The family name of Van der Poel is the Dutch significance for "from the lake," or marsh, and when the name was first applied undoubtedly this family dwelt beside a small body of water, dammed or hemmed in by natural or artificial means, and thus at a time when Christian names only were in common use it designated which one of several bearing the same given name was meant. The family lived originally in Gorichem (Groningen?) on the Rhine, but dispersed about the year 1600, the branch which then went to Amsterdam, Holland, coming to America not long afterwards, from whom those of the name living here are descended.
The branch originated in America by Teunis (Anthony) Cornelis Van der Poel (alias Spitsbergen), who had a short existence, for he left no male descendants so far as is known at this day. He was in Beverwyck from 1660 to 1687; married Catrina, daughter of Johannes Croon; was a magistrate in 1671, and owned one-half of Constapel's Island in the Hudson river opposite Paerde Hoeck. When he died, about 1687 (his will was made June 17, 1687), he left a widow and three daughters, Elizabeth, Maria and Johanna. At this time he was still the owner of a house in Amsterdam.
There is evidence of two others of the name having been early in this country. Jacobus (James) Van der Poel married Margaret Jans in New York, July 25, 1693, and Gerrit Van der Poel, a widower, married Debora Warren, February 12, 1697.
(II) This line of descent originated with Wynant Gerritse Van der Poel, son of Gerrit Van der Poel, who was probably born in Holland and was in Albany as early as 1657. He resided there until about 1694. He purchased a half interest in a saw-mill located on the eastern bank of the Hudson river on what came to be known for the next two centuries and more as the Wynants Kill. He bought it in 1674 from Geertruy Pieterse Vosburgh, widow of Abraham Vosburgh. His last will, made in 1695, shows that he had removed from Albany, as it was indorsed "The Will of Wynant Gerritse Van der Poel, late of Albany, now of New York." It was dated February 29, 1695, and was probated April 17, 1702, so the date of his death must have been in the interim. For some reason he bequeathed only six shillings to his son, Melgert, and gave the residue of his estate to his son-in-law, William G. Van den Bergh. It is very possible that he provided in the usual way for his children during his life, and in old age resided with his daughter, Catryn, who married Van den Bergh. Wynant Gerritse Van der Poel married Tryntje Melgers. Children:
- Cornelia, married Cornelis Gysbertse Van den Bergh before 1685;
- Melgert Wynantse, see forward;
- Gerrit, married Catrina Van Zandt;
- Catryn, married William G. Van den Bergh, before 1685;
- Margariet, married Johannes Van Zandt, about 1683.
(III) Melgert Wynantse, son of Wynant Gerritse and Tryntje (Melgers) Van der Poel, resided in Albany, and his house, as also his father's fronted on the Fort on State street, in 1675, probably located on the south side of that main street. Not infrequently he wrote his name Melchert, for so it appears on some of the records. It is likely that he died before the year 1700. He married (first) Ariaantje, daughter of Abraham Isaacse and Maria (Vigne) Verplanck, by whom he had eight children, and he married (second) Elizabeth Teller, by whom he had two children. She was the daughter of William Sr., and Margaret (Donchesen) Teller. By her first husband, as shown by her will, made February 19, 1720, she had several children: Margaret, married Volckert Douw; Maria, married John Vinhagen; Magdalena, married Abraham Lansing, and Helena. She died in that year. Children of Melgert W. Van der Poel:
- Melgert, see forward;
- Maria;
- Trynke;
- Abraham, married Antje Van den Bergh, January 3, 1713;
- Wynant, baptized October 14, 1683, married Catharina De Hoogen (or De Hooges), August 17, 1706;
- Gelyn, baptized May 17, 1685;
- Jacobus (James), born March 9, 1687;
- Hendrick, baptized June 2, 1689;
- Wilhelm, born March 19, 1693;
- Ariaantje, born November 17, 1695.
(IV) Melgert, son of Melgert Wynantse and Ariaantje (Verplanck) Van der Poel, was baptized in Albany, and resided in Kinderhook, New York, until his marriage, when he removed to Poelsburgh, where he died. He married, May 17, 1696, Catharina, daughter of Lourens (Laurence) and Elbertje (Evertse) Van Alen. She inherited a large estate from her father, who was a son-in-law of de Bruyn, to whom a large patent of land on the Hudson river had been granted. Children, and dates of baptism:
- Elbertje, February 3, 1697, married Martin Van Deusen, December 23, 1719;
- Ariaantje, September 3, 1699;
- Lourens, January 26, 1701, married, October 29, 1726, Ariaantje Van den Bergh;
- Maria, January 10, 1703, married, November 8, 1724, David Groesbeck;
- Johannes, see forward;
- Abraham, February 9, 1707, married, October 26, 1738, Elizabeth Quinlen;
- Jacobus (James), April 17, 1709, married, October 16, 1740, Neeltje Huyck;
- Isaac, October 14, 1711, married Anna ————;
- Catryna, December 16, 1716.
