USA > New York > Famous families of New York; historical and biographical sketches of families which in successive generations have been identified with the development of the nation, Vol. II > Part 12
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XXXVI
VAN BUREN
HEN the patroons had secured the magnificent grants of virgin territory W which, according to their hopes and ambitions, were to become populous and opulent feudal estates in years to be, their first care was to obtain settlers in the Old World to consti- tute a vassal yeomanry in the New. According to the means, the influ- ence, or ability of these landed pro- prietors, or their agents, were the numbers and quality of the colonists whom they thus secured. While nearly all of those who crossed the sea in the middle of the seventeenth century were of the same general class, namely, vigorous and intelli- gent peasantry or artisans, there was considerable difference in their character and accomplishments. They varied from stern, religious, and energetic Scotch and Huguenots, to easy-going and unambitious Dutch farmers. It must be said that nearly all of the tenantry were admirable morally. In many cases, we know that they were certified to by their pastors at home; in other instances, we find allusions in the archives to instructions to agents to secure agriculturists of probity and good name. Further evidence is shown by the infrequency of crime and vice in the early Knickerbocker years.
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In this respect, the Dutch West India Company and the patroons are entitled to the gratitude of prosperity. In securing good men and women, they builded better than they knew, and assured to the new community beyond the ocean a moral, men- tal, and physical strength which is seldom found in colonies, based more or less upon commercial considerations. Here Kiliaen Van Rensselaer is entitled to special consideration. He appears to have taken greater precautions in the selection of his tenants than any other of the leading men of the time. As far as possible, he chose young men, especially young married men. Cornelius He had an eye for the future as well as for the present.
Maessen the Among his colonists was Cornelius Maessen, who Founder emigrated from Buren, a village in the western part of Gelderland, lying a few miles from the River Rhine.
Unfortunately, the records do not show whether he was a native of the place. At that time such names as Van Buren were not family names in our sense of the word, but adjective phrases, indicating nativity or accidental or legal connection with a place. Cornelius himself did not use the name Van Buren, so far as is known, but signed himself Cornelius Maessen, which in English would be Cornelius, the son of Maes. It was his son, Martin, who seems to have first used the geographical name, and who signed himself Martin, or Marten, Cornelissen Van Beuren.
The founder sailed from the Netherlands in 1631, bringing with him a young wife, Catalyntje Martense, and a son, Marten, or Martin, who, according to an ancient legal document, was born in Houten, a village not far from Buren. On the voyage a second son, Hendrick, was born. This fact he used in later life to claim the honor of being the first Dutchman born in the New World. The family came over in the stout craft Rensselaerswyck, which, as the name indicates, was employed by the great patroon for the transportation of his tenants, servants, and supplies.
On reaching the New World, he stopped a brief time at New Amsterdam, where probably he looked with amazement at the funny little fort which Governor Pieter Minuit had improved, and at the wigwams which were to be found a short distance from the
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settlement. He proceeded up the river to a point a little below Greenbush, which was then known as Papsknee. Here he settled on a farm leased from Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. The few glimpses which the student is able to obtain of this period show a wise administration on the part of the patroon. He charged little or nothing for bringing over the colonists, and when they settled upon his land, he gave them all the necessary supplies and aided them in clearing the soil and making a home. In return, he asked one-tenth of the product of the soil and a quasi- feudal allegiance to him in his capacity as patroon. Compared with the Factor's Agreements of the Southern States, where the landlord and tenant divide the produce of the land equally, or those of the West, where the owner takes one-third and the tenant two- thirds, Kiliaen's system seems to have been singularly generous.
Cornelis was not a poor farmer, like many of the emigrants of his time. He brought with him some property and a man- servant or farm-hand, Cornelis Teunissen, who afterwards be- came a trader and commissary. The career of the first Van Buren was quiet and uneventful. His land was fertile, and under his management yielded large crops. One year the records show that he paid a tithe-rent of one hundred bushels of grain and a small amount of garden produce, which would indicate a total crop of over one thousand bushels of grain alone. He invested his money in real estate, one tract of which was a farm on the Island of Manhattan, next to the land belonging to Governor Wouter Van Twiller. His farm lay between Christopher and Fourteenth streets, and ran from a line west of Broadway down to the North River. Cornelis left four sons and one daughter. The latter married Dirck Wesselse (Ten Broeck), merchant, who afterwards became Recorder and Mayor of Albany, and a major in Colonel Pieter Schuyler's famous regiment.
