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Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs:
Vander Veer

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[This information is from Vol. I, pp. 243-250 of Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, edited by Cuyler Reynolds (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911). It is in the Reference collection of the Schenectady County Public Library at R 929.1 R45. Some of the formatting of the original, especially in lists of descendants, may have been altered slightly for ease of reading.]

This family name, written Vander Veer ("From the Ferry"), was borne by one of the earliest Dutch settlers of Long Island, New York, Cornelise Janse Vander Veer was one of the founders of the town of Flatbush, having emigrated from Alkmaar, Holland, in the "Otter," and landed at Flatbush, February, 1659; was entered on the ship list as a farmer, and a facsimile of his signature shows that he spelled his name Vander Veer. Among his descendants there is much diversity in regard to spelling their surname. A great-grandson of Cornelise Janse in one bond dated May 29, 1765, spelled it as follows: Vander Veer, V. D. Veer, Van Derveer, Van Der Veer. It would seem that over a century ago members of this Dutch family were somewhat undecided at to the correct spelling of their surname. Sons of the founders of this family settled in the Raritan Valley of New Jersey, in Monmouth county, and after the revolution ascended the Hudson and Mohawk rivers to Montgomery county, New York, always with unerring instinct settling upon rich and fertile land. They furnished officers and soldiers for the revolution. The farms of two of the allied families formed a portion of the battle field of Monmouth — that of Albert Couwenhoven (Conover), and on which was located the famous spring around which the soldiers lay thick, dying from freely drinking the cold water; among the bodies of the dead the women and children of the family found their way in order to carry water to the helpless, while the men did their part in the actual combat.

In the war of 1812-14 they participated, as well as in the war with Mexico, and the great civil war, where one of this family gallantly led his men, though severely wounded, refusing to yield until the battle was over, when soon after, with a soldier's fortitude, he went to his long rest. One of the Albany family was in the Spanish-American war, which completes a remarkable military record. The ancestry of the Albany line entitles them to membership in all patriotic orders of the United States based on military or colonial forbears. While this is true, the descendants of the first Vander Veer have earned recognition for themselves, and their names adorn the rosters of some of our most noted institutions and organizations, placed there through individual achievement. From the earliest days of American history their pathway may be traced by their deeds as soldiers, pioneer farmers, merchants, manufacturers and professional men. In the professions the name is an eminent one, not only in theology, but ever best as well in the divine art of healing, where it is pre-eminent.

Through intermarriage, the descendants of Cornelise Janse Vander Veer are connected with a great many of the earlier Dutch settlers in eastern New Jersey and the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys of New York state. By a marriage of a Vander Veer with a Sarah Martin the family connects with Philip Schuyler and Margarita Van Slichtenhorst through their son, Colonel Philip (Quidor) and second wife, Maria Van Rensselaer, also Surgeon and Mayor Abram Staats, the first physician in the colony of Rensselaerwyck. By the marriage of a later Vander Veer with Margaret E. Snow, descent is traced to Isaac Allerton, of England, who came over in the "Mayflower" and was the fifth son to sign "the immortal compact."

(I) Cornelise Janse Vander Veer, of Holland, came of a family of considerable distinction, dating back to an early period. The reading of the family coat-of-arms indicates this. The foil denotes that some action in defense of the Trinity has been performed by him to whom the arms were first granted. The cap of dignity in crest denotes the family to have been of noble origin. The wolf's head in heraldry denotes courage and determination while the ragged edge of head indicates some great feat of valor had been performed. Motto: Aut in veniam, out faciam (Whatever we attempt, we do). Several tales are told among the descendants of Cornelise Janse Vander Veer regarding his coming to this country, the most frequent one being that two brothers sailed for America, became shipwrecked and were picked up by a Spanish vessel, held for ransom, and eventually returned to Holland, one to remain, while Cornelise Janse later came to the new world. Landing in Flatbush, February, 1659, from ship "Otter," he bought a farm in 1678-79, February 24, from Jan Janse Fry for 2600 gulden, in Flatbush, lying south of Fry's farm, from which it is evident he was a resident at this date. The purchaser's farm referred to in the above description was probably a tract of 2600 morgans in Flatbush, patented March 12, 1661, by Governor Stuyvesant to Cornelise Janse, lying on the north side of the land of Jan Swediker. His name is on the patent of Flatbush, 1685, and his official papers bear date of 1678-80.

