Vanover Family History and Genealogy
from Flatbush, Long Island, New York to New Jersey and Virginia
Only the first four generations of descent are included. Additional information is available by searching the database.
Gregory Lynn Vanover in his book The Vanover Family - Descendants of Cornelys Van Hovgem of Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island New York, does an excellent job of covering the early history of this family. He includes copies of many documents relating to this family. My thanks to Greg for allowing me to use quotes from this book for the narrative on this page. Also the thanks of all Vanover descendants for his hard work, time, and energy spent in making his research available to all of us. NOTE: I found parts of this book on-line
The earliest proven ancestor of the Vanover Family is Cornelys Van Haugem. The Vanover surname, like many other Dutch surnames, underwent a series of different spellings, before the present spelling of the name was used. For the most part, I have used that spelling throughout.
I hope to include links to other Vanover pages in the future. If you are aware of other web sites that deal with the Vanover line, please let me know via Email.
Generation 1
1. CORNELIUS VANOVER is the earliest proven ancestor of the Vanover family. It is thought that he was born in Flanders, Holland about 1640-50. He died in 1691 in Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, New York.
He married Maria Winterslick.
He and his wife, Maria Winterslick, and at least three children, including Corenlys the younger, migrated to New York. There is evidence to suggest that he migrated from the province of Zeeland, in the Netherlands. His name first appears in the Dutch records of Midwout (Flatbush), Kings County, New York on April 14, 1686 when he received the first payment of a loan he made earlier in Sluys to Johannis Holsaert. I was recently contacted by a descendant of Johannes Holsaert, Granvyl G. Hulse, Jr., about this loan. The information he supplied appears to place Cornelys van Hovgen in Slys in 1685.
Cornelys Van Hovgem was a resident of Midwout (Flatbush), Long Island, New York. He is mentioned several times in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church of Midwout. The Flatbush Town Records record that Cornelys van Hovgem and his wife Maria Winterslick sold three house lots on 3 January 1690.
The last will and testament of Cornelius Van Hovgem is also recorded in the Flatbush Town Records. He left one heir, Cornelys the younger, who was under age when the will was made 5 Mar 1689/90. His wife, Maria, is named in the typical Dutch fashion, using her surname. His will reveals that he was a cooper by trade. He is last mentioned as living when he signed over property on 20 March 1690. He presumably had died by 21 June 1691, when the Flatbush Church was paid for the use of the Shroud. The "widow of Cornelius Van Houweg" is last mentioned in the Flatbush Church Records of 1693. {SOURCE: Gregory Lynn Vanover, The Vanover Family Descendants of Cornelys Van Hovgen of Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, New York, Privately Printed, 1990}
Children:
Generation 2 (Children)
2 . CORNELIUS VANOVER, was born between 1670 and 76, presumably in Flanders, Holland. He died in 1720 in Raritan, Somerset County, New York. He was married twice. His first wife is unknown.
He next married Christina Hendricksen.
He emigrated with his parents to Midwout (Flatbush), Kings County, Long Island, New York, about 1684. He died in 1720 in Raritan, Somerset County, New York.
On September 1, 1697, "cornelÿ von hoúwegem" (as he signed his name) witnesses a will of Dericke Williamse of Kings County, Long Island, New York. His unique signature and the spelling of his name on the aforementioned will and his own will which was recorded some twenty-three years later prove that he migrated to Somerset County, New Jersey.
Cornelys Van Hougen had married by the time of the 1698 census. He was still a resident of Flatbush and is listed as head of a household consisting of 1 male, 1 female and two children. This would indicate a first marriage that had taken place before the time the census was taken. There is no record of the first wife or children and we do not know what became of them. He had remarried by 1714, at which time he had children baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church in Raritan, Somerset County, New Jersey. His second wife was Styntje (Christina) Hendricksen, daughter of Hendrick Jansen and his wife Maritje Janse. They were the first American born generation of the family and the sons, Cornelius and Henry, are the first to be identified with the present spelling of the Vanover surname. These children migrated from Somerset County to Sussex County, New Jersey. {SOURCE: Gregory Lynn Vanover, The Vanover Family Descendants of Cornelys Van Hovgen of Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, New York, Privately Printed, 1990}
Children by Christina Hendricksen:
i. Christina Vanover, baptized 3 June 1714. She married Barent Hegeman.
ii. Cornelius Vanover.
iii. Henry Vanover, baptized 17 Mar 1718. He first married Rachel Bogaert . He then married Tiney (surname unknown).
iv. Child; named in his father's will of 1720 but died before 24 January 1720.