One of the sons, Maes, for some unknown reason, adopted the family name of Bloemingdael, which probably Maes represented the poetic title of his farm. From him Bloemingdael comes the Bloomingdale family of New York, who genealogically are Van Burens.
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Martin [1629] was a substantial citizen, who, after he came of age, settled at Albany. He was active in local affairs, and in
Captain 1700 was captain of a military company in Colonel Pieter
Martin Schuyler's regiment. He married twice: first, Maritje Quackenbosch, and, second, Tanneke Adams, widow. He was the ancestor of the President.
Hendrick [1631] remained in the neighborhood of the paternal home. He was a rich farmer and a devout member of the Dutch
Hendrick Reformed Church. During the Indian outbreak of 1663
the Devout he proved himself a brave soldier. He died leaving five children.
The third generation found the family well established at Albany, near Greenbush. Cornelius, son of Martin, married Martin Ariaantje Gerritse Vandenberg, by whom he had one the Deacon son. Cornelia, his sister, married Robert Teunise Van Deusen, who was the head of the family of that name. Peter married Ariaantje Barentse Meindersen. Martin, the most promi- nent figure of this generation, was a freeholder of Rensselaerwyck in 1720, and a leading member of the Dutch Church in Albany. He was twice married.
The fourth generation repeated the experience of the third. The Van Burens grew in numbers, influence, and wealth. Among the more conspicuous members were the following: Tobias [1690], son of Cornelius, who became the ancestor of the Ulster County branch ; he inherited a fortune from his father and a small estate from his grandfather, Martin. Marritje [1701], daughter of Martin, married Johannes Vosburgh, a prominent member of the family of that name. Barent [1702], her brother, was a wealthy farmer,
who married twice: first, Margrietje Van Vechten, and,
Barent the Wealthy second, Mrs. Catalyntje Van Buren Schermerhorn, and had issue by both. Martin [1705], another brother, married The- notje Vanderberg. Tobias [1710] married Marritje Hun, by whom he had one son. Other sons of Martin in this generation by his second wife, Maria Vandenberg, were Petrus [1723], who married Marritje Vanderpoel; Johannes, or John [1725], who married Mar- ritje Briesch; Benjamin [1731], who married Cornelia Salisbury;
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Tobias [1737], who married Catalyntje Witbeck. The children of Peter in this generation were Cornelius [1693], who married Maria Litner; Barent [1695], who married Maria Winne, and Tobias [1697], who married Anna Goes or Hoes.
In the fifth generation several members are noteworthy. Peter [1733], son of Martin, married Catharine Quackenbosch. They had a large plantation near Kinderhook, and were the god- parents of President Van Buren. Abraham [1737] mar- ried Maria Goes Van Alen. They are best known as Abraham
Captain
the parents of the President. Abraham was a fine type of a revo- lutionary patriot. He was a strong advocate of popular rights be- fore the Revolution, and upon the breaking out of hostilities was among the first, if not the first in Kinderhook, to enlist under the colonial banners. He rose to be a captain in the regiment com- manded by Colonel Abraham Van Alstyne, a maternal relative.
Of the sixth generation, the most eminent was Martin [1782], eighth President of the United States. A remarkable memory, great physical and mental vigor, and infinite patience Martin combined to make him successful in life. He took ad- the President vantage of such educational facilities as were to be found in Columbia County in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and began to read law when a boy of fourteen years. He worked tirelessly for seven years, serving as office-boy, messenger, clerk, copyist, practitioner in constables' courts, and collector.
In the evening he spent his time at debating clubs, and before he attained his majority had become noted for his logical power as well as eloquence. He displayed a love for politics from youth, and at eighteen was a member of a political convention. He was admitted to the bar when coming of age, and opened a law office at Kinderhook with his half-brother, James I. Van Alen. The same year he was a vigorous speaker in the gubernatorial cam- paign, and had the satisfaction of seeing his candidate, General Morgan Lewis, elected to the executive chair. He at once became prominent in State politics; in 1807, he was a leader of the move- ment in favor of Daniel D. Tompkins against his former friend, Lewis, and was again with the victors. Shortly afterward, as a VOL. II .- 12.
