Joseph Ennis and Grietje Van Etten

Citing this biography: Boyd, Michelle, "Joseph Ennis and Grietje Van Etten," article, Olive and Eliza, last accessed [current date]."

Joseph Ennes was born 9 July 1751 to William Ennes and Elizabeth Quick. He was baptized 18 August 1751 in Deerpark, Orange, New York. Joseph married Margrieta Van Etten 22 June 1770 in Deerpark, Orange, New York. Margrieta was baptized 5 November 1752 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, the daughter of Jan Van Etten and Marritje Westfael. She also appeared in records under the short forms of her name, Margriet and Grietje.

Both Joseph and Grietje lived in an area known as the Minisink Valley, where New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania meet, northwest of New York City. The Minisink Valley Historical Society describes the area as "reach[ing] from Minisink Ford, New York, to Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, to the Delaware Water Gap at New Jersey and Pennsylvania" and including, among other towns, Deerpark, Port Jervis, and Mamakating, New York, Wantage, Montague, and Sandyston, New Jersey, and Dingmans Ferry, Matamoras, and Milford, Pennsylvania. Maps of the area are available here.

Grietje appears as a member of the Machackemeck (Deerpark) Reformed Dutch Church on 18 August 1787 and Joseph appears as a member on 28 September 1787. Joseph was a deacon in this church and became an elder 14 July 1816. He was also one of the subscribers (underwriters who funded publication) to the 1810 English translation (from Dutch) of Rev. John Vanderkemp's Fifty Three Sermons on the Heidelbergh Catechism. In the subscribers' list, he is shown as "Joseph Ennes, Esq." and was of "Menissing" (Minisink).

Joseph was the ferryman at Dingman's Ferry for a long time. The ferry, founded by Andrew Dingman, operated on the Delaware River, going between Delaware, Pike, Pennsylvania and Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey. The Ennis Ferry House, built about 1760 and now on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey. National Register states, "The house probably served the first of two ferries in the Dingmans area, known as the Ennis Ferry. During the era of logging on the Upper Delaware, it was a popular night stop for rafters, who brought the logs to downriver markets." A botanist named Frederick Pursh recorded in his journal that he "took up lodging at Mr. Ennis's, who keeps a ferry & a house much frequented by the raftsmen" 5 Jun 1807. He didn't find his lodgings agreeable (though he didn't say whether it was the house, the host, the company among the raftmen, or a combination thereof) but he returned there several days later on his return trip.

Joseph appears in Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey on tax lists in 1774, 1781, and 1793. On 18 June 1792, Joseph bought 100 acres joining land in Delaware, Pike, Pennsylvania and located in Northampton county, Pennsylvania.

A Joseph Ennis is seen living in Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey in 1830. While this may or may not be the son Joseph, there is a male listed between the ages of 70 and 79. This is likely the elderly Joseph, whether he was counted the head of the household or not. Grietje probably died before this time as no females of an appropriate age are listed on this census.

Joseph was living in Sandyston at the time of his death. An inventory was taken on Joseph's estate on 13 September 1830. On 1 April 1831 Cornelius Ennis, John Reser and wife Margarett, John Van Etten Jun. and wife Catherine, John Ennis, and Mary Ennis deeded land that had belonged to Joseph in Delaware, Pike, Pennsylvania to Daniel Ennis.

Joseph and Grietje’s children are:

1 Elizabeth Ennes, baptized 10 Feb 1773 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, living at Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey at the time of her marriage, married Gideon Van Gorden 15 Apr 1796 in Sussex county, New Jersey.

Husband: Gideon Van Gorden, son of James Van Gorden, was of Sandyston at the time of his marriage.

2 Wilhelmus Ennes, baptized 1 Sep 1775 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, married Maria Ennis (both his first and second cousin) in December 1796 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, moved to the area of Tioga and Chemung counties, New York between about 1807-1810, early settler in Van Etten, Chemung, New York, enumerated in Spencer, Tioga, New York in 1810, possibly bought land in Reed, Seneca, Ohio in 1830.

Wife: Maria Ennis, bp. 25 Nov 1776 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, dau. of Benjamin and Magdalena (Van Etten) Ennis. Wilhelmus and Maria's fathers were brothers and their mothers were first cousins, making Wilhelmus and Maria both first and second cousins, in addition to husband and wife.

3 John Ennes, baptized 24 Jan 1778 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, married Maria Seely 16 Dec 1809 in Sussex county, New Jersey.

Wife: Maria Seely, b. 15 Feb 1791 to Samuel C. Seely and Patience Morrell, bp. with three sisters 4 Aug 1794 in Deerpark, Orange, New York.

