Martin
Van Buren
Martin Van Buren Biography
Overview
Picture File Source (2)
Martin Van Buren was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. He was a political pioneer and a very powerful politician from New York. A founder of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the ninth governor of New York, the tenth United States secretary of state, and the eighth vice president of the United States.[1]
Martin's wife - Hannah Van Buren
Quick Facts:
| Full Name | Martin Van Buren |
| Birth Date | December 5, 1782 |
| Birth Place | Kinderhook, New York |
| Death Date | July 24, 1862 |
| Career | Lawyer |
| Spouse | February 21, 1807, to Hannah Hoes (1783–1819) |
| Children | Abraham (1807–1873) John (1810–1866) Martin (1812–1855) Winfield Scott (1813) Smith Thompson (1817–1876) |
| President No. | 8 |
| Presidency Begin | March 4, 1837 |
| Presidency End | March 4, 1841 |
| Vice President(s) | Richard M. Johnson (1837–1841) |
Van Buren was born in Kinderhook New York which was just south of Albany, NY. Van Buren was born into a large Dutch family having 7 siblings. His father was Abraham and his mother was named Maria. The family spoke Dutch, not English, making Van Buren the only President to not speak English as their first language.
His father owned an inn and tavern in Kinderhook and served as Kinderhook’s town clerk for several years. The tavern was hugely influential in Van Buren’s upbringing in that it brought in a myriad of patrons discussing politics and would teach Van Buren how to associate with people effectively in his political career in the future.
Van Buren received a very basic education at the local village schoolhouse. His formal education ended in 1796, when he began reading law at the office of Peter Silvester and his son Francis.[18]
Van Buren had always been interested in politics and became active at around age 18 where he worked on John Peter Van Ness’ party nomination for the Democratic-Republican party. [34]
Resources
Web Sites:
Books:
by Ted Widmer
by John Niven
REFERENCES
- **Presidential Flag Graphic source: Zscout370 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
- (1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Van_Buren
- (18) Brooke, John L. (2010). “Chapter 7: ‘Party and Corruption: The Columbia Junto and the Rise of Martin Van Buren, 1799–1812′”. Columbia Rising: Civil Life on the Upper Hudson from the Revolution to the Age of Jackson. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807833230. p. 230
- (34) Brooke 2010, p. 283.