The initial settlements of the Low Dutch in
Harrodsburg, Kentucky were made by a
company of settlers from Pennsylvania and
New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. In
the 1780's, the settlers stopped at Fort
Harrod although many had expected to move
onto a large tract of land purchased for
them by Squire Boone. The land was in what
would later be named Henry and Shelby
Counties. They sent out scouting parties of
men to locate their property and begin
building their new homes. Many of these men
never returned to Fort Harrod, where their
families had remained behind. Hostile
Indians in the area had other ideas about
these white men settling on their hunting
grounds, and attacked them while they were
constructing log cabins. Due to frequent
attacks by the Indians, many of the Dutch
settlers chose to remain near the relative
safety of Fort Harrod. A community began to
develop in that area, more out of necessity
than by choice. It would later be named
Harrodsburg.
My 5th great grandfather, Lt. Cornelius A.
Van Arsdalen arrived at the Low Dutch
Station with his family just after this
period. About 1794, they had traveled in a
company of Dutch settlers from Somerset
County, New Jersey to build their new homes
along the Salt River, just South of present
day Harrodsburg, in Mercer County,
Kentucky. Apparently, all of his children
who were born in New Jersey came with
Cornelius. The Dutch settlers were very
community minded according to their
tradition, and the first order of business
was to get their farms started. They all
shared in the work of building new homes,
clearing the land, and planting crops. Once
this was accomplished, their next thought
was to construct a Church, which often
served as a
gathering house for town meetings, and also
as a school house. So, they built the Old
Mud Meeting House near the dry fork on Salt
River, and began to build their new
community. They petitioned the Dutch
Reformed Church in the East to send them a
minister, and after a long time one finally
arrived, but he did not stay. So they
finally chose a local man for the job, who
ministered to the people until he died. The
congregation of the Old Mud Meeting House
dwindled, and many left the Church for
Presbyterian and Methodist ministeries.
Unfortunately, no Church records have
survived from the Old Mud Meeting House
Community, and all that remains is the
Church building and cemetery. They are
maintained in excellent condition by the
Harrodsburg Historical Society. It was the
first Church built in Kentucky.
Cornelius A. Van Arsdall left a good will
to establish the names of his children.
However, my 4th great grandfather,
Alexander Vanarsdall did not. The early
records of Mercer County, Kentucky from
about 1790-1850 are difficult to establish
paternity from without a good will.
Because of the work in family history done
by my great grandfather, Mayor Riker Samuel
VanArsdall, which has been preserved in the
book, "Register of the Kentucky State
Historical Society," Volume 31, 1933, pp.
348-349, I had a pretty good list of my
ancestors names in Kentucky to begin my
research from. It remained for me to prove
his work in the records, and the paternal
connection of Alexander Vanarsdall to my
3rd great grandfather, William Smith
Vanarsdall, became the most difficult task.

I had worked the family back to 1850 using
federal census records, to prove my
paternity to William Smith Vanarsdall.
Unfortunately, William died before his
father Alexander Vanarsdall wrote his will,
and no one in my immediate family was named
in the will. The will of Alexander
Vanarsdall named his second wife Elizabeth
(Bass), and their son Zachariah Taylor
Vanarsdall, and one son from his first
marriage, George Vanarsdall. The will also
mentioned "other children by my first
wife," and "my daughters," but no names
were given (Mercer County, Kentucky, Will
Book 15, pp. 156-158).
Backing up on this story a little bit, in
early 1996, I contacted the Harrodsburg
Historical Society for help. My cousin,
Betsy Sale sent me a copy of "THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES SUYDAM
VANARSDALL," lovingly called the "BIRTHDAY
BOOK." I had joined the Harrodsburg
Historical Society as an out-of-state
member, and also hired the groups senior
genealogist Alma Ray Ison to find the wills
of my ancestors. My work in Los Angeles,
California made her job relatively
painless. We have nearly all of the
Harrodsburg Historical Societie's published
books in our libraries here, and I had
already established the dates of birth,
marriage, and death for all of my ancestors
who had lived in Harrodsburg from these
secondary sources, and this was backed up
by my primary census records. I was seeking
more primary evidence in wills. I requested
of Alma that she send me copies of the
wills of Cornelius A. Van Arsdall who died
in 1840, Alexander Vanarsdall who died in
1855, William Smith Vanarsdall who died in
1851, Charles Suydam VanArsdall who died in
1919, and Riker Samuel VanArsdall who died
in 1938, all in Harrodsburg, Mercer County,
Kentucky. Alma was able to find wills for
Cornelius A. Van Arsdall, Alexander
Vanarsdall, and Riker Samuel VanArsdall.
William Smith Vanarsdall died intestate,
but Alma found an inventory and settlement
of accounts, records of his estate. She
found no will, inventory, or settlement of
accounts for Charles Suydam VanArsdall, and
speculated that he must have settled all
his affairs while he was still living. She
sent me copies of all these records, plus
the obituary of Charles Suydam VanArsdall
and another copy of the Autobiography of
Charles Suydam VanArsdall, the Birthday
Book. I knew my research was in trouble at
this point, the chain of my primary record
of paternity was broken between Alexander
Vanarsdall and William Smith Vanarsdall.
However, in the Birthday Book Charles spoke
of his grandfather Alexander Vanarsdall and
his father William Smith Vanarsdall. I
resigned myself to the possibility that
this secondary source might just have to
do. At the time, I had no idea how
important the Birthday Book would
ultimately become in my research, but I
started finding records of all the family
names mentioned in his journal. When I was
finished researching all the clues that had
presented themselves in the Birthday Book,
I discovered that I had found records of
the entire family in several states.

