Welcome to the Van Doren Family
History Page
My name is Thomas
Lloyd Van Doren,
born in 1948, and raised to
adulthood on a farm in
Somerset County, New Jersey. I was raised on the
family farm, by my
parents, on land settled by
my ancestors. I traveled with my father when he
delivered hay to the dairy farms of Central New
Jersey, farms that were once occupied by the families of relatives and
friends.
It was a big world for a 12 year old boy, no shopping centers, highways, grocery stores nor any of the modern amenities to which I have now become so accustomed. I love history. A love passed to me by my father, Martin Lloyd Van Doren. He worked his father's farm after graduating from Rutgers, and later acquired the farm from his father, Martin Luther Van Doren Jr. just as he acquired it from his father, Martin Luther Van Doren, Sr. Four Generations in one house. Ten more generations in Somerset County, where my ancestors cleared timber, tilled the fields, and worked the farms that provided for their needs. They gave land and labor for the Dutch Reformed Church, and when necessary, risked their lives for freedom during the American Revolution. I, like my father graduated from Rutgers, before physically moving to Texas, to raise my own family. In Texas, I have created my own history; indeed, four children still here in North Texas with three grandchildren, and a step granddaughter. In Seattle, a son with three grandchildren and
in San Diego a Step son, and two more grandchildren.
I never want my family to forget their heritage, that takes them back to the old farms of Somerset County, New Jersey. I have created my own history in Texas, but I will be forever linked to the Dutch of Niew Amsterdam, New Jersey and the Millstone River Valley.
Our
Family History
This is a
project in progress, and so may seem quite
disjointed as I
try to put my thoughts in order. I have given up on filing
and sorting, and going from here to nowhere.
So, I thought I would just
place my thoughts, recollections and history given to me by my father,
and start placing them on these pages, so anyone can drop back from
time to time, to learn more, see more...and get a feeling for what it
was like, growing up in an old Dutch Family,
in central New Jersey.
Tell me how I'm doing. Let me know how I can make
this
journey easier and ask me about any
questions you might have about the history of Somerset County and its
families.
Drop me a line at: vandoren@grandecom.net and / or
See my first attempts at building a family website at:
The Van Doren Family Home Page
My Love Affair with Cars
also
Our Van Doren Family Tree at Genealogy.com
Van Doren History Folder
Early Settlement of New Jersey by the Van Doren Family
1850 Settlers Map of Montgomery Twp., Somerset Co., New Jersey
Revolutionary War Losses Suffered by Van Doren Families
1700's Map New Brunswick to PrincetonTom Van Doren, The Lost Dutchman In Texas
Email: vandoren@grandecom.net
This Page Updated September 25, 2007