Generation 3 (Grandchildren)
3. CORNELIUS VANOVER , born 1716. He was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Raritan (now Somerville), Somerset County, New Jersey, 12 Apr 1716.
He first married Maria Buys, daughter of Matthew "Thys" and Elizabeth Buys of Kings County, Long Island, New York. They were married on 6 May 1738 at the Dutch Reformed Church of New York City. They had moved to Sussex County, New Jersey by 1 June 1761 when they first appear in the Sussex County records. He then married Tiney, who surname is not know. He is listed as insolvent debtor in 1770 in Sussex County and evidently died shortly thereafter. {SOURCE: Gregory Lynn Vanover, The Vanover Family Descendants of Cornelys Van Hovgen of Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, New York, Privately Printed, 1990}
Children by Elizabeth Buys:
i. Cornelius Vanover, baptized 4 Mar 1739 in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Raritan, Somerset County, New Jersey.
ii. Elizabeth Vanover, baptized 26 Feb 1742 in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Raritan, Somerset County, New Jersey.
iii. Henry Vanover, baptized 18 Dec 1743 in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Raritan, Somerset County, New Jersey.
iv. Matthew Vanover, baptized 30 Aug 1747 in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Sourland, Somerset County, New Jersey.
v. Christina Vanover, baptized 26 Dec 1754 in Dutch Reformed Church of the North Branch, Somerset County, New Jersey.
Generation 4 (Great-grandchildren)
4 . HENRY VANOVER, baptized 18 Dec 1743 in Raritan, Somerset County, New Jersey. According to the Vanover book, he was named in the typical Dutch fashion for his maternal grandfather, Hendrick Jans
He was married in the 1760's (probably in the Sussex County, New Jersey area) to Catherine "Tiney" surname not known.
He brought his family south with his brother Cornelius Vanover, in the 1780's. He and his family are listed in the records of Franklin, Roanoke and Montgomery Counties Virginia.
Henry Vanover was a minister. According to a history of Hall's Church published by the Roanoke district of the United Methodist Church, he was one of three preachers operating out of the Bedford Circuit in 1786. The circuit extended from just east of Appomattox Virginia to Greenbrier County near present Union West Virginia, a large area. In 1787 he was assigned to the Hanover circuit in eastern Virginia but apparently did not go. He retained his license to preach and remained a local preacher. He bought property along the North Fork of the Roanoke River as early as 17 Aug 1795. {SOURCE: Gregory Lynn Vanover, The Vanover Family Descendants of Cornelys Van Hovgen of Flatbush, Kings County, Long Island, New York, Privately Printed, 1990}
Children:
i. Cornelius Vanover, died 1797.
ii. Henry Vanover. He married Nancy Goins.
iii. Mary Vanover, born 1775 in Montgomery County, Virginia, died aft. 1841.
iv. Sarah Vanover. She married 2 Aug 1803 in Montgomery County, Virginia William Hall , who was born abt. 1782.
v. Enoch Matson Vanover, born abt. 1785 in Virginia, died bef. Jun 1855 in Benton County, Indiana.
vi. Elizabeth Vanover. She married 13 Apr 1803 in Montgomery County, Virginia Robert Bell.
vii. John Vanover. He married Polly Taylor.
viii. Matthew Vanover.
ix. George Vanover.
x. Christina Vanover. She married Ezekiel Ellison.
xi. Hannah Vanover. She married Christopher Askue.
xii. Aleshey Vanover. She married Joseph Ellison.
xiii. Ruth Vanover. She married Phillip Ascue.