4 Joseph Ennes, born in 1786, baptized 8 Jun 1786 in Deerpark, Orange, New York.

5 Daniel Ennes, born 21 Sep 1788 in New Jersey, baptized 12 Oct 1788 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, married Susanna Reser, lived in Forestburgh, Sullivan, New York in 1850, moved to Highland, Sullivan in about April 1855 (reported having lived there for 2 months in the 1855 New York census), a gardener in 1855, died 4 Jan 1862, buried at Glen Cove Cemetery, Sullivan county, New York.

Wife: Susanna Reser, b. 3 May 1791 in Pennsylvania, d. 21 Jan 1871, bur. Glen Cove Cemetery, Sullivan county, New York.

6 Catherine Ennes, born 27 May 1791 in New Jersey, baptized 17 Jul 1791 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, married John Van Etten 11 Jul 1813 in Sussex county, New Jersey, lived in Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey in 1860, lived in Montague, Sussex, New Jersey in 1870, died Jun 1878 in Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey, buried with John at Layton Cemetery, Layton, Sussex, New Jersey.

Husband: John Van Etten, b. 1 Apr 1792 to Gideon Van Etten and Blandina Berthran, bp. 13 Apr 1792 in Deerpark, Orange, New York, a farmer, d. 1 Aug 1863 in Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey. Note that John Van Etten appeared in the deed of his father-in-law's land as John Van Etten Jun. In that era, Junior was not necessarily used for a man named after his father and was often used to denote the younger of two men of the same name in the same community (whether related or not).

7 Margaret Ennes, also called Peggy, born 16 Oct 1794 in New Jersey, married John Reser 4 Jul 1810 in Sussex county, New Jersey, lived in Plato, Kane, Illinois in 1860 and 1870, died 14 Sep 1870, buried at Plato Center Cemetery, Plato Center, Kane, Illinois. No birth or baptismal record has been found for Margaret but a John and Margaret Reser were mentioned as two of the grantors in a deed related to Joseph's estate. Margaret's marriage record states that she married a John "Kizor" (perhaps an error and the K should have been an R). However, confirming that Margaret married a John Reser, there are birth records for three children of John Reser and Margaret Ennis and a sketch in a historical encyclopedia for Kane county, Illinois states that an Anthony Reser, living until at least 1903 (just a year before the publication of the encyclopedia), was born in about 1816 (the same year as the Anthony Reser baptized at Deerpark) in Pennsylvania to a John and Margaret (Ennis) Reser.

Husband: John Reser, b. 7 Oct 1784 in Pennsylvania, a farmer, d. 20 Feb 1861, bur. Plato Center Cemetery, Plato Center, Kane, Illinois.


