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domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init
action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/goodspeedhist/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114I have been writing about the neighborhood of Sandy Ridge for several weeks now, but have neglected probably the most important family to live there\u201a\u00c4\u00eethe Vandolahs. It is time to remedy that omission.<\/p>\n
The reason for claiming that the Vandolahs were so important to this area is well expressed by Egbert T. Bush in his article, \u201a\u00c4\u00faSandy Ridge Long a Farm Community.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 He wrote:<\/p>\n
On the south side of the road, opposite to these two properties [the lots on the north side of Sandy Ridge Road, next to the church], lies the old Van Dolah farm, famous for having been in possession of one family for over 200 years. Hendrick Van Dolah, a Hollander, took possession in 1725, renting the farm of Eden Marcellison. In 1738 he took title to the property; and from that time to this, it has lain in the Van Dolah name, all of the owners having been descendants of old Hendrick the Hollander.<\/p>\n
The writer has been unable to find another farm in Hunterdon County having a record of family ownership equal to this. If someone knows how to break this record, our antiquaries will welcome the breaking.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The record of over 200 years ended with the death of Cyrus Vandolah in 1931. According to Mr. Bush, Cyrus was \u201a\u00c4\u00fathe last to bear the name of Van Dolah.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 More specifically, he was the last in the neighborhood of Sandy Ridge (see the Vandolah Family Tree<\/a>).<\/p>\n
This is a tale of two Henry\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s, two Garret\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s, and two Cyrus\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s. Let\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s begin at the beginning.<\/p>\n
Hendrick Vandolah and His Family<\/h3>\n
To write about the Vandolah\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s one must go back to the earliest years of settlement in the Sandy Ridge neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The Dutch immigrant, Hendrick Vandolah, appeared in the Sandy Ridge neighborhood as early as 1725, which was twenty-five years before Valentine Ent purchased his 410 acres out of the Dimsdale tract. Mr. Bush stated that Vandolah rented the farm of Eden Marselison that year, and he probably based that statement on an old record he found in the Vandolah papers after the death of Cyrus Vandolah. I have not seen this document and cannot say for sure if it exists.<\/p>\n
But the date is probably correct because Hendrick\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s first child, son Garret, was born in 1726 in Amwell Township. Hendrick himself was probably born about 1700. Sadly there is no surviving Bible record to inform us of the date of his birth, or the date of his marriage to Sarah Garrison.<\/p>\n
An unanswered question is whether Hendrick married in Holland, or after arriving in Amwell Township. It is also not certain that his wife\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s maiden name was Garrison; Garrison may have been the name of a previous husband. However, she may have been a sister of John Garrison, who was living in Amwell Township at the same time as Vandolah.<\/p>\n
Hendrick and Sarah were not the very first settlers in the area, but probably a close second.<\/p>\n
Although the first landowners, Robert Dimsdale and Benjamin Field, who purchased their huge tracts of land in 1701, were definitely absentee owners, the people they sold to seem to have resided in Hunterdon. Dimsdale\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s property was bought by John Lambert, although his home was in Kingwood Township. Lambert did not sell the northern half, consisting of most of Sandy Ridge, until 1750, to Valentine Ent.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Field\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s property is another matter. It was sold to one John Way, who in 1722 sold it to Eden Marselison and John Van Vorst, and there is some evidence that both men and their families did take up residence. But that was very close to the time when Hendrick and Sarah Vandolah arrived.<\/p>\n
Another early family was that of Johannes Johnson and Maria Okerson. Johnson also purchased part of Marselison\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s plantation, and his daughter Alida\/Eliada Johnson married Samuel Barber about 1720. However, I cannot be specific about where Johnson was living. Samuel and Alida Barber settled well to the south of Sandy Ridge on Lambertville-Headquarters Road.<\/p>\n
A few years after that, Abraham Hagaman and Abraham Butterfoss arrived, followed by Valentine Ent & wife Susannah Moore, William & Catrien Taylor, Abraham & Charity Deremer, and a little later on, Samuel Hunt & wife Mary Reeder, and Robert Sharp, who married Rachel Ent. Those were the first families known to reside in or near Sandy Ridge.<\/p>\n
Vandolah\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Land Purchase<\/h3>\n
As mentioned above, Eden Marselison and John VanVorst purchased a large tract of land from John Way of Newtown, Long Island in 1722, which was previously surveyed to Benjamin Field. It was described then as 700 acres for which Marselison and Van Forst paid \u00ac\u00a3222. This land was not part of the Dimsdale tract. It lay adjacent on the northeast side, as you can see from the map drawn by D. Stanton Hammond.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n