Birth Name: Christopher Van Hollen, Jr.
Place of Birth: Karachi, Pakistan
Date of Birth: January 10, 1959
Ethnicity: English, smaller amounts of Dutch and Scottish
Chris Van Hollen is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a U.S. Senator from Maryland, and a Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, both since January 3, 2017. He was previously a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland, from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2017, and a Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, from January 3, 2007 to January 3, 2011.
Chris was born in Karachi, Pakistan, the son of American parents, Edith Eliza (Farnsworth), who was born in New York, and Christopher Van Hollen, who was born in Maryland. His father was a diplomat, who was a U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, from 1972 to 1976, among other duties. The Van Hollen family helped develop the Cedarcroft section of North Baltimore. Chris’s mother worked for the CIA and state department.
Chris’ ancestry is largely colonial American. Many of his lines trace back to New England in the 1600s.
Chris’s paternal grandfather was Donald Beauchamp Van Hollen (the son of George Henry Van Hollen and Margaret Beauchamp). George owned the Atlantic Packing Co. Margaret was the daughter of Robert S. Beauchamp and Eleanora C. Mullikin.
Chris’s paternal grandmother was Cecilia Harvey Coale (the daughter of William Ellis Coale and Mary Ella Baily). William was the son of Thomas Ellicott Coale and Cecilia Harvey. Mary Ella was the daughter of Hezekiah Bye Baily and Elizabeth Baker Griffith.
Chris’s maternal grandfather was Charles Winslow Farnsworth (the son of Charles Farnsworth and Edith Winslow). Chris’s great-grandfather Charles was the son of Charles Farnsworth and Harriet Peck Lester. Edith was the daughter of Roland Winslow and Ann/Annie/Anne Payson Hall.
Chris’s maternal grandmother was Caroline/Carolina Waterman Swift (the daughter of Frederick Rotch Swift and Eliza Morgan Bates). Frederick was the son of Frederick Swift and Sarah Rodman Rotch. Eliza was the daughter of Alfred Elliot Bates, a Major General, and of Caroline Eliza McCorkle.
Sources: Genealogy of Chris Van Hollen – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Genealogy of Chris Van Hollen (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com