Hannah Hoes and Martin Van Buren were distant cousins and childhood sweethearts. They married in 1807, after he had set up his law practice in Kinderhook, New York, in 1803. The couple had four sons who survived infancy, Abraham, John, Martin Jr., and Smith.

Little is known about Hannah, who died of tuberculosis about a month before her 36th birthday. She did not leave writing of her own, and Martin, who never remarried, did not mention even her name in the autobiography he wrote late in life. Their sons were all bachelors when Martin became president in 1837. The following year Abraham married Angelica Singleton, who served as White House hostess until Martin's term ended in 1841.