Summary of Sources

  1. Minisink Valley Reformed Dutch Church Records, 1716-1830, facsimile reprint by Heritage Books, Bowie, MD, 1992.
  2. Ancestry.com. U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Dutch Reformed Church Records from New York and New Jersey. Holland Society of New York, New York, New York. Dutch Reformed Church Records from New Jersey. The Archives of the Reformed Church in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
  3. "New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWR9-R67 : 27 September 2017), Gideon Vangorden and Elizabeth Ennes, 15 Apr 1796; citing Sussex, New Jersey, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton; FHL microfilm 1,294,801.
  4. Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Marriage Records, 1670-1965 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. New Jersey Marriages. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.
  5. Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720–1971." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
  6. "Old Mine Road Historic District," National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, received and entered 1980, PDF copy of form located at https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/ed3a265f-f45b-4fb9-bdc3-a93088128ca5, accessed 18 Feb 2019.
  7. Vanderkemp, Rev. John (and Van Harlingen, Rev. John M. (trans.), The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ, in Life and Death: Exhibited in Fifty-three Sermons on the Heidelbergh Catechism, vol. II, New Brunswick, NJ: Abraham Blauvelt, 1810, p. xxxii.
  8. Fackenthal, B. F., Jr., "Improving Navigation on the Delaware River with Some Account of Its Ferries, Bridges, Canals and Floods," A Collection of Papers Read before the Bucks County Historical Society, vol. VI, Allentown, PA: Berkemeyer, Keck & Co., 1932, pgs. 165-166. Available at Archives.org.
  9. Bateman, Newton (ed.) and Selby, Paul (ed.), Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, vol. II, Chicago: Munsell Publishing Company, 1904, p. 890.
  10. Sexton, John L., History of Seven Counties: An outline history of Tioga and Bradford counties in Pennsylvania, Chemung, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins and Schuyler in New York, Elmira, NY: Elmira Weekly Gazette, 1885.
  11. Leeson, M. A., History of Seneca County, Ohio, Chicago: Warner, Beers, & Co., 1886.
  12. Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Jackson, Ronald V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. New Jersey Census, 1643-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.
  13. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Warrant Applications, 1733-1952. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania State Archives. Land Warrants. Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, PA.
  14. New Jersey. Surrogate's Court (Sussex County), Inventories, 1803-1903, Inventories, v. D-F 1819-1840, FHL Film 960535, DGS 5679636, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93Q-T7WC?i=541&cc=2018330, image 542, accessed 18 Feb 2019.
  15. Deed 1 April 1831, Estate of Joseph Ennis Esq. (Grantors: Cornelius Ennis, John Reser and wife Margarett, John Van Etten Jun. and wife Catharine, John Ennis, and Mary Ennis, all of Sussex county, New Jersey); Grantee: Daniel Ennis of Pike county, Pennsylvania; 62 acres and 62 perches, pages 353-354, from Pike County Pennsylvania Records, Recorder of Deeds/Register of Wills, County Administration Building, 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337.
  16. Pursh, Frederick, Journal of a Botanical Excursion in the Northeastern Parts of the States of Pennsylvania and New York during the Year 1807, Philadelphia: Brinckloe & Maroe, Printers, 1869, pgs. 13-15. Available at Hathitrust.
  17. Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  18. Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  19. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  20. 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
  21. 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
  22. Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Microfilm. Various County Clerk Offices, New York.
  23. Ennes, Calvin, A Bit about the Ennes, privately printed manuscript, Au Gres, MI, 1969. Transcription available at http://www.boydhouse.com/darryl/ennis/book/cover.htm, last accessed 8 Jan 2019.
  24. Gravestones of Daniel and Susanna (Reser) Ennes, Glen Cove Cemetery, Sullivan county, New York.
  25. Gravestones of John and Catherine (Ennes) Van Etten, Layton Cemetery, Layton, Sussex, New Jersey.
  26. Gravestones of John and Margaret (Ennis) Reser, Plato Center Cemetery, Plato Center, Kane, Illinois.
  1. "The Minisink Subscribers to the 1810 'Fifty-Three Sermons on the Heidelbergh Catechism,'" Minisink Valley Genealogy, Mar 2014, https://minisinkvalleygenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-1810-minisink-subscribers-to.html, accessed 18 Feb 2019.
  2. "Stopping by the Joseph Ennes Tavern, 1807," Minisink Valley Genealogy, Sep 2013, https://minisinkvalleygenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/stopping-by-joseph-ennes-tavern-1807.html, accessed 18 Feb 2019.


Photos

Click each thumbnail to open a full-size version of the image in a new tab.

Photo of home labeled "The Ennis Ferry House, Sandyston Township, c. 1760"
Ennis Ferry House,
Sandyston, Sussex,
New Jersey


Source Materials

Click on each category below to expand and see the copies of sources used to create the biography above (copyrighted and other restricted items are listed in the summary of sources above but not included below). Click again to close.

Records of Baptisms of the Reformed Church at Machackemeck (Deerpack).

Page Number
Baptism Date
Parents
Child
Witnesses
123 1751 William Ennes Joseph Joseph Westbroeck,

Aug. 18 Elisabeth Quick
Elizabeth Kuyckendal, his wife
126 1752 Jan van Etten Margrieta Johannes van Etten,

Nov. 5 Maritje Westfael
Maria Gonsales, his wife
162 1773 Joseph Ennes Elizabeth

Feb. 10 Margriet Van Etten

166
1775
Josep Lenes
Wilhelmus


Sept. 1
Margriet Vanett


170
1778
Joseph Ennes John


Jan. 24
Maregreta Van Netten

185
1786
Joseph Ennes Joseph,


June 8
Margriet Van Etten b. ---, 1786

190
1788
Joseph Ennes Daniel,


Oct. 12
Maragriet Van Etten b. Sept., 21, 1788

202 1791 Joseph Ennes Cattrine,

July 17 Maragreit Van Etten b. May 27, 1791


Marriage Record
1737-97 (Machackemeck)

Page
Date
Married
274 1770 - June 22. Is married, Joseph Ennes to Grietje van Etten.
278
1796 - Dec.
Wilhelmus Ennes, Maria Ennis.


Church Members
1745-67 (Machackemeck)

Page
Date
Member(s)
285 1787 - Aug 18. Grietie Van Etten wife of Joseph Ennes.
  "
Sept. 28.
Joseph Ennes


From the minute book of the Corporation and Consistory, the Minisink church, Page vii

July 14th, 1816 the surviving members of the Consistory together with the male members of this Congregation met at the house of Mr. Stool the meeting was opened with prayers by the Rev. Charles Hardenbergh.
Whereas it Appeared that there were only two members remaining in Consistory Viz Abraham Westfall Elder and Joseph Ennes Decon it was
Resolved that the meeting proceed to the Election of church officers when the following persons were only chosen Viz
Abraham Westfall and
Joseph Ennes Elders

Peter Vannest and
Benjamin Depui Decons
The Elders and Decons Elect After having been published to the Congregation were Installed in their respective offices...


