The Alternate Names of Lucretia Frances Long (1831-1905)

Letitia, or Lucretia Frances, daughter of Jonas Long and Elizabeth Merrell, was a bit challenging to track. She was born about 1831, probably in Richmond County (Staten Island), New York.

Family tree of Jonas Long and Elizabeth Merrell.
Seven known children born from approximately 1817 through 1836
in Middlesex County, New Jersey and Richmond County, New York.

"Letitia F Birch wife of Edward Birch" was listed in the probate papers of Richard J Merrill (Merrell), her maternal grandfather, in Middlesex County, New Jersey. She and her siblings signed a release dated October 4, 1865. They inherited their deceased mother's share.

Release signed by six of the children of Elizabeth Long.
Letitia F Birch, wife of Edward Birch, is the focus of this article.

Letitia was also named in her father's probate records from 1860, reflecting his death in 1837 (or thereabouts).

Index Richmond County, New York.
These files refer to Letters of Administration sought by Elizabeth Merrell
years after the deaths of her husbands.

On January 2, 1859 Edward C Burch and Lucretia F Long married in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Names of parents and ages were not given. The bride's name was Lucretia, not Letitia.

Marriage record of Edward C Burch and Lucretia F Long
January 2, 1859 in New Brunswick
Microfilm digitized at Ancestry

Marriage record of Edward C Burch and Lucretia F Long
January 2, 1859 in New Brunswick

Were these people actually Edward C Birch and Letitia Long? Additional records would help, except there were none easily discoverable.

Where was Letitia/Lucretia in the 1850 census? I do not know. She was not with her mother in Northfield, Richmond County, New York. Presumably she was unmarried.

I did not find Edward Burch or Birch with a wife named Lucretia or Letitia in the census from 1860 forward.

The 1890 federal census was destroyed; however, the Veterans Census survived. In New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey was Edward C Birch. He served as a private in Company I of the 11th New Jersey Infantry from August 6, 1862 through April 5, 1863.

1890 Veterans Census
Edward C Birch
New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey

An index card lines up with Edward and Lucretia/Letitia for pensions of Civil War Soldiers (collection at Ancestry). Edward C Birch filed for an invalid pension in 1863. In 1897, Lutitia F Birch filed for a pension as his widow in New Jersey.

Index card of Civil War Pensions
Edward C Birch, soldier. Lutitia F Birch, widow.
U.S. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934

Yet there is no entry in the New Jersey Death Index for Edward Birch in 1896 or 1897. There are no census entries for this couple.

Newspapers for New Brunswick are digitized at Newspapers dot com. I searched for the Long family. I found an obituary in 1905 for Mrs Lucretia DeHart.

Family:
Elias Terrill, son-in-law
John DeHart, son
John Long, brother
Edward C DeHart, deceased husband

Obituary of Lucretia F DeHart died November 12, 1905.
She was a resident of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

Was Lucretia DeHart formerly Letitia Long? Was Edward C DeHart also Edward C Birch or Burch?

Using this alternate surname, I found the couple in New Brunswick in the census for 1860 and 1880. In 1860, they had a six month old baby named George DeHart. Also with them was a 49 year old woman named Elizabeth DeHart. (Relations of household members were not asked until 1880.)

1860 federal census New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Edward DeHart, age 23. Day laborer. Personal estate $100. Birthplace New Jersey.
Lucretia DeHart, age 26. Birthplace New York. Cannot read.
George DeHart, age 6/12. Birthplace New Jersey.
Elizabeth DeHart, age 49. Birthplace New Jersey.

George DeHart died April 19, 1876 in New Brunswick. He was sixteen years old. His parents were Ed and Letitia.

George C DeHart died April 19, 1876 in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Age 16 years, 2 months.
Microfilm digitized at Ancestry

In 1880, the original son George was replaced by George born about 1868. Maybe he had a different name at birth because the original George died in 1876. More children were born to Edward and Lucretia: Delphina, George, Joseph. Also living in this household was George DeHart, age 33; and Lizzie DeHart, age 22.

1880 federal census New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Edward DeHart, age 43. Huckster. Born New Jersey; father New Jersey; mother New Jersey.
Lucretia, wife, age 47. Wife. Keeping house. Born New York; NJ; NJ.
Delphina, 18. Daughter. At home. NJ; NJ; NY.
George, 12. Son. At school. NJ; NJ; NY.
Joseph, 10. Son. At school. NJ; NJ; NY.
George, 33. Boarder. Blacksmith. NJ; NJ; NJ.
Lizzie, 22. Boarder. At home. NJ; NJ; NJ.

