John and Samuel Vanderhoof: New Jersey to Wisconsin

Next up in the review of the proposed children of Jacob Vanderhoof (1772-1847) and Ann Hopler (1772-1841) are two sons who relocated from New Jersey to Wisconsin in the 1850s: John and Samuel. More information is needed to definitively link all these people.

Worksheet of proposed offspring
Jacob Vanderhoof and Ann Hopler
born in Morris County, New Jersey 1790s through 1820s.
*Do not use this as documentation of any names, dates, or relations!*

In prior articles we reviewed other possible children of Jacob Vanderhoof and Ann Hopler.

    -Hiley Vanderhoof (1803-1888) and Elizabeth (1799-1878) were two different people.

    -Mary Vanderhoof (1822-1861) was not their daughter.

    -Charlotte Cook (18xx-18xx) was a daughter with a close relationship (sister?) to Elizabeth.

Vanderhoof brothers John and Samuel and their many descendants are found in many records of Wisconsin.

Here is a map of the United States with boundaries from the early 1850s. The path from New Jersey to Wisconsin must have been treacherous and difficult. I do not know why these brothers, along with other families from the area of Morris County, relocated.

Map of the United States 1850s.
New Jersey and Wisconsin are indicated with red arrows.

Louisa Caroline Freeman Hickerson (1921-2018) was a cousin of mine on few lines. In her book assembled in 1991 titled Vanderhoof, Louisa tried tracing John and Samuel. The pertinent entries are excerpted below.

JOHN VANDERHOOF 1804-1888

Louisa provided exact dates for John Vanderhoof. He was born January 15, 1804 and died March 24, 1888. These are the dates on his gravestone in Maple Grove Cemetery in Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, which we can see today thanks to his memorial page on Find A Grave. Louisa did not specify her source in her book.

Brief overview of John Vanderhoof, born 1804 and died 1888 in Wisconsin

John Vanderhoof married Sarah Dobbin on November 29, 1826, according to Louisa. This record has not been located as of this writing. They presumably married in New Jersey. Morris County marriages for this time period are available online.

John and Sarah had at least eight children, all born in New Jersey. Peter Alonzo may have been their first, born August 27, 1827. The final child identified is George, born about 1841.

John and Sarah's second child, Samuel Vanderhoof (1829-1849), died in Wisconsin. This would mean that John moved to Wisconsin before other families from the Morris County area. I have not found the family in the 1850 census in New Jersey or Wisconsin.

Below is John and Sarah's household in the 1860 census in Plymouth. Note that the prior household is Shauger- another Morris County family. John's son Peter married Susanna Shauger (1836-1913). Note that the next household is Dobbin, the family of John's wife, Sarah Dobbin.

1860 federal census. Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
Household of John Vanderhoof, farmer, of New Jersey.

Sarah Dobbin, wife of John Vanderhoof, died in 1876 in Plymouth. Her death certificate was included in this collection at Ancestry.

Death certificate of Mrs John Vanderhoof,
died January 7, 1876 in Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.

I did not find a match for the death of John Vanderhoof, 1888, in this collection. Alternatively, a record of death could have been filed with the Register of Deeds for the county in which the death occurred. I requested a search of Sheboygan County. This had to be done by regular postal mail. Within two weeks the task was completed with the issuance of a piece of paper "unable to locate the record."

Unable to locate record of death
John Vanderhoof 1888, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin

A death certificate could have provided the names of John Vanderhoof's parents.

SAMUEL VANDERHOOF 1807-xxxx

Samuel Saron Vanderhoof also relocated to Wisconsin. I have not uncovered any documents using this middle name.

Brief overview of Samuel Saron Vanderhoof, born around 1811, unknown date of death

Louisa wrote, "One record has 3-1-1809 for date of birth but that might be in error. Charlotte was born September 4, 1809 in Denville." Which record? Based on his ages in the census, he was probably born in 1807 or 1808.

Charlotte Vanderhoof (1809-1886) married Chileon Cook (1807-1888) in 1828.