Ultimately, my little problem with the
broken chain of paternity resolved itself
on my trip to Harrodsburg, Kentucky in
1996. I found a great deal of primary
evidence on this trip for all five
generations of my family in Harrodsburg,
among which was the inventory and
settlement of accounts of the estate of my
4th great grandfather Alexander Vanarsdall.
My 2nd great grandfather, Charles Suydam
VanArsdall was named as one of the heirs in
this settlement of accounts. Since, I had
proven him to be the son of my 3rd great
grandfather, William Smith Vanarsdall, from
the Federal Census of 1850, my problem was
solved.

On his 75th birthday, 11 July 1910, Dr.
Condit Brewer VanArsdall, Sr. gave his
father a blank journal, and asked Charles
Suydam VanArsdall "to write down some
things about [his] kinfolks." From then,
until sometime after the month of February
1914, Charles wrote down stories about his
life and the lives of his relations. The
book talks about his grandfather Alexander
Vanarsdall, and his two wives and his
children, and who they married. It also
talks about his father William Smith
Vanarsdall and his mother Sarah "Sallie"
Riker, and their children, as well as the
family of his wife's parents, Charles Riker
and Mary Banta, and their children, and who
they married. I have verified nearly every
passage in this journal of genealogical
content to be accurate, using census
records and other primary documents.

The "BIRTHDAY BOOK" is now owned by Dr.
Con's daughter, Elizabeth (VanArsdall)
Sale, and it was edited for publication by
Mai Fluornoy (Van Deren) Vanarsdall. It was
published by the Harrodsburg Historical
Society in the "OLD TOWN LEDGER," issue no.
41, Jan/Feb 1996. The journal talks about
what happened to the children of Alexander
Vanarsdall, William Smith Vanarsdall, and
Charles Riker, where they lived and where
they moved to. It allowed me to locate many
lost family members, and at least partially
determine their fates in Indiana, Missouri,
and Kentucky. This paper, and the next,
will reflect the results of my independent
research of the Birthday Book in locating
the children of Alexander Vanarsdall and
William Smith Vanarsdall in federal census
records.

