Mary Vanderhoof 1801-1853 and Mary VanFleet

Was Mary Vanderhoof (1801-1853) a daughter of Jacob Vanderhoof (1772-1847) and Ann Hopler (1772-1841) of Morris County, New Jersey?

Yes, according to her gravestone and a published genealogy.

Below is a picture of Mary's gravestone, located behind her parents, in the DeMouth Burial ground in Denville.

Gravestone of Mary Vanderhoof, died August 31, 1853.
DeMouth Burial Ground is located on private residential property.
Please be mindful if visiting.

The inscription is difficult to read today. It appears to be:

Mary

Daughter of

Jacob Vanderhoof

Died Aug 31, 1853

Aged 52 years

In her book Vanderhoof (1991), Louisa Caroline Freeman Hickerson identified Mary as the third child born to Jacob Vanderhoof and Ann Hopler.

Page of Freeman's book about Mary Vanderhoof.
Housed at the Denville Historical Society

Other than this gravestone and the mention of this gravestone in Ms Hickerson's book, there is no other proof that Mary Vanderhoof existed.

No death record was found for Mary Vanderhoof in the New Jersey ledger books covering 1853, in spite of the precise date on her stone.

Mary remains unidentified in the 1850 census. Both her parents were deceased by this time, so she would have appeared in her own household or in the household of a sibling or other relative.

Mary VanFleet

Ms Hickerson raised three questions after the short blurb about Mary Vanderhoof's gravestone. The issue concerned the surname VanFleet, arising from Jacob Vanderhoof's estate.

Jacob died intestate in 1847. His debts exceeded his assets. There was no money to to distribute to his immediate relatives, which would have provided a listing of his children and/or grandchildren.

Jacob's assets were listed and tallied in 1848. The final line of his assets was "Money collected of Mary Vanfleet 3.00." Below is the image of the accounting that Ms Hickerson wrote about.

Accounting of Jacob Vanderhoof, died 1847 in Morris County.
"Money collected of Mary Vanfleet 3.00"

Who was Mary Vanfleet and what was her relation to Jacob Vanderhoof? No information about this Mary VanFleet is provided in Jacob's estate papers, such as her age, residence, or husband, if any. 

VanFleet had various alternate spellings, such as VanVleet, VanFliet, VanVliet. Also the "Van" could be removed, resulting in more variations.

There was no shortage of people named Mary VanFleet in the 1840s living near Jacob Vanderhoof.

Below is the image of the marriage record referenced by Ms Hickerson. On September 16, 1826 Mary Vanderhoof married William VanVliet "both of the township of Pequanack." True to most of the marriage records for Morris County, New Jersey in this time period, the names of parents and ages are not provided.

"Rockaway 16 Sept AD 1826
I certify that on this Day I married Mr William
Van Vliet to Miss Mary Vanderhoof both of the township
of Pequanack in the County of Morris & State of New Jersey.
Barnabas King Minister of the Gospel."
New Jersey. Morris County. Marriages Book C.
Viewable online at FamilySearch

Was Mary Vanderhoof, wife of William VanVliet, related to Jacob Vanderhoof? We cannot tell from these records alone.

The third record Ms Hickerson mentioned was the 1850 census. In the household of Elijah Vanderhoof was Jacob Vliet, age 15. Below is that image from Pequannock.

1850 United States Federal Census: Pequanac, Morris County, New Jersey.
Elijah Vanderhoof, age 24, farmer.
Amanda, age 21.
Alison, age 8 months.
James VanDuyne, age 24, labourer.
Elijah, age 20, labourer.
Jacob Vliet, age 15.

The head of this household, Elijah Vanderhoof, was a grandson of Jacob Vanderhoof and Ann Hopler. His parents were Peter Vanderhoof and Rachel Peer. How was Jacob Vliet related? We do not know with the limited information offered in the 1850 census.

Who were the VanFleets?

On the same page of the 1840 census for Pequannock are the households of William Vanfleet, Stephen H Cook (husband of Elizabeth Vanderhoof), and Jacob Vanderhoff. Age ranges for males and females in the households are ticked, but that is as detailed as a census prior to 1850 will offer.

1840 United States Federal Census
Pequannock, Morris County, New Jersey

Household of William VanFleet: 7 people in the household. Oldest male between 40-49. Four males below age 15. Oldest female between 30-39. Other female 10-14. Did this household contain Mary Vanderhoof as the matriarch? We cannot tell from the 1840 census.

Some Death Records and Few Details

William VanFleet died November 6, 1853 "near Stan Hope." He was 61 years old. His parents names were Peter and Sarah. He was born in Somerset County.

New Jersey. Marriages and Deaths Morris County Volume Z 1848-1867.
William Vanfleet died November 6, 1853.

Mary VanFleet died June 9, 1851 in Morris Township. She was 61 years old. The names of her parents were not given.

New Jersey. Marriages and Deaths Morris County Volume Z 1848-1867.
Mary VanFleet died June 9, 1851.

We do not know if this death record is for the same Mary VanFleet mentioned in the estate papers of Jacob Vanderhoof in 1847.

We do not know if this Mary VanFleet was born a Vanderhoof.

We do not know if this Mary VanFleet was married to William VanFleet.

Conclusions

We should accept Mary Vanderhoof, died 1853 and buried near Jacob Vanderhoof, as his daughter. The only proof is their relationship inscribed on her stone, but this is more than most of his theorized children.

Jacob probably did not give the name "Mary" to two daughters who both survived. Mary Vanderhoof, wife of William VanVliet, could have been a sister or cousin.

The Mary VanFleet who paid $3.00 to the estate of Jacob Vanderhoof may or may not have been a Vanderhoof. We simply do not know within this context how, if at all, Mary and Jacob were related.