"Samuel Vanderhoof and Eleanor Anderson - married 6-15-1836 according to one record." Which record?

Louisa was unable to discover the names of any children of Samuel and Eleanor. This couple had at least ten children. The family relocated to Wisconsin by 1855, when they appeared in the Wisconsin State census in Plymouth. The 1860 federal census reflects this move in the birthplaces of the children. Mary Ella Vanderhoof (1853-1921) was born in New Jersey in White Meadow, Morris County. Hannah C, later called Fanny Caroline, was born in Wisconsin around 1856.

1860 federal census Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
Household of Samuel Vanderhoof and Elena [Anderson].

I did not find Samuel Vanderhoof past the 1880 census. Some online trees provide his date of death as April 4, 1896, but no sources are given. Neither he nor his wife appear in the index of deaths for Wisconsin.

There was another man named Samuel Vanderhoof of the same age who remained in Morris County, New Jersey. This Samuel was a son of Cornelius Vanderhoof and Sarah Smith. He died in 1886 in Boonton, Rockaway Valley.

Some newspapers for the area are online. I did not find obituaries for John or Samuel. If anyone knows how to access more newspaper archives for this area of Wisconsin, please comment below.

Probate records are online at Ancestry. Sheboygan County is not included in this collection.

FURTHER RESEARCH NEEDED

If anyone has further resources to explore in Wisconsin, directives would be appreciated.

Similar Name, Different People

As I sort through the Vanderhoofs, I processed the death certificate of William H Van Derhoef. He died at age 79 years on October 9, 1943 in West Orange, Essex County, New Jersey. According to this document, his wife was Jennie Byington and his parents were John Van Derhoef and Sarah Graft. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Death certificate of William H VanDerhoef.
Died October 9, 1943 in West Orange, Essex County, New Jersey.
Document available through mail or in-person at the New Jersey State Archives.
(New Jersey death certificates are not accessible online.)

William was born in the early 1860s, probably in Brooklyn. He was one of the middle children. His father, John, worked in the seafood markets and had deep roots in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

1880 United States Federal Census
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Household of John V Vanderhoef and Sarah Ann Graff

William was already entered at Find A Grave. I found his parents entered at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn: John V Vanderhoef (1824-1900) and Sarah Ann Graff (1829-1919). Sarah's entry at Find A Grave currently has no year of death. Burials are searchable on the website of Cypress Hills. She was interred on December 11, 1919. She probably died in New Jersey, which has no index for deaths in 1919.

There is a problem with the Find A Grave listing for this family. John V Vanderhoef and Sarah Ann Graff were already attached to a son named William H Vanderhoef (1861-1930), buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. 

Memorial page at Find A Grave for William H Vanderhoef
1861-1930 in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

There are so many people named Vanderhoof or variant spellings that it is easy to mix them up. In my family tree are currently 49 people named William Vanderhoof/hoff/hoef.

The creator of William's memorial page in Green-Wood Cemetery supplied a spouse- Henrietta Dixon (1863-1908).

Marriages and deaths in New York City are digitized for these earlier years. 

On the marriage record from 1882, William J Vanderhoof's father was John Vanderhoof, but his mother was Catherine Mulligan- not Sarah Ann Graff.

Marriage certificate side 1
William J Vanderhoof and Henrietta Dixon
married April 27, 1882 in Brooklyn, New York

Marriage certificate side 2
William J Vanderhoof and Henrietta Dixon
married April 27, 1882 in Brooklyn, New York

On William J's death certificate from 1930, his father was again John Vanderhoof. His mother was Elizabeth, not Catherine, but her surname remained Mulligan- not Graff.

Death certificate of William J Vanderhoof
died January 1, 1930 in Queens, New York

Note that the death certificate lists the place of burial as Evergreens Cemetery. This is another large cemetery in Brooklyn. Although they do not have an online index, they will confirm burials via email. Because I had precise dates of death for William J, his wife Henrietta, and their son, William, Evergreens Cemetery was able to quickly confirm that the family was buried there.