Let me begin by saying, that I have found
all my immediate family relations in the
Van Arsdall family, and nearly all of their
children on federal census records from
1810-1920. I have found
the census records prior to 1850 to be of
little genealogical significance, often
leading to more confusion than clarity. I
will not bore you in this paper with my
interpretation of early census records from
1810-1840, except to say that before 1840,
the older children of Alexander Vanarsdall
had already begun to move away from
Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
As I have stated previously, Alexander
Vanarsdall was born on 2 March 1777 in
Somerset County, New Jersey. He married
first to Dorcus "Dobitha" Smith, daughter
of George Smith, on 21 September 1799 in
Mercer County, Kentucky. Alexander arrived
in Kentucky with his family about 1794,
when he was about 17 years old. His older
sister Elizabeth, was the only child of
Cornelius A. Van Arsdall to marry in New
Jersey before the family moved to Kentucky.
His other siblings all married in either
Mercer or Boyle Counties, in Kentucky.
Alexander married a second time, late in
life, to Elizabeth Bass on 12 November 1846
in Mercer County, Kentucky.
Their marriage lasted 9 years, until
Alexander died on 14 November 1855. He was
buried at the Old Mud Meeting House
Cemetery, next to his son William Smith
Vanarsdall who had preceded him on 1
October 1851.
On the 1850 Census of District No. 2,
Mercer County, Kentucky, p. 348 was listed
the families of Alexander Vanarsdall and
his 3rd son George B. Vanarsdall. Alexander
Vanarsdall was listed as a 73 year old
farmer, born in New Jersey. His wife,
Elizabeth Vanarsdall was 46 years old, born
in Kentucky. Her daughter Margaret Bass was
7 years old and born in Kentucky, and their
son Zachariah Vanarsdall was 3 years old
and born in Kentucky. Elizabeth Bass was
born about 1804, and her daughter Margaret
Bass was born about 1843. Zachariah Taylor
Vanarsdall, the only child of Alexander and
Elizabeth, was born about 1847. Zachariah
was killed while working on the railroads,
at 21 years old, according to the Birthday
Book. George Vanarsdall and his wife
Francis "Fanna" Massie (or Massey) lived
next door to his father Alexander. George
Vanarsdall was listed as a 40 year old
farmer, born in Kentucky. His wife, Francis
Vanarsdall was 35 years old, born in
Kentucky. Their children all born in
Kentucky were: Jarusha 13 year old female,
Ellen 11 year old female, Elizabeth 9 year
old female, and James 4 year old male.
The dates of birth of all of the children
of Alexander Vanarsdall and Dorcus
"Dobitha" Smith come from the files of Alma
Ray Ison which I obtained on my trip to
Harrodsburg, Kentucky in 1996. On a hand
written family group record, Alma cites her
sources to be "THE BIBLE OF Cornelius E.
VANARSDALL" in the possession of Mrs. Harry
Klein of Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1928,
and "THE LINEAGE OF C.B. VANARSDALL" by Mai
'Noy Vanarsdall. Alma did not mention which
dates came from which source on the family
group record written in 1990. According to
Alma's file, George B. Vanarsdall was born
on 15 September 1810 in Mercer County,
Kentucky. George married to Francis Massey
on 25 May 1835 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
All the marriages in this family group were
recorded in either "MERCER COUNTY MARRIAGE
BOOKS" or "BOYLE COUNTY MARRIAGE BOOKS."
Boyle County was created from Mercer and
Lincoln Counties in 1842.
According to the 1850 Census record cited
above, the children of George and Francis
Vanarsdall all born in Kentucky were:
Jarusha born about 1837, Ellen born about
1839, Elizabeth born about 1841, and James
born about 1846. I did the math these first
two times, and for the sake of brevity ,
you can do the math from here on. Please,
carry the dates as approximates as
determined from census records. I have
found that ages as determined from census
records can vary considerably from one
census period to the next. Non-researchers
have a tendency to distort the information
we gather as they copy it down and share it
with other non-researchers. A good example
of this can be seen with the children of
Cornelius Sijmonsen Van Aersdalen and
Marretje Dirkse Ammerman. Originally, many
of the dates of birth were approximated by
the researcher A. Van Doren Honeyman, early
in the 20th century. Over time, we have
taken these approximate dates and cast them
in stone. Another example, is the
approximate birthdate of Jan Sijmonsen Van
Aersdalen. I'm not sure exactly who
postulated that he was born about 1667, but
the new information we have now suggests
that he was probably born much later. In
the 1698 Sijmon to Joost letter, Sijmon
stated that his son Jan was 22 years old.
By simple math, 1698 - 22 = 1676. If the
translation of this letter can be relied
upon, then from Sijmon's own mouth, his son
Jan was much younger than his brother
Cornelius. This helps to explain why there
are so few records of Jan Sijmonsen Van
Aersdalen among the papers of Long Island,
New York. Many of the extant records of
Long Island were created before Jan had
reached adult life. When the oath of
Allegiance was taken in 1687 by Sijmon and
Cornelius, Jan was just a boy of about 11
years of age. On the Census of 1698, Jan
was about 22 years old and probably still
living at home with his father, even though
he apparently married at a very young age.
If Jan had two sons in 1698, then he was
probably married about 3 years earlier in
about 1695. At this point, it will be very
difficult to change the perception of most
Van Arsdale researchers out there, since
the date of Jan's birth is given as 1667 in
many sources- it has become written in
stone. So, please carry these dates as
approximates, someone out there may be
trying to link up to one of these children.
I'm coming down off my soap box now.
The first child of the family of Alexander
Vanarsdall to move to Indiana was Cornelius
E. Vanarsdall, who was born on 27 March
1801 in Mercer County, Kentucky. Cornelius
married to
Elizabeth Dickey on 23 November 1823 in
Mercer County, Kentucky, and they moved to
Marion County, Indiana before 1830. On the
1830 Census of Marion County, Indiana, p.
192, Cornelius
Vanarsdall was listed living there with his
young family. On the 1840 Census of
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana,
p. 815, Cornelius E. Vanarsdall had moved
his family there by that time. On the 1850
Census of Union Township, Montgomery
County, Indiana, p. 424, Cornelius
Vanarsdall was listed as a 50 year old
butcher, born in Kentucky. His wife,
Elizabeth Vanarsdall was 49 years old and
born in Kentucky. Their children listed as
all born in Kentucky [ERROR] were: William
23 year old male and a plasterer, Julie 23
year old female, Mary J. 19 year old
female, James 16 year old male, Elizabeth
13 year old female, and Martha 11 year old
female. The census said that everyone in
this family was born in Kentucky. That is
not possible, since the family had lived in
Indiana for at least 20 years.
On the 1860 Census of Ward No. 1
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana,
original Page No. 6, listed Cornelius E.
Vanarsdall as a 59 year old road master,
born in Kentucky. His wife, Elizabeth
Vanarsdall was 60 years old and born in
Kentucky. Their children still living at
home, and all born in INDIANA were: James
26 year old male and a coroner, Elizabeth
23 year old female, and Martha 21 year old
female.
On the 1870 Census of Montgomery County,
Indiana, p. 82 (VERY DIFFICULT TO READ),
Cornelius Vanarsdall was a 69 year old day
laborer, born in Kentucky. His wife,
Elizabeth Vanarsdall was also 69 years old
and born in Kentucky. Their children still
living at home were: Jimmie 36 year old
male and a plasterer, born in Kentucky
[ERROR], and Elizabeth 35 year old female,
born in Indiana.
On the 1880 Census of Crawfordsville,
Montgomery County, Indiana, E.D. #97, Page
No. 29, Line #15, Cornelius Vanarsdall was
listed as an 80 year old gardener, born in
Kentucky, father born in New Jersey and
mother born in Kentucky. If this was true,
and Dorcus "Dobitha" Smith was born in
Kentucky, then her father George Smith was
indeed a pioneer in Kentucky, since Dorcus
was born on 22 December 1780. His wife,
Elizabeth Vanarsdall was 80 years old and
born in Kentucky, and both her parents were
born in North Carolina. Cornelius E.
Vanarsdall died on 29 August 1888 in
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana
(The Bible of Cornelius E. Vanarsdall, in
possession of Mrs. Harry Klein of
Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1928).
Jarusha (Jerusha) Vanarsdall was born on 13
August 1804 in Mercer County, Kentucky. She
married to Peter B. Huff, son of Peter Huff
the Revolutionary War soldier, on 17
January 1820 in Mercer county, Kentucky. On
the 1830 Census of Mercer County, Kentucky,
p. 346, the family of Peter B. Huff lived
next door to his father Peter Huff. On the
1840 Census of Mercer County, Kentucky, p.
172, the family of Peter B. Huff still
lived next door to his father Peter Huff.
The 1840 Census lists Peter Huff as a
Revolutionary War soldier on the second
page of the census.

