Born in Franklin County, Tennessee, Van Zandt was a member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas from 1840-42. In 1841 Van Zandt donated land, along with Peter Whetestone, to found the city of Marshall, Texas. Van Zandt was instrumental in crafting the Annexation Treaty of the Republic of Texas to the United States while he was the Texas Charge d'Affaires in Washington, DC. He served as a delegate to the Texas state constitutional convention in 1845. Van Zandt died in Houston while campaigning for governor. Had he lived, Van Zandt would have been Marshall's fourth Texas Governor.
The Van Zandt family donated their plantation as the site for the College of Marshall (now East Texas Baptist University in 1912. It was later demolished