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 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

Indirect Date of Birth

An announcement of a wedding date provided an indirect date of birth of a grandparent.

Shirley Adele Hofacker and William John Geerke announced the date of their upcoming wedding in The Newark Sunday Call. "June Bridal On Birthday" explained that June 24, 1939 was the 72nd birthday of Shirley's grandfather, Charles Lutter.

Newspaper article providing the date of Shirley Hofacker's wedding in 1939.
The Newark Sunday Call. April 23, 1939. Page 4.

Shirley and William were indeed married on June 24, 1939 in at Saint Leo's Catholic Church in Irvington, Essex County, New Jersey.

Shirley's mother was Florence Lutter (1892-1983). Florence's parents were Karl Lutter Anna Lau (1869-1914). Karl was anglized to Charles. He was likely a cousin of mine as discussed in an earlier article , "Connecting the Lutters of Newark, New Jersey." Charles was born in a German area, likely in or near the town of Scheibe, where my Lutter line originates. I do not have his record of birth; however, his death certificate provides this date as June 24, 1868. That would make him 71, not 72, on the day that his granddaughter married.

Death certificate of Charles K Lutter,
died September 26, 1952 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Father- Karl Lutter. Mother- "Unknown."
His parents were Robert Lutter and Nathalia Zitzman.

Shirley's date of birth is given on her marriage record: October 11, 1918. Again, a record of birth made at the time of the event would be better evidence of when she was born. Shirley's birth certificate is accessible from the New Jersey State Archives. (Births through 1924 are public in the Archives as of this writing.) On this document, Shirley was born on the 12th of October- not the 11th as stated on her marriage record.

Birth certificate of Shirley Adelle Hofacker
October 12, 1918 in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
Father- Adam Hofacker. Mother- Florence Lutter.
Record available through the New Jersey State Archives mail or in-person.

A note about researching in online newspapers:

Not all text will turn up in a search feature. On the page of The Newark Sunday Call where Shirley's article was found, there are several blank spots. Any print that was there did not carry over to the electronic scan and will not turn up in a search. If the date of an event is known, you may have to check newspapers published on and around this date to locate possible articles.

The Newark Sunday Call newspaper
April 23, 1939. Page 4.
Digitized version found at OldNews.com.
Shirley's wedding announcement is in the upper left.

What became of Sarah Scherer?

Sarah Scherer, her first husband, William Schoenberg, and their seven children were all together in the 1925 New York State Census in Brooklyn. Sarah was 44 years old, or born about 1881. William was 43 years old, or born about 1882. The children ranged in age from twelve to 22.

1925 New York State Census
178 Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

By 1930, Sarah was a "widow," though the disposition of William has not been determined as of this writing. What became of her after the 1930 census was a mystery until the estate papers of Regina Phillips popped up on FamilySearch thanks to their full text search.

The names of Sarah's children appeared in accountings. Sarah's name was misspelled.

Estate of Regina Phillips, 1932, late of Queens County, New York

Sarah was described as Regina's niece. I guess that the connection is through Sarah's mother, Rosa Rubenstein (1853-1924), but the specific relationship is not clear as of this writing.

Parents and spouse of Regina Rubinsons (1870-1932)

Parents and maternal grandparents of Sarah Scherer (1881-19xx)

In 1890 in Manhattan, New York, Regina Rubinsons married Samuel Phillips (1870-1929). Her parents were Elias Rubinsons and Fany Goldberger.

Marriage certificate of Samuel Phillips and Regina Rubinsons
July 8, 1890 in Manhattan, New York.
Groom's parents- Israel Phillips and Amali Hönig.
Bride's parents- Elias Rubinsons and Fany Goldberger.

Samuel Phillips predeceased his wife in 1929. They had no surviving issue when Regina died in 1932.

Death certificate of Regina Phillips
died May 27, 1932 in Manhattan, New York.
Father- Edward Robinson. Mother- Dora Chonowksy.

The names of Regina's parents had morphed from Elias Rubinsons to Edward Robinson and from Fany Goldberger to Dora Chonowsky.

Regina's estate documents mention a change in Sarah's surname from Schoenberg to Koppel, along with the address 518 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Koppel was the married name of Sarah's youngest daughter, Beatrice.

No marriage record for Sarah Scherer or Schoenberg to Mr Koppel was found in New York City, New York State, or New Jersey.

Using FamilySearch's search text function, Sarah's application for naturalization popped up. She filed twice- once under the name Sarah Koppel in 1942 and again under the name Sarah Mendlinger in 1946.

Declaration of Intention of Sarah Koppel
signed February 4, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York.

Declaration of Intention of Sarah Mendlinger
signed November 21, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York.

These documents are great because she provides a birthdate and place (April 15, 1881 in Sobolj, Megye, Hungary), date of immigration, marriages, and children. These are not necessarily accurate.

Plus we get a picture of Sarah!

Picture of Sarah Scherer attached to her 1942 Declaration of Intention

On the 1942 petition, she wrote that she married Jacob Koppel on June 15, 1931 in Brooklyn. I don't see this in the index of marriages.

On October 10, 1931, Sarah's youngest daughter, Bertha (called Beatrice in the naturalization document), married Bernard E Koppel, the son of Jacob Koppel and Lizzie Friedman.

Marriage certificate of Bernard E Koppel and Bertha Schoenberg
October 10, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York.
Groom's parents- Jacob Koppel and Lizzie Friedman.
Bride's parents- W [Aaron?] and Sarah Scherer.