On the 1850 Census of District No. 2,
Mercer County, Kentucky, p. 348, Peter Huff
was listed as a 50 year old farmer, born in
Kentucky. His wife, Jerusha Huff was 46
year old and born in Kentucky. Their
children all born in Kentucky were:
Alexander Huff 23 year old male, Margaret
Huff 20 year old female, and William Huff 5
year old male.

Sometime after 1850, Peter B. Huff moved
his family to Crawfordsville, Indiana. On
the 1860
Census of Union Township, Montgomery
County, Indiana, p. 241, listed Peter Huff
as a 64 year old farmer, born in Kentucky.
His wife, Jerusha Huff was 55 years old and
born in Kentucky.
Their son William A. Huff was 15 years old
and born in Kentucky. Jerusha Huff died on
4 October 1860 in Crawfordsville, Indiana
(Alma Ray Ison's file).

My 3rd great grandfather, William Smith
Vanarsdall was born on 28 December 1806 in
Mercer County, Kentucky [1867 Bible of
Sarah "Sallie" (Riker) Vanarsdall]. William
married to Sarah
Riker, daughter of Charles Riker (born
Charles Suydam according to the Birthday
Book) and
Mary Banta, on 3 November 1831 in Mercer
County, Kentucky. Sarah Riker was born on
3 November 1811 [1867 Bible of Sallie
Vanarsdall]. According to the same record,
the children of William and Sarah
Vanarsdall, all born in Mercer County,
Kentucky were: Mary Eliza "Ellen"
Vanarsdall on 30 March 1833, Charles Suydam
VanArsdall on 11 July 1835, Harvey
Alexander Vanarsdall on 9 September 1837,
Samuel Riker Vanarsdall on 17 May 1839,
William Harvey Vanarsdall on 19 May 1842,
John Alexander Vanarsdall 26 October 1844,
Jennie "Jane" Smith Vanarsdall on 18 May
1847, Cornelius Holman Vanarsdall on 20
August 1849, and after the death of her
father, Diane "Annah" Sutfield Vanarsdall
on 1 April 1852. Harvey Alexander
Vanarsdall died young on 30 July 1838 in
Mercer County, Kentucky. William Smith
Vanarsdall died fairly young at the age of
44, on 1 October 1851 in Mercer County,
Kentucky. He was buried next to his
grandfather, Lt. Cornelius A. Van Arsdall,
at the Old Mud Meeting House Cemetery. His
wife, Sallie Vanarsdall lived a very long
life, and died on 8 July 1905. She could
not be buried next to her husband, since
the Old Mud Meeting House Cemetery had been
closed to burials for many years by the
time she died. Instead, Sarah Riker
Vanarsdall was buried in her Churchyard
near her home in the Oakland area, at the
Oakland Methodist Church Cemetery. She was
buried near two of her grandsons who had
preceded her: (1) Charles Condit
Vanarsdall, the son of my 2nd great
grandfather, Charles Suydam VanArsdall and
his wife George Ann Van Nuys Terhune, born
on 25 May 1865 in Mercer County, Kentucky,
and who died on 8 November 1868 at the age
of 3 years old, and (2) his older brother,
William Abner Vanarsdall, born on 15 April
1859 in Mercer County, Kentucky, and who
died on 30 December 1880 at the age of 21
years old.
The Oakland Methodist Church burned down
many years ago, after it had been closed
for a period of time, on the caretakers
watch. A cousin of mine, John Aaron
Vanarsdall had taken care of the Oakland
Methodist Church Cemetery for many years,
lovingly tending to the cemeteries needs,
but he had been ill for several years
before he passed on in 1996. When I was in
Harrodsburg, Kentucky in the summer of
1996, I found the Oakland Methodist Church
Cemetery, about 3/4 mile North on Oakland
Lane, off Hwy 152 Mackville Road, near the
small town of Rose Hill, a few miles West
of Harrodsburg. The forest had reclaimed
the old cemetery, but I found my families
gravestones still standing in the middle of
it. The cemetery is now on county owned
property, and apparently, many old
cemeteries and graveyards have been lost in
recent years all over the state of
Kentucky, especially the old family
graveyards on private property. I will have
much more to say about the Oakland
Methodist Church Cemetery in PART IV.
On the 1840 Census of Mercer County,
Kentucky, p. 162, William S. Vanarsdall was
listed with his family of five and one
other male between 15-20 years old. On the
1850 Census of District No. 2, Mercer
County, Kentucky, p. 338, William
Vanarsdall was listed as a 48 year old
farmer, born in Kentucky. His actual age
was 43 years old, and he would die the
following year. His wife, Sarah Vanarsdall
was listed as 40 years old and born in
Kentucky. Her actual age was 39 years old,
since she was born on 3 November 1811 in
Mercer County, Kentucky. William and
Sarah's children all born in Mercer County,
Kentucky were: Mary 18 year old female,
Charles 16 year old male, Samuel 14 year
old male, Harvey 12 year old male, John 10
year old male, and Holman 2 year old male.
Jane, their 3 year old daughter was not
listed on the census. The actual ages of
the children were: Mary 17, Charles 15,
Samuel 11, Harvey 8, John 5, and Holman 1,
according to the birth dates listed in the
1867 Bible record of their mother. Ages are
given on the census records according to
the informants best recollection, and they
can vary considerably from a persons true
age. Then again, Bible records that have
been written many years after the actual
events, as this one obviously was, could