Vital records from the New Jersey State Archives (not online) could shed light on this discrepancy.

Using the name, date, and location from the obituary of Mrs Lucretia DeHart, I found the death certificate of Lutatia Frances DeHart. Her parents names were blank!

Death certificate Lutatia Frances DeHart
November 12, 1905 in New Brunswick

Using the name DeHart instead of Birch or Burch, I found a death certificate for Edward C DeHart. He died December 8, 1896 in New Brunswick. His father's name was blank. His mother's name was Elizabeth DeHart.

Death certificate of Edward C DeHart.
December 8, 1896 in New Brunswick.
Mother- Elizabeth DeHart.

Delphine Dehart married Elias L V Tyrrell March 18, 1885 in New Brunswick. She listed her parents as Edward DeHart and Letitia Long. This document shows the connection to the Long family.

Marriage record
Elias L V Tyrrell and Delphine DeHart.
March 18, 1885 in New Brunswick.

Della Terryl died September 27, 1903 in New Brunswick. Her parents were listed as Edward Birch and Letitia Birch, not DeHart and Long like her marriage record.

Death certificate of Della F Terryl
September 27, 1930 in New Brunswick.
Father- Edward Birch. Mother- Letitia Birch.

Why two different surnames? I think that Edward's mother, Elizabeth, may have first been married to Mr Burch/Birch, then to William DeHart. Edward may have been born Burch/Birch and used this surname for legal purposes on his marriage record and his Civil War military records. For other interactions, he used his step-father's surname DeHart.

In 1850 in Piscataway, Edward and Elizabeth DeHart lived with William DeHart. There was a ten year gap between Edward and the next child, George. Such an age gap between siblings could indicate a remarriage. This George DeHart is probably the boarder who was living with Edward Birch in the 1880 census in New Brunswick.

1850 federal census Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey
William DeHart, age 39. Factory. $200 real estate. Born New Jersey.
Elizabeth DeHart, age 35. Born New Jersey.
Edward DeHart, age 13. Born New Jersey.
George DeHart, age 3. Born New Jersey.
Stephen DeHart, age 1. Born New Jersey.

Lucretia and Edward were buried in Evergreen Cemetery in New Brunswick.

The Death Certificate My Scanner Would Not Copy

Genealogy rule: make digital copies of all records, mementos, pictures, letters.

(And make backup copies.)

The death certificate for my recently departed paternal aunt was issued by the local town. The document was printed on 8 1/2 by 14 inch legal-size paper, which is awkward to store and scan.

New Jersey certificate of death
Issued May 2026

I have an older, no-frills scanner that is too short for fourteen inch documents. I tried a newer, more sophisticated scanner that could accommodate legal size paper. The scanner refused!

Modern New Jersey death certificates contained security features that some scanners detect and block from copying. Sometimes these security features cause the word "VOID" to appear faintly in scanned images. I would have been satisfied with such a result, but this scanner refused to scan the document at all.

Example of "VOID" appearing if document is copied

An iPhone 17 ultimately captured the image.

New Jersey offers a "certification" of a death record for genealogy, which can be copied; however, the Social Security number and causes of death are redacted. I prefer unredacted records when possible.

Two different Peter VanDerHoofs who died in 1913?

In the Rockaway Valley United Methodist Church Cemetery is the gravestone for:

Peter Vanderhoof (1844-1913)

Betsey M his wife (1846-1902) [born Hiler]

Clara (1861-1862)

Asa their son (1864-1902)

Note that the stone is etched with years and not months and days. The memorial page at Find A Grave has Peter's date of death as May 26, 1913.

Memorial page at Find A Grave
Peter Vanderhoof 1844-1913
Rockaway Valley United Methodist Church Cemetery
Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey

In the New Jersey State Archives, I found a death certificate for Peter Vanderhoof. The date of death on this record was July 13, not May 26. This Peter died at the Odd Fellows Home in Ewing, Mercer County and was buried in Rockaway Valley.

Death certificate of Peter Vanderhoof
died July 13, 1913 in Ewing, Mercer County, New Jersey

Is this the death certificate for the Peter on the gravestone? The age, 67 years, is almost identical. Widower is consistent. Across his many records, Peter, husband of Betsey, is not listed as the occupation "teamster." No family members are listed on this death certificate. The informant seems to have been an employee of Odd Fellows Home.