About 1672, Cornelise Janse Vander Veer married Tyntje, daughter of Gillis de Mandeville and Elsjie Hendricks. An inscription on a plate over the gate at the entrance of Rowen, Normandy, France, from whence the de Mandevilles originally came, shows that they had achieved great distinction in the early history of that ancient city. Cornelise Janse and Tyntje Gillis (De Mandeville) Vander Veer had children. In the records of these children all have suffix Cornelissen, meaning son or daughter of Cornelise. Children:

  1. Cornelise Cornelissen, baptized about 1677; married Jannetje Van Nostrand.
  2. Neeltje Cornelissen, married, August 13, 1685, first wife of Daniel Polhemus.
  3. Jan Cornelissen, married, January 6, 1695, Fennuetje Bergen.
  4. Dominicus Cornelissen, see forward.
  5. Maria Cornelissen, baptized July 30, 1682.
  6. Hendrickje Cornelissen, baptized August 17, 1684; married Johannes Wyck (or Wyckoff).
  7. Michael Cornelissen, married Belitje ————.
  8. Jacoba Cornelissen, baptized April 29, 1686; married Jan Willemse Van Couwenhoven.
  9. Pieter Cornelissen, baptized April 29, 1686.
  10. Jacobus Cornelissen, baptized October 29, 1686; married Catherine ————.

(II) Dominicus Cornelissen, third son of Cornelise Janse Vander Veer, was baptized November 16, 1679, in Flatbush, Long Island. His name appears in the Flatbush records in 1704-27-40 in relation to salt meadows and church funds in said town. In 1736 he was sheriff of Kings county. Late in the seventeenth and early in the eighteenth centuries the Dutch had taken all of the agricultural lands on the west end of Long Island, consequently many of the second generation of this Holland stock were forced to seek tillable acres in East Jersey. A few years after 1746 the Axtell patent in New Jersey was sold to Long Island men, the inhabitants of the Raritan Valley and of the vicinity of Flatbush being at this time in close alliance. About 1750, Dominicus Vander Veer (as he signed his name) was persuaded to locate on his patent along the Raritan river. He married (first) Jannetje ————; one son, Cornelise, born 1700, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey; married (first) Jannetje Wyckoff; (second) Marytje Smock. Dominicus Vander Veer married (second, license dated January 28, 1703), Maria Margaretta Van Orteck. Children:

  1. Tunis, see forward.
  2. Jannetje, baptized June 1, 1709.
  3. Jacobus, of the Raritan, baptized December 10, 1721; married, May 25, 1745, Fannetje Strycker.
  4. Dominicus, baptized November 3, 1723; married, July 3, 1748, Elizabeth Lequeer.
  5. Catlyntje, baptized July 25, 1725; married Jacobus Lefferts.
  6. Neeltje, baptized July, 1727; married, July 9, 1749, first wife of Peter Lott, of Long Island.
  7. Jeromus or Jeremias, of Long Island, baptized March 30, 1729; married Elizabeth Ditmas.
  8. Arntje, baptized October 17, 1731; married Cornelise Van Duyn.
  9. Jan, baptized August 19, 1733.
  10. Cornelia.
  11. Hendrick, of Monmouth county, New Jersey; married Neeltje Van Cleef.