also be in error. Of the two records, I
would say that the 1867 Bible record of
Sallie Vanarsdall is probably more
accurate.
On the 1860 Census of District No. 2,
Mercer County, Kentucky, p. 619, the widow
Sarah J. Vanarsdall was listed as the
head-of household, 48 years old and born in
Kentucky. Her children still living at home
and all born in Kentucky were: Samuel 21
year old male, Harvey 18 year old male,
John 16 year old male, Jane 15 year old
female, Holman 11 year old male, and Annah
9 year old female (born after her father's
death in 1851). Annah's actual age was 8
years old.
Also living in the household were: Nancy C.
Vanarsdall 20 year old female (wife of
Samuel Riker Vanarsdall, Nancy C. Van
Fleet), C. D. Vandevier 29 year old male
and a carpenter (Coleman D. Vandevier,
husband of Mary Eliza "Ellen" Vanarsdall),
and Sarah J. Vanarsdall's daughter Mary E.
Vandevier 27 year old female, all born in
Kentucky.
On the 1870 Census of Precinct No. 6,
Mercer County, Kentucky, p. 534, Sally
Vanarsdall was still head-of-household, 58
year old female and born in Kentucky. Still
living at home was Holeman Vanarsdall, 20
year old male farmer, born in Kentucky.
Also in the household was Ardell
Vanarsdall, 7 year old female, born in
Kentucky. Ardel was Sally's granddaughter,
the daughter of her son William Harvey
Vanarsdall and his wife Mary (?). Living
next door in 1870, was my 2nd great
grandfather Charles Suydam VanArsdall and
his family which I will have more to say
about in PART IV.
On the 1880 Census of the Sixth District,
Mercer County, Kentucky, E. D. #136, Page
No. 4, Line #10, and still
head-of-household, Sallie Vanarsdall was 68
years old and born in Kentucky, her father
born in New Jersey, and her mother born in
Virginia. They were Charles Riker (born
Charles Suydam) and Mary Banta. Living with
Sallie and all born in Kentucky were:
Holman Vanarsdall, 30 year old male son, a
farmer, both parents born in Kentucky;
Ardel Vanarsdall, 16 year old female
granddaughter, both parents born in
Kentucky; Elizabeth Vanarsdall, 28 year old
female daughter-in-law, both parents born
in Kentucky (wife of Cornelius Holman
Vanarsdall, Mary Elizabeth Rose). The
children of Holman and Elizabeth Vanarsdall
were: Wertie S. 8 year old male grandson,
Ora 6 year old female granddaughter, and
Walter 1 year old male grandson, all born
in Kentucky, and both parents born in
Kentucky.
George B. Vanarsdall was born on 15
September 1810 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
George married to Francis "Fanna" Massie
(Massey) on 25 May 1835 in Mercer County,
Kentucky. On the 1840 Census of Washington
County, Kentucky, p. 136, George Vanarsdall
was living with his young family, having
moved their after his marriage to Francis
Massey. Before 1850, he moved the family
back to Mercer County, Kentucky. In 1850,
the family of George Vanarsdall was living
next door to his father Alexander
Vanarsdall and his family, as was discussed
previously. Sometime after 1850, probably
after the death of his father Alexander
Vanarsdall in 1855, George Vanarsdall moved
his family to Crawfordsville, Indiana.
On the 1860 Census of Ward No. 3 of
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana,
*original Page No. 18, George Vanarsdall
was a 52 year old laborer, born in
Kentucky. His wife, Francis Vanarsdall was
44 years old and born in Kentucky. Their
son James A. Vanarsdall was 14 years old
and born in Kentucky.
On the 1870 Census of the 1st Ward of
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana,
*original Page No. 22, George Vanarsdall
was listed as a 62 year old constable, born
in Kentucky. His wife, Francis Vanarsdall
was 70 years old [ERROR] and born in
Kentucky. Their son James Vanarsdall was 22
years old [ERROR] and born in Kentucky.
Jane "Jennie" B. Vanarsdall was born on 24
October 1812 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
Jane married to John C. Jennings on 28
September 1831 in Mercer County, Kentucky,
just prior to the marriage of her brother
William Smith Vanarsdall to Sarah Riker.
According to the Birthday Book, Charles
Suydam Vanarsdall stated that Aunt Jane
Jennings and his father William Smith
Vanarsdall remained in Mercer County,
Kentucky, and his other aunts and uncles
moved away.
John C. Jennings died on 15 June 1859, and
he was survived by his wife who died later
on 2 December 1880. A double stone marks
their grave in the Van Arsdall plot of the
Old Mud Meeting House Cemetery. On the 1840
Census of Mercer County, Kentucky p. 172,
John Jennings was listed living with his
family, next door to Peter Huff, the
Revolutionary War soldier. On the 1850
Census of District No. 1, Boyle County,
Kentucky, p. (?), John L. [ERROR] Jennings
was listed as a 39 year old farmer, born in
Kentucky. His wife, Jane Jennings was 38
years old and born in Kentucky. Their
children all born in Kentucky were: Alex
Jennings 17 year old male, Viva Jennings 15
year old female, and George R. Jennings 13
year old male. Between 1840 and 1850 people
living in the southern part of Mercer
County were added to Boyle County, and
although it appears that the Jennings