In the newspapers for the Ewing area and for Morris County I did not find a notice of death or obituary.

What was the source of the precise date of death on the Find A Grave memorial? I don't know. I can't find it. I'm not saying that it doesn't exist, only that I have yet to come across it. The year could be wrong on the stone. This happened with Hila Vanderhoof (1803-1888) in this same cemetery. She died in 1888, but the year on the stone is 1886.

There is a transcription of grave stone inscriptions for this cemetery. Only the years are provided for Peter.

Peter's entry in the transcription of gravestones
Rockaway Valley Methodist Church Cemetery by Illig.
Vanderhoof Peter 1844 - 1913

I found Peter and Betsey's stone in the cemetery. There were no flat stones or other markers to clarify the date of death. Sometimes members of Odd Fellows carved "F L T" inside links on the gravestone. Friendship, Love, Truth. I did not see this on Peter's stone.

October 11, 2025
Rockaway Valley United Methodist Church Cemetery

Example of links of Odd Fellows carved on a stone- upper right.
The symbol above the links is a square and compass for the Free and Accepted Masons.
GAR in the upper left symbolizes membership in Grand Army of the Republic- Edwin's military service during the Civil War.
Edwin Marsh (1843-1917) and wife Elizabeth Brook (1843-1920)
Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, Union County, New Jersey
Picture taken August 26, 2011 by J Lutter

Conclusions

Are these two separate men named Peter Vanderhoof who lived in the same area at the same time? Possibly. I have sixty men named Peter Vanderhoof in my tree.

The death certificate is proof of the precise date of death. The information on Find A Grave is not. But the death certificate does not link the decedent to his larger family, so we cannot be sure who he is.

Name Change: Bostedo to Bishop

My fourth great grandfather, Reuben Levy Bishop (1805-1856) remains a tail end in my tree. I explored possible connections to other Bishops of Morris County, New Jersey, such as William Bishop (1768-1844), with origins in Connecticut.

In a work by J Percy Crayon about Morris County families,¹ I found mention of a Bishop originally being Bostedo. A change in name could cause a tail in a tree until the older versions are uncovered.

Crayon's book about families in Morris County, New Jersey.
" . . . Bostedo, or Bishop as the name was changed . . . "

I found some documentation on this name change. Please note that changing one's name was not a formal process in this time period. We are not looking for a court proceeding or newspaper announcement of the name change.

Gideon Bostedo and Mary Beach married in Pequannock, Morris County on August 2, 1803.

Marriage record of Gideon Bostedo and Mary Beach
in Morris County, New Jersey.
August 2, 1803.
Viewable at Family Search from home. Film 4541274.

Research note: Marriages were recorded at the state level in New Jersey beginning in the year 1848. Prior to this, individual counties recorded the marriages. Indexes are found throughout Ancestry but the images are on Family Search.

Gideon and Mary had a son, Abner Bostedo, around 1817. Abner married Lavinia Landers (1816-1895) and they had children. Abner was a Civil War veteran who served in Company L, 27th Infantry. He died in 1890. His military service is reflected on his stone in the Bostedo Family Cemetery in Marcella, Rockaway Township, Morris County. (He is the only person listed in this vanished burial ground on Find A Grave.)

Abner's parents on his death certificate were Gideon V Bostedo and Mary Bostedo. Burial was at Greenville. This was the name of an area, more noted on a mine, near Marcella.

Death certificate of Abner Bostveda September 25, 1890.
Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey.
Viewable in-person from microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives.

Then we have the person mentioned in Crayon's book, Charles Bishop (1804-1881). He married Mary Kimble (1811-1888) and they had many children. Mary's mother was Elizabeth Vanderhoof (1789-1861). (How she connects to my Vanderhoof line is unknown at this juncture.)

Charles' death certificate lists his parents as George Bishop and Mary Beach.

Death certificate of Charles Bishop July 7, 1881.
West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey.
Viewable in-person from microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives.

Why did Charles change his surname from Bostedo to Bishop? The informant of this death certificate knew Charles' father as George, not Gideon? Why did Charles change his surname but Abner did not?

Is my fourth great grandfather, Reuben Levy Bishop, from this Bostedo family? I do not know at this time. A name change could explain why Reuben appears from seemingly nowhere.

More research is needed.