Bertha, later called Beatrice, was born August 25, 1913 in Jersey City. The surname was misspelled "Schomberg" on the birth certificate.

Birth certificate of Bertha Schomberg
August 25, 1913 in West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- William Schomberg. Mother- Sara Scherer.

On October 28, 1931, a correction was submitted to change the surname from Schomberg to Schoenberg. Four months earlier, mother Sarah had supposedly married Jacob Koppel. Yet she signed "Sarah Schoenberg" and not "Sarah Koppel" on the request for the correction.

Correction to birth certificate of Bertha Schomberg to Schoenberg
signed October 28, 1931.

A record does exist for Sarah's marriage in 1943 to Kopel Mendlinger. (Not the same person as Jacob Koppel.)

Marriage license of Kopel Mendlinger and Sarah Koppel
married January 10, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York.

Although marriages for Brooklyn in 1943 are supposedly all scanned and available online, this one was not. I ordered it through the mail. Cost was $18 and turn-around time was two months.

Available marriage records supposedly online at
New York City Department of Records and Information Services

Sarah's place of birth was Tisa Dop, Hungary. This is Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary.

Map of Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary on map of Europe 2025.

Sarah listed one prior marriage to Jacob Koppel. She omitted her first marriage to William Schoenberg. How did that marriage end? Did William die? Disappear? Divorce?

Sarah's marriage history as reported on her license to marry 1943

What became of Sarah Scherer? I do not know. I did not find a death record for her in New York City. 

Notes about the birth records of the children as listed on Sarah's petitions for naturalization:

Sarah had seven children that I discovered. The first, Dora (1903-1934), was deceased by the time of Sarah's petitions, which only asked about living children.

The second child was born February 2, 1905 in Manhattan. "Lena" was originally the name, but "Sadie" was written in read above the crossed out Lena. This is probably for Sadie, but where is Lena's birth certificate? Lena was child number 3.

Birth certificate of Lena [crossed out] Sadie Schönberg
born February 2, 1905 in Manhattan, New York.
Father- William Schönberg. Mother- Sarah Scherer.

I did not find a birth record for Abraham, child number 4. He could not not have been born on January 16, 1909 because the fifth child, Sam, was born July 29, 1909.

Birth certificate of Sam Schomberg born July 29, 1909
in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Father- William Schomberg. Mother- Sarra Scherer.

Catherine, child number 6, was born February 21, 1911 in Jersey City, not February 2, 1912.

New York Proposes Rate Hikes to Thwart Genealogical Research

Over the years I’ve written about the difficulties in obtaining copies of vital records from the State of New York. The only way to receive a copy is to print out and physically mail a request, remit $22, then wait a few years for Albany to send a copy.

My latest orders have not been fulfilled. One year for the Cummings and Grant orders; three years for the Sheehy order.

New York claims a backlog of over 10,000 orders and that fulfilling them is almost impossible.

New York was able to figure out how to open the envelopes and cash the checks within weeks.

I suggested making the records digitally available online, which is what is happening with New York City records.

New York has responded. Their solution is to raise fees.

Memorandum in Support of these changes to pertinent New York laws

It is puzzling why Part U- the genealogical section of the Memorandum in Support of the proposed changed is called "Digitize Genealogical Records." Why called digitize? What is being digitized?

Raising the fee from $30 to $45 is their solution to ending the backlog. This is the fee under Section 4174 of the Public Health Law. Is this for only certified copies, of which genealogical copies are not? The current fee is $22, not $30, according to the website of the New York State Department of Health. Is this wrong?

Genealogical copies of births, marriages, and deaths are $22 from New York State Department of Health.
The website should have a disclaimer that you will not receive anything.

Raising fees would do nothing to end the existing backlog; however, it would lessen the rate of growth of the backlog by discouraging people from requesting more records. What would really decrease the growth of the backlog would be printing a disclaimer, such as “Our staff will not fill your order, but they will cash your check. Donate $45 to the State of New York now.” The backlog will remain because the orders were not fulfilled.

Also proposed is a research fee of $50 per hour. I'm not clear on when this would be invoked. At present, no research is performed, as no orders are processed. How long could this research endure? For example, minimum research on the part of the New York State Department of Health would have clarified that the request for the death certificate of Edmond Sheehy (died 1893 in Amenia) was incorrectly transcribed in their index as Edward Sheeby. Ten years later and I am still waiting for the death certificate. That is a lot of time.

In comparison, I can retrieve over one hundred certificates from microfilm in an all-day session at the New Jersey State Archives.

Also nervy is changing the statute to dispense with the requirement to maintain indexes to save themselves money after fighting against the request of Reclaim the Records to release those indexes.

In contrast, New York City is digitizing and publishing online for free its vital record collection.

New Jersey began state-wide collection of births, marriages, and deaths in 1848. For thirty years, the information was entered into ledger books and is available on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives, online at a Family History Center for free, or online at home but behind a paywall at Ancestry. Certificates from 1878 forward are obtainable in person at the Archives in Trenton with cut-offs of 1924 for births and later for marriages and deaths. Mail orders are $10 per certificate with a return time of a few weeks.

Florida costs $10 per certificate with a return time of two weeks- the last time I ordered. More recent years are available than in New Jersey.

If New York cannot copy these records and cannot do it for $10, something is wrong. Very wrong.

Please share this information online to let New York know that its war on genealogy and history is not acceptable.

PS- While we are on the topic, what is the processing time of Connecticut? $20 for a death certificate. Waiting 22 months and counting.