family moved during this period, this might
not be the case. However, Jane's oldest son
Alex Jennings got married and did move
closer to Harrodsburg between 1850 and
1860.
On the 1860 Census of District No. 2,
Mercer County, Kentucky p. 614, the widow,
Jane B. Jennings was living with her oldest
son Alex Jennings and his wife, after her
husband John C. Jennings had passed away in
1859. W. A. Jennings was a 28 year old
farmer, born in Kentucky. His wife, Charity
Jennings was 30 years old and born in
Kentucky. Jane B. Jennings was 48 years old
and born in Kentucky. I was not able to
find Jane B. Jennings on the 1870 Census.
On the 1880 Census of the 6th District,
Mercer County, Kentucky, E. D. #136, Page
No. 18,
Line #26, Jane B. Jennings was living with
one of her grandchildren. William R. Wade
was a 29 year old school teacher, born in
Kentucky, and both his parents born in
Kentucky. His wife, Lena Wade was 28 years
old, born in Kentucky, and both her parents
were born in Kentucky.
Jane Jennings was 69 years old, born in
Kentucky, and both her parents were born in
Kentucky.
Jane B. Jennings died later on that year
and was buried next to her husband at the
Old Mud Meeting House Cemetery.
Alexander Vanarsdall, the son of Alexander
Vanarsdall and Dorcus "Dobitha" Smith, was
born on 30 March 1817 in Mercer County,
Kentucky. Alexander married to (Martha?)
Ann Stone on 17 October 1842 in Boyle
County, Kentucky. According to the Birthday
Book, Charles Suydam Vanarsdall stated that
"Uncle Alexander moved with his family down
on Green River and died down there." This
statement proved not to be true. However,
most of the information from Charles'
autobiography did prove to be accurate. In
the section of the journal where Charles
talked about what happened to his "uncles
and aunts on [his] father's side," my
research has proven the Birthday Book to be
highly reliable. Charles stated, "Uncle
Cornele and Uncle George with their
families went to Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Aunt Eliza, who married Hightower, went
later on, and died down there. Aunt
Jerusha, who married Peter Huff, also with
her family went out there." These
statements all proved to be true. Problems
arose from Charles' statements about "Aunt
Nan" and "Uncle Alexander." Charles wrote,
"Aunt Nan with her husband Lisha Stone went
to Oregon Territories, now state of Oregon,
and raised a family and died out there."
This statement also proved to be false.
Charles' statement, "There were two who
lived and died here [Harrodsburg,
Kentucky]--that was my father and Aunt
Jennings."
This statement proved to accurate.
I have speculated, that since most of the
Birthday Book is accurate, then it is
probable that Alexander Vanarsdall did
resettle to Green River, in southern
Kentucky. But, the family moved on,
resettling first in Indiana, and later in
Missouri. It is also probable that the
Stone family started out for Oregon, but
only got as far as Missouri. Apparently,
these two branches of the family lost touch
with the Harrodsburg families, and Charles
was unaware of their ultimate fate. I did
not find Alexander Vanarsdall to be living
in southern Kentucky in 1850. I then
checked all the states surrounding
Kentucky, and found him to be living in
Missouri.
On the 1850 Census of Washington Township,
Daviess County, Missouri, p. 107, listed
Alexander Vanarsdall as a 32 year old
farmer, born in Kentucky [1850 - 1817 =
33]. His wife, Martha (Ann Stone?)
Vanarsdall was 30 years old and born in
Indiana. The children of Alexander and
Martha Vanarsdall all born in Indiana were:
Martha 10 year old female, Margaret I. 9
year old female, and George W. 7 year old
male. I suspect that when Green River,
Kentucky turned out not to be what they had
suspected, then the family moved to
Martha's home state of Indiana, where they
lived for several years, before they moved
on to Missouri.
This must be my Alexander Vanarsdall, since
the name is peculiar to my branch of the
Van Arsdale family. Cornelius A. Van
Arsdalen (later known as Cornelius A. Van
Arsdall), the son of Abraham Van Aersdalen
and Marya Van Nuys, married to Jannetje
Baird, the daughter of Alexander Baird and
Elizabeth (Suspect Van Cleve). Their first
child was Elizabeth, named after
Elizabeth (Suspect Van Cleve). Their second
child was Abraham, named after Abraham Van
Aersdalen. Their third child was Alexander,
named after Alexander Baird. Their fourth
child was Cornelius C., named after his
father, Cornelius A. Van Arsdalen. Their
fifth child Simon, may have been named
after Cornelius A. Van Arsdalen's uncle,
Simon Van Arsdalen, since the two families
appear to have had strong ties back in
Somerset County, New Jersey. Their sixth
child Marya, who was called "Polly", was
named after Marya Van Nuys. Their first
child, Elizabeth Van Arsdall married her
third cousin Cornelius O. Vanarsdall, and
they also had a son named Alexander
Vanarsdall, born about 1818 in Kentucky,
but this man remained in Kentucky on his
mother Elizabeth Vanarsdall's farm in 1850
and 1860. In 1850, Alexander's older
brother Abraham Vanarsdall was listed as
the head-of-household of their mother's
farm.