1. J. Percy Crayon, Rockaway Records of Morris County, N. J., Families (Rockaway, New Jersey: Rockaway Publishing Co., 1902), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/rockawayrecordso00cray : accessed 8 April 2026).

Two Death Certificates for Henry Hennion 1884

Some people have no death certificate. Henry Hennion received two death certificates when he died in 1884 in Montville, Morris County, New Jersey.

Below are the two death certificates. They demonstrate two versions of forms available at the time.

Death certificate of Henry Hennion
Died September 30, 1884 in Montville, Morris County, New Jersey.

Another death certificate of Henry Hennion
Died September 30, 1884 in Montville, Morris County, New Jersey.

You can look up death certificates in the index created by the New Jersey State Archives on their website. This index is free to use. The actual death certificates are not available online. You can order a copy through the Archives' website for $10, which will then be mailed to you. Or you or someone else can visit the Archives in person and retrieve the record yourself for 50 cents per printed page.

There are two entries in the index for Henry Hennion's death on September 30, 1884.

Henry was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey.

We want to view a death certificate whenever possible because this is the primary source of the date and place of death. From there, we can seek an obituary from the local paper and view the burial location. Sometimes the names of parents are given.

For Henry, we have two different first names for his father Henry and John.

Names of Henry's parents on his two death certificates

Based on his age at time of death, age 61 years, Henry Hennion was born in the early 1820s. New Jersey was not recording births at the local or state level at this time; however, there are sometimes church baptismal records that may have recorded the child's name, date of birth, and names of parents.

At the Dutch Reformed Church in Montville, a baby named Henry Hennion was baptized on April 13, 1823. He was born December 4, 1822 to Abraham Hennion and Clarissa Demott.

Baptism of Henry Hennion in 1823
Dutch Reformed Church
Montville, Morris County, New Jersey
Collection at Ancestry

Names of Henry's parents on his baptismal record

Is this the same Henry Hennion? The time of birth aligns, but the father's name is Abraham, not John or Henry. The mother's name, Clarissa, is close enough to Clara. Demott may be a variant of DeMouth, a common name in the area at this time.

Elizabeth Hennion (1818-1890) married Peter I Cook (1814-1889). Elizabeth's death certificate lists her parents as Abraham Henion and Clarissa. She must have been a sister of the Henry Hennion baptized in 1823. 

Death certificate of Elisabeth Cook
died November 20, 1890 in Upper Montville, Morris County, New Jersey

Peter I Cook was my second cousin six times removed. He was the son of John Henry Cook (1773-1859) and Jane Wandle (1778-1849). They were buried at the Pompton Plains First Reformed Church Cemetery.

These lines tangle as we travel back in time through the generations, but the children need to be attached to the correct parents. I'm not sure if we are dealing with two separate people named Henry Hennion or one.

Pending Orders

Below is the list of records not available online that were ordered and not yet fulfilled.

The last published list was November 4, 2025.

Death certificate of James Cummings, 1912

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check. (Died in Catskill, Greene County, New York March 11, 1912.) Check cleared July 30, 2024.

Death certificate of Jane Cummings, 1899

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.
$22 check. (Died in Catskill, Greene County, New York July 7, 1899.) Check cleared July 30, 2024.

Death certificate of John Grant, 1882
Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.
$22 check. (Died in Catskill, Greene County, New York December 27, 1882.) Check cleared July 30, 2024.

Death certificate of Edward Sheeby [Edmond Sheehy], 1893

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed March 1, 2022.
$22 check cleared April 2, 2022.
Originally requested in 2015.
Town of Amenia provided an obscure ledger entry in 2023.

Two Death Certificates for a Soldier

I found another death certificate filed in two states. The difference from the prior finding is that the death occurred in North Carolina instead of Pennsylvania and that the deceased was an active member of the military when he died.

Carl Bagley Duryee (1918-1942) resided in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey with his parents, Stanley Loveman Duryee (1893-1978) and Elsie Lee Waite (1893-1971). Around July of 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army to serve in World War II. He was sent for training to Camp Davis in Onslow County, North Carolina. While stationed there, he married Selma Helen ONeil (1916-2012) on December 21, 1941.

Within three weeks of his marriage, Carl was admitted to the military hospital at Camp Davis with a brain bleed followed by clotting and pneumonia. He lingered for four weeks, dying on February 4, 1942.

A death certificate was filed in North Carolina. These death certificates are available online in a database on Ancestry (North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976).

