The ancestor of the Van Ordens of New Baltimore, Greene county, New York, is William Van Orden, who came from Holland in the ship "Arms of Norway" about 1670. He settled at Katts Kill, where in 1718, after his marriage, he took possession in right of his wife of lot No. 4, containing about fifteen hundred acres. Here he built a house that was his home until death and stood for over a century and a half before being torn down. It was built partly of logs and partly of stone quarried from the Kalkberg. It was built against the hill, so that it was two stories high on the east side and one story on the west. In front was the Hudson, and the jealously guarded "canon place" at which the boats were tied. William was one of the first elders of the Dutch Reformed church at old Catskill, where he was well known and highly respected. He died in 1765, and was buried on the brow of the hill northwest from his house. The stone that marked his grave bears the inscription "W. V. O. 1765." The inventory of his property shows him to have been a wealthy man for his day. He married, in 1716, Temperance, daughter of William Loveridge (the patentee of what is known as the "Loveridge Patent"), and his wife, Margrietje Dumond. Children:
- William, born 1717; married, December 22, 1842, Sarah Dubois, died March, 1793, aged seventy-six years, daughter of Hezekiah Dubois of Kingston; children:
- Temperance, married John Burhans;
- Hezekiah, married (first) Engeltje Loeck; (second) Elizabeth Van Vecten;
- Annatje, married James Milliken.
- Margaret, baptized January 23, 1726; married Jan Baptist Dumond; children: Ignatius, Temperance Loveridge, William Van Orden, Ignatius (2), David, Jan Baptist.
- John, born May 26, 1727; married, February 15, 1751, Tryntje (Catherine) Dubois; children: Catryntje, William, Benjamin, Sarah, Peter, John, Margery. John was too old to become a soldier of the revolution, but he was very active and zealous in the cause of the colonies. William, his oldest son, fought at Stillwater and Saratoga, and died in the service. Benjamin, the second son, was commissioned quartermaster of the 11th Regiment, New York Volunteers, and served until the close of the war.
- Elizabeth, baptized June 29, 1729; married David Dumon.
- Ignatius, of whom further.
- Peter, baptized December 9, 1732, died before January 30, 1761; no issue.
- Sarah, baptized 1735.
(II) Ignatius, third son of William and Temperance (Loveridge) Van Orden, was baptized at Kattsbaan, February 4, 1731, died July 9, 1807. From 1765 until his death he lived in the house which his father built near the Hudson. In 1778 he received a major's commission in Colonel Anthony Van Bergen's regiment, and saw active service. He married (first) Annatje Oosterhoudt, who was the mother of his children; married (second) Sarah Breasted Mynderse. Children:
- Sarah, born July 1, 1758; married, March 1, 1781, Jeremiah Overbagh.
- Jane, married Hendrick Freligh.
- William, of whom further.
- Ignatius, died about 1854.
(III) William, son of Ignatius and Annatje (Oosterhoudt) Van Orden, was born April 4, 1765, died November 14, 1840. He built his house on the beautiful knoll "Green Point." He was a farmer and a noted sportsman. At the age of seventy-five, while out gunning for wild ducks, he was drowned in the Hudson, on the flats near his dwelling. He married, December 19, 1787, Catherine Ten Broeck, born October 19, 1766, died February 12, 1820, daughter of Wessel and Jannetje (Persen) Ten Broeck, of Germantown, New York. Children:
- Wessel Ten Broeck, of whom further.
- Henry, born September 4, 1790; married, February 20, 1822, Temperance, died July 13, 1863, daughter of Henry and Catherine (Dumond) De Witt.
- William, born October 16, 1794, died July 18, 1839.
- Jane Ann, born February 3, 1799, married Benjamin Van Denburg.
(IV) Wessel Ten Broeck Van Orden, M.D., eldest son of William and Catherine (Ten Broeck) Van Orden, was born September 12, 1788, died at New Baltimore, New York, January 31, 1871. He married Maria Schumacher (Schoonmaker), born 1795, died May, 1892, daughter of Tjirck and Jane Mynderse Schoonmaker, of Ulster county, New York. Children:
- Jane Catherine, born November 12, 1812; married John Ham, of Columbia county.
- Wessel Ten Broeck (2), born January 24, 1821, died August 11, 1877.
- Edmund Henry, of whom further.
(V) Edmund Henry, youngest child of Wessel Ten Broeck and Maria (Schoonmaker) Van Orden, was born at Germantown, Columbia county, New York, October 7, 1828, died at Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 27, 1909, and was buried at New Baltimore, New York. He was an extensive farmer and an influential citizen. He married, November 17, 1859, Almyra Van Bergen, who was born August 20, 1827, died August 20, 1874, daughter of Philip and Sarah Ann (Bushnell) Van Bergen.