Source: Minisink Valley Reformed Dutch Church Records, 1716-1830, facsimile reprint by Heritage Books, Bowie, MD, 1992.


Deer Park, Vol II, Book 11

Images of church records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

Birth record of Maria Seely
Birth of Maria Seely
Birth record of Joannes Van Etten
Birth of Joannes
Van Etten
1792
Marriage record of Wilhelmus Ennes and Maria Ennis
Marriage of Wilhelmus
Ennes and Maria Ennis

Holland Society of New York; New York, New York; Walpeck NJ, Book 78

Images of church records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

Birth records of children of Daniel Ennes and Susan Reser and of John Reser and Peggy Ennes
Births of Jacob and
Anthony Reser
1816
Birth record of Sarah, daughter of John Reser and Margaret Ennes
Birth of Sarah Reser
1821
Birth record of Catharine, daughter of John Reser and Margaret Ennes
Birth of Catharine Reser

Source: Ancestry.com. U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Dutch Reformed Church Records from New York and New Jersey. Holland Society of New York, New York, New York. Dutch Reformed Church Records from New Jersey. The Archives of the Reformed Church in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey.



Subscribers' Names.
...
Joseph Ennes, Esq., Menissing,


Source: Vanderkemp, Rev. John (and Van Harlingen, Rev. John M. (trans.), The Christian Entirely the Property of Christ, in Life and Death: Exhibited in Fifty-three Sermons on the Heidelbergh Catechism, vol. II, New Brunswick, NJ: Abraham Blauvelt, 1810, p. xxxii.


Images of church records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

Marriage record of Gideon Van Gorden and Elizabeth Ennes
Marriage of Gideon
Van Gorden and
Elizabeth Ennes

Source: "New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWR9-R67 : 27 September 2017), Gideon Vangorden and Elizabeth Ennes, 15 Apr 1796; citing Sussex, New Jersey, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton; FHL microfilm 1,294,801.


Sussex County Marriage Records

Images of church records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

Marriage record of John Ennes and Mariah Seely
Marriage of John Ennes
and Mariah Seely
Marriage record of John Vannatten and Catherine Ennis
Marriage of John
Vannatten and
Catherine Ennis
Marriage record of John Kizor and Margaret Ennis
Marriage of John
Kizor [sic] and
Margaret Ennis
1810

Source: Ancestry.com. U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Dutch Reformed Church Records from New York and New Jersey. Holland Society of New York, New York, New York. Dutch Reformed Church Records from New Jersey. The Archives of the Reformed Church in America, New Brunswick, New Jersey.


Name: Catharine Van Etten
Birth Date: abt 1790
Birth Place: United States
Death Date: Jun 1878
Death Place: Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey
Death Age: 88 years
Race: White
Marital status: Widowed
Gender: Female
Father Birth Place: United States
Mother Birth Place: United States
FHL Film Number: 589825

Name: John Van Etten
Birth Date: abt 1792
Birth Place: Sandyston
Death Date: 1 Aug 1863
Death Place: Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey
Death Age: 71 years
Occupation: Farmer
Marital status: Married
Gender: Male
Father Name: Gideon Van Etten
FHL Film Number: 584582

Source: Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720–1971." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.


A Bit about the Ennes

Pages 10-12:

WILLIAM ENNES JR. (II), 1711-1804 was the son of William (I). A summary of his biography can best be given by a “Copy of records from the Old Ennis Bible”:

William (Jr.) Ennis, in his own hand viz. 1711 January 10th was I. William Ennis, born at Mormal. (town off Marbletown N.Y., see church records)
        1739 May 18th was I married to me wife Elizabeth Quick.
        1740 Sept. 28th is born my eldest daughter Cornelia.
        1743 Jan. 24th departed this life my said daughter Cornelia.
        1743 April 25th is born my eldest son Benjamin.
        1745 Nov. 30th is born my second son Daniel.
        1748 June 28th is born my second daughter Margaret.
        1751 July 9th is born my third son Joseph.
        1754 Mar. 9th is born my fourth son John
        1756 Nov. 26th is born my fifth son Cornelius (1st).
        1759 Aug. 16th is born my sixth son Alexander.
        1760 Sept. 10th departed this life my son Cornelius (1st).
        1761 Nov. 5th is born my seventh son Cornelius (2nd).
        1764 May 24th Is born my third daughter Catherine.
        1769 Oct. 11th departed this life my sixth son Alexander.
        1778 June 21th departed this life my son John.
        1780 April 20 departed this life my son Benjamin, killed by Indians, being my eldest son.
        1771 April 8 departed this life my dearly beloved wife, Elizabeth, on Wednesday at 2 o’clock.

