Englebert Huff (abt. 1687 - 1765)

Born about 1687 in Norway [uncertain]

Husband of Maria (Williams) Huff — married about 1706 in Dutchess County, New York

Descendants

Died 21 Mar 1765 at about age 78 in Fishkill, Dutchess, New York

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This profile is part of the Huff Name Study.

Biography

Englebert Huff's reminisces suggest that he was born in 1637. In George Trigg’s book, the author states that Engelbert was "supposedly" born in Norway about 1637 and that this is supported by two events that Englebert told about in later life. ^[1] Hough/Hoff/Huff researcher Granville Hough stated or restated the same information.^[2] Others of us suspect that Englebert did not live 128 years and that it was more likely his father (or someone else) who was born about 1637, and that Englebert was laying claim to events that happened in his father's life, or may even simply have been a spinner of tales.

Name and Origins

In his children’s birth records, Engel’s given name was consistently recorded as "Engel"; his surname most often as "Hof", and once as "Hoef" and also "Hoff". Engel was identified as Norwegian in his obituary, which, although it repeated as fact stories attributed to Engel, it may have been correct about his origins. Y-DNA evidence has indeed pointed to Scandinavian origins for the Huff family based on recent analyses.^[3] The name and spelling of Engel Hof(f) would be appropriate for a Norwegian, as would his later usage of Engelbart when he served as sponsor to his grandson, also named Engelbart. ^[4]Norwegian surnames are fluid, and individuals often used their farm name as a surname. There are several Hov/Hoff farms in Norway. The name Hoff is derived from the name for the temple of the old gods.

Parentage

No records have been found to date indicating possible parentage of Engel Hof. If the family followed traditional naming patterns, it is likely that the first-born son, Leonhardt, was named after Engel’s father; the name of the first-born daughter was given the name Greesje. ^[5][6]

Birth of Engel Hof

No birth record, or any record that accurately notes his age, has been found for Engel Hof. Examination of early Norwegian parish records has yet to yield an Engel/Engelbart/Leonard Hoff in the appropriate time frame. While early records do exist—the oldest is from Andebu in 1623-- the keeping of detailed records did not become the norm in Norwegian parishes until about 1720. ^[7]

It is unlikely that the birth date of 1637-- which was estimated based on stories attributed to Engel-- is correct. The age of 128 was also put forth in an undated article from the Worcester Gazette^[8]It is not known if the article was published at the time of his death, or later, or if it is based solely on Engel’s stories. The text of the article follows:

Remarkable Instance of Longevity. March 8, 1764, died at Fishkill, Dutchess county, New York, Mr. E(n)gelbert Hoff in the 128th year of his age. He was born in Norway; remembered that he was a lad, driving a team, when news was brought to his country that King Charles I was beheaded; served as a soldier under the Prince of Orange, afterward King of England, in the time of King James II. In Queen Ann's war he went a privateering out of New York, being then aged 70. When he returned, he married, had 12 children and afterwards live[d] a widower 33 years. He never used spectacles, read fluently. His memory and senses entirely strong until death, which was occasioned by a fall which mortally hurt his hip."'

It is known that the silver commemorative tankard in Fishkill, often used as "evidence" of Engel’s age, was presented to the church in 1820, fifty-six years after his death. ^[9]

Presented by Samuel Verplanck Esq., to the First Reformed Dutch Church in the town of Fishkill, to commemorate Mr. Englebert Huff by birth a Norwegian, in his lifetime attached to the life guards of the Prince of Orange, afterwards King William (III) of England. He resided for a number of years in this country and died with unblemished reputation at Fishkill, 21st March 1765, aged 128 years.

Marriage(s)

Englebert married Maria Williams (Willemse), presumably about 1706, based on the birth of their first child. In the birth record for their child, Engle, Maria’s last name was given. ^[10] Marie died in 1732 at the age of 42. (Is there a source for this?)

Beginning with the birth record of the children in 25 April 1724, and continuing through1731, Engle’s wife was referred to as Maritie, while prior to that date, she was called Maria. It is unclear whether or not this is a diminutive of Marie or if this is indication of a subsequent wife.

Documented Life Events

In the early years of 18th century, Englebert lived in the vicinity of Philipsburg Manor (sometimes referred to as Philipse Manor); the estate and its vast holdings were located north of New York City in Westchester County. This area became a part of Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York after the heirs to the area sided with the British and the land was confiscated during the American Revolution. ^[11] Engel was first mentioned in Tarrytown church records in 1704 when he served as sponsor for the baptism of Marretje, daughter of David and Jannitje Davidsen. ^[12]

In subsequent years, Engle’s residence (or at least the birthplace of his children) gives us an idea of his whereabouts:

• 1707 Tarrytown, NY^[6]
• 1709 New York, New York^[5]
• 1712 Tarrytown, NY^[13]
• 1714 New York City^[10]
• 1716New York City^[14]
• 1719 Tarrytown, NY^[15]
• 1724 Tarrytown, NY^[16]
• 1729 Tarrytown, NY^[17]

On August 21, 1731 in Tarrytown, Westchester, New York. Engel Hof and Maritie, his wife, were sponsors at the baptism of Maritie, daughter of Sybout Cracheyt and Jesynsze (?) on August 21, 1731. ^[18]

Englebert subsequently moved north and was said to have been one of the early European settlers in the Dutchess County, New York area. (Is this the source of this: Dutchess County, NY: The Settlers of the Beekman Patent Volume 3, page 822?) Dutchess County was created in 1683 as one of New York's first twelve counties, and was later organized in 1713.^[19]).

