I initially sensed and thought that the name was interchanged -- perhaps due to casual spelling, and how much an 'o' looks like an 'a'!
But after scrolling through a fair number of wills - I am finding a fairly apparant distinction between the two names - with the exception of my family group.
It appears that Isaac De Groff Sr. was in fact a De GrOff - but Isaac JR and his son, William, used the De GrAff name. The DeGrOff spelling appears again in the 1900 -with Garrett Seymour using it nearly exclusively. I wonder if the following is possible:
- Isaac De Groff Sr. arrives in Montgomery County;
- The De Groff and De Graff names are quickly and innocently interchanged in documents, esp by Census takers
- It become easier to use the A version of the name - or later generations were not aware of the distinction?
Relevant to this question is the fact that there are two distinct De Groff/DeGraff/ DeGraaf families in play - each descending from a different immigrant ancestor.
- Some De Groff/DeGraff/ DeGraaf folk descend from Andries - the captain of the Claas Aaron and subject of a famous myth in family history - that he married a daughter of king (Read more) .
- Other De Groff/DeGraff/ DeGraaf folk descend from John Le Comte (The Count).
As of this posting, 8/28/2013, I am not certain WHICH line we come from!
9/19/2013 There are two more families that are options! Per New Netherland Families by Wilson V. Ledley (1958) in addition to the two families I mention, two additional possible families include:
9/19/2013 There are two more families that are options! Per New Netherland Families by Wilson V. Ledley (1958) in addition to the two families I mention, two additional possible families include:
- Leedert Arentzen DeGrauw - who is first documented in New Amsterdam in 1838 and settled in Bergen County (with some of his descendants returning to Manhattan.) Ledley claims this family is confused - "hopelessly" in the 1790 census with the fourth family;
- Adolph Pieterszen DeGroeft - first record 1657
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