# Peter A. Van Bergen

Peter Anthony Van Bergen (July 11, 1763 – August 30, 1804) was an American politician and large landowner from New York.

## Early life

Van Bergen was born on July 11, 1763. He was the second son of eight children born to Maria (née Salisbury) Van Bergen (b. 1739) and Col. Anthony Van Bergen (1729–1792), who led the 11th Regiment of the Albany County militia in the Revolutionary War.
His parents, who married in 1762, lived in Coxsackie, Greene County, New York. His elder brother was Abraham Van Bergen and his younger siblings were Myndert Van Bergen, Catharina Van Bergen (wife of Assemblyman Coenradt T. Houghtaling), Marten Gerritsen Van Bergen (who married Sally Conyn), Christina Van Bergen (wife of Arthur MacCloskey), Henry Coster Van Bergen and Rachel Van Bergen.
His paternal grandparents were Pieter van Bergen and Christina (née Coster) van Bergen (a daughter of Anthony Coster, niece of Johannes Cuyler, and granddaughter of Mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck). His maternal grandparents were Abraham Salisbury and Rachel (née Ten Broeck) Salisbury (a granddaughter of Wessel Wesselszen Ten Broeck, brother to Mayor Ten Broeck).

## Career

In April 1802, he was elected to a four-year term to replace Federalist Peter Cantine Jr. as a member of the New York State Senate, for the Middle District (consisted of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Columbia, Delaware, Rockland and Greene counties), alongside fellow Democratic-Republicans Jacobus S. Bruyn and James G. Graham. Van Bergen served in the 25th, 26th, and 27th New York State Legislatures until his death on August 30, 1804, before he was to serve in the 28th Legislature. He was succeeded by Peter C. Adams.

## Personal life

Van Bergen was married to Hester Houghtaling (1768–1824), the only daughter of Elizabeth (née Whitbeck) Houghtaling and Capt. Thomas Houghtaling, who fought in the second Battle of Saratoga under Van Bergen's father and Lt.-Col. DuBois. Hester's brother, Coenradt T. Houghtaling, was the husband of Peter's younger sister, Catharina. They lived in Catskill and were the parents of one son:
* Anthony Van Bergen (1786–1859), a judge of the county court, member of the New York State Legislature in 1835 and president of the New York State Agricultural Society who married Clarine Peck, a daughter of John Peck of Lyme, Connecticut.
Van Bergen died on August 30, 1804, aged 41. His widow remarried to Dr. James Oliver in 1811.

### Descendants

Through his son Anthony, he was a grandfather of ten, including Anthony T. Van Bergen (who moved to Paris, was made an Officer of the Legion of Honour, and married Julia Pierson with whom he had three children, Charles, Henry and Alice Van Bergen).
Van Bergen's great-granddaughter, Alice Van Bergen (1877-1960), married Count Otto von Grote in 1900; their daughter, Van Bergen's great-great-granddaughter, Countess Antoinette Julia von Grote (1902–1988), was the wife of Prince Dietrich of Wied, a son of William Frederick, Prince of Wied and Princess Pauline of Württemberg (the elder daughter of William II of Württemberg). Van Bergen's great-great-great-grandson Prince Ulrich of Wied (1931–2010), was the father of Princess Marie of Wied (b. 1973), married Duke Friedrich of Württemberg (1961–2018), eldest son of Carl, Duke of Württemberg and heir to the House of Württemberg, in 1993.

## Sources

* 1 2 3 Cutter, William Richard (1912). Genealogical and Family History of Western New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 838. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* 1 2 3 Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families. Heritage Books. 2000. pp. 218–219, 300–304. ISBN 978-0-7884-1956-0. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* 1 2 Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the Names and Origin of the Civil Divisions, and the Names and Dates of Election Or Appointment of the Principal State and County Officers from the Revolution to the Present Time. Weed, Parsons and Company. pp. 118, 146. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* ↑ Houghtaling, Charlotte Amelia; Coner, Katherine Van Dyke Newbury (1985). Albany/Greene County Genealogical Notes of Charlotte Amelia Houghtaling. K.N. Coner. pp. 27, 43, 47. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* ↑ Lineage Book of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. 1938. p. 173. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* ↑ Vosburgh, Royden Woodward (March 1919). "Coxsackie Reformed Church Baptisms 1811-1827". www.tracingyourrootsgcny.com. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* ↑ "MISS ETHEL IRVIN". Brooklyn Life. November 16, 1901. p. 14. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* ↑ Elward, Ronald (January 20, 2010). "The Heirs of Europe: WÜRTTEMBERG". heirsofeurope.blogspot.com/. The Heirs of Europe. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
* ↑ "Duke Friedrich of Württemberg killed in car crash". Royal Central. May 10, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2020.