(III) Tunis, son of Dominicus Cornelissen Vander Veer, was born about 1704, on Long Island, and later was a resident of Freehold, New Jersey. He married, about 1723, Alchie, daughter of Gerret Roelofse Schenck and wife Neeltje Coertsen Van Voorhees. Most of the Vander Veers living in and about Monmouth county are the descendants of this couple, among them the late Vice-President Garret A. Hobart, on his mother's side. The farm of Tunis Vander Veer formed a portion of the battlefield of Monmouth. All the buildings were burned by the British, and on the return of the family, which had taken refuge in the left wing of Washington's army, only a cat and pair of fowls could be found. On the roster of the New Jersey revolutionary troops are not to be found the names of Tunis and his sons, save one, his namesake, who was later taken prisoner at Sandy Hook and detained in the old "Sugar House" eighteen months. Tunis, the father, with his six sons and a grandson (Jacob's son Tunis) all took part that day, and the father rode as aide-de-camp for Washington; his son Garret was a prisoner for some time; his wife communicated with him by concealing letters in loaves of bread. Monmouth county suffered severely from the depredations of the British army, particularly in and about Freehold, where they exceeded all the others through the state. Ferocious and lawless as the British soldiers were, they were outdone by the refugees who took up arms against friends and former neighbors. Between them occurred scenes of ferocity and incidents of individual daring to fill a volume of horrors. In order to protect their wives and daughters, and save their property from these awful dangers, the men of determination and influence drew up articles of agreement to suppress the raiders. The original is to be found in the secretary of state's office at Trenton, and attached to it will be found the names of Tunis Vander Veer and his sons. Children of Tunis and Alchie (Schenck) Vander Veer:

  1. John, of Marlboro, New Jersey, born November 8, 1724.
  2. Phebe, married John N. Voorhees, of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
  3. Garret (see sketch).
  4. Nelly, baptized January 2, 1734; married (first) Hendrick Voorhees.
  5. Jacob, see forward.
  6. Tunis, baptized April 19, 1739; married (first) Jane Hance; (second), ————.
  7. Cornelise, of Holmdel, New Jersey, baptized May 24, 1741; married (first) 1761, Jannetje Williams; (second) 1764, Maria Conover.
  8. Alchie, baptized 1745; married James Connelton.
  9. David, baptized September 25, 1748; married, February 28, 1765, Catherine Conover.

(IV) Jacob, son of Tunis Vander Veer, born May 5, 1736, died July 24, 1806. He married (first) October, 1759; Alchie Wyckoff, born July 21, 1736, daughter of Gerret Gerretse Wyckoff and Alchie Gerretse. Married (second) (supposed) Anna Clayton; she married after his death at Glen, New York, October 17, 1812, Tivis Follic (Matthias Van Valkenburgh). Jacob Vander Veer and his first wife, Alchie (Wyckoff) Vander Veer, came from along the Raritan river, New Jersey, into the Mohawk Valley, and located in Florida, Montgomery county, a few miles south of Amsterdam, New York. Jacob was one of many who came with Washington at the time (1780) the troops came to subdue the Indian depredations. Finding the valley so rich and beautiful a country, he purchased a farm containing buildings and improvements from John Watts, the father-in-law of Sir John Johnson. He remained a year, sowed and reaped a crop of wheat, which he sold for one dollar per bushel, and thus paid off his indebtedness of $1100. He then returned to his family in New Jersey, who ere long came with him to the new home. Not long after her coming to this home, his wife died, and is buried on the farm beside Jacob. The farm was left to his youngest son Asher, with the reputation of being the best cultivated and best equipped buildings in the township. Children of first wife:

  1. Nelly, baptized August 3, 1760; married ———— Warner.
  2. Tunis, baptized May 29, 1762, (was a bachelor).
  3. Catherine, baptized August 3, 1763; married Cobis, or James Sutfan, of Cranberry Creek, New Jersey.
  4. Garret, see forward.
  5. Phebe, baptized May 17, 1767, died young.
  6. John, married ————.
  7. Samuel, married Betsey Denison.
  8. Alchie, married Timothy Gordan.
  9. Anna, born 1779; married William Stillwell.