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reward for his services, he was appointed Surrogate of Columbia County by Governor Tompkins, displacing his half-brother, who belonged to the Lewis faction. In 1813, the balance of power shifted, and Van Alen replaced him in turn.
By 1811, he had become one of the State leaders of his party, and the following year he was elected to the Senate as a Clinton Republican, defeating Edward P. Livingston, who was supposed to be invincible. In 1815, the Attorney-Generalship was awarded to him, and the following year he was re-elected to the Senate. He removed to Albany, where he formed a partnership with Ben- jamin F. Butler. In the same twelve-month he made himself a foremost advocate of the Erie Canal. Politics at this period was in a chaotic state, the main parties being broken up into factions, which were more bitter toward one another than toward the opposition. Yet, out of these conditions, with a masterly skill for organization, Martin so manipulated personal and political forces that in 1821 he was elected to the United States Senate, being only thirty-nine years of age.
His course at the Federal capital was marked with the same tact and shrewdness as at Albany. He seemed to divine what the people wanted, and was in nearly every instance at the head of each successful measure. He had the rare genius of knowing when to keep silent. Re-elected to the Senate in 1827, he resigned to become Governor of New York in 1828. The same year he was the most distinguished advocate of General Andrew Jackson, who, when elected, made the New York diplomat his Secretary of State. In 1832 he was elected Vice- President, and as such was President of the Senate. Here he astonished his enemies by displaying imperturbable suavity and absolute fairness, treating friend and foe with equal considera- tion. In 1836, he was elected President of the United States. In this campaign may be seen the best evidence of his matchless craft. He was championed in the South as "a Northern man with Southern principles," while in the North he was heralded as "the apostle of progress and enlightenment." In 1840, he was renominated, but his star was now descendant, General Harri-
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son being elected by an electoral vote of almost four to one. During the forty years after his retirement, he took a deep inter- est in public affairs, and exerted an appreciable influence upon the policy of his party, if not of the nation. He married Hannah Hoes, a kinswoman of his mother, by whom he had four children.
John Dash, the merchant [1811], was graduated from Co- lumbia (1829), became a lawyer, and afterwards a successful importer. He retired from business when about forty John Dash,
Financier
with a large fortune, and led a life of study, in which he paid great attention to political topics, financial legislation, and the theories of taxation. He was one of the first to enunci- ate the modern theories of currency and to argue for a gold basis for all money. Lawrence [1783], a brother of Major the President, was a Kinderhook farmer, who, during Lawrence the War of 1812, won distinction as a soldier and rose to be a major.
In the seventh generation the chief personage was Abraham [1807], son of the President. He was graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point (1827), and made an enviable record as a soldier. He resigned in 1837 to become the President's secretary, but took up arms during the Colonel Mexican War, where he was brevetted for bravery. Abraham He married Angelica Singleton of South Carolina, who acted as mistress of the White House during her father-in-law's Ad- ministration.
John [1810], another son of the President, better known as "Prince John," from his manners and appearance, was graduated from Yale (1828), and admitted to the bar in 1830. A year afterwards he was attaché of the United States Prince John Legation at the Court of St. James, and Attorney-General of New York State in 1845. Eminent as a lawyer, orator, and politician, he was also a society leader up to the time of his death. He married Elizabeth Vanderpoel, by whom he had one daughter.
John Dash, Jr. [1838], was educated at Harvard and the
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Rensselaer Polytechnic. He entered the Engineer Corps of
John D. II., the United States Navy in the Civil War, and served Engineer in that branch of the service until 1868. In 1876, he was State Engineer and Surveyor. He has written many valu- able works upon mechanical science and other technical topics.
Robert [1843], son of John A., was graduated from the Rens- selaer Polytechnic (1864) with honors. He served as an expert Robert, mining engineer in the Lake Superior copper district, Engineer and in 1866 entered the service of the city of Brooklyn as assistant engineer of the water works. In 1877, he became chief engineer, which position he still holds.
The eighth generation was well represented by Singleton [1840], who was graduated from Columbia Law School (1865) and died in 1879; Frank Roe, who was graduated from Columbia College (1863) and thereafter received the degree of A.M .; Martin, who was graduated from Columbia College (1866); and Howard, who was graduated from Columbia Law School in 1878 and settled in Nyack, N. Y.