William Ennes Jr. (II) and his wife Elizabeth Quick are buried in the Old Dutch Cemetery on the Mine Road in the northeast corner of Sandyton township, Sussex County, New Jersey.

House of William Ennes
Old William Ennes
House—The home of
the one-armed school
master who resided
here in 1751. This picture
was taken in 1968 by C.V.
Crane, President of
Minnisink Historical Society.
Mr. Crane is standing in
front of building.

More relating to William Ennes (II) is learned by reading a condensed copy of his will.

Summary of Will
Archives of the State of New Jersey. First Series Vol. XXXVIII Calendar of N.J. Wills, etc. Vol. V. 1801-1805, pp. 153-154
1799, April 19. ENNES, WILLIAM, of Sandyton, Sussex Co.; will to Grandson, Alexander Ennes (sic) (son of eldest on, Benjamin, dec’d) 5 shillings for his birthright. Daughter Catharina, (wife of Simon Cartroght) farm where I now live (16 acres); she to pay £ 50. Son, Cornelius, the improvement purchased from Solomon Decker, where George Quick now lives; he to pay £ 20. To the 6 children (unnamed) of son, Benjamin, dec’d. £ 18 to be divided among them, Sons, Daniel, Joseph and Cornelius, wearing apparel. Daughter, Margaret (wife of James Hornbeck), bed and bedding. Residue to sons, Daniel and Joseph, heirs on son, Benjamin, dec’d, and daugh-Margaret (wife of James Hornbeck) In 4 equal shares.
Executors—sons, Daniel and Joseph Ennes.
Witnesses—Lydia Capron, Alexander Ennes,
Thomas Kyte,
Proved—July 22, 1804. (Recorded, Surrogate’s
Office, Sussex Co.) File 1010S.

More About William Ennes (II)
William Ennes is mentioned in the history of the settlement of the Minisink Region. The first school in Montague township, Sussex County, New Jersey was built in 1731. William Ennes was the third teacher. He was followed by Madam Benjamin, the wife of his deceased son, Benjamin. In Sandyton township, Sussex Co., New Jersey, (territory once part of the province of New York, later made part of New Jersey) early opportunity was offered for the education of the youth. History states, “The first instructor in Sandyton was William Ennes, an early settler, an upright man, who came from Kingston, in the 1730’s, Although he was one-armed, he was skillful in making quill pens for his youths. He had superior ability as a teacher”. He was a deacon in the church. He held civic offices and signed his name with the date following it.

William Ennes (II) married Elizabeth Quick (II).
...


Page 15:

JOSEPH ENNES, born 1751, son of William and Elizabeth Quick, married 6-22-1770, GRIETJE VAN ETTEN, who was baptized, daughter of Johannis Van Etten and Marrietje (Harriet) Westmeal. Joseph was prosperous. He ran a ferry across the Delaware River at Dingsman Landing. It is said that he aided two of his sons who migrated to New York in 1806 and settled in the vicinity of Alloway, New York. He sent them money and visited them about 1819...
Joseph Ennes (III) and Grietje' children were:
Elizabeth bp. 2-10-1773; Wilhelmus bp. 6-14-1775; Johannis J. bp. 1-24-1779; Joseph bp. 1-2-1786; Catrina b. 5-27-1791; and Daniel b. 9-21-1788 and bp. 10-12-1788. (taken from Machackameck Church records)
Wilhelmus married in 1793, his cousin, Marie (Ennes), daughter of Benjamin, who was killed at Raymondskill Creek in the Battle of Conneshaugh in April1780.


Page 18:

Ennes Move Westward

WILHELMUS ENNES b. 6-14-1775, son of Joseph Ennes and Grietje Van Etten married his cousin Marie (Ennes), daughter of Benjamin and Magdalena Van Etten. (who may have been two brothers marrying sisters).

They bore in 1793 or 1794, William A. Ennes, then moved from New Jersey in 1798 to Tioga Co., New York with Marie's mother, brothers and sisters and other Van Etten kinfolk.