Children of second wife:

  1. Thomas, born 1783, drowned July 19, 1800.
  2. Joseph, born 1784, accidentally killed December 3, 1794.
  3. Asher, born May 17, 1787, married Asenath Elliot.
  4. Sally, married, February 25, 1813 (first wife) Elisha Cady.
  5. Polly, married, December 30, 1810; (supposed) Cornelise Mount.

(V) Garret, son of Jacob Vander Veer, was born July 4, 1765. He came with his parents from New Jersey into the Mohawk Valley. At the time of their coming there was a general exodus from this state westward. Albert Couwenhoven and his wife Patience located near Garret's new home. They had occupied in New Jersey the adjoining farm to his grandfather, Tunis Vander Veer. They brought with them a daughter Rachel, born April 18, 1768. She, as a child of ten years, helped to carry water on that terrible day in June, 1778, from the spring on her father's farm. There are living in the present generation (1910) those who have heard from her lips the story of that day. The night before the battle her father's house was used as a shelter for the women and children of the neighborhood. She told with pride of the good night visit made by Washington accompanied by Lafayette. The former shook hands with them, followed by a kiss from Lafayette, and then the two sought their night's rest under a nearby tree. The following day she witnessed the meeting between General Washington and General Lee, and says: "What General Washington said to General Lee was not expressed in very nice language." Time passed, and on February 29, 1788, in her father's home at Glen, she married Garret Vander Veer. For a few years they lived on and worked the farm of a cousin (or as then commonly called Uncle Peter Couwenhoven) in the town of Florida; in 1801 they took up new land in the town of Root; here Garret died, April 19, 1813, leaving his wife with nine sons and three daughters to rear. Children:

  1. Alchie, born July 29, 1789; married Cornelise Fero.
  2. Albert, born April 18, 1791; married Margaret Fero.
  3. Jacob, born August 1, 1793; married Martha Willett.
  4. Peter, born December 18, 1796; married Jane Walker.
  5. John G., born May 10, 1798; married Ann Voorhees.
  6. Thomas, born October 14, 1800, died young.
  7. Thomas and
  8. Joseph, twins, born March 23, 1802, Thomas married (first) Roba Hoag; (second) Mary Mercy Corbin, widow of James Carr. Joseph married Harriet Allen.
  9. Abraham Harris, see forward.
  10. Patience, born July 9, 1807, died young.
  11. Katherine, born June 4, 1810, died young.
  12. Garret, born May 9, 1813; married Mary Allen.

The descendants in Montgomery county are numerous, filling all stations in life, but usually are farmers of substance and prominence.

(VI) Abraham Harris, eighth son of Garret and Rachel (Couwenhoven) Vander Veer, was born in the town of Root, Montgomery county, New York, June 18, 1804, died August 19, 1888. He was one of the founders of the village of Leatherville (Rural Grove), where in partnership with Henry Stowitts he established and operated a large tannery. He was reared in the Dutch church, but his wife was a member of the Christian church. He married, September 27, 1826, Sarah Martin, daughter of Barent P. Martin and first wife, Hester McGraw, of Fort Hunter. Sarah Martin was of an early English Martin family who first located in New Hampshire; later a branch settled in the Piscataway Valley, New Jersey, and at Albany and Fort Hunter. Children:

  1. Rachel, born September 27, 1827, died young.
  2. Esther, born January 14, 1830, died May 30, 1909; married, June 10, 1852, John Craig; children:
    1. Janet, died young;
    2. Ada, married William J. Walker, five children;
    3. Marcia, died October 4, 1899, married Martin Van Buren, two sons;
    4. Stuart, died young
    5. Marion Mead;
    6. Margaret, died November 1, 1895; married Robert P. Thorn, Jr., three sons.
  3. Patience, born March 17, 1832, died March 7, 1902; married, June 20, 1855, Charles W. Marselius; children:
    1. Willard Charles, M.D., died December 24, 1893, married Gertrude Wheeler;
    2. Sarah, married (first) Dr. Frank O. Cornell; (second) Rev. Enoch Powell; two sons;
    3. Esther, married Franklin Potter Toll; two children;
    4. Marcia, died May 13, 1901; married George H. Brewster; two sons.
  4. Martin, born May 6, 1834; married, February 1, 1860, Katherine L. Potter; children:
    1. Katherine Potter;
    2. Bradford Martin, died March 14, 1895;
    3. Rollin Garret, died young;
    4. Marcia Moulton.
  5. Garrett, born August 28, 1836, died February 24, 1864; married, December 18, 1861, Margaret Kline; child, John Craig, died young. Garrett was made captain of Company A, One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment New York Volunteers. At the battle of Olustee, Florida, he was four times severely wounded, but refused to leave the field until the fight was ended; his men, in relays of four, carried him on a stretcher through the woods and swamps a distance of nineteen miles to Barbers; he then was placed in an open car, crowded with suffering men, rode all day Sunday and until after midnight on this train, which at times was drawn by mules. At Jacksonville he was placed on a hospital boat and carried to Beaufort, South Carolina, where he died shortly after his arrival and was buried there, attended to his grave by many of the wounded members of his regiment and his brethren of the Masonic fraternity. Later his remains were brought to Fultonville, New York. Post Vander Veer, Grand Army of the Republic, at Fonda, New York, is named in his honor; at the time of his death he had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel and his commission was even then in transit. General Seymour caused a redoubt in the fortifications at Jacksonville to be named Vander Veer in honor of his memory, and noticed his gallantry in general orders.
  6. Jane Ann, born November 1, 1838, died May 18, 1910; married (first) Aaron Lillenback; (second) Charles E. Shires; children of first marriage:
    1. Abraham H., died young;
    2. Albert V., married Ella A. Mosher; eight children;
    3. Garret V., married Adele L. Whitaker;
    4. Mary L., died young;
    5. Lucy Kate;
    6. Martin Aaron, died young.
  7. Albert, see forward.
  8. Putnam Enders, died young.
  9. Sarah E. F., died young.
  10. William Putnam Enders, born March 1, 1851.

(VII) Albert, seventh child and third son of Abraham Harris and Sarah (Martin) Vander Veer, was born in Root, Montgomery county, New York, July 10, 1841. His early education was acquired in the public schools of Canajoharie, Union Free School, Palatine, and in Canajoharie Academy. At the age of eighteen and nineteen he studied medicine under the direction of Dr. Simeon Snow (see forward), of Currytown, New York, and later was a student under Dr. John Swinburne, a physician and surgeon of renown in Albany, afterward attaining a national reputation. In 1861 he attended a full course of lectures at Albany Medical College, and in 1862 a second course at the National Medical College, medical department, Columbian University, now the George Washington University, from which he was graduated December 23, 1862. In May, 1862, he enlisted in the United States Medical Corps, one of the original One Hundred Medical Cadets" called to service by the surgeon-general of the United States army, they having studied medicine two years and attended one full course of lectures and passing a satisfactory examination, to act as internes in the military hospitals. After taking the examination he was assigned to Columbia College Hospital, and was soon informed by Dr. Crosby, surgeon-in-charge, that if they (he and two or three other cadets) would arise early and attend to all their dressings they could have from 2 to 8 in which to attend lectures, graduate, and get their diplomas. After passing a New York state examination he was commissioned in December, 1862, assistant surgeon of the Sixty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers, and ordered to join his regiment at Falmouth, Virginia. Soon after he was detailed as assistant to one of the chief operators at brigade hospital, Third Brigade, First Division, Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. In June, 1864, on the recommendation of every officer in the regiment, he was appointed by Surgeon-General Quackenbush and Governor Seymour, of New York, surgeon in charge of the regiment, with the rank of major. Soon after he was appointed one of the surgeons of the First Division hospital, Second Army Corps, and placed in charge of an operating table. Here he gained his first actual experience in operative surgery that was henceforth to be his specialty. He was with his regiment in all their battles after the first Fredericksburg except Ream's Station, when ill, up to the surrender at Appomattox. At that historic event he had the pleasure of witnessing the meeting between General Grant and General Lee. He was mustered out of the service in September, 1865.