The Van Burens, outside of their great son, Martin, may be compared with many other Knickerbocker families, being marked by the same probity, thrift, patriotism, piety, and valor. Martin was a singular blossom of his race. He was one of the greatest politicians the United States ever produced, and understood the difficult art of managing human beings so well that he may be classed with such historical personages as Richelieu and Maz- zini, but, unlike these great masters, he does not seem to have had any high ideal or master passion, unless it were the love of power or the aggrandizement of self. To him more than to any other political leader, belongs the onus of having made the doctrine of "to the victors belong the spoils " an organic part of the American political system. Careless writers have charged it to General Jackson. It was, of course, applied on a large scale during the latter's Administration, but the real actor was the keen-eyed intellectual Secretary of State, and not the bluff, big- hearted President. Beneath his graceful tact there was much fun and sterling humor. His best bon mot was that which tradi-
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tion says he delivered to Queen Adelaide at a royal reception at the Court of St. James. She had the tactlessness to ask him how far back he could trace his ancestry. He bowed with the grace of a courtier as he responded : "As far back as Kin- derhook, your Majesty."
Van Cortlandt
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zirisl . W . I vo gustring oft wort.
Pierre Van Cortlandt From the painting by J. W. Jarvis
XXXVII
VAN CORTLANDT
HE sixteenth century was a period of disorder in Europe. Beside the religious and dynastic disturbances in the West, there were national and political struggles in the East. Sweden, Russia, Poland, Livonia, and the smaller principalities were con- stantly at war and undergoing the ravages of hostile armies. The Duchy of Courland was at one time a por- tion of Livonia, and enjoyed a semi- autonomous constitution. In 1561, it was ceded to Lithuania, and thereafter it became a part of Poland by the amalgamation of this kingdom with the former.
The population was a mixture of Letts, Russians, Lithuanians, Poles, Germans, and Scandinavians. Racially, it was Slav, Teuton, and Norseman. The people were brave, intelligent, and progressive, but bound by feudal customs and laws, necessitated by their surroundings. The Courland Dukes were on friendly terms with the Netherlands and frequently exchanged courtesies with the latter land in times of both peace and war. They had representatives equivalent to the consuls of to-day at the Dutch capital and leading cities. These were either relatives of the Ducal family, or gentlemen of their court. Unlike consuls, they had a quasi-military character, corresponding to the military
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attachés of the present age. Frequently these representatives
Right Hon. became attached to the land to which they were ac- Steven credited, and settled there permanently. One of this type was the Right Honorable Steven Van Cortlandt.
The name Van Cortlandt was the Dutch equivalent of Cour- land, referring to the land which Steven or his ancestor represented.
Oloff the Steven's oldest son, Oloff Stevense, was brought up
Founder as a gentleman of the period, and thoroughly trained in the profession of arms. When a young man he had become so expert a soldier that when he applied for service in the Dutch West India Company, he was engaged as an officer. In 1638, he was detailed to accompany Governor William Kieft, who had been appointed to succeed Wouter Van Twiller in the administration of the government of the New Netherlands. He arrived in New Amsterdam in March of that year, and in the following year was appointed "commissary of cargoes," or collector of customs. Four years afterwards he was made Keeper of the Public Stores, one of the most responsible posts of that time. In 1648, he re- signed his office, became a freeman of the city, and began busi- ness as a merchant and brewer.
In both callings he was remarkably successful, becoming before he died one of the wealthiest men on Manhattan Island. His military knowledge was so great that in 1849 he was elected Colonel of the City Guard. In 1645, he had been appointed one of the "Eight Men " (or Town Council), and, in 1649, one of the "Nine Men." In 1654, he was made schepen, and in 1655 Burgo- master or Mayor. He remained chief magistrate until the English conquest in 1664. His high abilities soon gained him the respect and confidence of the English Government, for which he acted as councillor and advisor up to his death in 1684. He married Annetje Loockermanns, by whom he had two sons and five daughters.
The two sons inherited their father's civic and commercial talents. Stephanus, the elder [1643], was the most eminent man Judge of the province after it had become English territory. Stephanus He was educated by the learned clergymen of New Amsterdam, and when he came of age was a fine scholar and a
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capable merchant. From this time on until his death his career was busy and brilliant. Among the positions he held were those of Judge, Ensign (1668), Captain, Colonel, Mayor (1677), Privy Councillor, Chief Justice, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Justice of the Supreme Court, Commissioner of Revenue, Deputy Auditor-General, and Deputy-Secretary of New York. The for- tune which he inherited he increased by his own exertions, and invested it in real estate. In 1683, he bought 83,000 acres on the east side of the Hudson, which in 1697 was erected into the lord- ship and manor of Cortlandt. He also purchased great holdings on the west side of the Hudson, on Long Island, and in Sussex County, N. J.