Death certificate filed in North Carolina
Carl Bagley Duryee
died February 4, 1942 in North Carolina
while a soldier in the United States Army

A death certificate was also filed in New Jersey. These are not online, but rather on microfilm in the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton.

Death certificate filed in New Jersey
Carl Bagley Duryee
died February 4, 1942 in North Carolina
while a soldier in the United States Army

These death certificates do not indicate that Carl's condition was caused by external trauma. Maybe this was a natural stroke, in spite of his youth. His obituary did not mention the causes or circumstances of his death.

Carl's widow, Selma, remarried in 1945 to Aubrey B Howland (1914-2004). Carl's father "gave the bride away" at this ceremony in Long Branch, New Jersey.

Thank you, Carl Bagley Duryee, for your service.

Death Record in Two States

Sometimes an out-of-state death record is filed in New Jersey. I have seen this most often with military-related deaths.

Edwin Jayne Duryea (1886-1942) died at the United States Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A copy of his Pennsylvania death certificate appeared New Jersey's deaths for 1942. (New Jersey death certificates are housed on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives and are not online.) He was a resident of New Jersey, not Pennsylvania. He was not active in the military at the time of this death, but was an inpatient at a military hospital for over two months.

Death certificate of Edwin J Duryea,
died March 8, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Filed in New Jersey.
Printed image from microfilm.

Screenshot of the negative image of microfilm

Ancestry has a database of Pennsylvania death certificates (Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973). This is a color reproduction of the records. Edwin's Pennsylvania death certificate in this collection is not identical to the certificate filed in New Jersey.

Collection at Ancestry

Edwin's full middle name was given on the death certificate filed in Pennsylvania, but only the initial was written on the certificate filed in New Jersey.

The Pennsylvania death certificate has a second side. This is the next image, so remember to click when viewing online. This side tells us that Edwin served in the Army in the World War (World War I) in the 146th Infantry, rank of sergeant, from April 4, 1918 through April 7, 1919. His brother was Paul G Duryea of Trenton, New Jersey.

Edwin was born July 21, 1886 in Frenchtown, Hunterdon County, New Jersey to Albert B Duryea (1853-1924) and Margaret Lear Heavener (1851-1903). His given name on this document was Edward, not Edwin.

Birth certificate of Edward J Duryea, 1886 in New Jersey.
Note that the mother's full age is given: 34 years, 8 months, and 17 days.

Thank you, Edwin Jayne Duryea, for your service.

The Two Samuel Vanderhoofs

Sometimes two people share similar facts, causing confusion to later generations who try to sort through records to craft accurate family trees.

This happened with two men named Samuel Vanderhoof. Both men were born about 1811 in Morris County, New Jersey. We know they were two different people because they are listed separately in the census and because one relocated to Wisconsin. Family trees and hints at Ancestry intermingle the two individuals as one.

1880 federal census
Town of Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
Samuel Vanderhoof, age 72.
With wife and children.

The Samuel Vanderhoof pictured in the 1880 census in Wisconsin married Eleanor Anderson in New Jersey. They moved to Wisconsin in the early 1850s. He is likely a son of Jacob Vanderhoof (1772-1847) and Ann Hopler (1772-1841), though no documentation of this has surfaced yet.

The Samuel Vanderhoof who remained in New Jersey was the son of Cornelius Vanderhoof and maybe Catharine Smith.

1880 federal census
Boonton Township, Morris County, New Jersey.
Samuel Vanderhoof, age 69.
With second wife, Sarah, and her son, Walter Stiers.
Samuel's daughter, Mary Catherine, is with husband Charles Struble
in the first listed household.

New Jersey Samuel Vanderhoof married Julie Ann Vanderhoof in the early 1840s. She was the daughter of Abraham Johannis Vanderhoof (died 1836) and Catharine Kierstede. Julie died between the 1870 census and Samuel's remarriage in 1878. 1876 is her year of death on her gravestone in Rockaway Valley United Methodist Church Cemetery in Boonton, but I have not found a record of her death filed with the Archives. Presumably Samuel and Julie were cousins on their Vanderhoof lines, but I have not determined how at this point in the research.

Samuel and Julie had a daughter who lived to adulthood and had children. She was born around 1842 and used two different given names, Mary and Catherine, which added to the confusion of this branch. On January 1, 1862 in Boonton she married Charles Struble (1840-1926). Mary/Catherine died in 1898.