On the 1860 Census of SaltRiver Township,
Knox County, Missouri, p. 134, Alexander
Vanarsdall was a 44 year old farmer, born
in Kentucky. His wife, Martha A. Vanarsdall
was 39 years old and born in Indiana. Their
children all born in Indiana were: Martha
E. 20 year old female, Margaret I 19 year
old female, and George W. 16 year old male.
In addition, their son Richard P.
Vanarsdall was 6 years old and born in
Missouri.
On the 1870 Census of Salt River Township,
Knox County, Missouri, p. 853, Alexander
Vanarsdall was a 55 year old farmer, born
in Kentucky. His wife, Martha A. Vanarsdall
was 50 years old and born in Indiana. Still
living at home, their son Richard P.
Vanarsdall was 16 years old and born in
Missouri.
Elizabeth "Eliza" Vanarsdall was born on 18
December 1819 in Mercer County, Kentucky.
Eliza married to George W. Hightower on 25
May 1840 in Mercer County, Kentucky. Some
time after this, the family moved a short
distance away to Logan County, Kentucky.

On the 1850 Census of District No. 1, Logan
County, Kentucky, p. 37, George W.
Hightower was a 35 year old farmer, born in
Kentucky. His wife, Eliza Hightower was 32
years old and born in Kentucky. Their
children all born in Kentucky were: Richard
H. Hightower 7 year old male, Tabitha J.
Hightower 5 year old female, Mary A.
Hightower 4 year old female, and Susan F.
Hightower 4/12 year old female (born in
June 1850). After this, the family moved
back to Mercer County, Kentucky.
On the 1860 Census of District No. 2,
Mercer County, Kentucky, p. 615, George W.
Hightower was a 45 year old blacksmith,
born in Kentucky. George must have learned
this trade from a 22 year old blacksmith
named William Barrow who had lived with the
family in 1850. His wife, Eliza Hightower
was 40 years old and born in Kentucky.
Their children all born in Kentucky were:
Richard H. Hightower 16 year old male,
Eliza J. Hightower 14 year old female, Mary
E. Hightower 12 year old female, Susan F.
Hightower 10 year old female, George R.
Hightower 8 year old male, William L.
Hightower 4 year old male, Joshua T.
Hightower 4 year old male, and Sarah S.
Hightower 3 year old female. sometime after
1860, the Hightower's moved to
Crawfordsville, Indiana.
On the 1870 Census of the 3rd Ward of
Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Iniana,
p. 114, George Hightower was listed as a 55
year old blacksmith, born in Kentucky. His
wife, Eliza Hightower was 50 years old and
born in Kentucky. Their children all born
in Kentucky were:
Richard Hightower 25 year old male, Mollie
Hightower 20 year old female,
Fannie Hightower 19 year old female, Robert
Hightower 17 year old male,
William Hightower 15 year old male,
Sallie Hightower 12 year old female, Thomas
Hightower 15 year old male, and
John Hightower 10 year old male.

