Cowenhoven family

Teunis G. Bergen was born in the town of New Utrecht, New York on October 6, 1806, the eldest child of Garret Bergen and his wife Jane (nee Wyckoff). While growing up, he worked on his father's farm in the Gowanus area of Brooklyn and was educated at both the common school of the district and at Erasmus Hall Academy in Flatbush. As a young man, he was trained as a surveyor and subsequently pursued a successful career in this field.

Bergen was also a farmer and an active civic leader. As a member of the 241st regiment of the New York State Militia, he held the ranks of Ensign, Captain, Adjutant, Lieutenant-Colonel, and finally, Colonel. He served on the Kings County Board of Supervisors as the Supervisor of the town of New Utrecht for twenty-three years, 1836-1859, and was Chairman of the Board from 1842 to 1846. Bergen served as a member of the New York State Constitutional Conventions of 1846, 1867, and 1868, and was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention of 1860. In 1864, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat to the Thirty-ninth Congress, an office which he held until 1867.

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