No known letters by Martin Van Buren’s wife Hannah exist, and she rarely appeared in her husband’s correspondence. An obituary published following her death from tuberculosis in February 1819 described Hannah as “modest and unassuming” and as “an ornament of the Christian faith, exemplifying in her life the duties it enjoins.”

During their marriage, which lasted just two weeks shy of twelve years, Hannah bore five children. Four of them—Abraham, John, Martin Jr., and Smith Thompson—lived to adulthood; a fifth, Winfield Scott, died shortly after his birth in 1814. Because Martin Van Buren’s political career frequently took him away from home, his sons grew up in the homes of relatives and close friends.

Abraham (1807-1873) graduated from the United States Military Academy and served as his father’s private secretary during his presidency. He later fought in the Mexican-American War. While in the White House, Abraham married Angelica Singleton, daughter of a South Carolina enslaver family. Angelica fulfilled the role of first lady for part of her father-in-law’s time as president.

John (1810-1866) graduated from Yale College, although his rebellious streak caused him to have a turbulent tenure. During his father’s presidential administration, John traveled to Europe, visiting many prominent people, including the new British queen, Victoria. His European tour earned him the pejorative nickname “Prince John,” often used to attack President Van Buren’s alleged elitism. A lawyer by profession, John was later elected attorney general of New York.

Martin Jr. (1812-1855) performed clerical duties for his father’s administration; after leaving the White House, he assisted his father in collecting material for what became Martin Sr.’s memoirs. Martin Jr. contracted tuberculosis in the early 1840s and died in the company of his father while attempting to find therapeutic relief in Europe.

Because of his youth, Smith Thompson (1817-1876) played a more significant role in his father’s post-presidential life, primarily as the caretaker of Martin Sr.’s retirement estate, Lindenwald, located in Kinderhook, New York. Smith’s two marriages connected President Van Buren to two prominent families: the James family, which included the theologian Henry James, the philosopher William James, and the writers Henry James and Alice James, and the family of noted writer Washington Irving.