"Edglebert" Hoff, was reported as dying on 21 March 1765 at Fishkill, Dutchess, New York at the age of 127 years. He was referred to as a native of Norway, with 12 children.^[20]

Children

• Greesje Hoff was baptized on 16 June 1707 in Tarrytown, Westchester, New York, daughter of Engle and Maria Hoff. ^[6]

• Leonhardt Hoef was christened in New York, NY on 30 October 1709. He was born on 6 August 1709. Mother’s name: Maria; father: Engel Hoef^[5]

• Maria Hoff was baptized on 25 March 1712 in Tarrytown, Westchester, New York. Parents were Engel Hoff and Maria.^[13]

• Willem Hoff was christened in New York City, New York County, NY on 21 April 1714 at the Reformed Dutch Church. His parents were Engel Hoff and Maria Willems.^[10][21]

• Anna Margareta Hoef, born 4 Oct 1616, (on the preceding page: "bap. in our meeting at Quaseck, Nov 7, 1716 in the highlands")^[14], Parents: Engel Hoff, Maria his wife, Wit: Ludwig Leich, his Stepdaughter Mrs. Mannin. A familysearch image shows b. 4 Oct 1716 in the Hoogelant (highlands)^[22]

• Helena was baptized 16 October 1719; she was born in Tarrytown, Westchester, New York to Engel Hof and Maria. ^[15]

• Mara was baptized April 25, 1724 in Tarrytown; Parents Engiel Hof, and Maritie, his wife. ^[16]

• Johannis was baptized in Tarryton 16 Oct 1726, parents Engel Hof & Maritie his wife, wit: Jan Beljee, Helena his wife^[23]

• Abram was baptized March 29, 1729 in Tarrytown; parents Engel Hof and Maritie, his wife.^[17]

Biography by Huff Researcher Max Huff, last edited in 1991

ENGLEBERT AND MARIA HOOF OF NORTHERN EUROPE AND NY

Englebert HOOF (or HOFF) (c 1637 Scandinavia - 21 Mar 1765, Fishkill, NY) recalled how at the age of 12 in 1649 he was ploughing behind a team when news came that Charles I of England had been executed. As he grew older, he was somewhat of an adventurer. He may have served in the Life Guards of the Prince of Orange, later William III of England. Late in life, he told how he had "deserted from a Dutch ship of war in New York" and settled in the wilderness in the area that eventually was between Pleasant Valley and Poughkeepsie. If that is so, he may have been the first white settler in the area of Dutchess Co, NY. There has been some suggestions that his life and history were the inspiration for Rip Van Winkle stories of Washington Irving.

Reconstruction of possible events indicate that Englebert may have been captured at Swedesboro, NJ, in the conflict between the Dutch and the Swedes, then escaped from the ship of Van Couwenhoven that was stationed at Wappingers during the Esopus wars in 1662. At any rate, he lived alone for many years. There is some accounts that he was md three times; however, the only wife of record is Maria WILLEMSE (c 1690, bp 2 Aug 1698 at Tarrytown - d before Englebert), dau of Robert and Greesze (Grace) (CERANT) WILLEMS. They lived near Fishkill or Hopewell, where Englebert was well known as a dashing horseman and a man of unusual scholarship. He was a tenant of Mr. Samuel VERPLANK, who gave silver tankards to both Trinity Church, Fishkill, and the Dutch Church at Hopewell, NY. Englebert adn Maria had two children born in New York City, and the others in Tarrytown.

Change Notes

Engel and Maria's 4th child who was born 21 Apr 1714 was named Willem on the baptism record, not Engel. Familysearch.org had made a transcription error on that record and listed the incorrect name. I have added a source showing the correct information and have changed the name in the bio from Engel to Willem.

An incorrectly transcribed record at familysearch.org showed Anna Margareta Hoef being born in Hogansburg, Franklin County, NewYork.^[24] Copies of the records provided above under Anna's name show no such birthplace. I have removed the incorrect information from the bio.

