Columbia County, New York

 

History of Kinderhook

Kinderhook is one of the oldest and most important towns of Columbia county.  It is the second from the river, of the northern towns bordering on the Rensselaer county line, from Stuyvesant on the west to Chatham on the east.  On its south is the town of Ghent.  Originally, Kinderhook embraced the whole of Stuyvesant and parts of Chatham and Ghent, giving it more than double its present area.  It now comprises twenty thousand eight hundred acres, lying very nearly in the form of a rectangle, whose length is almost double its width, and extends from north to south about eight miles. 

Kinderhook signifies in the Dutch tongue "the children's corner," and is supposed to have been applied to this locality by Hendrick Hudson, in 1609, on account of the many Indian children who had assembled on one of the bluffs along the river to see his strange vessel sailing up stream.  Another version says that a Swede named Scherb, living in the forks of an Indian trail in the present town of Stuyvesant, had such a numerous family of children that the name of Kinderhook was used by the Dutch traders to designate that locality.  Whichever account be accepted the name was appropriately selected, for the children of Kinderhook filled up not only its own bounds, but early occupied the adjoining territory.

From The History of Columbia County

            by Captain Franklin Ellis, 1878

 

           

Kinderhook is the home of a number of my ancestors. Some of my families from there include Goes, Van Alen, Van Valkenburg, Vosburgh, Van Buren, Dingman, Gardenier, Van Slyck, Huyck, and Hogeboom.

The village of Kinderhook, New York is an old Dutch village that was settled in the 1600s, shortly after Henry `Hudson voyaged up the river that now bears his name. Early inhabitants settled around what is now Stuyvesant Landing and gradually moved inland. The town originally stretched from the Hudson River to what is now the town of Chatham. Kinderhook means "Children's Corner" in Dutch and still retains its colonial Dutch atmosphere.

 

 

Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) is notable local person from Kinderhook. He was born on December 5th 1782 in a house that was located at 36 Hudson Street, where an historical marker now stands. His father, who had fought in the war for Independence, was a tavern keeper and farmer. Martin attended village schools until age 14 when he started to read law with a local attorney, Mr. Sylvester. He then moved to New York City to pursue further legal studies. He is my 3rd cousin 5 times removed.

 

The following web site contains information about Martin Van Buren, President of the US from 1836 to 1840.

He was only about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, but trim and erect, He dressed fastidiously. His impeccable appearance belied
his amiability--and his humble background. Of Dutch descent, he was born in 1782, the son of a tavern keeper and

farmer, in Kinderhook , New York . He was known as the "Little Magician". He was also elected Vice
President on the Jacksonian ticket in 1832. Addition information about him may be found here:

          http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/mb8.html

          A picture of President Van Buren’s home is found on the Kinderhook Attractions web site at:
          http://www.kinderhookconnection.com/attractn.htm

          Van Buren baptisms that were made in Albany and Kinderhook and the Old Dutch Church in Kingston between

            1660 and 1825 are listed on this web site:

            http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dutchapples/vbchbap1.html  

         The Columbia County’s Histories and Mysteries website has some interesting stories about the towns in                                 Columbia County and additional information about President Martin Van Buren. The address is:

           Return to Families Page

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           BIOGRAPHIES FROM COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK

             Hon. John Jay Van Valkenburg, by C. W. Davis

             Hon. John T. Hogeboom of Ghent, Columbia County, New York

             David W. Gardenier, Kinderhook

             Hon. Henery Hogeboom

             Hon. Jacob Ten Broeck

 

             I have relations in all of these families. I do not know if I am related to any of these men.

             See http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/columbia/biogrphs/index.htm

 

             Biographies of other residents of Columbia County are listed here. This is an alphabetical list.

             Not all names are linked to a page about the person named.

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               Other websites that have additional information about Columbia .

            Columbia County GenWeb                   

                    Kinderhook Connection                                                    

                    Online Historical Archives                                                

                Columbia County Political Graveyard    

                Columbia County Historical Society   

                Vital Records for Columbia County      

                 

                   Columbia County Cemeteries – Some listings or links may take you to an off site cemeteries

 

                   Other information about Columbia County is found here.

            

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       Pictures of descendants of persons from Columbia County . Check these pictures. You may find

       someone to whom you are related. http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/columbia/photos/people.htm

 

PLACES OTHER ANCESTORS LIVED

            Albany and New Amsterdam

            Fulton County

            Greene County

            Dutchess County

            Montgomery County

            Rensselaer County

            Saratoga County

            Schoharie County

            Schenectady County

            Ulster County

 

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This page was last revised on 1 October 2010