The federal census of 1810 for Tioga Co., Spencer Township-Van Etten Township, Chemung County, now-lists the following Ennis residing there at that time:

Manuel Ennis -males: 1 under 10; 1 between 26 and 45
 females: 1 between 16 and 26
John Ennis -males: 2 under 10; 1 between 26 and 45
females: 4 under 10; 1 between 10 and 16; 1 between 26 and 44
Wilhelmus Ennis
(Joseph's son)
-males: 1 under 16 and 26; 1 between 26 and 45
females: 1 under 10; 1 between 10 and 16; between 26 and 45; 1 over 45
Benjamin Ennis -males: 2 under 10; 1 between 21 and 45
females: 2 between 10 and 16; 1 between 26 and 45
Alexander Ennis -males: 1 under 10; 1 between 21 and 45
females: 2 between 10 and 16; 1 between 21 and 45


Other censuses of this region show that for the next forty years Emanuel, John, Benjamin and Alexander and their descendants remained here.
Wilhelmus and Marie moved to Catherine Twp., Cayuta County, sometime after 1810, for he was on the 1820 census there at that time.

Note: The 1798 move noted above is probably too early. Note Elizabeth Ennes's baptism date. MB


Source: Ennes, Calvin, A Bit about the Ennes, privately printed manuscript, Au Gres, MI, 1969. Transcription available at http://www.boydhouse.com/darryl/ennis/book/cover.htm, last accessed 8 Jan 2019.

Improving Navigation on the Delaware River

Dingman's Ferry — Founded by Andrew Dingman (born 1711), who first settled on the New Jersey side of the Delaware, and in 1735 moved to the Pennsylvania side, and became the pioneer settler of that place, which was at first called Dingman's Choice. He established the first ferry on the river at that place, making the ferry boat with his hand axe out of forest trees. The ferry crossed between his home, which he built on the river bank, now in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pa., to Sandystone Township, Sussex County, N. J. For a long time Joseph Ennis was the ferryman. It continued in service for nearly a century, until 1834, when it was replaced by a toll bridge, the construction of which proved so defective that it was thrice destroyed. During the intervals of its rebuilding, ferry operations were resumed. (See Dingman's Ferry Bridge, page 179, post.)

Source: Fackenthal, B. F., Jr., "Improving Navigation on the Delaware River with Some Account of Its Ferries, Bridges, Canals and Floods," A Collection of Papers Read before the Bucks County Historical Society, vol. VI, Allentown, PA: Berkemeyer, Keck & Co., 1932, pgs. 165-166. Available at Archives.org.


History of Seven Counties

Page 149:
Van Etten Township.
...
Early settlers: ...William Ennis, Alexander Ennis, John Ennis, Emanuel Ennis, Benjamin Ennis, James Van Etten, Emanuel Van Etten, Joshua Van Etten, James Van Etten, Jr....


Source: Sexton, John L., History of Seven Counties: An outline history of Tioga and Bradford counties in Pennsylvania, Chemung, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins and Schuyler in New York, Elmira, NY: Elmira Weekly Gazette, 1885.


History of Seneca County, Ohio

Page 1067:
Reed Township.
Town 2 N, Range 17 R.
Wilhelmus Ennes, e. 1/2 s. e. 1/4 sec. 13, May 4, 1830.

...
Wilhelmus Ennes, w. 1/2 n. w. 1/4 sec. 14, May 9, 1830.

...
Benjamin Enness, w. 1/2 n. e. 1/4 sec. 21, May 16, 1833.

Page 1069:
Reed Township.
Fractional T. 2 N., R. 18 E.
Wilhelmus Ennes, 115.48 a, n, w. pt. of n. w. 1/4 fr. sec. 18, May 4, 1830.


Source: Leeson, M. A., History of Seneca County, Ohio, Chicago: Warner, Beers, & Co., 1886.


Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County

ANTHONY RESER, farmer, Dundee. Ill., born in Pennsylvania, April 7, 1816, son of John and Margaret (Ennis) Reser, was reared in his native State and educated in her public schools. In his early manhood he was employed on the Erie Canal, and in 1843 removed to Illinois, settling on a farm in Plato Township, Kane County. For eighteen years he made his home on this farm, and then removed to Dundee, where (1903) he is now living at the age of eighty-seven years. For many years he was a member of the Methodist church, but is now connected with the Congregational church. He was married in 1837 to Miss Phylecta Soule. of a noted New England ancestry, and of their nine children, all but one were living in 1903.

Source: Bateman, Newton (ed.) and Selby, Paul (ed.), Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, vol. II, Chicago: Munsell Publishing Company, 1904, p. 890.


