Caveat: this material should be used with extreme caution. It is intended as research suggestions for those who want to break through the shrouds of mystery and confusion that have covered the generations following this couple.

Andrew Van Buskirk, the eldest son of Johannes Van Buskirk and Maritye Hoagland, was b. 1719 and Charity Van Horn, a daughter of Barent and Elizabeth Van horn, was b. 1724. They married in 1741 and lived at Wrightstown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, until about 1756 when they moved to Kingwood, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. They sold their land about 1766 and presumably moved back to Bucks County. Charity was deceased by the time of her father, Barent Van Horn's will, who died in 1776.

It is not presently known how many children Andrew and Charity had, though it is widely assumed that Aaron and Moses Van Buskirk of Northampton County, Pennsylvania are their sons (or grandsons). Their generations are well presented in Irene Shoemaker's 2-volume genealogy of the Van Buskirks. Another possible son (or grandson), Benjamin, appeared briefly in Northampton County land records in the mid-1780s, then apparently died and left a widow Sarah, living next door to Aaron and Moses in the 1790 census. Other possible sons (or grandsons) include John born about 1742, Samuel born about 1765 and Jacob born about 1770 -- the latter two both appearing in Northampton County censuses in the early 1800s, with no apparent connection to the Van Buskirks descended from Andrew's brother, George (1721-1800).

2. The Controversy over John b. 1742 and Richard b. 1764

It has been suggested by some (notably, Mrs. Shoemaker) that one of Andrew and Charity's sons, John Van Buskirk, married Mary/Maria ___ and had the following children:

These last two children's baptismal records seemingly establish both John's wife's name and John and Maria's presence in Northampton County by the mid-1770s, while supposed son Richard was still? or again? in New Jersey in the mid-1780s, and supposed daughter Charity married in New Jersey in 1790. Our skepticism about this list of children proposed by Mrs. Shoemaker is based on her highly questionable equating of the parents of Esther and Sarah with a John and Mary Van Buskirk listed, in a family Bible of descendants of Andrew's brother George, as dying in 1816 and 1805. There is no apparent reason why Andrew's son and daughter-in-law should be listed in George's family Bible, since none of Andrew's other presumed children are so listed, and there is no evidence of an intermarriage between Andrew's and George's descendants. Instead, we have reason to suspect that this John and Mary dying in 1805 and 1816 were not husband and wife, but brother and sister, and were born much later, probably in the early 1800s, thus dying as young children. Their father, we suggest, was Jacob Van Buskirk born about 1784, a son of George's son Andrew. The family Bible the entries appear in was centered on this Andrew's descendants (not those of George's brother), and his son Jacob is the most likely candidate for John and Mary's father.

It's still quite possible that the John Van Buskirk who had Esther and Sarah in 1774 and 1780 was a son of Andrew and Charity, and we think it at least possible that he was also the father of Charity b. 1771 and John Jr. b. 1769, as well. However, we think it more likely that Richard b. 1764 was not John and Mary's son, but John's younger brother -- and thus the uncle of John Jr., Charity, Esther, and Sarah, rather than their older brother -- for these reasons:

• Richard VB named his eldest son Andrew, whereas Charity VB Coryell did not name a single one of her five sons Andrew or Richard, but she did name a son John, leading to the natural conclusion that Richard was Andrew's son, and Charity was John's daughter (and thus Richard's niece).
• Whereas Richard VB named his two daughters Euphemia and Hannah, and the name Mary was not used for any of his grandchildren either, Charity VB Coryell did name a daughter Maria, and this could have been for her mother; however, her husband, George Coryell, had a sister named Maria, so their daughter was probably instead named after her; if so, the more likely candidate for Charity VB Coryell's mother is Hetty Clay, the name given to another of Charity VB Coryell's daughters; if this is correct, Charity's father married not Maria ___, but Hetty Clay, which would throw doubt on Charity and John Jr. being siblings of the Esther and Sarah whose baptizing parents were John and Maria.
• Charity Van Horn Van Boskirk had a brother named Richard Van Horn (who was named after his uncle, the brother of his and Charity's father), and Richard Van Boskirk b. 1764 would more likely have been named for his mother Charity's brother, than for his (supposed) father John's uncle.

We also suspect Andrew and Charity may have had a daughter, Margaret, born about 1741 who married about 1760 to Alexander Morehead, and one of whose daughters was named Euphemia -- a name heavily used by Richard Van Boskirk and his descendants. Euphemia Morehead married Isaac Anderson, and they lived during the early 1800s in Ross Township, Butler County, Ohio, next door to George and Charity Van Boskirk Coryell and their children. If Margaret (whose surname is unknown in Morehead family records) in fact was a Van Buskirk and, specifically, Richard's older sister, this would explain the source of his first daughter's name, she being named after Richard's niece.

Yet, this may be just a coincidence, with the name Euphemia being a red herring and there being no connection at all between Euphemia Anderson and the Van Boskirks, Richard's use of the name Euphemia coming from a completely different source. One possible source would be Richard's mother, Charity Van Horn Van Boskirk; if her full name was Charity Euphemia Van Horn, then Richard would have named his daughter after his mother's middle name. Yet another possibility is that Richard's wife Hannah Kelly's mother's name was Euphemia. Finally, if Richard was actually the son of John Van Buskirk (rather than being his brother), as Mrs. Shoemaker contends, then perhaps John's wife, or one of his daughters (Richard's sister), was named Euphemia.

