John Van Buren (U.S. Representative)

John Van Buren
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 7th district
In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	Rufus Palen
Succeeded by	Joseph H. Anderson
Personal details
Born	May 13, 1799 Kingston, New York, U.S.
Died	January 16, 1855 (aged 55) Kingston, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Houghtaling Burying Ground Kingston, New York
Citizenship	US
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Laura Amelia Hardy Van Buren
Children	Daniel Tompkins Van Buren Persen Van Buren
Parents	Cornelius Van Buren Elisabeth (Peersen) Van Buren
Alma mater	Union College
Profession	Attorney Politician

John Van Buren (May 13, 1799 – January 16, 1855) was an American attorney and politician in the U.S. state of New York. He represented New York in the United States House of Representatives.

Early life

Van Buren was born in Kingston, New York, the son of Cornelius Van Buren and Elisabeth (Peersen) Van Buren.^[1] He graduated from Union College in 1818,^[2] studied law and was admitted to the bar. He began the practice of law in Kingston.^[3]

Political career

He held many different political positions in New York, and in 1841 was a member of the New York State Assembly representing Ulster County in the 54th New York State Legislature. Van Buren was Judge of Ulster County from 1836-1841.^[4] He was elected as a Democrat to the 27th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1841 to March 3, 1843.^[5] While in Congress, he was Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State. After leaving Congress he resumed the practice of law and served as Ulster County District Attorney from 1846-1850.^[6]

Van Buren died in Kingston on January 16, 1855^[7] and is interred in the Old Houghtaling Cemetery in Kingston.

Van Buren is sometimes confused with John Van Buren, the son of President Martin Van Buren.^[8][9] President Van Buren's son was born in 1810 and died in 1866.^[10] John Van Buren of Kingston was born in 1799 and died in 1855.^[11] While both John Van Burens were active in New York's Democratic Party, President Van Buren's son never lived in Kingston, served as a Judge, or was elected to Congress.^[12][13]

Family life

Van Buren and his wife Laura Amelia Hardy had two children, Daniel Tompkins Van Buren and Persen Van Buren. ^[14][15]

References

1. "John van Buren". Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
2. Philomathean Society (Union College) (1847). Catalogue of the Members of the Philomathean Society, Instituted in Union College, in 1795. Riggs, printer. p. 14. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
3. United States. Government Printing Office (1918). Congressional serial set. U.S. G.P.O. p. 1073.
4. United States. Congress (1913). A Biographical Congressional Directory: With an Outline History of the National Congress, 1774-1911 : the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774 - October 21, 1788, the United States Congress , from the First to the Sixty-second Congress, March 4, 1789 - March 3, L9ll. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1073. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
5. Congressional Quarterly, inc (2009). American Political Leaders 1789-2009. CQ Press. p. 257. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
6. Ulster County, N.Y. County Legislature (1921). Proceedings of the Ulster County Legislature. Ulster County, N.Y. County Legislature. p. 313. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
7. Herringshaw, Thomas William (1914). Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States; Illustrated with Three Thousand Vignette Portraits. American Publishers' Association. p. 528. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
8. Wead, Doug (2003). All the Presidents' Children. New York, NY: Atria Books. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7434-4631-0. (Note: This reference is included as an example of how the John Van Buren who was Martin Van Buren's son is mistaken for the John Van Buren who was a Congressman from New York.)
9. Quinn-Musgrove, Sandra L. (1995). America's Royalty: All the Presidents' Children. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 40–42. ISBN 978-0-313-29535-5. (Note: This reference is included as an example of how the John Van Buren who was Martin Van Buren's son is mistaken for the John Van Buren who was a Congressman from New York.)
10. Miller, Richard F. States at War, Volume 2: A Reference Guide for New York in the Civil War. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. p. 383. ISBN 978-1-61168-266-3.
11. Napton, William Barclay (2005). The Union on Trial: The Political Journals of Judge William Barclay Napton, 1829-1883. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8262-1571-0.
12. "Obituary: Death of John Van Buren". New York Times. October 17, 1866.
13. John Van Buren at Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
14. "Laura Amelia Hardy". Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
15. Waite, H.C.; Peckham, Buren (1913). History of Cornelis Maessen Van Buren. New York, NY: Tobias A. Wright. p. 169. Retrieved 24 July 2014.

External links

• John Van Buren at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• John Van Buren at Find a Grave
• Union College, A General Catalogue of the Officers, Graduates, and Students of Union College, from 1795 to 1868, 1868, page 25
• New York Times, Obituary: Death of John Van Buren, October 17, 1866