Searching for ancestors in New Jersey

Frank's Question:

I'm looking for parents of Eliza Conklin, 1808-1849, m. Simeon Ackerman- children Caroline 1829, James '31, Josephine '33, Elizabeth '35, Ann '36 (my ancestor), Cornelia '38, Rachel '39, Wilson '42, John '43, William '46, infant son '49.

They were married in Ponds Church, Oakland, NJ 22 Sep 1827, which makes me think she may come from there. Ponds Church burned later in the 1800's, so no record there. I called the church- Simeon is buried there, but Eliza doesn't seem to be (I talked to the cemetery caretaker).

James and Elizabeth are Simeon's parents, Cornelia is his grandmother's name, but none of the other names can I find in his family.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Frank. You might try getting Eliza's death certificate. New Jersey archives has death certificates available from May 1848. The link will take you to an online Death Request form.

See the 1850 Mortality schedule - there is an Eliza Ackerman age 41, who died Franklin, Bergen County in November of 1849 (and an Eliza Ackerman age some months, who died in May 1850). I use the census records on
Ancestry.com but Footnote,com also has many online.

And look for Bergen County records for a copy of the marriage license. There may be a Conklin witness present. You might want to consult Ancestor Marriage Record Finder for more ideas on where to hunt for an elusive marriage

You did not say where you lived, but if you live in or near New Jersey, (or near a major library) look at the "New Jersey Archives" set. This is not a brick building, it is a multi-volume set of books, "Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey" The first series has about forty books, the second series about ten. I have not accessed the third series, and I cannot remember how many books there were. Some of the volumes are indexed, and there are (by different authors) published indices to these volumes as well.

Look for Conklin wills which mention Ackerman heirs (and vice versa). And if you find such, order the estate records from New Jersey Archives, (the brick building).

Finding Ancestors in 1750s New Jersey

Some years ago, Lew asked about

Derek Tunison was born in 1754 to Denes Tunison and his wife Sarah, nee Hoglandt. I believe they lived in Bridgewater Twp. of Somerset Co., New Jersey. I am searchng for the wife and descendents of Derek. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I responded on a mailing list to Lew's question but I think the process I used to find the answers may be helpful to other researchers of this time period. So I have edited and republished it here:

Olive Tree Answer: Dear Lew, I checked the will abstracts found in "Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey" for you. These books are in 3 vols -- V. I Calendar of New Jersey Wills 1670-1730; V. II 1730-1750; V. III 1751-1760.

Denes Tunison did live in Bridgewater Tp. Somerset Co. He is named in the will of Robert BOLMER,farmer of Bridgewater, 30 Dec. 1754 in regards to Robert's farm -- "...lands adjoining Donies [sic] Tuneson and John Sebring"

With the names of two neighbours (Robert Bolmer and John Sebring) you should now be able to find quite a bit more from the land documents that survive.

Next, I found the will of Cornelis Tunison, who appears to be your Denes' father, in Vol. II - 1730-1750 p 475. The will was written 24 Aug. 1727 and proved 3 Oct AND 3 Nov. 1731. The original can be found in Lib. B, p. 238. It is written by Cornelius Teunissen of Raratan River, Somerset Co. His wife is Neelye. He names his 'home plantation' on the Raritan River.

His children are named as:oldest son Cornelius; eldest daughter Fenmeye widow of George Fairly; second son Tunis;youngest daughter Sarah; third son John; youngest son Dinis [sic]

Dinis is given 'that plantation between the first and second mountains bought of Jacob Sebring, on which my son Cornelius now lives" The importance of the land having been bought from a Sebring, and a Sebring being your Denes' neighbour in
1754 indicates to me that this is the correct man.

In this same volume, on p. 245 I found the will for the man I believe is your Sarah Hoogland's father. The will is of Dirrick Hoogelandt, written 21 April 1746 and proved 8 Aug. 1746. It can be found in Lib D p 399.

Dirrick Hoogelandt is listed as a farmer of Middlesex Co. with wife Annatie. His children are: Hendrick, Derrick,Annatie, Sarah and Maria. His wife is expecting a child. He names his sister Antie Quick; brother Adrian Hoogland;brother Adrian Hoogland's son Hendrick Hooghland [sic]. He mentions "legacies specified in the will of my father" His executors are his brother Abraham Hoogelandt and Dirrick Folckersen.

