New York State's Progress on Releasing Historical Records

We have some great news from the State of New York.

No, they are not fulfilling genealogy requests of birth, marriage, and death records.

The Assembly and Senate both passed bills to amend the mental hygiene law to designate certain records as historical, thus allowing access to records if the subject has been deceased for at least fifty years.

Pending paragraph added to the mental hygiene law (§33.13) of New York

The next step is for Governor Kathy Hochul to either sign the bill into law, or to veto it.

Advocacy must continue to advise the governor's office on the importance of accessing these records for genealogical purposes.

Follow Ryan Thibodeau for additional updates and information.

I first became aware of this plight through the blog The Inmates of Willard.

Old Dutch Vanderhoef House of Clifton, New Jersey

The Vanderhoef-Westervelt House in Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey sits in Weasel Brook Park. I visited on June 6, 2026.

Jody and Angie standing at the door of the Vanderhoef House

The original part of this structure was supposedly built around 1720 by Gysbert Vanderhoef. The nearby brook powered a grist mill.

Plaque affixed to exterior wall to the left of the front door.
Inscription: About 1720
Gysbert Vanderhoef
built here this house and
the second saw and grist mill
in Passaic County
Claverack Cahpter, D.A.R.
Nov 6, 1940

The original structure was expanded and modified over the centuries. The interior, as viewed through the windows, looks completely modern. The inside is not open to the public, but in consolation, if you want to see a replication of the interior of an 18th century Dutch home, this is not the place.

My pictures never do justice to the subject, but I think you can see the reddish brownstone from the local quarries.

By 1720, as Gysbert was building, New Jersey had been newly formed by uniting East and West Jersey. The map below is from 1748, or decades after Gysbert built his tiny house. I placed the yellow dot in the area that I think the house is in. Today, Clifton is a city in Passaic County. When Gysbert lived in this house, this area was not known as Clifton or Passaic County.

Map of New Jersey circa 1748
I added the yellow dot to show the location of the Vanderhoef House on Weasel Brook
Map at David Rumsey dot com

In a book about Vanderhoofs by Wilson V Ledley (1913-1978), he places Guysbert Van Der Hoef (1692-1758) as a son of Jan Cornelise Van Der Hoeven. Jan was born about 1648 in Holland and immigrated about 1661 to New Amsterdam, New York with his mother, Geertje VanFulpen, and siblings. Jan was my 8th great grandfather. Guysbert/Gysbert was my 7th great granduncle.

Excerpt from the book
New Netherland Families. Vanderhoef Family. The First Five Generations.
Author- Wilson V Ledley.
You can view this book on the Internet Archive.

The Vanderhoofs relocated from New Amsterdam to Albany, New York, 150 miles north. This must have been an arduous journey in the 1600s. Some descendants then relocated south again to northern New Jersey/East Jersey in the late 1600s/early 1700s.

According to a book, History of Passaic and its Environs, Gysbert Vanderhoef received land from his father-in-law, John E Vreeland. The area was described as lot number 9 of Weasel Division. Gysbert conveyed the property to Gerret Gerritse on May 1, 1736. Where is this deed? New Jersey State Archives hosts a searchable database index, Early Land Records, 1650-1900s. I don't see a listing for Guysbert/Gysbert Vanderhoef and this property.

Where was Weasel Division in the early 1700s? Bergen County was east of the Hackensack River, but later encroached west, but not past the Passaic River. Acquackanonk was in Essex County. I think this was where the property was. Does anyone know of documentation and maps for this area and time period?

Excerpt from the book History of Passaic and Its Environs
mentioning Gysbert Vanderhoef and the Weasel area (now in Clifton)

To place a building on the National Register of Historic Places, an application and supporting documentation must be submitted to the National Park Service. The paperwork for the Vanderhoef House is online, though it is marked "Draft." Was this structure not accepted for inclusion on the Register?

How can we find these older land records for East Jersey and New Jersey?

More ONeil Cousins

We have another set of potential ONeil cousins.

Two people who are second cousins to each other share DNA with my father and his three siblings.

The common ancestors of these DNA matches are Andrew O'Neil, born about 1798 in Ireland and his wife, Bridget Goodfellow, born about 1798, possibly in County Cavan, Ireland. They settled in New York City in the late 1840s.

1855 New York State census, New York City
Household of Andrew ONeil and wife, Bridget.

In the 1855 New York State census, Andrew and Bridget resided in New York City with their five children, ranging in age from 12 through 22: Michael, Peter, Andrew, Margaret, and Patrick. Note that Michael O'Neil had been in the city for 11 years, while the rest of the family was present for six.

