Van Hoorn, Van Hooren, Van Horn and Van Horne is derived from Hoorn, a large, pleasant and rich city, with a convenient port on the Zuyder Zee, about twenty miles from Amsterdam. It was surrounded with broad dykes, large pasture grounds and fine gardens. The name was written Hoorn or Hooren. From this city Jan Cornelissen (or John the son of Cornelius) Van Hoorn came to America. The exact date of his arrival is not known, but he was in New Amsterdam as early as 1645. From a power of attorney, which he executed October 4, 1647, for the purpose of collecting money from his guardian in Holland, it would seem that he came to this country before he had arrived at his majority. He was one of the remonstrants against defending the city against the English in 1664. In October of that year he took the oath of allegiance to the king. One of his eight sons was Joris, who had a son Rutgers (named in honor of his mother's family), who accumulated a great deal of landed property in Communipaw, Plainfield and along the Raritan river, New Jersey. At an early period the name was quite common around Hackensack, where it is believed the family made their first settlement in New Jersey. Jan Cornelissen Van Hoorn married and had children, from whom have descended a numerous posterity.
(II) Cornelis Jansen, son of Jan Cornelissen Van Hoorn, married, October 4, 1659, Anna Maria Jansen.
(III) Abraham, eighth child of Cornelis Jansen and Anna Maria (Jansen) Van Horn, was baptized January 20, 1667. He married Maria Provost.
(IV) Captain Cornelius, son of Abraham and Maria (Provost) Van Horn, was born October 16, 1706, buried near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. He is believed to be the Captain Cornelius Van Horne who led a New Jersey contingent of troops against Canada in 1737. His will names wife Hannah, seven sons and three daughters. He married (first) Catharine Cox; (second) Elizabeth Lawrence; (third) Hannah Seabrook. His will, dated Reading, February 3, 1744, names wife Hannah, seven sons, three daughters and "my brother Abraham."
(V) Abram, second son of Captain Cornelius and his third wife, Hannah (Seabrook) Van Horne, was born August 28, 1738. About 1771 he made a journey up the Hudson into the Valley of the Mohawk, looking for a land location. He selected a site in the town of Florida at Warren Bush in the county of Montgomery as now constituted; did not remove his family there until the following summer. The country at that time was thickly timbered and great portions of it were virgin forest. He cleared his farm, and soon became one of the prominent men of the section. He was outspoken in his support of the cause of the colonies against Great Britain, and had his life threatened by Tories. He was a member of the committee of safety of Tryon county in 1775, and for the years following, 1777-81, he was a member of the state assembly, and May 22, 1781, was appointed high sheriff of Tryon county. In the performance of his official duties his life was often in danger and he had often to avail himself of the protection of an armed guard, erecting on his farm a blockhouse for his protection. In 1783 he removed to Cansadebank Church, later to Oysquaga Creek, Herkimer county. There he built a mill and founded Van Hornesville, for many years a thriving village of Herkimer county. He died at Van Hornesville, March 5, 1810. His wife and eldest child remained on the original homestead farm, where she died at an advanced age. He married (first) Jane Ten Eyck, who died without issue. Married (second) December 9, 1763, Hannah, daughter of Richard Hoff, of New Jersey.
(VI) Cornelius (2), eldest child of High Sheriff Abram and Hannah (Hoff) Van Horne, was born November 27, 1764. He married Elizabeth Young.
(VII) Daniel, son of Cornelius (2) and Elizabeth (Young) Van Horne, was born in Florida, Montgomery county, New York, on the old Van Horne homestead, May 19, 1801, died there December 24, 1889. He was a successful farmer, and a well known man of affairs. He married Sabra Hewett, born June 8, 1801, died December 10, 1888.