National Historic Register

.5 miles south of the Westbrook-Bell House, also set back from the road, is the Ennis House. With Westbrook-Bell, it is one of the two remaining structures from the village of Minisink. It is a small 1 1/2 story rubble stone house with a steep pitch roof and clapboard gable ends. One wall has been removed for an addition to the rear of the house. It was built about 1751, either for, or bought soon after by William Ennis, who kept the first school in the New Jersey Minisink. Between the Old Mine Road and the Delaware River, near Nomanock Island, are the ruins of Fort Nomanock, one of the major defensive structures built and manned by the New Jersey colonial government for the protection of Minisink residents from Indian raids during the French and Indian War. Unlike the Westbrook Fort, Nomanock was especially constructed for the purpose, and housed a small but regular detachment of militia.
...
.5 miles south of the cemetery is the John Wesley Van Auken House, also known as the Ennis Ferry House. This 1 1/2 story frame house was built about 1760 into a bank overlooking the Delaware River on a rough, split-faced fieldstone foundation. It has wood siding and a wood shingle roof. The interior has been somewhat modernized with the construction of an apartment on the upper story and in the rear at the cellar level. Most of the original joiner work detailing remains intact. The fireplace mantel is probably original. The house probably served the first of two ferries in the Dingmans area, known as the Ennis Ferry. During the era of logging on the Upper Delaware, it was a popular night stop for rafters, who brought the logs to downriver markets. The complex includes a handsome and well preserved barn on a high quality stone foundation.
...
The mute and isolated solidity of the Ennis or Westbrook-Bell Houses still conveys a sense of the stark and raw, yet civilized state of life that existed on the earliest American frontier.

Source: "Old Mine Road Historic District," National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, received and entered 1980, PDF copy of form located at https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/ed3a265f-f45b-4fb9-bdc3-a93088128ca5, accessed 18 Feb 2019.


Inventory of Joseph Ennes

Images of probate records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

Inventory of Joseph Ennes
Inventory of Joseph
Ennes

Source: New Jersey. Surrogate's Court (Sussex County), Inventories, 1803-1903, Inventories, v. D-F 1819-1840, FHL Film 960535, DGS 5679636, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93Q-T7WC?i=541&cc=2018330, image 542, accessed 18 Feb 2019.


Name: Joseph Annes
[Joseph Ennes]
State: NJ
County: Sussex County
Township: Sandyston
Year: 1774
Record Type: August Tax List
Page: 002
Database: NJ Tax Lists Index 1772-1822

Name: Joseph Ennes
State: NJ
County: Sussex County
Township: Wlpck, Sndystn,montge
Year: 1781
Record Type: August Tax List
Page: 001
Database: NJ Tax Lists Index 1772-1822

Name: Joseph Ennis
State: NJ
County: Sussex County
Township: Sandyston
Year: 1793
Record Type: June Tax List
Database: NJ Tax Lists Index 1772-1822

Source: Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Jackson, Ronald V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. New Jersey Census, 1643-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.


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Pennsylvania Land Warrants and Applications

Land warrant of Joseph Ennest, page 1
Page 1
Land warrant of Joseph Ennest, page 2
Page 2

Source: Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Warrant Applications, 1733-1952. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania State Archives. Land Warrants. Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, PA.


Deed, 1 April 1831 (Estate of Joseph Ennis Esq.)

Deed related to the estate of Joseph Ennest, page 1
Page 1
Deed related to the estate of Joseph Ennest, page 2
Page 2

Source: Deed 1 April 1831, Estate of Joseph Ennis Esq. (Grantors: Cornelius Ennis, John Reser and wife Margarett, John Van Etten Jun. and wife Catharine, John Ennis, and Mary Ennis, all of Sussex county, New Jersey); Grantee: Daniel Ennis of Pike county, Pennsylvania; 62 acres and 62 perches, pages 353-354, from Pike County Pennsylvania Records, Recorder of Deeds/Register of Wills, County Administration Building, 506 Broad Street, Milford, PA 18337.


Pursh's Journal of a Botanical Excursion

Jun. 5. [1807]...
At the house of Mr. Coolbaugh, the man above mentioned I took dinner & a man coming in who wanted to go as far as the beginning of Minnisink that night, I availed myself of the opportunity of having company, to get there this night yet. We had about 19. or 20. m. to come to the place of his destination, it being one o'clock when we left the tavern, & yet we reached it before it was quit dark; when we came within 6. or 7.m. of it it began to rain very hard, but we kept travelling on. The Minisinks I first understood were on the Pensylvania side, but there is no such thing; the country calld so lays in Sussex county New Yersey & extends from the New York line about 16. or 18. m. down the river & about from 3 to 11 m. back. This course I seen nothing new, the hills along the road are covered close with timber & Cimicifuga Serpentaria (Actsea racemosa) Aralia nudiflora & here & there patches of Podophyllum here called Mandarach mixed with abundance of Houstonia cserulea & other common plants of similar situation are the only cover of the ground. We crossed the river at dark & took up lodging at Mr. Ennis's, who keeps a ferry & a house much frequented by the raftsmen. It looked very much for a heavy & settled rain.

