News Release

Former President of the Kinderhook Bank to Donate Martin Van Buren Letter to the National Park Service

NPS Photo

News Release Date: July 9, 2019

Contact: Rebekah Oakes, 5187589689

On July 16, 1841, two prominent members of the Kinderhook community met at Lindenwald. Join us 178 years later to help preserve our town’s history for future generations.

In a special ceremony on Tuesday, July 16 at 10:30 am, Bob Sherwood, former Kinderhook Bank president, will present an original Martin Van Buren document to the National Park Service, donated on behalf of Kinderhook Bank. This letter invited Bank President William H. Tobey to visit with the ex-President at Lindenwald on July 16, 1841.

Megan O’Malley, superintendent of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, will receive the letter on behalf of the park. The press is invited to witness the transfer of ownership, and the Friends of Lindenwald will provide light refreshments after the ceremony.

The letter itself is penned in the elegant script of Angelica Singleton Van Buren, the president’s daughter-in-law and de facto First Lady. The ex-president’s return to Kinderhook in 1841 represented the end of his time in Washington, but not a retirement from politics. Forging relationships with community leaders such as William Tobey was a vital component of Van Buren’s post-presidency career. The National Park Service is pleased to continue our partnership with Kinderhook Bank nearly two centuries later.  

For more information, call Martin Van Buren National Historic Site at 518-758-9689.