Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782 in Kinderhook, New York, south of Albany. Van Buren was the third born of five children. His father, Abraham Van Buren, was a farmer and a tavern owner. His mother was Maria Hoes Van Buren, the granddaughter of a Dutch immigrant. Martin Van Buren went to school at the Kinderhook Academy in the village where he lived. At Kinderhook Academy, he excelled in English and Latin. Van Buren left the school when he was 14 years old.