Adrian Hoogland also has his will on this page so you may wish to find these volumes in a library and read the wills for yourself. Although Derrick speaks of his father's will, I was unable to find any previous Hoogland entries.

If you do not have the Tunison ancestry you might want to check the records of the BOGART family (online book "Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families" compiled by S.V. Talcott, mentioned many times previously on this list) which indicate that Neeltje Bogart bp 23 Aug 1665 to Teunise Cornelise Bogart and wife Sara Rapalje m Cornelis Teunis Denyse [sic] on 23 Aug 1687.

It appears then that your Denis Tunison may be the son of Cornelius Tunisson and wife Neeltje Bogart. Cornelis Teunise was the s/o Teunis Nyssen and his second wife Femmetje Jans aka Phaebea Faelix. This leads you to the infamous John Celes aka Jan Seals who was Phaebea's father.

For more information on these families, refer to the well documented articles:

"Jan Cornelis Buys (alias Jan Damen) and His Three Wives Eybe Lubbertse, Phaebea Faelix (alias Phebe or Femmetje Jans) WIllemtie Thyssen; Teunis Nyssen (or Denyse) and his wife Phaebea Faelix (alias Phebea or Femmetje Jans); Roelof Willemszen and his wife Willemtie Thyssen" by John Reynolds Totten in New York Genealogical and Biographical Record July 1935

"The True Identity of John Sales alias Jan Celes of Manhattan" by Gwenn F. Epperson in New York Genealogical and Biographical Record April 1992

This gives you quite a few new family names to research! For more help with early New Netherland (New York) genealogy, and online searchable databases for this era, see New Netherland Section on Olive Tree Genealogy.

Finding Ira Totten in New Jersey

Gary asked

Ira Totten, b. abt. 1861, Paterson, NJ and his parents, George Toten and Adelia Henry, are listed in the Marriage section of the Sharon Springs, NY town register. I have found several George Tot(t)ens but I cannot connect Ira to any of them nor have I been successful in finding Adelia Henry.

Ira appears in the 1892 NY State census, Sharon Springs, with wife Cecelia and son, my grandfather, Clarence. The index for the 1892 census listed Ira Totten as Ira Fetters! The discovery of gross errors like this one have convinced me to do volunteer census transcriptions.

I could not find a birth record in Paterson, NJ for Ira Totten (or Toten) so I am currently searching under the premise that Ira is a middle name and that he is possible Charles Ira Totten.

Out of frustration I do volunteer genealogy work for other families, including scanning the web for people who, like me, are dead ended. (I am embarrassed that can do this for others with ease but yet I cannot flesh out my own family history!) I use Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, and the LDS Family search as my springboards. If you can solve this one.....I will be amazed.

Olive Tree Answer: Hello Gary, It sounds from your email that you know what you're doing and that you've very carefully done your research on this puzzle! I have one small suggestion for you and that is - have you considered that your Adelia Henry may in fact be Delia, Adelle or even Amelia?

Also the surname Totten could be mistranscribed in many ways - you already found Fetters as one! As an example, the ending "n" could be misread as an "r", rendering the surname as Totter. Just the first syllable alone (TOT) could be mis indexed as Tet, Tat, Fot, Fet, Fat, etc. So be sure you try all those when you conduct a search.

I think you are wise to consider that Ira might be his middle name, but where did you get Charles as a possible first? Given your background with helping others, I'm quite sure you have some clues that have led you in this direction, and if so, then I'd continue searching with that in mind.

Have you found Ira with his parents George and Adelia in 1870 or 1880 census? Perhaps if you search using no names, but instead use gender and ages plus locations, you will find a family that fits. Dont' forget that sometimes only initials were used on those census forms, so George might be listed as G. Totten and Ira as I. Totten.

Re Paterson New Jersey birth records - have you tried area churches? I'd search in locations near Paterson as well, because it is possible that Ira was born in rural area and moved to Paterson as a baby, but gave Paterson as his place of birth.

Finding the Identity of Denes Tunison and wife Sarah Hoogland

LewisK asked:

Derek Tunison was born in 1754 to Denes Tunison and his wife Sarah, nee Hoglandt. I believe they lived in Bridgewater Twp. of Somerset Co., NJ. I am searchng for the wife and descendents of Derek.

Olive Tree Answer: Hello Lewis, you are now in the thick of genealogy of Dutch ancestors in America, and its sometimes confusing world.