(V) Johannes, son of Melgert and Catharina (Van Alen) Van der Poel,was born on his father's estate in Kinderhook, New York, March 4, 1705, died there April 11, 1777; but was interred in Poelsburgh. It is thought that he was a widower (having married on November 8, 1736, but to whom unknown) when he married Annatje (Nautje or Annie), daughter of Dr. Samuel and Catharine (Howarden) Staats. This marriage took place on May 5, 1743, at the house on the Flatts (between Albany and Troy) of Madam Schuyler, "The American Lady," whose niece and adopted daughter she was. His wife was the granddaughter of Major Abraham Staats, surgeon, who came to Rensselaerwyck in 1642 with Dominie Megapolensis, and whose wife was Catrina Jochemse Wessels. Major Staats was a prominent leader during Leisler's administration of the government, and. probably left New York to settle in Poelsburgh soon after its collapse. Children:
- Isaac, see forward;
- Maria, married, November 19, 1762, Laurence Van Dyck;
- Catherine, married John Pruyn, October 27, 1767;
- Eltje, baptized April 22, 1750, married John Van Valkenbergh;
- Sarah, married (first) John Van Alstyne, (second) Colonel Jacob Schermerhorn.
(VI) Isaac, son of Johannes and Annatje (Annie) (Staats) Van der Poel, was born in Kinderhook, December 8, 1747, and was baptized in Albany, December 25, 1747, with Philip Schuyler and Geertruy Lansing as sponsors. He died in Chatham, Columbia county, New York, December 25, 1807. He was commissioned adjutant of the Seventh regiment (Kinderhook district), October 20, 1775, and was removed from this position for disaffection to the American government. He afterwards joined the British forces and commanded a company of refugees on Staten Island. While acting in this capacity, he was taken sick, and it is said that through the influence of his mother with her relative, General Philip Schuyler, a pass through the American lines was secured for him. She brought him to her home, cared for him tenderly until his complete recovery, and then returned him to his company on Staten Island. His estate was confiscated by the government, and he was thus rendered almost penniless. He was a man of extraordinary intellect, and of a frank, noble and generous nature, but he never enjoyed a day of peace after the mistaken step he took in the revolution. Following his marriage, he purchased a small farm in the village of Chatham, over the hill and about a mile and a half from Kinderhook lake, where he passed the remainder of his days quietly.
Isaac Van der Poel married Moyca (Mayke, or May), daughter of Jacobus (James), of Pompaonie, and Elizabeth (Van Dyck) Huyck. She was born October 17, 1758, died in Stuyvesant, New York, November 20, 1827, and was interred in the Kinderhook cemetery. Her mother was the daughter of Arent and Heyltie (Van Alen) Van Dyck, who had, beside Moyca, children named Arent and Burger. Arent Van Dyck, the maternal grandfather of Isaac Van der Poel, was one of His Majesty's justices of the peace for the colony. He was a gentleman of education and talents, and the general scribe for the region in which he lived. He was a lineal descendant of Hendrick Van Dyck, who was the attorney-general of the Dutch province of New York, and who came from the West Indies with Governor Stuyvesant. He and Stuyvesant were two obstinate Dutchmen, and seem to have quarreled all the way from the West Indies to New York. Children:
- Anne, born January 3, 1785, died September 5, 1787;
- James, see forward;
- Anne, July 30, 1789, died April 3, 1793;
- Elizabeth, January 19, 1791, married Lucas J. Van Alen, January 16, 1815, died August 23, 1833;
- John, August 24, 1796, married, January 14, 1823, Sarah W. Oakley, died October 27, 1851;
- Aaron, February 5, 1799, married (first), September 3, 1821, Harriet Baldwin, who died in April, 1837; married (second), April 2, 1839, Ellen McBride.
