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JAMES M. VAN VALEN
Originally published in 1900 |
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JAMES M. VAN VALEN, of Hackensack, traces his ancestry to Daniel
Van Valen, who came from Holland in 1652 and settled in the present
City of New York. In 1657 he was followed by his father, Johannes Van
Valen, who settled in Harlem, where he was one of the five original
patentees of the Harlem grants and the last survivor of them. His descendants
finally removed to Bergen County, N. J.. and became extensive
landowners. Deeds bearing date 1701. record the
purchase of 2,600 acres of
land by Johannes, Bernardus, Gideon, and
Rynier Van Valen, from
Lancaster Syms, comprising all the Palisade lands
from the Jay line, extending from the Hudson on
the east to Overpeck on
the west. Bernardus Van
Valen was the great-grandfather of James M.
He was a member of the
militiamen in the Revolutionary War, and was
taken prisoner and confined in the old Sugar
House in New York City.
A store house built by
him is still standing near
the railroad depot at
Closter. He lived to the
age of eighty years and
died in 1820, leaving five
children: James, Andrew,
Cornelius, Isaac, and
Jane. James, the grandfather of James M., was
for a time a farmer at
Closter, but removed to
Clarkstown, Rockland
County, N. Y., where he died in August, 1786, at the age of twenty-six. He
left three children: Barney; Sarah, who became the wife of Henry Westervelt;
and Cornelius. Cornelius was born at Clarkstown, May 21, 1786. He
in 1867; James M.; and Sarah A., wife of Cornelius D. Schor, of Leonia.
James M. Van Valen was born at Teaneck, Bergen County, N. J., July 21, 1842. He spent his early life attending the public schools. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-second New Jersey Volunteers, and served ten months in the War of the Rebellion, being attached with his regiment to the Army of the Potomac. He then engaged in the book trade in New York and afterward taught school for several years in his native county. He read law with the late Garret Ackerson, of Hackensack, and was admitted as an attorney in November, 1875, and as a counsellor in November, 1878. In 1875 he formed a copartnership with his legal preceptor, Mr. Ackerson, which continued until the latter's death, December 23, 1886. Since then he has practiced alone. April 1, 1888, he was appointed by Governor Robert S. Green as President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Bergen County, and on April 1, 1893, Governor Werts re-appointed him to the same office for a second term of five years. Judge Van Valen has won eminent success and a high reputation as both lawyer and jurist. His opinions, except in two instances, have never been reversed. Beginning active life as a teacher, he has always taken a deep interest in educational affairs, and for eighteen years served as Chairman of the Hackensack Board of Education; he declined a re-election in 1895 on account of professional demands. He became a private in Company A, Second Battalion, N. G. N. J., November 1, 1870, and was transferred to Company C, of the same battalion, October 8, 1872. He was promoted First Lieutenant October 18, 1872, and First Lieutenant and Quartermaster of the Second Battalion April 18, 1876, and resigned June 15, of the same year. He became Captain and Inspector of Rifle Practice February 26, 1883, Colonel and Assistant Inspector-General of Rifle Practice June 8, 1886. and was brevetted Brigadier-General and retired on his own request July 5, 1893, In politics he has always been a Democrat, independent and fearless, never allowing politics even to be hinted at in connection with his .duty as judge. In religion he is a member and was formerly a Deacon of the First Reformed Church of Hackensack. As soldier, teacher, lawyer, and jurist he has always been highly respected and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him. He is President of the Bergen County Bar Association, a Past Master of Pioneer Lodge, No. 70, F. and A. M., and Vice-President of the Holland Society of New York, of which he has been a member since its organization. He was married, June 24, 1874, to Anna Augusta, daughter of Theodore Smith, of Park Ridge, Bergen County, N. J. They have had nine children: James A., Garret A., Emma E., Frederick M., Raymond, George `V., Arthur, Howard W., and Anna E.
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