On August 21, 1878 Samuel Vanderhoof remarried to Sarah Ann Moore (1812-1894) in Rockaway Valley. This was Sarah's third marriage. Her first husband was Samuel Garrison Stires (1815-1869). Her second husband was Washington Stickle (1806-1877).

Marriage record
Samuel Vanderhooff (Vanderhoof) and Sarah Stickle
married August 21, 1878
in Rockaway Valley, Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey.
Available on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

According to this marriage record, the parents of Samuel were Cornelius Vanderhoof and Catharine [no surname]. Samuel died February 21, 1886 in Rockaway Valley. His parents on the death certificate were Cornelius Vanderhoof and --- Smith [no given name].

Death certificate
Samuel Vanderhoff died February 21, 1886
in Rockaway Valley, Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey.
Available on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

As I sift through Vanderhoof records, the gains are generation by generation. Records are sparser in the first half of the 1800s. Marriages were recorded in Morris County prior to state-wide registration began in 1848, but names of parents were rare on these early marriage records.

Other articles about Vanderhoofs with the same names, places, and dates:

-Elizabeth Cook married Vanderhoof

-William Vanderhoof (born early 1860s)

-Peter Vanderhoof

Frank and the Fatal Prank

In 1926, Frank Vanderhoof, age twenty, died from injuries sustained at this place of work. He was employed by the Pequanoc Soft Rubber Company in Butler, Morris County, New Jersey. (Note: Pequannock is the modern spelling of this township. Variant spellings are seen across records and centuries.) Frank died at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Paterson, Passaic County.

Death certificate of Frank Vanderhoof.
Died August 27, 1926 in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey.
Father- Walter Vanderhoof. Mother- Caroline Harris.
Buried at Mount Rest Cemetery in Butler, Morris County, New Jersey.

A note for the majority of people who cannot visit the New Jersey State Archives in person: Death certificates from 1904 through 1948 are organized alphabetically by year on microfilm. New Jersey does not publish birth, marriage, and death certificates. An index exists for some of these years. If you can visit the Archives, you can photograph every certificate for a surname of interest. The index provides a name, partial date, and location (maybe city, definitely county). You need to view the actual record of death to see the full date, place, names of parents, place of burial, and all of that other information that the family historian needs to more fully assemble the tree.

Index of death certificates New Jersey.
Available online through Ancestry
or without a paywall at The New Jersey Death Index

I snapped pictures on my phone of all the death certificates in 1926 for Vanderhoof and variant spellings. The next image after Frank's death certificate was not another death certificate, but rather an elaboration of the cause of Frank's death.

Image after Frank's death certificate.
Handwritten: "Rupture & hemorrhage
caused by applying an 80 lb
pressure air hose to rectum
(prank)"

I don't know if this additional image was Side Two of the death certificate or if it was a separate page. Sometimes this supplement follows a death certificate.

In Frank's case, this supplement clarified that the rupture and hemorrhage of his intestines was caused by a prank- applying a pressure hose to his rectum.

When a death is special or unusual, a newspaper article may have been published with additional details. This would be separate from any Notice of Death or Obituary.

Newspaper article about the death of Frank Vanderhoof
and the possible criminal action against Andrew Balla

Atlantic City is about 130 miles from Butler, but the local paper there carried the story. This is a reminder to look far and wide for newspaper reports. The article added a second person to the incident, a "practical joker" named Andrew Balla.

Andrew was arrested for manslaughter. Another article, this time in Trenton, clarified that Frank and Andrew were coworkers. They customarily used high-pressure hoses to dust off their clothes. Details were skipped, but Frank died after Andrew "turned the blower" upon him.

Another newspaper article about Frank's death
and Andrew's criminal charges

What became of the case? I did not find further articles. If Andrew spent any time in jail or prison, it was not long. Two years after Frank's death, Andrew married Phoebe Haycock in 1928. Their daughter, Helen Louise, was born the following year.

In the 1930 census, Andrew and family were living in Bloomingdale. He was still employed at the rubber plant.

Andrew died in 1993 and Phoebe in 2012.

In 1957, the rubber factory burnt down, causing economic devastation to Butler.

Picture of the burning Pequanoc Rubber Company of Butler, New Jersey

Family stories about this incident would have been handed down through the Vanderhoof family and the Balla family. The accuracy would have diminished over time as the story was retold anywhere from two to five generations. If anyone is a member of these branches and heard about this story, please comment.