After attending a full course of lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, he returned to Albany, New York, in May, 1866, and entered upon the practice of his profession, where, after forty-three years of successful practice, he is now (1909) still to be found, full of years and professional honors, associated with his two sons, who are also able practitioners. His life has been one of great activity as a professional man and as a citizen. He is honored at home and abroad for his knowledge and experience in medicine and surgery, his services to the cause of education, and his high character as a man. Skillful and useful as he is in private practice, hospital and consultation, his literary and platform ability has enabled him to convey to his brethren of the profession in a series of addresses and printed articles his experiences, theories and conclusions, thereby increasing a thousand fold his usefulness. To recite his membership would be to call the roll of the leading medical and surgical societies of the world. He has served as member and president of the Albany County Medical Society, the Medical Society of the State of New York, the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and is a member of the American Medical Association. He was a delegate to the International Medical Congress, held at Copenhagen in 1884, and was elected honorary president of the Fifteenth International Medical Congress held at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1906, having been appointed one of the commissioners from the United States government. In July, 1905, he was elected president of the American Surgical Association, an honor that comes to few men, having been a fellow since 1882, a member of the nominating committee, of the council, and twice president. In 1909 he was appointed by the United States government delegate to the International Medical Congress meeting at Budapest, Austria, but was unable to attend owing to the illness of his wife. He is the author of Cleft Palate and Hair Lip; Wood's Reference Hand Book of Medical Science; "History of General Surgery" in Encyclopedia Americana; "Injuries and Diseases of Abdomen" in International Encyclopedia of Surgery, and numerous articles in the leading medical journals at home and abroad, that show how full and complete is his mastery of whatever subject he discusses. In 1867 he was attending surgeon to the Albany Hospital Dispensary as assistant to Dr. Alden March; 1869, attending surgeon (with exception 1874-75, while abroad studying) until 1904, when appointed surgeon-in-chief; 1873 to 1903, attending surgeon St. Peter's Hospital; 1898 to date, attending surgeon South End Dispensary; consulting surgeon New York State Hospital for Crippled and Ruptured Children, West Haverstraw, New York; consulting surgeon Benedictine Hospital, Kingston, New York; consulting surgeon Champlain Valley Hospital, Plattsburg, New York. He has always manifested the deepest interest in the Albany Medical College, where he listened to his first course of medical lectures. He has filled the following important chairs in that institution: 1869-74, chair of general and special anatomy; 1875-82, chair of didactic, abdominal and clinical surgery; 1882 to date, chair of surgery; dean from 1896 to 1904. Dr. Vander Veer applied in Albany the first plaster paris jacket for curvature of the spine; performed the first Bigelow's operation for litholapaxy; first Kernochan's operation for removal of infra orbital nerve and Meckel's ganglia, reporting a number of cases. He has always led in the use and introduction of new methods and operations, if they possessed value. Always progressive, now nearing his fiftieth year in medicine, his services as a consulting physician and surgeon are in constant demand and gladly given.

Outside his profession, the career of Dr. Vander Veer has been a busy and interesting one. In 1895 he was elected a regent of the University of the State of New York, serving faithfully for six years; then by act of legislature the board was changed, he drawing the shortest period of one year; re-elected a third time for a full term, the first regent to be elected three times by the legislature. He was a trustee of the National Savings Bank many years; resigning January 1, 1910; trustee of Albany Cemetery Association, and president of the Holland Society of New York. While vice-president of the latter society he, with other members of Albany, entertained the officers of the "Van Speyk" when visiting this country, receiving from the Queen of Holland as an appreciation the order and decoration of Oranje Nassau. He is a life member of the New York Historical Society. Through his own military service as an officer in the civil war he is a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and Grand Army of the Republic. He is a member of Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society, and of Albany social clubs — Fort Orange and University. In his nearly fifty years of professional life Dr. Vander Veer has received many evidences of the esteem in which he is held by his fellows. Albany Medical College conferred an honorary degree of M.D.; Williams and Hamilton College that of A.M. (1882); Union College (now University) Ph.D. (1883); Columbian University (now George Washington University, Washington, D.C.) in 1904 conferred LL.D., while honorary memberships in societies abroad and at home have been freely bestowed. In many of these he has been active and served as president. In Albany, where he has lived so long, he has ever taken an earnest interest in all that pertains to the public good; served for many years on the city board of health and was president of the board of special water commissioners. He is a Republican in politics. For more than forty years he has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church and is now an elder.

