He apprenticed as a
carpenter and
cabinetmaker and served as
justice of the peace for
Solebury Township in
Bucks County of Pennsylvania for several years as well as
coroner of Bucks County four years.
Military career In 1775, he was elected ensign of a company of
militia, and appointed ensign in the
Continental Army by the
committee of safety in January 1776, assigned to Capt.
John Beatty's Company in Col. Magaw's Regiment. He was taken prisoner at the
fall of Fort Washington and held as a
prisoner of war from November 1776 to May 1778 when he was exchanged. He served as first lieutenant, captain lieutenant, and captain until the close of the
American Revolutionary War. Van Horn was also a founding member of the
Society of the Cincinnati. From 1808 until 1810, he was Lt. Col. Commanding 1st Reg. 2nd Brig. of the Ohio Militia. During the
War of 1812, he served as Adjutant General of the Ohio Militia from 1810 until 1819.
Political career From 1796 to 1797, he was a member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Immediately following his term in the Pennsylvania House, he was elected as a
Republican or Jeffersonian, to the
Seventh and
Eighth United States Congresses. In 1805, he moved to
Zanesville, Ohio, after President
Jefferson appointed him receiver of the land office at Zanesville. He held that office until December 1826 when he resigned in favor of his son Bernard. After he moved to Zanesville his first residence was a white Clapboard house on Pine St., built for him by his nephew, which was locally known as "the White House." He was involved in a number of early Zanesville businesses, was a large landholder and served as President of The Second Federal Bank of Zanesville. He also served as head of a political faction in the 2d Capital of Ohio. ==Personal life==