To work up these DNA connections, you need to find descendants of this couple in the DNA database. But- even if this couple has descendants in the DNA database, the connection is distant, so no detectable and reportable shared DNA may exist.

ONeil is a popular Irish surname with a variety of spellings. Over half a million people lived in New York City in 1855. (Today about 8.5 million people reside in Manhattan.) Tracing the marriages, children, grandchildren, and so forth of ONeils is tricky.

Margaret ONeil married Bartholomew Neville. When she died in 1907, she was widowed and childless. She left behind a will that was probated in Kings County, New York. From this will, we find out that she had another brother, Terence. He was not with the family in the 1855 census. More about Terence later.

Excerpt of will of Margaret Neville (born ONeil) (1842-1907).
Proved November 19, 1907 in Kings County, New York.

"Second. I have not mentioned my
brother Terence O'Neil's name in this Will
nor made any provision for him herein, for
the reason that I consider him well enough
provided for with his own property and poss-
essions."

Andrew O'Neil died in 1868. He was originally buried in Jersey City at Saint Peter's Cemetery in Section G South, plot 14. In 1885, Andrew, other O'Neils, and Murphys were removed to Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York. (The Newark Archdiocese maintains an electronic database of burials at Find A Loved One Search.)

A brief notice of the death of matriarch Bridget appeared in the local paper The Sun in 1885. She was described as a "native of county Cavan, Ireland."

Obituary of Bridget O'Neil from the newspaper The Sun in New York City, July 4, 1885.
Note: July 4, 1885 was a Saturday. The obituary states she died on Saturday, July 3.

"O'NEIL. - On Saturday [Friday], July 3, Bridget O'Neil, aged
84 years, native of county Cavan, Ireland.
Funeral to take place from her late residence, 87 Washington st., on Monday, July 6."

Maybe Bridget's husband, Andrew ONeil, was also from Cavan. Some records survive for County Cavan in the 1800s. I looked for Charles ONeil and Catherine Brougham, the supposed parents of my third great grandmother, Mary Neil. I found a marriage record for Patrick Neal and Cath Brogan from 1824 in Urney Parish. Could this have been Mary's parents? More research is needed. Maybe the name is more commonly spelled Brogan and not Brougham.

Marriage of Patrick Neal and Cath Brogan in Urney, County Cavan.
August 18, 1824.
Witnesses Patrick Brady and Petra??? Brogan.
Collection at Ancestry

Summation

My line:
Mary Neil (later O'Neill), born about 1830 in New Jersey, later Ireland.
Daughter of Charles O'Neill and Catherine Brougham of Ireland.

Potential relatives number 1:
Hugh ONeil, born about 1834 in Ireland.
His wife, Margaret ONeil, born about 1838 in Ireland. Daughter of James O'Neil and Margaret.
Settled in Washington.

Potential relatives number 2:
Andrew O'Neil, born about 1798 in Ireland. His wife, Bridget Goodfellow, born about 1798, possibly in County Cavan, Ireland. Settled in New York City.

More on Terence ONeil

To trace Terence ONeil, we cannot stop at the records available at Ancestry. Additional documents were filed to probate Margaret's estate. Some are available at FamilySearch.

Probate Administrator Records for Kings County, New York.
Available on FamilySearch.org Image Group Number 004362601.

"Administrator Records" provide several pages listing names and addresses of Margaret's relatives. Terence ONeil, her brother, lived at 153 Steuben Street in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Below is Terence's death certificate from 1910 and a picture of his gravestone in Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.

Death certificate of Terrance O'Neill, died June 16, 1910
in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- Andrew. Mother Bridget.

Holy Name Cemetery, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
O'Neill gravestone in Block M
March 30, 2019

This DNA connection was only recently brought to my attention in the current year, 2026. Yet the dates on the records of Terence is from 2019.

Why did I gather this information seven years ago? Because Terence's son, Andrew Leo ONeill (1863-1941), married into my mother's family. My mother is not an ONeil descendant, but she has cousins who are.

Terence's third great granddaughter is among my DNA matches. She and I are third cousins, once removed on my mother's side. We share a segment of DNA. Ancestry does not report shared DNA between her and my father.

Note that Ancestry does not provide you a list of everyone who shares DNA with you. Both testing parties would need to upload their DNA files to GedMatch to check for shared DNA. Not finding someone listed as a DNA match at Ancestry does not mean that you don't share DNA.