(VIII) Cornelius D., son of Daniel and Sabra (Hewett) Van Horne, was born April 19, 1826, died July 19, 1872. He lived all his life in the town of Florida, where he was a well known and respected man. He married in Van Hornesville, Herkimer county, New York, March 8, 1847, a distant cousin, Adaline Van Horne, born March 17, 1829, in Van Hornesville, and now (1909) a bright and active woman, residing on the Van Horne homestead in Montgomery county. She is a daughter of Ten Eyck and Mary (Kenter) Van Horne, and granddaughter of Richard and Cornelia (Ten Eyck) Van Horne. Richard was a son of Sheriff Abram and Cornelia (Ten Eyck) Van Horne, the latter of whom was for years the leading woman of Herkimer county, where her beauty of person and charming graces of disposition and character won her the love and admiration of a very large circle of friends in her own and adjoining counties. Children:
- Daniel C., born December 22, 1848, see forward.
- Ten Eyck, born September 25, 1850; married Nevada (Vadie) Thayer; both parents are deceased, leaving a daughter Clara, who resides in Amsterdam, New York, unmarried.
- Mary A., born October 7, 1858; married Cornelius S. Van Horne, of Glen; children:
- Nellie, born September 18, 1877;
- Hannah M., born July 1, 1884;
- Herbert C., born October 5, 1889. She married (second) Boyd Plautz: two sons, Clarence and Wilber Plautz.
- Abraham L., see forward.
(VIII) John K., son of Daniel and Sabra (Hewett) Van Horne, and brother of Cornelius D. Van Horne, was born May 5, 1830, died November, 1874. He married (first) Louisa Putnam, who died without issue. Married (second) Eleanor Mabee, a descendant of John Peterson Mabee, the first white settler of the town of Glen. He was granted a patent and took possession of one thousand acres of land along Schoharie creek in 1705. John K. and Eleanor (Mabee) Van Horne had two daughters:
- Ada, born July 6, 1862, died February 18, 1888;
- Grace, born January 8, 1874; married Abram Putnam, of Glen; no issue.
(IX) Daniel C., son of Cornelius (3) and Adaline (Van Horne) Van Horne, was born on the Van Horne homestead in the town of Florida, Montgomery county, New York, December 22, 1848. He received a good, practical education in the public school, and was reared to the pursuit of agriculture. He succeeded to the homestead and farm and has devoted his life to cultivating the farm. He is a prosperous and contented man, now enjoying in his comfortable surroundings the fruits of his active, well-spent life. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed church, as is his wife and family. He married Julia Schuyler, born June 26, 1850, daughter of Hamilton and Margaret (Nare) Schuyler, lifelong residents of the town of Mohawk, Montgomery county, where Mr. Schuyler owned a valuable farm. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler:
- Darwin.
- Caroline, was twice married and has a daughter Blanche; resides in New York City.
- James C., a farmer of Mohawk; married Lydia Garlock; children: Nellie, Caroline and Dr. Arthur.
- Catherine, married Simeon Wemple, a farmer of Mohawk; children: Margaret, Anna and Julia.
- Julia (Mrs. Daniel C. Van Horne).
- Margaret, married Herman Bower, a Palatine farmer; children: Herman, Hamilton, Bert and Maude Bower.
Children of Daniel C. and Julia (Schuyler) Van Horne:
- Carrie, died in infancy.
- Adaline C., married Jonas Frideici, of Amsterdam, New York, a manufacturer of inlaid wooden floor carpet; children: Edwin D., Kenneth and Robert.
- Mabel, residing at home.
- Elizabeth, married John I. McClumpha, a farmer of Florida; children: Thomas and Gilbert.
- D. Schuyler, unmarried.
- Antoinette, residing at home.
(IX) Abraham L., son of Cornelius D. and Adaline (Van Horne) Van Horne, was born August 10, 1861. He received a good education and is a farmer. He is an attendent of the Reformed church, which has been the family religion for generations. He acts in political affairs with the Republican party. He married, in Glen, August 30, 1887, Etta Hoff, born October 10, 1863, daughter of William N. Hoff, born October 11, 1825, died November 9, 1907, and his wife, Maria A. (Shelp) Hoff, deceased, and granddaughter of Jacob and Nelly (Newkirk) Hoff. Child of Mr. and Mrs. Van Horne:
- Cornelius Ten Eyck, born April 25, 1890; graduate of Albany Business College; resides at home.