Johns

There are a few John/ Jan  / and Johannes records floating around for this same time period.   It is still a work in progress to isolate the correct one. I remarked to Tom that this was all quite a puzzle and then I thought "hey, I used to do puzzles with my dad.." so I am trying... 

Approach:  each John will get a page and those with more than one wife - each "family" will get a page. That way, I can move them around and perhaps see where I have incorrectly merged the Johns. 

I have long been searching for Isaac Sr's father.  I knew that he had three sons in the Minaville, New York area - all farmers-  John De Groff (American Civil War veteran), Isaac Sr.   Isaac contributed to John's pension application - confirming their relationship as brothers.  I've speculated that a second brother of Isaac  (Jacob) is also a member of this family but I have not found a connection between John and Jacob and to date, no DNA link between descendants in Jacob's line to Tom or Darren 

    (a rabbit hole if you are curious: Is Jacob in our tree? Yes (click here)  No (click here)

However, who is the father (if they shared the same father) of Isaac Sr, John and possible Jacob?   One theory - upon which this page is built, is that because John is the oldest, his name was also John (or Jan or Johannis / Johannes).  

I've built out information the John's I've found with a logical dates of birth; and  then I found their descendants shared DNA with Darren and TOM

 DNA MATCH   Johannis DeGraff 1720 -1789 wife Magdalena Peeshar

their son --  (born when Johannis was 15 which is sketchy I suppose but feasible?)

DNA MATCH Johannis De Graff 1735 - 1810 wife Anna (Annjte) Smith 

• baptism documented 7 December 1735 - lists both parents and lists as witnesses Margaret De Graaf
• burial:  in Terpenning Family Ground in Ulster County

DNA MATCH their son  Isaac De Groff Sr. 

  

Other John's 

Johannes DeGroff wife Eva Van Driesen - married in Fonda  died in Schenectady  Class Andries Line

• baptized 3 September 1754 Schenectady,  Albany County  
• son of Class DeGraff and Ariantje Schermerhorn
• marriage notation 1755 (Fonda, Montgomery County Florida) 
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  John De Graaf 1720-1789 wife Cateline Rappelje   the De Graaf spelling has me paused.

• marriage and baptism records from New York City 
• baptism records for a Johanna De Groff with both parents listed
• some family trees link Lavinia De Groff to this couple- and we share DNA with her ancestors - but not documentation linking Lavinia to our family (other than DNA)