The Staats Families of the Princeton, NJ Area

The Staats Families of the Princeton, NJ Area

Until the formation of Mercer County in 1838, Princeton was partly in Montgomery Township (earlier known as the Western Precinct), Somerset Co., NJ and partly in West Windsor Township (part of what was earlier known as New Windsor or just Windsor), Middlesex Co., NJ.  Most, if not all, of the Staats families in Somerset Co., NJ in the late 1700s, were descendants of John Staats and Femmetje Brokaw, as described in “The Family of John Staats of Hillsborough Township”.[1]  However, there are a few whose ancestry have not been published.  These include:

1)      Reynier Staats, born before 1755, husband of a woman named Sarah.

2)      Reynier Staats, supposed son-in-law of Joseph Coshun

3)      Joseph Staats, born about 1790, who lived near Princeton and possibly West Windsor

4)      Reynier Staats, born in 1805, probably son of Maria, probably daughter of Dowe Ditmars and Susannah Nevius.

A Reynier and Sarah Staats had two children baptized at the Dutch Reformed Church of Neshanic[2]:

1)   Annatie, baptized 22 Nov 1778

2)   Hendrick, baptized 31 May 1784

Supposedly they had at least one other child, Reynier.  Sarah’s maiden name is sometimes given as Choshun, but I have no source for that.  This Reynier does not fit into any of the published genealogies of the Staats family that I am aware of.

This Reynier may be the same person as Reynier Staats who was named as one of the executors of the estate of Joseph Coshun of Hillsborough Twsp, Somerset Co., NJ on 25 Jun 1810.[3]  In the abstract his executors are named as “two sons, Peter and Joshua, and sons-in-law, Abram Whitenack, Daniel Jessep and Rynear Staats.  However, his will lists only three daughters, Charity Coshun, apparently unmarried, and “two other daughters, Anne and Catherine”.  Anne married Abram Witenack, but I have not been able to identify the wives of Daniel Jessep or Rynear Staats.  It is possible that the abstract is incorrect in implying that all three men were sons-in-law rather than just the first two, but it is also possible that one of Joseph’s daughters had already received their inheritance and so was not included in the will.  Sarah, supposedly Coshun, may have been a daughter of Joseph Coshun who died young.  If this Reynier did marry a daughter of Joseph Coshun, he does not fit into any of the published genealogies of the Staats family that I am aware of.  He is not the son of John Staats and Femmetje Brokaw who names his wife as Seytje in his will dated 21 Aug 1820.[4]  He could be the father of Joseph Staats.

The name Reynier is common among the descendants of John Staats and Femmetje Brokaw.  It is a Dutch name, typically passed down as a family name from a child’s grandfather or uncle.

The name probably comes from John Staats’ maternal uncle, Reynier Veghte., as it does not appear in other branches of the Staats family.  This Reynier is probably an undocumented brother of John Staats, being born after the 1731 census of Brooklyn, though possibly a nephew.

Joseph Staats appears in the 1850 Census of Princeton, Mercer Co., NJ.[5]  He was aged 60, born in NJ.  Others in the household were Kata, age 30, born in NJ; Frances, aged 14, born in NJ; Ann L., aged 12, born in NJ, John Conover, aged 15, born in NJ; and Patrick Kany (or Harry), aged 35, born in Ireland.  Francis married Eli R. Stoniker on 19 Oct 1854 in Princeton, NJ.[6]  He was born about 1832 and died at Princeton on 2 Jan 1874.[7]  He may be the Joseph Statts who appears in an 1849 map of Mercer Co., NJ on the road from Princeton to Trenton.[8]  He may be the Joseph Stotts who appears in the 1840 census of West Windsor, Middlesex Co., NJ,[9] which borders Princeton.  The household included one male 15-20, 2 males 20-30, 1 male 50-60, 1 female under 5, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 15-20, 2 females 20-30.  Joseph may be the Joseph Staats who married, presumably 2^nd, Mary (Molly) Vanderveer by license dated 9 Mar 1834.[10]  Just speculation, but Joseph could be the father of Hannah Stotts, wife of James Stockton.  She was born about 1822 and lived in the area of Princeton, NJ.[11]

The family of Reynier J. Staats, born in 1805, is listed in the 1850 census of Montgomery Township, Somerset County, NJ,[12] which bordered Princeton Township, Mercer Co.  The household included his wife, Maria, aged 45, born in NJ, and his 3 sons.  It also included Maria Staats, aged 68 and Susan Ditmars, aged 83, presumably his mother, Maria Ditmars and her mother Susannah Nevius, wife of Dowe Ditmars.  Reynier died before 14 Feb 1866 in Somerset Col, when letters of administration[13] were issued to three of his sons, Peter D., Martin N., and Abraham C.  Though not all of the great grandsons of John Staats and Femmetje Brokaw are known, this Reynier does not appear to fit into that family.

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[1] Genealogies of New Jersey Families, The Family of John Staats of Hillsborough Township, by Lewis D. Cook, p. 819.

[2] Early Church Records of Somerset Co., NJ, Vol 1, Neshanic Reformed Church Baptisms, Colonial Roots, p. 14.

[3] Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey, Vol 41, Calendar of NJ Wills, vol. 12, p. 86.

[4] "New Jersey Probate Records, 1678-1980," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93Q-37SL?cc=2018330&wc=MQTC-TTG%3A338012501%2C341304501 : 21 May 2014), Somerset > Wills 1820-1843 vol C-E > image 137 of 702; county courthouses, New Jersey.

[5] Year: 1850; Census Place: Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll: M432_454; Page: 30A; Image: 68, Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

[6] "New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZPY-W3F : 12 December 2014), Eli R. Stoniker and Francis V. Staats, 19 Oct 1854; citing 584,570

[7] "New Jersey, Deaths, 1670-1988," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZDG-3Q2 : 8 April 2016), Eli R. Stonaker, 02 Jan 1874; citing Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, United States, Division of Archives and Record Management, New Jersey Department of State, Trenton.; FHL microfilm 584,597.

[8] http://westjerseyhistory.org/maps/countymaps/mercerco1849.shtml

[9] Year: 1840; Census Place: West Windsor, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll: 254; Page: 63; Family History Library Film: 0016518, Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

[10] "New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-1ZK7-V?cc=1803976&wc=9X51-K6D%3A146361901 : 14 May 2014), 004541239 > image 171 of 366; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

[11] Year: 1850; Census Place: West Windsor, Mercer, New Jersey; Roll: M432_454; Page: 39B; Image: 87

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

[12] Year: 1850; Census Place: Montgomery, Somerset, New Jersey; Roll: M432_463; Page: 379A; Image: 290

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

[13] "New Jersey Probate Records, 1678-1980," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93Q-3DGX?cc=2018330&wc=MQTZ-M36%3A338012501%2C341348701 : 21 May 2014), Somerset > Administration and guardian records 1804-1875 vol A-C > image 632 of 791; county courthouses, New Jersey.