Pieter van Doorn abt.1609-abt.1658
Born: abt. 1609 in Gravezande, Holland.
Died: abt. 1658 in Brooklyn, NY.
Spouse: Catherine Stelting.
Two children
From the book: "The fact that Pieter’s name was spelled upon the records at the time of the baptism of his daughter Jannetje, ‘Van Doren’ merely goes to show that the spelling of the name of van Doorn was already subject to the whimsicalities of the times."
Pieter married Catherine while still living in Holland. He immigrated to Flushing, Long Island around 1639 and married Jannetje Rancken in 1657.
Jacob van Doorn abt.1655-abt.1720
Parents: Pieter van Doorn and Catherine Stelting.
Born: abt. 1655.
Died: abt. 1720 in Monmouth County, NJ.
Spouse: Maria Bennet.
Ten children
Jacob purchased land in the "wilderness country" of Monmouth County, NJ, near Holmdel in 1697, where he farmed and owned a grist mill. The Indians in that area were said to be peaceful and helpful. Jacob was appointed an Ensign in the militia for the eastern part of Freehold by "Edward, Viscount of Cornbury, Capt. Generall and Governor in Chief of the Province of New Jersey, New York and Territories depending thereon in America and the Admirall of the same." (Freehold is the county seat for Monmouth County.) Jacob and Maria are the source of most of the Van Dorns and Van Dorens in the U.S
Jacob van Dorn 1703-1779
Parents: Jacob van Doorn and Maria Bennet.
Born: Jan 21, 1703 in Monmouth County, NJ.
Died: Feb 26, 1779 in Monmouth County, NJ.
Spouse: Rachel Longstreet.
The spelling of the last name seems to have changed at this point in the line. Jacob was a farmer in New Jersey.
Aaron van Dorn 1744-1830
Parents: Jacob van Dorn and Rachel Longstreet.
Born: Sept 14, 1744 in Monmouth County, NJ.
Died: July 14, 1830.
Spouse: Ghacy Schenck born: Sept 14, 1748; died: Feb 3, 1820.
Eleven children
Aaron was a farmer and a miller. He settled in Peapack, NJ in about 1766. In 1795, he bought 1000 acres on the site of present-day Cincinnati, OH. In 1808, he built a flour mill in Peapack, which has been known as "Van Dorn’s Mill." He became a deacon and elder of the Reformed Dutch Church at Bedminster and is buried in the churchyard.
Peter Aaron Van Dorn 1773-1837
Parents: Aaron van Dorn and Ghacy Schenck.
Born: Sep 12, 1773 in Peapack, NJ.
Died: Feb 12, 1837 in Port Gibson, MS.
Spouse: Sophia Donelson Caffery born: Mar 22, 1792 in TN; died: 1831 in Port Gibson, MS.
Nine children
See Judge Peter Van Dorn for more details.
Peter graduated from Princeton in 1795. At the age of 21, he moved to the Territory of Mississippi, first at Natchez, becoming a lawyer and Judge of the Probate Court, then to Port Gibson in 1802. He was also clerk of the Circuit Court. Peter was elected to the state House of Representatives and in 1817 (the year of statehood) he became Clerk of the House. Four years later the Legislature selected him to work with William Lattimore and General Thomas Hinds to design the new capital city of Jackson, named after Andrew Jackson.
Peter’s wife Sophia was a niece of Andrew Jackson’s wife Rachel Donelson; Gen. Jackson would stay at Peter’s Port Gibson home on trips along the Natchez Trace between Nashville and New Orleans. Peter and his daughter Octavia visited President Jackson in Washington in 1830.
Earl Van Dorn 1820-1863
Parents: Peter Aaron Van Dorn and Sophia Donelson Caffery.
Born: Sept 17, 1820 in Port Gibson, MS.
Died: May 7, 1863 in Springhill, TN.
Spouse: Caroline Godbold born: unknown; died: Jan 19, 1877.
See Confederate Maj. General Earl Van Dorn,
Caroline Godbold, when a North Carolina girl, went to Alabama, and met Earl, who was a lieutenant, stationed at the Mt. Vernon Arsenal. He was 20 years of age and she 16 when they married.