You should check the will abstracts found in "Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey" for you. These books are in 3 vols -- V. I Calendar of New Jersey Wills 1670-1730; V. II 1730-1750; V. III 1751-1760.

Denes Tunison did live in Bridgewater Tp.Somerset Co. He is named in the will of Robert BOLMER,farmer of Bridgewater, 30 Dec. 1754. His neighbour is John
Sebring. Don't overlook the will of Cornelis Tunison, who appears to be your Denes' father, in Vol. II - 1730-1750 p 475. The will was written 24 Aug. 1727 and proved 3 Oct AND 3 Nov. 1731. The original can be found in Lib. B, p. 238. It was written by Cornelius Teunissen of Raratan River, Somerset Co. His wife was Neelye.

His children are: oldest son Cornelius; eldest daughter Fenmeye widow of George Fairly; second son Tunis; youngest daughter Sarah; third son John; youngest son Dinis [sic] Dinis is given 'that plantation between the first and second mountains bought of Jacob Sebring, on which my son Cornelius now lives" The land having been bought from a Sebring, and a Sebring being your Denes' neighbour in 1754 indicates to me that this is the correct man.

In this same volume, on p. 245 I found the will for the man I believe is your Sarah Hoogland's father. The will is of Dirrick Hoogelandt, written 21 April 1746 and proved 8 Aug.1746. It can be found in Lib D p 399. He is a farmer of Middlesex Co.with wife Annatie and children Hendrick, Derrick,Annatie, Sarah and Maria. He names his sister Antie Quick; brother Adrian Hoogland; brother Adrian Hoogland's son Hendrick Hooghland [sic].

If you are not familiar with your Tunison ancestry, it appears that your Denis Tunison may be the son of Cornelius Tunisson and wife Neeltje Bogart. Cornelis Teunise was the s/o Teunis Nyssen and his second wife Femmetje Jans aka Phaebea Faelix. This leads you to the infamous John Celes aka Jan Seals who was Phaebea's father.

For more information on these families, refer to the well documented articles:

"Jan Cornelis Buys (alias Jan Damen) and His Three Wives Eybe Lubbertse, Phaebea Faelix (alias Phebe or Femmetje Jans) WIllemtie Thyssen; Teunis Nyssen (or Denyse) and his wife Phaebea Faelix (alias Phebea or Femmetje Jans); Roelof Willemszen and his wife Willemtie Thyssen" by John Reynolds Totten in New York Genealogical and Biographical Record July 1935, and "The True Identity of John Sales alias Jan Celes of Manhattan" by Gwenn F. Epperson in New York Genealogical and Biographical Record April 1992

You may also want to peek at THE DAMEN FAMILY OF LONG ISLAND New York Also you may find it helpful to read The Nephews of Jan Jansz Damen by Dorothy Koenig and Pim Nieuwenhuis in Volume 4, Number 2 May 1999 pages 36-39 of New Netherland Connections. The two nephews discussed are Jan Cornelisz Buys (aka Damen) who had three wives, 1) Eybe Lubberts, 2) Phebe Sales, and 3) Willemptje Thyssen; and his first cousin, Jan Cornelisz Damen, who married Fytje Martens.

Also this may be helpful Jan Corneliszen Damen in the New World by Lorine McGinnis Schulze (yes, yours truly), published on pages 47-56 of Volume 4, number 2 (May 1999) of New Netherland Connections. It is an account of the 13 children of Jan Corneliszen Damen and Sophia Marten, to the 3rd generation (grandchildren of Jan and Sophia)

Last but not least, Utrecht Farmers In Netherland From M.S.F. Kemp's Krommerijners in de nieuwe wereld Excerpted and translated by John H. Van Schaick in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, VOL. 127, January & April 1996

Finding Proof of Parents in 18th Century New Jersey

Jerry asked:

According to a Family File, Sander Egberts and Elsje Pieters had a son named Sander Egberts who was born in 1695 in Staten Island, Richmond, New York. He married Trinite Wallings Van Winckel. Their children were: Walling, John, Peter, Else, and Antie Egberts.