At the time of his death he must have been seized of more than two hundred thousand acres, valued at over a million dollars. Upon the manor his son Johannes built a fort which was converted into a dwelling-house by Stephanus. Johannes
The walls were of stone, nearly three feet thick, pierced with loop-holes for fire-arms. It stood near the mouth of the Croton River and has been the centre of social and intellectual life from that time to the present day. It is still in the possession of the founder's descendants. Stephanus married Gertrude Schuyler, by whom he had fourteen children. Five of his daughters made brilliant marriages, and became the maternal heads of many dis- tinguished families: Anne wedding Stephen de Lancey; Margaret, Samuel Bayard; Maria, Killian Van Rensselaer; Gertrude, Henry Beekman, and Cornelia, Colonel John Schuyler.
Jacobus [1658], the youngest son of the founder, was a New York merchant and man of affairs. He had an estate at Yonkers, which was continuously held by his descendants until 1889, when it was purchased by the City of New York Jacobus the Merchant for public purposes, and appropriately named “Van Cortlandt Park." He was Alderman, Assemblyman, and, in 1719, Mayor of the City of New York. He owned a large estate at Bedford, Westchester County, of which a portion descended to John Jay, who built upon it a handsome mansion. Jacobus married Eva Philipse, by whom he had one son, Frederick [1698].
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Three sons in the third generation were famous. Johannes, oldest son of Stephanus, married Anne Sophia Van Schaack, by whom he had a daughter, Gertrude, who married Philip Ver Plank. Johannes was a merchant and landed proprietor and active in benevolent work.
Philip [1683], the third son of Stephanus, was prominent in mercantile and public life. He was made a Councillor of the Philip the Province by Governor Montgomerie in 1730, which Councilfor office he retained until his death, in 1746. He was made a Commissioner for the Crown in nearly all the important issues of his time. His wife was Catherine de Peyster, by whom he had five sons and one daughter.
Frederick [1698], the son of Jacobus, was a man of great promise, who died in early manhood. According to the records, he was winning, learned, charitable, and devout. He married Frances Jay, by whom he had two sons.
In the fourth generation occurred the American Revolution, a political event of such far-reaching power that it turned father against son and brother against brother. Nearly all the old families of the State were affected, and among them the Van Cortlandts.
Stephen [1710], the oldest of the family, was marked by strong Royalist tendencies, which he transmitted to his children.
Colonel He married Mary Walton Ricketts, by whom he had Stephen two sons, Philip and William Ricketts. Of these, Philip [1739] became a British soldier, rising to the rank of colonel. He married Catherine, daughter of Jacob Ogden, by whom he had twenty-three children. Five of his sons joined the British Army.
Pierre [1721], the youngest son of Philip, inherited the manor, and early in life became prominent in the province. He
Pierre the served seven years in the Assembly, and while there Lieutenant- was an eloquent and dauntless advocate for the rights Governor of his people against those of the Crown. He was a member of the Provincial Convention, Council of Safety, and the Provincial Congress. When the province of New York organized
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its own State Government in 1777, he was chosen Lieutenant- Governor, and held that office for eighteen years. He could have been re-elected, but declined on the score of age and ill- health. He presided at the Convention which formed the first State Constitution, and in every way stamped himself upon the political and social events of the time.
Pierre's course must have been difficult and painful. His favorite nephew, the head of the family, was an officer in the British Army, and many of his friends and relatives were enthusi- astic Royalists. Their influence and that of many of the society leaders of the time were brought to bear upon Van Cortlandt to induce him to change his political views. In 1774, Governor William Tryon went from New York to Croton to call upon the "rebel Van Cortlandts," as they were then termed, Pierre having just been elected to the Colonial Assembly, and his son Philip having just completed his professional studies. To the former the Governor offered large grants of land and a probable title; to the latter, a commission as major in the royal army. Both father and son refused the offers, and Tryon returned disap- pointed to New York.
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