Martin Van Buren was born in 1782 in the village of Kinderhook, New York. He was the son of Abraham and Maria Hoes Van Buren, both of Dutch descent, whose families had lived in New York for several generations. At an early age Van Buren became acquainted with politicians.

Martin Van Buren’s formal education was at a local village academy, from which he was graduated at the age of 14. He was later placed in the law office of Francis Sylvester. Van Buren remained at Sylvester’s law office until he was 20, after which he moved to New York City and entered the law office of Willian P. Van Ness.

On February 21, 1807, Van Buren married his distant cousin Hunnah Hoes. They had four sons : Abraham, Martin, John, and Smith Thompson. After 12 years of marriage , Hunnah Van Buren died of tuberculosis. Van Buren never remarried.

In the election of 1836, Van Buren won handily with 170 electoral votes as against 73 for Harrison, 26 for White , 14 for Webster, and 11 for Mangum. In the popular votes Van Buren received a total of 764, 176 to Harrisons 550, 816 Whites 146, 107 to Websters 41 ,201.

In the election of 1840 Van Buren became increasingly unpopular with the American people because of the depression and his temperate handing of the Canadian problem.

Van Buren lost the election by an electoral count of 234 to 60. The popular votes gave him 1,2128,854 to Harrison’s 1,275,390.

Van Buren was a Democrat at heart and soon returned to the party he had done so much to organize. In 1852 he took a trip to Europe where he spent the next to years. He was then 70 years old and the first ex-president to leave the United States. In Italy Van Buren began to write his political memoirs.

Van Buren had retired to his home at Lindenwold, in Kinderhook, following his return from Europe. He died there in 1862, at the age of 79.