Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 10.djvu/270

 VANUXPIM

VAN vec:hten

of New Netherlands in April, 1633, and arrived at Manhattiui with lUO men and a Spanish vessel he had captured on the way over. His first move was to build a fort, a guard-house, a church and a parsunagf. lie had a mania for the acquisi- tii)n of territory for Holland, and bought a part

NEW YORK I N 1650

of Connecticut from the Indians in 1G33, erect- ing Fort Hope, near where Hartford now stands. Upon an earnest remonstrance from Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts, claiming all of the aforesaid territory for England, Van Twiller pn*- posed referring the claims of each to the re- spective home governments. Winthrop sent Lieutenant Holmes to commence a settlement upon the present site of Windsor, and the Dutch colonists were forced to withdraw from Connec- ticut. Van Twiller also purchased land of the In- dians on the Schuylkill in 1633, built Fort Beaversreede there, and thus put new life into the settlement in Delaware. Van Twiller's irra- tional expenses, owing to his conception of the Dutch West India company as a concern of un- limited means, and his discouragement of im- migration by his arrogance, resulted in his recall in 1637, and William Kieft succeeded him. He died in Amsterdam, Holland, after 1646.

VANUXEn, Lardner, geologist, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Julj- 23, 1792;son of James and Rebecca (Clarke) Vanuxem. His father emi- grated from Dunkirk, France, and became a suc- cessful shipping merchant of Philadelphia, and his maternal grandfather was Col. Elijah Clarke of New Jersey. Lardner entered his father's shipping house, but his taste inclining toward sci- ence, he went to Paris, and was graduated from the fccole des Mines in 1819. He was professor of chemistry and mineralogy at South Carolina col- lege. Columbia, l«l9-26; made geological surveys of North and South Carolina; was sent on a min- ing venture to Mexico in 1826, and studied the geological surveys of New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, 1827-28. He resided at Bristol. Pa., 1830-36; and was assistant on the geological survey of New York, 1836-41. lie was the originator of the Association of American Geologists in 1840. which later became the Amer- ican Association for the Advancement of Science.

He assisted in arranging the state geological cab- inet, to which he was a large contributor, and de- clined the offer of associate to Professor Joseph Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution. He is the autlior of: Ail Essdij uh the Lltimate Principles of Chemistry, National Philosoplnj and Physiol- ogy (1827) and Geology of New York, 3d District (1842). He died in Bristol, Pa., Jan. 25, 1848.

VAN VALKENBURQ, Robert Bruce, diploma- tist, was born in Steuben county, N.Y., Sept. 4, 1821. He was liberally educated; was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Bath, N.Y. He was a member of the state assembly, 1852 and 1S57-58; commanded the recruiting-depot at El- mira. N.Y., in 1861, organizing seventeen regi- ments for the war, and was a Republican repre- sentative from New York in the 37th and 38th congresses, 1861-65, serving as chairman of the committees in the militia expenditures in the state department. While in congress he served as colonel of the 107th New York volunteers at the battle of Antietam, Sept. 16-17, 1862. He was acting commissioner of Indian affairs by ap- pointment from President Johnson, in the sum- mer of 1865; U.S. minister to Japan, Jan. 18, 1866-Nov. 11, 1869, and upon his return settled in Florida, where he was associate-justice of the supreme court until his death at Suwanee Springs, Fla., Aug. 2, 1888.

VAN VECHTEN, Abraham, statesman, was born in Catskill, N.Y., Dec. 5, 1762; son of Teu- nis (an officer in the colonial militia) and Judiky (Ten Broeck) Van Vechten; grandson of Tennis (1668-1707) and Cathalyntje (Van Petten) Van Vechten; great-grandson of Dirk Teunisse (who purchased land at Catskill, N.Y., about 1681) and Jannetje (Vreelandt) Van Vechten, and great-- grandson of Tenuis Dircksen Van Vechten, who emigrated with his family from Holland in the Arms of Norway, 1638; settled first at Beaver- wyck (Fort Orange), and at Greenbush (Rensse- laer), N.Y., 1648. Abraham Van Vechten at- tended an academy at Esopus (Kingston), N.Y., and King's (Columbia) college. He was married. May 24, 1784, to Catharine, daughter of Philip P. and Anna (Wendell) Schuyler; admitted to the bar in Albany, N.Y., in October, 1785, and began practice in Johnstown, N.Y., later removing to Albany. He was attorney for the 5th New York district, 1796; declined the appointment of asso- ciate-justice of the supreme court, 1797; was re- corder of Albany, 1797-1808; state senator, 1798- 1805, and a member of the state assembly, 1805- 13. He served as attorney-general of the state, 1810 and 1813-15, being succeeded by Martin Van Buren; was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1821, where he was actively instru- mental in effecting the revision of the constitu- tion, and subsequently resumed tiie practice of