The entry on Find A Grave, in contrast, lists the place of burial as Green-Wood Cemetery.

I did request changes to the memorial page of William H Vanderhoef (1861-1930) of Green-Wood Cemetery, but they were declined.

Email notifying me that changes would not be made to the memorial page
of William H Vanderhoef (1861-1930)

Do not blindly rely on relationships found linked on Find A Grave, or anywhere else. View the original documents whenever possible.

Beregszasz Hungary

The European hometown of William Schoenberg has been identified.

(Thank you, MG!)

William filed his Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States on April 18, 1917. This document was also known as "First Papers." In William's Declaration, we find the following statement:

"I was born in Bergsas Hungary on the 25th day of March anno Domini 1882."

Declaration of Intention signed by William Schoenberg
April 18, 1917 in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey

Close-up of the town of birth place and date of William Schoenberg-
Bergsas, Hungary on the 25th of March, 1882
as written on his Declaration of Intent

Indexes and images for naturalization papers for Hudson County, New Jersey are available through Family Search, but only until the year 1907. William was not found in this collection.

For $3 the Hudson County Clerk searched their collections for 1907 forward.

Website of the Clerk of Hudson County, New Jersey
explaining procedures for obtaining copies of naturalization records

Within a week, the Clerk returned William Schoenberg in their index.

Index of Declarations of Intent
Hudson County, New Jersey
William Schoenberg, Volume 61, Number 30031

These Declarations of Intent for Hudson County are housed in the State Archives in Trenton.

Website of New Jersey State Archives
Form to order naturalization records for certain counties.
The records are not searchable through this website.

I was going to the Archives in person so I did not order the record online. At the Archives, I received a copy of the one page Declaration of Intention. As stated on the document, the Declaration becomes invalid after seven years. William did not complete the citizenship pathway within seven years. If he did so later I do not know as of this writing.

So where is this place? It is currently in Ukraine and is called Berehove, but looks a little different in the Ukrainian version of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Modern-day map showing the location of Berehove, Ukraine,
formerly Beregszasz, Hungary

Borders changed after William was born in Beregszasz, Hungary. The town was in Checkoslavakia between the world wars. As a result, the name is spelled many different ways in various languages.

There are many men named William Schoenberg. The William on the Declaration provided a birthdate of March 25, 1882. This matches the birthdate provided by the target William on his draft registration card for the World War in Hoboken, Hudson County on September 12, 1918- about a year and a half after the Declaration of Intent.

Draft Registration Card for World War I
William Schoenberg of Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Collection at Ancestry

Was March 25, 1882 really William's birthday? I don't know yet. Records for this time period in the area of Bereg are online at FamilySearch. Unfortunately, I have not found an index. Browsing these records produces a few people using the surname Schoenberg or variant spellings.

Images for the Bereg area, formerly of Hungary, are online at FamilySearch.
They cannot be downloaded. Screenshots are blurry.

At MyHeritage, I plugged in the place Beregszasz and the surname Schoenberg and immediately found a ship record for Cilli and Esther Schoenberger. They arrived in New York on April 2, 1908.

Manifest of Alien Passengers
SS Rotsdam from Rotterdam to New York 1908

According to this ship record, Cilli, age 19, and Esther, age 18, were sisters from Beregszasz. Their father was David Schönberger. They were to meet up with their brother, William Schoenberg, of 295 Terrace Ave, New York. (Actually in Jersey City, New Jersey.)

Close-up of the relevant entries for Cilli and Esther Schoenberger

How do we know this William was the target person? In 1909, William's son, Sam, was born at 295 Terrace Avenue in Jersey City.

Birth certificate of William Schomberg July 29, 1909
295 Terrace Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
Collection available on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives

As of this writing, I do not know what became of Esther.

Cilli, also spelled Cillie and Celia, married Morris Niederman in Manhattan in 1916.

Marriage record of Morris Niederman and Cillie Schönberg
Manhattan, New York City, New York
May 21, 1916.
Her parents- David Schönberg and Lalie Mermelstein.
Collection online at New York City Department of Records and Information Services

From this document we see that the names of Cillie's parents match the names of William's parents on his marriage record from 1902 to Szera Scherer.

