.)
THE OLD VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE.
The old Van Cortlandt house, which is described below, stood about midway between Second river and the G. L. R. R. tracks, facing the Passaic, and also the road, for at that time the highway kept very close to the water’s edge but, owing to the frequent flooding of this low land and consequent washouts, the road was finally set back to its present line. Fifty years ago this was known as the “new” road.
There is some uncertainty as to when this house was built, for if Dr. Staats gave the house now known as the Belleville Hotel to his daughter at the time of her marriage, as some think, Stephen Van Cortlandt would hardly have erected a second dwelling, at least until a son or daughter married and desired to start a new establishment. During the later years of its existence the old house is said to have been haunted by a ghost nine feet high and hump-backed, and the place had an uncanny reputation—misfortune was said to follow its tenants. Old residents told of skeletons in its musty closets, and one of the Van Cortlandt family is said to have become insane while living here, but what the tragedy was, if any, has not been recorded.