One of the pupils of Dr. Hans Burch Gram, Vanderburgh contributed a number of valuable research papers and essays in the field as well being credited for introducing homeopathy in Connecticut.

He was one of nineteen children born to Revolutionary War veteran Colonel James Vanderburgh, his father having remarried, and whose family were among the many Dutch-Americans who settled Dutchess County.

[1] Vanderburgh received a limited and elementary education from public schools, however he was able to study medicine under noted physician Dr. Wright in New Milford, Connecticut, at the age of 17.

[1][2] Vanderburgh entered the office of Dr. Stephen Smith, a leading physician in the city at the time, and underwent the usual curriculum of studies graduating before he was 21 years old.

The area's climate was believed at the time to be beneficial for people suffering from pulmonary disease, much like Minnesota and the Lake Superior regions, and Vanderburgh enjoyed remarkable health well into old age.

Vanderburgh opened a successful practice, many of his patients belonging to New York high society, and was often requested via telegraph for house calls to country villas during the summer.

[1] He continued his research into homeopathy publishing a number of valuable papers on the subject and, in 1844, sent a formal letter to Judge Cowen in defense of Dr. Henry D. Paine, outlining the legal rights of homeopathic physicians.

Tillotson purchased from Isaac Van Etten the southerly lot forming part of the lands which had been granted in 1688 by Governor Dongan to Gerrit Aertsen and others.