Family of Martin Van Buren

The family of Martin Van Buren was a Dutch-American family rooted in Kinderhook, New York, whose best-known member became the eighth president of the United States. Martin Van Buren was born there on December 5, 1782, to Abraham Van Buren and Maria Hoes, or Goes, Van Alen. Both parents came from long-established Dutch families in the Hudson Valley, and Dutch was the household's first language. Martin was baptized as Maarten Van Buren, reflecting the family's cultural and linguistic background. Abraham Van Buren operated an inn and tavern in Kinderhook and participated in public life. During the American Revolution he served as a Patriot and captain in the Albany County Militia's Seventh Regiment. He later supported the Jeffersonian Republicans and held local offices, including Kinderhook town clerk from 1787 to 1797. Maria had previously been married to Johannes Van Alen. Through that marriage Martin had three half-siblings: Marytje or Maria Van Alen, John I. Van Alen, and James I. Van Alen. James practiced law with Martin for a period and later represented New York in Congress. Martin's full siblings were Dirckie, also called Derike; Jannetje, known in English as Hannah or Jane; Lawrence or Laurence; and Abraham Abramse. Dirckie married Barent Hoes, who was also the brother of Martin's future wife and held local offices. Jannetje never married. Lawrence became a store owner and attorney, served as a militia officer during the War of 1812, and held several Kinderhook offices. Abraham Abramse practiced law and became a Columbia County surrogate. Martin married his childhood sweetheart, Hannah Hoes, on February 21, 1807. She was his first cousin's daughter and was raised in another Dutch-speaking Hudson Valley household. The couple had six children, although one daughter was stillborn and another son died in infancy. Hannah died of tuberculosis on February 5, 1819, aged thirty-five. Martin did not remarry. Because he was frequently engaged in political work and later national office, relatives helped raise the children, particularly Smith Thompson Van Buren after his mother's death. Four of Martin and Hannah's children reached adulthood. Abraham Van Buren II attended West Point, served in the Mexican-American War, and married Angelica Singleton in 1838. Angelica acted as White House hostess and effectively performed the social duties of first lady during the latter part of Martin Van Buren's presidency. John Van Buren attended Yale, became attorney general of New York, and had one daughter with Elizabeth Vanderpoel. Martin Van Buren Jr. worked as a political aide to his father, traveled with him in Europe during the 1850s, and died in Paris in 1855 without marrying. Smith Thompson Van Buren married twice and had seven children in total. He later became his father's literary executor. The family remained connected to Lindenwald, Martin Van Buren's Kinderhook home. Martin intended Smith to become his principal heir on the condition that Smith and his family live there. Renovations carried out around 1849–1850 changed the house's appearance from Federalist to an Italianate-Gothic Victorian style. After Smith's death, his widow Henrietta and son-in-law Stuyvesant Fish Morris donated much of Martin Van Buren's paper collection to the Library of Congress. The family also includes later notable descendants, among them editor, literary critic, and playwright Wolcott Gibbs, a great-great-grandson through Martin's son John.

The Van Buren family described in the historical record was rooted in Kinderhook, in New York's Hudson Valley. Martin Van Buren's parents, Abraham Van Buren and Maria Hoes, or Goes, Van Alen, belonged to Dutch families that had lived in the region for generations. Their household preserved Dutch as its primary language, and Martin's baptismal name was recorded in its Dutch form, Maarten Van Buren. Abraham owned and operated a local inn and tavern. He had served the Patriot cause during the American Revolution as a captain in the Albany County Militia's Seventh Regiment. In the early national period he became active in Jeffersonian Republican politics and local administration, serving as Kinderhook's town clerk from 1787 through 1797. Maria had been widowed before marrying Abraham; her first husband was Johannes Van Alen. Martin therefore grew up with both full and half-siblings. The half-siblings were Marytje or Maria Van Alen, John I. Van Alen, and James I. Van Alen. James later practiced law alongside Martin and served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Martin's full siblings included Dirckie, Jannetje, Lawrence, and Abraham Abramse. Their marriages and careers kept the family closely connected to Kinderhook civic life. Dirckie's husband, Barent Hoes, was Martin's brother-in-law as well as the brother of Hannah Hoes, whom Martin married. Lawrence combined commercial and legal work with militia and local government service, while Abraham Abramse pursued law and became a county surrogate. Martin married Hannah Hoes in Catskill on February 21, 1807. The couple shared a Dutch cultural background and had known one another since childhood. They had six children, including a stillborn daughter and Winfield Scott Van Buren, who died shortly after his birth in 1814. Hannah died from tuberculosis in February 1819, leaving four sons who lived to adulthood: Abraham, John, Martin Jr., and Smith Thompson. Martin never remarried, and his political career often kept him away from home. Smith, whose mother died when he was two, was raised partly by relatives. The adult children's lives intersected with military service, law, politics, and national society. Abraham attended West Point, served in the Mexican-American War, and married Angelica Singleton. Angelica later served as White House hostess during the latter part of Martin Van Buren's presidency. John studied at Yale and became attorney general of New York. Martin Jr. worked as his father's political aide and died in Paris in 1855 after traveling in Europe with his father. Smith married Ellen King James and, after her death, Henrietta Eckford Irving. His children included descendants connected to the Morris family and to other prominent nineteenth-century families. Lindenwald, Martin Van Buren's estate in Kinderhook, became an important family setting. Martin expected Smith to inherit the property and asked that Smith and his family reside there. Alterations made around 1849 and 1850 gave the house a Victorian Italianate-Gothic appearance. Smith also served as Martin's literary executor. After Smith died, Henrietta and Stuyvesant Fish Morris transferred a substantial body of Martin Van Buren papers to the Library of Congress, helping preserve the family's documentary legacy. Later descendants included Wolcott Gibbs, a noted American editor, critic, and playwright.

• 1875

  Death of Smith Thompson Van Buren

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Smith Thompson Van Buren died at Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, on December 10.

• 1855

  Death of Martin Van Buren Jr.

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Van Buren Jr., who had worked as his father's political aide, died in Paris on March 19.

• 1849

  Lindenwald renovations begin

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Changes associated with Smith Thompson Van Buren transformed Lindenwald's exterior from a Federalist design toward an Italianate-Gothic Victorian appearance.

• 1838

  Angelica Singleton joins the family

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Van Buren II married Angelica Singleton, who later served as White House hostess during Martin Van Buren's presidency.

• 1819

  Death of Hannah Hoes Van Buren

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Hannah Hoes Van Buren died of tuberculosis on February 5 at age thirty-five. Martin did not remarry.

• 1807

  Martin Van Buren marries Hannah Hoes

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Van Buren married his childhood sweetheart, Hannah Hoes, in Catskill, New York, on February 21.

• 1782

  Birth of Martin Van Buren

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, on December 5 and baptized as Maarten Van Buren.

• 1776

  Abraham Van Buren marries Maria Hoes

  [1]Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Van Buren married Maria Hoes, or Goes, Van Alen, a widow whose first marriage had been to Johannes Van Alen.

Not applicable as a commercial brand; this is a historical family subject centered on the ancestry and descendants of U.S. president Martin Van Buren.

1. 1Family of Martin Van Burenen.wikipedia.org