On the 1880 Census of Union Township,
Crawfordsville P.O., Montgomery County,
Indiana, E. D. #100, Page No. 10, Line #17,
listed George Hightower as a 66 year old
blacksmith, born in Kentucky, and both his
parents birthplaces were unknown. His wife,
Eliza Hightower was not listed on this
census, and therefore must have died
between 1870-1880. Living in his household
in 1880 were: William Hightower 24 year old
son and a painter, born in Kentucky, and
both his parents were born in Kentucky;
Anna A. Hightower 20 year old
daughter-in-law and keeping house, born in
Indiana, and her parents both born in
Indiana [wife of William L Hightower, Anna
A. ( ? )]; Thomas Hightower 24 year old
policeman [head-of-household on George
Hightower's property], born in Kentucky,
and both his parents born in Kentucky; Wife
of Thomas Hightower, Mattie Hightower 20
year old female, born in Kentucky, and both
her parents born in Kentucky [wife of
Joshua Thomas Hightower, Mattie ( ? )];
daughter of Thomas and Mattie Hightower,
Lela 1 year old female, born in Indiana,
and both her parents born in Kentucky.

Nancy "Nan" A. Vanarsdall was born on 21
July 1822 in Mercer County, Kentucky. Nancy
married to Elisha Stone on 18 April 1842 in
Mercer County, Kentucky. In the Birthday
Book, Charles stated that the Stones moved
out to the Oregon Territories, later the
state of Oregon. I checked the census
records for Oregon and Washington in 1850,
1860, 1870, and 1880, but I found no Elisha
Stone or Nancy Stone living there in any of
these periods. So, I checked in all the
states along the Oregon Trail until I
finally located the family living in
Missouri in 1850.
On the 1850 Census of Round Grove Township,
Marion County, Missouri, p. 365, listed
Elisha Stone as a 35 year old blacksmith,
born in Kentucky. His wife, Nancy Stone was
28 years old and born in Kentucky. Their
children both born in Kentucky were: Sarah
J. Stone 7 year old female, and John W.
Stone 5/12 year old male (born in June
1850).
On the 1860 Census of Tiger Township, West
Springfield P. O., Shelby County, Missouri,
p.228, listed Elisha Stone as a 45 year old
blacksmith, born in Kentucky. His wife,
Nancy A. Stone was 30 years old [ERROR] and
born in Kentucky. Their children born in
Kentucky were: Sarah J. Stone 17 year old
female, and John W. Stone 10 year old male.
Their children born in Missouri were:
Robert S. Stone 8 year old male, and Nancy
B. Stone 3 year old female. I could not
find this family in later census periods in
Missouri, or anywhere along the Oregon
Trail, or in the states of Oregon,
Washington, or California.
In THE FAMILY OF ABRAHAM VAN AERSDALEN PART
IV, I will continue developing Charles
Suydam VanArsdall's autobiography from the
BIRTHDAY BOOK, and the families of William
Smith Vanarsdall and his son Charles Suydam
VanArsdall. We will explore some old lost
cemeteries and family graveyards, and
discover the resting place of the
Revolutionary War soldiers Edward Houchins
and Garrett Terhune. I will discuss the
Houchins-Terhune family graveyard as it
relates to the brass plague tribute erected
by the five sons of George Ann Van Nuys
Terhune at the Oakland Methodist Church
Cemetery.
 
 
 

Any person wishing to use this data for publication is to contact Mark Alan Thomas either at <[email protected]> or through the VanArsdale Mailing List <[email protected]>.

If you enjoyed this information, please use our Index of the Research of Mark Alan Thomas, located at <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~brianter/MAThomasIndex.html> to find other essays written by him.