(VII) James, son of Isaac and Moyca (Huyck) Van der Poel, was born in Kinderhook, Columbia county, New York, January 10, 1787, died in Albany, October 3, 1843. He vas a judge and most highly respected all his life by members of the bar and acquaintances generally. For many years previous to his appointment to the bench, Judge Van der Poel had acquired a high reputation at the bar and was prominent in both public and professional life among the eminent men of his day in Columbia county. As a circuit judge of the third judicial district of the state, he was distinguished for learning, ability and promptitude, for rapid and clear-sighted views of the law and the facts, as he was also in his intercourse with his fellow-citizens for all manly and honorable qualities. But if his public life was honorable and elevated, his domestic living was eminently beautiful. He was truly the venerated and beloved center of a family circle that appreciated the great and good qualities that shed lustre over his life and sustained and cheered the long period of his illness. To all, indeed, who were allied to him by the ties of family or kindred, or who came within the circle of his friendship, he was an object of the highest respect and the warmest attachments. Judge James Van der Poel married, April 19, 1808, Anna, born July 19, 1782, daughter of the Rev. George Jacob Leonard Doll; she died in Albany, March 14, 1855. Children:
- Elizabeth, born May 22, 1810, married, June 22, 1841, John Van Buren, died November 18, 1844;
- Susan Christina, February 16, 1812, married, September 10, 1833, William Cooper, died March 30, 1841;
- Sarah Ann, April 26, 1816, married, December 2, 1835, James M. French, died November 30, 1857;
- Mary, June 25, 1818, died April 9, 1821;
- Isaac, see forward;
- Harriet, June 6, 1824, married, September 10, 1844, Joseph Christopher Yates Paige, died at Albany.
(VIII) Isaac (2), son of Judge James and Anna (Doll) Van der Poel, was born in Kinderhook, May 7, 1821, died at his home in Albany, No. 59 Eagle street, December 28, 1868. He was buried in the Albany Rural cemetery. He received a classical education at Williams College, where he was graduated with the very highest honors. He prepared for the profession of law and became eminent in practice. He attained high public position; was assistant adjutant-general under Governor Horatio Seymour, and on the death of Adjutant-General Temple, succeeded him in office, serving on the governor's staff. In 1861-62 he was in charge of New York state military supplies. In 1867 he was corporation counsel of the city of Albany. He was an eloquent and pleasing speaker and popular on the lecture platform as well as in demand as a political speaker. He was an ardent Democrat, very pronounced in his views, yet strongly anti-slavery and a strong advocate of the preservation of the Union. He was a valued contributor to the columns of the Army and Navy Gazette, and other service magazines, having an unusual knowledge of military matters. During the civil war he served as a member of the Albany board of aldermen and warmly espoused and advocated all patriotic measures adopted by the city for the raising and care of troops. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed church and liberal in its support. He always retained a lively interest in his college fraternity, Sigma Phi. Isaac Van der Poel married, May 14, 1850, Susan Foster, born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1832, died at her home, No. 453 State street, Albany, October 11, 1907. She was the daughter of Adams and Mary (Keith) Foster. She was one of the most interested of those concerned in the movement inaugurated by Bishop Doane for the institution of the Cathedral of All Saints. To all manner of church work she was devoted so long as her health permitted, teaching in the Cathedral's Sunday school for a great many years, and giving very largely of her time to the promotion of the charitable works of that congregation. Her kindly word and act have brought cheer to many an individual in suffering, worry and want, and no one in the large congregation was more missed when her ministration ceased. Children:
- Isaac, born at No. 5 Oak street, Albany, June 8, 1851, married in Brooklyn, New York, May 21, 1896, Minnie Buckmaster, no children;
- Mary Keith, born at Albany, November 26, 1854, married, Albany, December 21, 1875, Marcus T. Hun;
- James, born at Albany, September 27, 1857, residing in 1910 at No. 453 State street, Albany;
- Henry Adams, born at Albany, October 28, 1861, died at New York, February 8, 1898, married Grace McClure Olcott; child, Henry Adams;
- Susan, see forward.
(IX) Susan, daughter of Isaac and Susan (Foster) Van der Poel, was born in Albany, New York, August 12, 1866. She received her education at St. Agnes' school in that city and is a member of the Cathedral of All Saints. She married, Albany, June 3, 1903, Joseph Pacificus Ord, Bishop William Croswell Doane officiating, and they reside at No. 459 State street, Albany. Child: Susan Van der Poel Ord, born in New York City, April 22, 1908.
Joseph Pacificus Ord was born at Monterey, California, April 30, 1852. His father was Pacificus Ord, born at Cumberland, Maryland, in 1816, died at Washington, D.C., May 11, 1900, son of James Ord, born in England, and Rebecca Ruth (Cresap) Ord, of Cumberland, Maryland. His mother was Maria Louisa (Pogue) Ord, who was born in Maryland, died in California in 1854, daughter of John S. and Lucinda Elizabeth Lee (Snow) Pogue. His parents were married in New Orleans in 1849, and took up their residence in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Ord received his education at Yale, graduating in the class of 1873, and was a member of the college society, Skull and Bones. For a number of years he was vice-president of the General Electric Company at Schenectady, and by profession is a lawyer. He is a member of the Fort Orange club, the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society, the Country Club, and the University Club of New York City. His summer home is at Westport, Essex county, New York, and his residence is No. 459 State street, Albany, New York.