He married, June 5, 1867, Margaret E., daughter of his friend and preceptor, Dr. Simeon Snow (see forward). Children, all born in Albany, New York;

  1. Charles Anson, March 30, 1868, died December 30, 1883;
  2. Margaret Snow, December 29, 1869, died May 13, 1873;
  3. Edgar Albert,
  4. James Newell, and
  5. Albert Jr., of whom further;
  6. Garrett, born May 3, 1885, died August 27, 1900.

(VIII) Edgar Albert, son of Dr. Albert and Margaret E. (Snow) Vander Veer, was born September 29, 1873. He was educated at the Albany Academy; studied one year at Union College; then entered Yale University, where he was graduated with the class of 1895, receiving the degree of Ph.B. He studied medicine with his father and entered the Albany Medical College, graduating in class of 1898 as M.D. He was assistant surgeon, United States army, stationed at Fort McPherson, Georgia, during the Spanish-American war. After a year spent abroad he began the practice of his profession in Albany in association with his father. He is a member of the Albany County Medical Society, Medical Society State of New York, and the American Medical Association. He is attending surgeon in the Albany Hospital; has practiced clinical surgery in the Albany Medical College, and has a large private practice. He is a member of the Loyal Legion; the Holland Society of New York; the Society of Colonial Wars, gaining admission to the latter through the original certificate issued to Captain Roelof Martense Schenck (in New York State archives), said to have been the first military commission issued in Flatbush, Long Island; Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, and Society of Mayflower Descendants. He married, June 5, 1900, Harriett, twin daughter of Benjamin W. Wooster and his second wife, Catherine Wooster; children:

  1. Grace, born May 11, 1901;
  2. Albert, August 10, 1902;
  3. Edgar Albert Jr., June 15, 1906.

(VIII) James Newell, son of Dr. Albert and Margaret E. (Snow) Vander Veer, was born December 12, 1877. He is a graduate of the Albany Academy; of Union University, A.B., class of 1899; of Albany Medical College, M.D., 1903; Union, conferred in course, 1903, the degree of A.M. He began the practice of medicine in Albany in association with his father and is in active practice. He is lecturer on surgical technic, and instructor in genito-urinary surgery, Albany Medical College. He is chief of surgical staff of the Albany Hospital, attending surgeon at the South End Dispensary and Home of the Friendless, and consulting surgeon of The House of the Good Shepherd. He is a member of the American Medical Association, Albany County Medical Society, Medical Society of State of New York, American Academy of Medical Science, and a life member of the Anglo-American Medical Association of Berlin, Germany. In 1904 and again in 1905-06, Dr. Vander Veer was abroad, doing post-graduate work in Germany and France. He is assistant surgeon of the Tenth Regiment, New York National Guard, Medical Corps, with rank of lieutenant. He was major of the cadet battalion of the Albany Academy, 1894-95. His clubs are the Clinical, University and Fort Orange of Albany, and the Alpha Delta Phi Club of New York. Through maternal ancestors he is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, and Sons of the Revolution, and through both lines he enters the Holland Society of New York. His fraternities are Alpha Delta Phi and Nu Signa Nu. He married, December 3, 1908, Ada, daughter of Thomas and Cornelia (Quadland) Holt; has one son, Adrian Holt, born November 4, 1909.