Sander (Senior) and Elsje's other children may have been Trynte Sanders, Egbert Sanders, Johannis Sanders, Peter Sanders, Annetje Sanders and Herpje (Harmtje) Sanders. I need proof that my Peter Sanders was a son of Sander Eberts

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Jerry, I think there is a small error in your Family File. Here is an excerpt from the will of Egbert Sanderson of New Jersey:

SANDERSON, Egbert, of Newark, Essex Co. yeoman. will of. Children - Waalens, John and Peter Egbertson, Elsie (wife of Cornelius Doremus Jr) and Antie Egbertson. Executors - three sons. Witnessees - Reiner Van Giesen, Peter Garmo, Jon'n. Sergeant. Written 16 Feb. 1748/9 Proved 7 Aug. 1749

It seems from the will above, that your Peter was not the son of Sanders Egbertse but the son of Egbert Sanderson [Sanderse]. Following Dutch patronymics, Egbert Sanderson would be the son of a man named Sander.

There is also this will:

EGBERTS, Peter of Essex Co. gentleman. will of. Brothers - John and Waling Egberts. Sisters - Antje and Else Egberts. Executors - John Vinsent [sic] and Abram Brooks. Witnesses - John Degarmo, Cornelius Van Geisen, Peter De Garmo. Written 26 Aug. 1740 Proved 11 Sept. 1749

Source for both wills: Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. II 1730-1750 . William Nelson and A. Van Doren Honeyman.

Looking for Marriage Record to find Parents' Names

Sandi asked

You've helped me before with a query in New Netherlands Connections. I greatly appreciate your assistance.

I'm looking for the parents of William H. Burd, born 17 Feb 1836 in Sparta, Sussex County, NJ. From his Death Certificate, it shows he died 10 Dec 1920, and was buried in the Florida, New York Cemetary. I have found him in the 1920, 1910, 1880, 1870 & 1860 Census', mostly living in Goshen, Orange County, NY just across the State line from Sussex Cty, NJ. He was married to Sarah E. Brooks, b. 29 Jan 1838 in NJ, d. 27 Oct 1892 in Orange County NY.

Their children were: Joseph Henry born 26 Feb 1866; John H b. May 1869; William Henry b. 24 Sept 1871; George Henry b. 20 Sept 1873; Margaret J. b. Jun 1875; Daniel Robert b. 13 Jan 1878; Grace V. b. 1879; & James Henry b. 30 Jan 1882.

In Sussex County, NJ there were several Bird families with sons named William only a year or two apart. My best candidate for my William's father is John Burd, who is found in Sparta in the 1950 Census. He spells his name the same way, (on this Census), and he has a son, William C Burd, 15. The middle initial is what complicates things. There is another William C. Bird, son of Clarkson, born about 1836. And my William has H. for a middle initial.

I'm not sure where to try to find more info to determine who his parents were. I have not been able to find a record of his marriage. I believe he was in the Navy during the Civil War, and married shortly afterward. His first child, Joseph, was born 10 months after the Civil War ended.

What other resources do you recommend to determine William's parents? Thank-you so much for your wisdom. I love reading your new blog.

Lorine Answers: Hi Sandi, You've really put together a lot of information to try to figure out your William Burd's ancestry. Good going! That is exactly how I approach a challenging genealogy problem - gather all the facts and note them carefully so you can keep track of definites versus maybes.

I am wondering about the 1900 census as you didn' t mention finding William there. Sarah was dead that year but using Ancestry.com I found a William Burd, a farmer, born Feb. 1837 in New Jersey, living in Goshen Orange Co. New York with wife Hannah. Could your William have remarried? Hannah is noted as being born in Jan. 1850 and William says he married in 1865 (which fits his marriage to Sarah) but Hannah would be a bit young to have married at age 15. It is quite possible that Hannah did marry at age 15 and this may not be your William but it certainly is worth checking on if you have not seen the record. If it is your William you would have a second marriage to hunt for and this could provide you with his parents' names.

I'd also look at naming patterns of children. It isn't set in stone but if you can find Sarah Brooks in a census record with her parents you can see if Sarah and William named any children after her parents. If they did, there's a chance they also named some after his. I notice "Henry" was pretty popular with them for a middle name of the boys. Could William's middle initial "H" be for Henry? Is it possible his father's name was Henry? Or could William's mother's maiden name be Henry? These are just questions you might want to keep in mind when you are hunting.

PS I have just answered my own question. I looked up William and Hannah in the 1910 census, and he is in Middletown noted as William H., married TWICE, and married to Hannah for 17 years. So he and Hannah married circa 1893 after his first wife Sarah died. I would look for that marriage to Hannah in Ontario County records. Here is their address and phone number

Orange County Clerk
255-275 Main St.
Goshen, NY 10924-1621
(845) 294-5151