Sources

1. ↑ A Huff Genealogy: Descendants of Engelbert Huff of Dutchess County, New York, by George L. Trigg. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1992.
2. ↑ Hough and Huff Families of the U.S., 1620-1820 Northeastern States, Volume II
3. ↑ A North Scandinavian branch of Q-L804:Qy11515. 2021. https://erling-lundevaller.netlify.app/post/a-north-scandinavian-branch-of-q-l804-q-y11515
4. ↑ (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p 77
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} "New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FD25-LZS : 14 February 2020), Engel Hoef in entry for Leonhardt Hoef, 1709.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p. 58. Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
7. ↑ https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/
8. ↑ Item copied from an issue of the Worcester Gazette, date of said issue not stated.
9. ↑ Marschalk, Francis. 1866. A discourse delivered on the 12th of September 1866, at the Celebration of the 150th anniversary of the First Reformed Dutch Church, Fishkill. New York.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} "New York Births and Christenings, 1640-1962", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2HB-Q1K : 14 February 2020), Engel Hoff in entry for Engel Hoff, 1714.
11. ↑ Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipsburg_Manor
12. ↑ First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p. 27 Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. ... [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p. 35. Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989, Holland Society of New York; New York, New York; New York City Lutheran, Vol I, Book 85. Record for Anna Margareta Hoef. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=6961&h=177393&indiv=try
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. ... [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p.43 Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. ... [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p. 48. Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. ... [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p. 56. Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
18. ↑ First Reformed Church (North Tarrytown, N. (1901). First record book of the "Old Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow," organized in 1697 and now the First Reformed church of Tarrytown, N.Y. [Yonkers, N.Y.]: The Yonkers Historical and Library Association. p. 60. Available on-line at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008427827
19. ↑ The history of Dutchess County, New York, by Frank Hasbrouck. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. : S. A. Matthieu, 1909. Also available as an eBook, e.g. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028853327 . Full text version available at https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028853327/cu31924028853327_djvu.txt
20. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014
21. ↑ Baptisms from 1639 to 1730 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York https://archive.org/details/baptismsfrom163922evan/page/n89/mode/2up?q=hoff>
22. ↑ Familyseearch.org https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9XR-FN8X?i=678
23. ↑ First Record Book of the "Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow", Organized in 1697 and Now the First Reformed Church of Tarrytown, N.Y., P53 Item#566 https://www.google.com/books/edition/First_Record_Book_of_the_Old_Dutch_Churc/-844AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=hof
24. ↑ Incorrect transcription https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FD2R-Z7V

• Max Huff, Englebert & Maria Huff of Europe/NY, unpublished paper 7/12/91.
• Research by George L. Trigg (1925 - ) [at one time, a resident of] Brookhaven, NY, compiler of:
  • A Huff Genealogy: Descendants of Engelbert Huff of Dutchess County, New York, by George L. Trigg. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1992. (also available online here: [1]. Free membership required.
• LDS Film 01736, Dutch Reformed Ch, Hopewell, NY
• LDS Film 369,739
• NYGBS Collections, "Reformed Dutch Church, New York Baptisms, 1639-1730." p 374 gives baptismal date for Willem Hoff, parents Engle Hoff and Maria Willem, godparents Gideon Castang and Dina Cornelus. (April baptisms were on 10, 14, 21, 25, and 28 for that year.)
• Vols 68, 69, NYGBR, baptismal records for Rumbouts and Poughkeepsie Presbyterian Church, NY.
• Arthur C. M. Kelly, "Marriage Record of the Four Reformed Congregations of Old Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co, NY,, 1731-1899," (unpublished, 1971).
• NYGBS Library, "Hoff/Huff" manuscripts.
• Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, Notices of Marriages and Deaths About 4,000 in Number Published in Newspapers Printed at Poughkeepsie, New York (Dutchess Country Historical Society, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1930) p. 6. 'C. J., Tues., Sep. 2, 1788. Item copied from an issue of the Worcester Gazette, date of said issue not stated.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 July 2020), memorial page for Englebert Huff (1637–21 Mar 1765), Find a Grave Memorial no. 176344276, citing Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery, Hopewell Junction, Dutchess County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Lee An (contributor 48441142) .

See also:

• Ancestry Family Trees Data: Text: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/11597307/family

Research/Sourcing Needed

1. Greesze md Zybout CRANCHEYT.
2. Leonhardt md (1) Phebe HARRIS and (2) Cornelia VAN TASSEL, prob. dau of Joannis and Annatie VAN TEXEL. He and Cornelia had five or six ch to incl: Annatie; Willem; Jan; Feebie; Hendricus; and prob. Pieter.
3. Maria
4. William c 1740 md Elizabeth RUTTAN and lived in or near Dutchess Co, NY, where he and his sons were Loyalists during the Rev. Ch incl Maratie; Engle; Elizabeth; Paulus; Solomon; William; David; John; and Zadrach. Many of his ch went to Canada.
5. Anna Margaretha 6 Sep 1735 md Richard EVERSE.
6. Helena
7. Mara
8. Johannis (or John) (bp 16 Oct 1726) may be the person who md Martha ??? and had a son John who became a Quaker and settled at Ferrisburgh, VT. His other ch have been surmised to be Rachel; Robert; and Hendrick.
9. Abraham

Englebert died on 21 Mar 1765 in Fishkill (Hopewell Junction?, relationship between--and time periods they were so named--these two place names could be clarified), New York. He died as a result of a hip wound incurred in a fall from his horse in the town of Fishkill. He was buried near the east wall of the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Fishkill Town. The oldest stone now standing in the churchyard is dated 1737 and apparently Huffs don’t show on the list of legible gravestones.(source? where is said list?)