The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.), 8.13, says that in English usage
van and the like "are lowercased when full names are given but usually
capitalized when only the last name is used"--e.g. Joannes van Keulen, Van
Keulen. I would follow this practice for people living in Holland or even
New Netherland, but I believe that the general practice is to capitalize the Van
for names that have become Americanized. I think Martin Van Buren is
almost always used.
David Allen
La Mesa, CA