Pearson and Munsell, in their early families of Albany and Schenectady, say this name is of Spanish origin and that in the earliest records the name was Van Santen and Van Sant. The first record given is of Jan and Jannetje Van Zandt, who had sons, Johannes and Joseph. Johannes married Margarita Vanderpoel and about 1693 removed to New York.
(II) Joseph, son of Jan and Jannetje Van Zandt, was a Spaniard by birth and was naturalized December 6, 1715. He was buried October 16, 1753. He married Sentje Marcellis in 1688. Children baptized:
- Jannetje, August 11, 1689;
- Anna, May 4, 1693;
- Gerrit, October 4, 1695, married (first) Antje VanDenBergh, (second) Hester Winne;
- Maria, January 2, 1698;
- Anthony, October 27, 1700, buried September 2, 1751;
- Celia, August 1, 1703;
- David, August 6, 1704;
- Gysbert, of further mention;
- Celia, June 12, 1709;
- Johannes, married Sara Hilton.
(III) Gysbert, son of Joseph and Sentje (Marcellis) Van Zandt, was baptized December 22, 1706. He married, February 22, 1740, Margarietje Kaarn (Carel). Children baptized:
- Joseph, January 11, 1741, married, November 13, 1766, Rebecca DeGarmo;
- Hendrick, of further mention;
- Marytje, October 25, 1747;
- Elizabeth, April 26, 1752.
(IV) Hendrick (Henry), son of Gysbert and Margarietje (Kaarn) (Carel) Van Zandt, was baptized October 24, 1742. He was a farmer of Albany county. He married Temperance, daughter of William John and ———— (Bradt) Shutta. Temperance lived with Francis Moak, an officer of the revolutionary war, whose grandson James married a niece of Temperance. During the absence of Francis with the army the two women were left alone; one night they were alarmed by seeing the face of an Indian at the window; they were greatly frightened and falling upon their knees prayed for protection; the Indians did not molest them further at that time nor afterward, the Indian chief saying the Moaks were their good friends and must not be molested. Children of Henry and Temperance Van Zandt: Henry; Joseph, of further mention; David; John and several daughters.
(V) Joseph, son of Henry and Temperance (Shutta) Van Zandt, was a boot and shoemaker of Jerusalem, a town of New Scotland, Albany county, near Feurabush, New York. His lot in the Dutch cemetery was bought June 21, 1871, which is supposed to be about the time of his death. While tradition is that the Van Zandts were of French descent, Joseph spoke the Dutch language and was considered one of the Dutch settlers. He married Catherine Long. She was related to the Wynkoops, and a sister married an Amberman of Jamaica, Long Island. Children:
- Peter Henry, of further mention.
- James Edward, born in New Scotland, Albany county, New York, died in Rockford, Illinois. He married (first) Emma Wager; (second) Mary E. Stewart; no issue by either marriage.
(VI) Peter Henry, son of Joseph and Catherine (Long) Van Zandt, was born in Jerusalem, town of New Scotland, Albany county, New York, July 9, 1836, died January 14, 1907. He was a shoemaker by trade and a merchant at Eagle Mills, to which place he removed when a young man. He married, at Jerusalem, November 19, 1859, Mary Esther, daughter of Robert Stafford. Robert Stafford was born August 21, 1816, died June 30, 1884, a son of Elnathan Stafford, of Vermont, a soldier of 1812, who married Mary Ann, daughter of Henry Zeh, of Berne, Albany county, New York. Children of Peter Henry Van Zandt:
- Charles Edward, born at Eagle Mills, New York, August 29, 1860; educated in the public schools; was with his father for nine years until 1888, when he removed to Troy, where he was a bookkeeper for fourteen years; he became secretary and assistant treasurer for the "Burt Shirt Manufacturing Company," of Troy, in 1899; in 1910 the company reorganized as the "Burt Shirt Company," headquarters at Troy, New York, in which he holds the same offices; in, 1904 the Van Zandt, Jacobs Company was organized, of which he is secretary. He is a Prohibition Republican, and ran for comptroller of Troy on the Prohibition ticket. He is a member of the Church of Christ, of which he is trustee. He married, December 17, 1883, Viola Hedden, born February 20, 1863, died July 28, 1908; no issue.
- Clarence Elmer, of whom further.
- Edna May, a graduate of Hiram College, Ohio (in music); married, June 23, 1907, Howard Norman Conrad; child,
- Ralph, born August 29, 1908.
(VII) Clarence Elmer, youngest son of Peter Henry and Mary Esther (Stafford) Van Zandt, was born at Eagle Mills, Rensselaer county, New York, November 7, 1861. He was educated in the public schools, and Albany State Normal College, graduating therefrom in class of 1880. He taught school for a short time, then became a bookkeeper and cashier of the Boston Store of Troy, New York. About 1890, in company with John E. Jacobs, he founded a collar business, beginning in a small way, and this increased steadily until it assumed its present large proportions, the industry now (1910) giving employment to some fifteen hundred people. In 1904 the Van Zandt, Jacobs Company was incorporated for the manufacture of shirts, collars and cuffs. Mr. Van Zandt is president of the company, vice-president of the Albia Box Company, treasurer of the Burt Shirt Company, and director of the National State Bank of Troy. He is a man of great business capacity, and is a natural leader. He is a Prohibitionist in politics, and enforces his opinions with his ballot. He is a member and elder of the Church of Christ, and devoted to its tenets. He is prominent in the Masonic order, holding thirty-second degree Scottish Rite, and a member of the lodge, chapter and commandery of the York Rite. He is a member of the Troy Club. He married, June 15, 1884, Carrie Derrick Abbott, born in Rensselaer county, New York, daughter of Henry and Martha J. (Derrick) Abbott. Children:
- Gladys A., now senior at Vassar College;
- Marjorie, now senior at the Emma Willard School.
The sisters will graduate the same day in 1911.