(VIII) Albert, son of Dr. Albert and Margaret E. (Snow) Vander Veer, was born November 28, 1879. He is a graduate of the Albany Academy, and Yale University, A.B., class of 1900. He passed a year in the study of medicine at Albany Medical College, then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, where he was graduated M.D., class of 1904. He is in active practice in New York City; visiting physician, of Red Cross Hospital; assistant attending physician at Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled; assistant physician of New York Dispensary; assistant physician of out-patient department of St. Luke's Hospital; clinical assistant of Vanderbilt Clinic; member of Alumni Association of Sloane Maternity and of Roosevelt hospitals; founder of the University Club, Albany; member of Yale Club of New York, Holland Society of New York, Albany Society of New York, Quiz Club, Omega Club, Alpha Delta Phi, and the City, State and National Medical associations. He is unmarried.

(The Snow Line)

This is an ancient New England family, to be found from the earliest days figuring prominently in the annals of Massachusetts. The American ancestor and first emigrant, William Snow, born in England, 1624, came to America in 1637, settled at Duxbury, Massachusetts, afterward was of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He married Rebecca, daughter of Peter Brown who came in the "Mayflower."

(II) William (2), son of William (1) and Rebecca (Brown) Snow, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he married, reared a family and died; his wife was Naomi Whitman.

(III) Eleazer, son of William (2) and Naomi (Whitman) Snow, was also of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He married, in 1728, Mercy King.

(IV) Reuben, son of Eleazer and Mercy (King) Snow, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, but removed to Easton, Massachusetts. He married Hannah Willis, a descendant in the sixth generation from Isaac Allerton, a "Mayflower" passenger, and the fifth signer of the "Compact."

(V) Simeon, son of Reuben and Hannah (Willis) Snow, was a merchant of Boston in 1812, afterward a manufacturer of nails and hardware. He married Polly Phillips.

(VI) Dr. Simeon (2), son of Simeon (1) and Polly (Phillips) Snow, was born in Mansfield, Massachusetts, February 17, 1803, died in Currytown, Montgomery county, New York, September 20, 1865. His early life was spent on the farm. He received a thorough academic education, becoming unusually proficient in Latin and developing great interest and understanding of chemistry. He entered the medical school of William [Williams?] College, graduating in 1828. He settled in the town of Root, Montgomery county, New York, in the village of Currytown, where he had a large and successful practice. He was skilled in his profession, and his services were greatly sought after. He was a Democrat in politics and represented Montgomery county in the state senate, 1852-53. He married Margaret Dievendorf, born in Currytown, January 10, 1811, died in Albany, New York, April 19, 1884, daughter of Jacob Dievendorf, a pioneer settler of the county, who had the unusual experience not only of being scalped by the Indians but of surviving the operation and living to the age of eighty-four (see Simms' Border Wars, and History of Montgomery and Fulton Counties). Children:

  1. Jacob Dievendorf, married Margaret Failing;
  2. Elizabeth, married Seth Ramsey, M.D.;
  3. Norman Leslie, married Elizabeth Smith;
  4. William Russell, died in childhood;
  5. Horatio Nelson, unmarried;
  6. Charles Sidney, married Janet Lipe;
  7. Margaret, see forward;
  8. George Anson, married Fanny Dievendorf.

(VII) Margaret, daughter of Dr. Simeon (2) and Margaret (Dievendorf) Snow, was born in Currytown, Montgomery county, New York, September 20, 1845. She married, June 5, 1867, Dr. Albert Vander Veer (see Vander Veer VII). The young couple began life together in Albany, where for nearly half a century they have lived. She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, as are her husband and three surviving sons, (1909), all physicians of high repute. She is a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, Daughters of the Revolution, the social and other organizations of the city. The children of Dr. Albert and Margaret (Snow) Vander Veer thus trace through seven generations (they being the eighth) direct to a Hollander and an Englishman, collaterally to a Frenchman. But, as the military record of the Vander Veers shows, the commingling of blood has produced patriotic Americans.

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