(VI) Wessel Ten Broeck, only child of Edmund Henry and Almyra (Van Bergen) Van Orden, was born December 2, 1861, at New Baltimore, Greene county, New York. He was educated in public and private schools, and succeeded to his father's estate, and has spent his life in its management. He is a member of the Holland Society of New York; Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution; Social Friendship Lodge, No. 741, Free and Accepted Masons of New Baltimore, of which he is past master; non-resident member of the Albany Club and Pike's Peak Club, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a member of the First Reformed Church of New Baltimore; is a Republican in politics, and belongs to the Greene county Republican Association. He married, January 7, 1885, Jennie A., daughter of William and Lydia A. Fuller of New Baltimore.
(The Van Bergen Line)
(I) Almyra (Van Bergen) Van Orden descends from Martin Gerretse Van Bergen (or Marte Gerretse, as he always called himself), who came to New Netherlands about the year 1640. He is said to have been a relative of Killian Van Rensselaer, patroon, of Amsterdam, and to have come to Rensselaerwyck under his patronage. He soon became a man of note in the colony and for many years was commissary of Fort Orange, a member of the governor's council; one of the justices of the peace for the county of Albany, and captain of the militia company. He was a wealthy and liberal man, and gave freely of his substance when the colony or his church was in need. In 1689 few subscribed a greater sum than he for the defence of the frontier, and no one paid a larger sum for the support of Godfrey Dallius, the minister of the Dutch Reformed church of Albany. He died in 1696, on his estate of several hundred acres, lying on the west side of the Hudson. It is a well founded tradition of the family that a party of Canadian Indians attacked his house with the intention of carrying him off a prisoner; he resisted the attack, and was killed in the affray. He left a large estate consisting of lots in Albany and farm properties. He married, (first) Jannetje Martense; (second) in Albany, January 21, 1686, Melltje, daughter of Myndert Frederickse Iveren, who survived him. Children: Gerrit, Myndert, Martin, Pieter (of whom further) Johannes.
(II) Pieter, son of Marte Gerretse Van Bergen, was baptized in Albany, February 21, 1694, died January 4, 1778. He married, November 7, 1724, Christina Costar, born 1700, died December, 1777, daughter of Anthony and Elizabeth (Ten Broeck) Costar. Children:
- Martin Gerritse, born September 9, 1725; a prominent burgher of Albany, magistrate, member of the governor's council; he never married, and was familiarly known as "Mart Gers, the bachelor."
- Elizabeth, died in infancy.
- Anthony, of whom further.
- Henry, born November 6, 1731, married Nelltje, daughter of William and Tuntje (Staats) Salisbury.
- Elizabeth, born January 8, 1733, married Harmanus Cuyler.
- Myndert, baptized October 16, 1739.
- Peter, born April 23, 1742, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Fryer.
(III) Anthony, son of Pieter and Christina (Costar) Van Bergen, was born November 1, 1729. His will is dated February 10, 1792. He was an officer of the revolutionary war, a colonel commanding the 11th Regiment, of which Ignatius Van Orden was major and Henry Van Bergen, his brother, was captain of the First Company. This regiment belonged to the northern army, and was engaged at the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga, and present at the surrender of Burgoyne. He married in Catskill, in 1762, Maria Salisbury, baptized April 22, 1739, daughter of Abraham and Rachel (Ten Broeck) Salisbury, granddaughter of Francis and Maria (Van Gaasbeck) Salisbury and great-granddaughter of Silvester Salisbury, born about 1629, in England or Wales, came to the New Netherlands in 1664. Children:
- Peter, born July 11, 1763, died August 30, 1804; a large landowner, and state senator 1802-4, dying while in office; married Hester, only daughter of Thomas Hoogteling and his wife, Elizabeth Whitbeck.
- Abraham, born December 3, 1764, died unmarried, November 11, 1848.
- Myndert, baptized in Coxsackie, January 17, 1767.
- Catherine, baptized July 17, 1767, married Conradt Hoogteling.
- Martin Gerritse, of whom further.
- Christina, baptized July 17, 1714; married Arthur MacCloskey.
- Henry Costar, baptized 1777, died unmarried, August 11, 1816.
- Rachel, baptized July 16, 1780.
The last six children were baptized at Coxsackie, New York.
(IV) Martin Gerritse, son of Anthony and Maria (Salisbury) Van Bergen, was born December 17, 1768, he married, March 30, 1793, Sallie, daughter of Philip and Commertje (Bronk) Conyn. He died August 2, 1855. Children:
- Anthony M., born February 1, 1794, married Maria Vandenburg; (second) Pamelia Prentiss; (third) Susan, daughter of Leonard Bronk, and widow of Philip Conyn.
- Maria, born March 24, 1796; married Anthony Hoogteling.
- Philip, of whom further.
- Hannah, born April 15, 1803; married Henry, son of Peter Coeymans and Elizabeth (Van Wie) Bronk.
- Catherine, born March 16, 1806; married Andrew T. Van Slyck.
(V) Philip, son of Marten Gerritse and Sallie (Conyn) Van Bergen, was born March 21, 1797. He married Sarah Ann Bushnell and they are the parents of Almyra (Van Bergen) Van Orden. (See Van Orden V.)