Jun. 6. Rain all day, my anxiety of seeing this place was disappointed for to day but being pretty much fatigued, I expected that the disagreeable rest I had in a house I did not much like, would still be so much more to my advantage; I slept most all day.
...
Jun. 8. Shortly before I left this to return to Ennis's down the river I learned that a Post office were kept in the tavern I had stopped: I wrote a few lines to Dr. Barton to inform him of my progresses in a few words: I set out from here, along the banks of the river on a very interesting road, going sometimes along a precipice of immense height down to the river. Millford lays on Saw creek, 1. below a small creek call'd White brook; 4 or 5 lower down the Connecheague 6m. lower Reamannskill—from there to Dingmanns bushkill...
At Dingmanns I crossed the river over to Ennis's where I after a long & fatiguing journey arrived late in the evening. ...

Source: Pursh, Frederick, Journal of a Botanical Excursion in the Northeastern Parts of the States of Pennsylvania and New York during the Year 1807, Philadelphia: Brinckloe & Maroe, Printers, 1869, pgs. 13-15. Available at Hathitrust.


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1810

Spencer, Tioga, New York

Wilhlmus Ennis families in 1870
Household: Wilhlmus Ennis

Name:    Wilhlmus Ennis
Home in 1810 (City, County, State):    Spencer, Tioga, New York
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25:    1
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 :    1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10:    1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15:    1
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44:    1
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over :    1
Number of Household Members Under 16:    2
Number of Household Members Over 25:    3
Number of Household Members:    6

Source: Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.


1830

Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey

Name: Joseph Ennes
Home in 1830 (City, County, State): Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 70 thru 79: 1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9:; 1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49: 1
Free White Persons - Under 20: 4
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 4
Total Free White Persons: 9
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 9

Source: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.


1850

Forestburgh, Sullivan, New York

Daniel Ennis family in 1870
Household: Daniel Ennis;
Roll: M432_603;
Page: 180A;
Image: 367

Source: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.


1860

Sandyston, Sussex, New Jersey

John Van Etten family in 1860
Household: John Van Etten;
Roll: M653_709;
Page: 354;
Family History Library Film: 803709

Plato, Kane, Illinois

John Reaser family in 1860
Household: John Reaser;
Roll: M653_191;
Page: 971;
Family History Library Film: 803191

Source: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.


1870

Montague, Sussex, New Jersey

Levi Van Etten family in 1880
Household: Levi Van Etten;
Roll: M593_889;
Page: 124A;
Family History Library Film: 552388

Plato, Kane, Illinois

John Bennett family in 1880
Household: John Bennett;
Roll: M593_237;
Page: 425A;
Family History Library Film: 545736

Source: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

Copies of census records are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the record in another tab.

1855 New York

Highland, Sullivan, New York

Daniel Ennes family in 1880
Household: Daniel Ennes

Source: Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Microfilm. Various County Clerk Offices, New York.

Photos are shown below as thumbnails. Click on each thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo in another tab.

Glen Cove Cemetery, Sullivan county, New York

Gravestone of Daniel Ennes
Daniel Ennes
Photo credit: gneissguy62,
Ancestry
Gravestone of Susanna Ennis
Susanna Ennis
Photo credit: gneissguy62,
Ancestry

Layton Cemetery, Layton, Sussex, New Jersey

Gravestone of John and Catherine Van Etten (monument to couple, broken stone)
John and Catherine
Van Etten
Photo credit: Sharon
Salza Spangenberg,
Findagrave.com
Gravestone of John and Catherine Van Etten (pieces of main stone, laid out)
John and Catherine
Van Etten
Photo credit: Sharon
Salza Spangenberg,
Findagrave.com
Gravestone marked J. V.
J. V. (John Van Etten's
individual stone)
Photo credit: Sharon
Salza Spangenberg,
Findagrave.com
Gravestone marked C. V.
C. V. (Catherine Van
Etten's individual stone)
Photo credit: Sharon
Salza Spangenberg,
Findagrave.com

Plato Center Cemetery, Plato Center, Kane, Illinois

Gravestone of Margaret E. Reser
Margaret E. Reser
Photo credit: Gayl Ryan,
Findagrave.com
Gravestone of John Reser
John Reser
Photo credit: John Shuck,
Findagrave.com

Return: Home > Ancestry of Alonzo Havington Ennis > Ennis Family Tree

Author: Michelle A. Boyd
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Last updated 23 February 2019