John
N. Van Hoesen
Retyped from Beers "History of Greene County" by Annette
Campbell
The original dwelling place of the VanHoesen family in this
county was in Claverack, and the first of the name that lived on this side
of the Hudson River was Jan VanHoesen, who lived in Coxsackie as early as
1717. Of the branch that remained at Claverack, was descended Nicholas
VanHoesen, who had two brothers, Justus and Cornelius.
Nicholas VanHoesen died January 11th 1818. He had children as follows:
1. Nicholas, whose descendants are now living in Delaware
County, New York; 2. John N.; 3. William, who is well remembered
by the older inhabitants of Athens as the owner, for many years, of the
"old Nicholas Perry place" in the western part of town. He
had two sons, John, who lived in Athens, and Justus, a citizen of Albany;
and three daughters, Charity, Jane and Margaret; 4. Hannah, who
married William Earl; 5. Sarah, wife of Henry Cornwell; 6.
Charity, wife of Henry Schoonmaker; 7. Thomas, who had two children,
Nicholas T. and Hannah.
John N. VanHoesen, the second son, was born February 10th
1785, in Columbia county, New York. He married Maria, daughter of Leonard
Whitbeck (whose wife was Rebecca VanLoon), December 14th 1816.
The children of this marriage were Nicholas I., who is a prominent citizen of Athens and a skillful surveyor, and well known in his profession; Leonard; Thomas; William Henry, who died April 6th 1862; Rebecca, who married John VanLoon; and Jane, wife of William Brandow of Catskill.
John N. VanHoesen, the father of this family, died March 20th 1873.
The homestead upon which the family were born, and where Nicholas and one of his brothers still live, was originally the farm of Nicholas, son of Jurry VanLoon. It was sold by his heirs to Castle Seeley, a well known citizen of Athens in the early part of this century; and he sold it to John N. VanHoesen, April 1st 1837. The old stone house, the original home of the VanLoons, stood by the spring, a little northeast of the present house.
The three brothers, Nicholas, Thomas, and Leonard VanHoesen, are large land holders, and have by skillful management accumulated an extensive and valuable estate.
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