Marriage record of William Schonberg and Szera Scherer
Manhattan, New York City, New York
April 9, 1902.
His parents- David Schonberg and Lalie Marmorstein.
Collection online at New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Using variant spellings of the surname Schoenberg and the place name Beregszasz produces many potential leads. Of note was Benjamin Schoenberg (1901-1974).

Petition for Naturalization signed by Benjamin Schoenberg
December 29, 1921 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
Eastern District of New York.
Collection online at Ancestry

Benjamin Schoenberg was born in Beregszasz in 1901 to David Schoenberg and Maria Haupt. His birthplace is from his Petition for Naturalization. The names of his parents are from his marriage record in Manhattan in 1929 to Leah Drasdo (1895-1986).

Marriage record of Benjamin Schoenberg and Leah Drasdo
August 29, 1929 in Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Collection online at New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Esther Rosenberg was a witness on Benjamin Schoenberg's Petition for Naturalization. They both gave their address as 1241 Avenue U in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. They were siblings. Esther died in 1948 in Brooklyn. On her death certificate, her parents were listed as David Haupt and Mary Haupt. Her father's surname is incorrect. He was David Schoenberg, not Haupt.

Death certificate of Esther Rosenberg
Died March 23, 1948 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.
Parents- David Haupt and Mary Haupt. [Probably should be David Schoenberg.]
Collection online at New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Esther Schoenberg and Harry Rosenberg (1883-1924) had at least three children: Sadie (1913-????), Lillian (1917-2007), and Morris (1922-2011). Lillian married Sidney Weinberg in 1937 in Manhattan. She listed her mother's name as Esther Schoenberg, not Haupt. I am a DNA match in the second to third cousin range with a child of Lillian and Sidney.

Marriage record of Sidney Weinberg and Lillian Rosenberg
January 24, 1937 in Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Collection online at New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Morris Rosenberg married Elaine Gellers (1922-2009) in 1946 in Brooklyn. He provided his mother's name as Esther Schoenberg, not Haupt.

Marriage record of Morris Rosenberg and Elaine Gellers
November 27, 1947 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York.
Collection online at New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Much more research is needed. Identifying the hometown was a vital component to move this quest forward.

The Daughters of Masons

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls

Elizabeth, New Jersey Assembly Number 19

May 26, 1972

In the picture: Loretta Bowman, Beth Sue Durning, Hazel Hutmaker, Marion Lutter, Diane Hutmaker, Mary Beth Phillips, Jean Hanna, Helen Hoens, Robin Hanna, "Willy," Eileen Derry, Gail Yeats. (There are more people than names.)

Membership in Rainbow Girls was open to girls and young women whose fathers were Masons.

Wrong Day of Death on Stone

We have another conflicting date on a gravestone in Rockaway Valley United Methodist Church Cemetery in Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey.

Find A Grave memorial page
Dora E Vanness Cook 1863-1892

Picture of the stone of Dora E Vanness Cook
at Rockaway Valley United Methodist Church Cemetery
Note the date of death is November 10, 1892

The stone for Dora E VanNess Cook provides her dates of birth and death: October 24, 1863 - November 10, 1892.

But her death certificate has her death as the next day, November 11, 1892. She died at 29 years of age in Boonton.

Death certificate of Dorcastina Elisabeth Cook
November 11, 1892 in Boonton
Available through the New Jersey State Archives

As discussed in the prior article about differing dates for Hila Vanderhoof Cook, the death certificate is a primary source for the date of death. The gravestone is not a primary source. We do not know when or why the stone was engraved.

Elizabeth Dorcastina VanNess married William H Cook (1866-1960) on June 12, 1889 in Powerville, which is an area in Boonton. She was the daughter of James VanNess (1817-1885) and MaryAnn Pierson (1825-1908).

William Cook's paternal grandmother was Hila Vanderhoof (1803-1888), whose gravestone illustrated an engravement with an incorrect year.