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.