The Surviving DNA of Jonas Long (1790-1837)

We can turn to DNA to try to uncover the parents of Jonas Long, my 5th great grandfather. We are looking for the identities of 6th great grandparents who lived in the 1700s. We will be working with very tiny amounts of shared DNA.

Spoiler alert: I have not identified the parents of Jonas Long as of this writing.

Jonas resided in Middlesex County, New Jersey and Richmond County, New York, so this is our target geographic area for matches.

Three generations of Long and Merrell

The approach is to identify the descendants of Jonas Long and Elizabeth Merrell (1800-186x) who have tested their DNA. For purposes of this article, we will use the testers at the website Ancestry. Ancestry has a "Shared Matches" feature. The idea is that the matches in common will hail from either the Long side or the Merrell side. The family trees of the possible Long matches will be analyzed for overlap, pointing to ancestors of Jonas Long.

My line descends from Susan Long (1818-1882) from her marriage to Eliakim Marsh (1816-1881). Susan and Eliakim have many descendants among my DNA matches. We can use these cousins to find Long matches, but we must extract the overlapping Marsh and Willis cousins who match through the ancestors of Eliakim Marsh and not Jonas Long.

My closest Long/Merrell cousins also share Marsh/Willis ancestry

Connection to Nearby New Jersey Long

Of note is a descendant of Israel B Long (1794-1886) and Mary Polly Brown (1804-18xx). They lived in New Providence, Essex County (now Union County), New Jersey.

1850 federal census
New Providence Township, Essex County, New Jersey.
Household of Israel B Long.
Note "his W" next to the name of Mary. This enumerator noted the wives, even though relationships were not a question.

From a book by John Littell published in 1852, we are provided Israel's parents as John Long (1758-1820) and Susannah Valentine (1761-1812).

John Littell, Family Records, or, Genealogies of the First Settlers of Passaic Valley (and Vicinity,) Above Chatham, with Their Ancestors and Descendants as Far as Can Now Be Ascertained (Feltville, N.J.: Stationers' Hall Press, 1852), page 262, accessed July 9, 2026, Google Books.
Feltville is now in Berkeley Heights, Union County, New Jersey.

Jonas Long was probably born in the early 1790s. More research is needed into Israel and his parents to see if Israel and Jonas could have been brothers.

Connections to a Cluster of Long in Pennsylvania

Israel Long's descendant and many of the descendants of Jonas Long and Elizabeth Merrell have matches with a cluster of individuals who trace back to John George Long (1764-1850) and Catherine Barbara Conrad (1771-1832). John George was from The Rhine area of what is now Germany. He and Catherine made their home and family in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Find A Grave memorial page for John George Long (1770-1850)
Buried at Zion Lutheran Reformed Church Cemetery
in Augustaville, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

The descendants of John George Long and Catherine Conrad intermarried often. The surnames Haupt and Henninger are often encountered. This may be why they are strongly represented in the Shared Matches.

John George Long of The Rhineland is probably in the generation of the parents of Israel B Long and my Jonas Long. If the Longs originated from The Rhineland, the records connecting Jonas, Israel, and the Pennsylvania Longs will be in Germany, but a more precise location is needed. The name was probably spelled Lang or a variant.

 

1776 Badge at Find A Grave

Find A Grave has created a special badge to indicate service in the American Revolution. 

1776 Badge at Find A Grave
for those who served in the American Revolutionary War 1775-1783

I checked on some ancestors.

Charles Marsh was my fifth great grandfather. He resided in Essex County, New Jersey in the area of Elizabethtown and Westfield. (These are now in Union County.) He lived long enough to apply for a pension. In his affidavit, Charles described participation in battles throughout his area. He first volunteered in June 1776 in the Infantry of the Militia of New Jersey. He fought at the Battle of Springfield and Connecticut Farms in June of 1780.

The memorial page of Charles Marsh already had the 1776 badge when I visited.

Memorial page of Charles Marsh (1755-1833)
Buried in the Presbyterian Church Burial Grounds
Westfield, Union County, New Jersey

Cover page
Pension papers of Charles Marsh

The memorial page of Conrad Hopler, my sixth great grandfather, was lacking the 1776 badge but now has one after my edit request. He lived in Morris County, New Jersey and fought with Arnold's Light Horse Troop.

Memorial page of Conrad Hopler (1730-1814)
buried at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey

Book mentioning members of the Morris County, New Jersey Light Horse Troop.
Does anyone know where I might find this "original enlistment paper"?

George Taylor, my sixth great grandfather, was also lacking the 1776 badge, but that was remedied. George lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He lived long enough to file for a pension. 

Memorial page of George Taylor (1756-1835)
Buried in Holmdel Cemetery
in Holmdel, Monmouth County, New Jersey

Suggest an Edit page Find A Grave
George Taylor (1756-1835)

Cover page of George's pension papers.
This paper is a tertiary source of his date of death.

Simeon Rockefeller was my seventh great grandfather. He served as a private in Colonel Henry Livingston's Regiment New York Militia. His memorial did not have the badge for a veteran "V" and did not have the 1776 badge. I requested that these be added, but as of this writing, they have not.

Memorial page for Simeon Rockefeller (1730-1795).
He was born in what is now Germany, not New York.

Index card for the service records
of Simeon Rockefeller or Rockenfeller,
Livingston's Regiment New York Militia.

You can find some Revolutionary War service records at Fold3.

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?