Owing to the paucity of baptismal records for the adjoining areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey for this time period, we have been unable to determine if any of these possibilities is correct. Given all these other possibilities, it may in fact be a mere coincidence that Euphemia Anderson showed up in the exact same neighborhood -- the exact same page of the census -- in Butler County, Ohio as someone whose brother or uncle had a daughter named Euphemia. Yet, this remains a tantalizing possibility.

4. The Controversy over John b. 1797 and John b. 1820

For years, we have been aware that Richard Van Boskirk and his first wife, Hannah, Kelly, had five children -- Andrew, Euphemia, John, Hannah, and George, all born between 1794 and 1803 -- and that, although Euphemia died young, all the others except probably George had families of their own. The descendants of Andrew b. 1794 who married Passa/Persie Inman have largely been traced, and some of those of Hannah b. 1800 who married John Lincoln have as well.

The descendants of John b. 1797 who married Rachel Thompson, however, have been a subject of much controversy. Via a family Bible of one of his descendants, it is known that he had four children: Catherine b. 1822 who m. Van Valzah, Hannah b. 1825 who m. Andre, Richard b. 1828, and Benjamin Franklin b. 1834, all of whom lived with their families in eastern Pennsylvania. The controversy is over whether or not John b. 1797 had a fifth child, an eldest son John, b. 1818.

It has been asserted by some researchers, including Mrs. Shoemaker in her two-volume Van Buskirk genealogy, that the John Van Boskirk b. 1818 in Pennsylvania and who was in Ohio by the 1840s, then Iowa, then Oklahoma, then Kansas, was one of the sons of John b. 1797. Here are the pros and cons of this claim:

• One key fact in support of this idea is that the oldest son of John b. 1818 was named Richard Franklin Van Boskirk, and that the two known sons of John b. 1797 were named Richard and Benjamin Franklin Van Boskirk. John b. 1797 named these latter two sons after his and his wife's fathers. The obvious presumption is that John b. 1818 named his eldest son after his two brothers. There is a heavy burden on any suggestion that John b. 1818 was born into some other family. Where did the name Richard Franklin Van Boskirk come from, if John b. 1818 was not the grandson of Richard Van Boskirk and Benjamin Franklin Thompson of Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania? Since the first wife of John b. 1818 and mother of Richard Franklin Van Boskirk was Elizabeth Douglass, it may be that one of close relatives (father, brother, uncle) was named Richard. As for the name Franklin, it could simply be a patriotic gesture, considering that the second son of John b. 1818 was named John Jackson Van Boskirk, presumably referring to Andrew Jackson. This idea will take on greater weight, if it is discovered that Elizabeth had a relative named Richard. Another possibility, discussed in more detail below, is that John Jr. b. 1769 named his eldest son John b. 1794 after his great-uncle (or uncle?), Richard b. 1764, and that the full name of John b. 1794 was actually John Richard Van Boskirk. If so, perhaps the eldest son of John b. 1818 was named for his Van Boskirk grandfather, John Richard Van Boskirk, the one b. 1794 to John Van Boskirk Jr. b. 1769.
• It's claimed that another fact supporting this tie of John b. 1818 to John b. 1797 is that the 1836 will of John Van Boskirk b. 1797 mentioned a son Richard and a son John, as well as a son not mentioned in his father Richard's 1829 will, namely "Franklin," who was born in 1834. However, John seems not to have been mentioned in Richard's 1828 will either, only Richard, who was born in 1828. The Orphan's Court document listing John's children after he died in 1836 gave the following names of children under age 14: Richard Benjamin Franklin Catherine Hannah. Mrs. Shoemaker presumed that this indicated he had five young children, plus the son John older than 14 (actually age 15 or 16 by then). Actually, however, it's known that at least two of these names were first and middle names of the same individual: Benjamin Franklin Van Boskirk born in 1834. It's tempting to wonder whether John is the first name of the Richard Van Boskirk born in 1828: John Richard Van Boskirk. This would explain why John b. 1797 did not say that his son John was not mentioned in father Richard's will, because he actually was -- as (John) Richard Van Boskirk! Also, the 1830 census listing for the household of John b. 1797 included a boy age 0-5, but none age 5-10 or 10-15. This also indicates that John b. 1797 had no son born in 1818, but only the one son, John Richard Van Boskirk, born in 1828. (At age 9 or 10, where else would he have been in the 1830 census?)
• Descendants of John b. 1818 claim that his grandfather Richard's wife's name was Magdalena Coryell. John b. 1820 did have a daughter named Margaret/Maggie. However, this idea is very likely a misconception based on the intermarriage with the Coryells of Richard's supposed daughter, but actually niece, Charity Van Boskirk Coryell. It is well established that Richard's two wives were Hannah Kelley, who died in 1805, and Catherine Friesinger, who died in 1838; both wives are buried with Richard in the Mifflinburg Cemetery, and Hannah is listed in the Van Boskirk family Bible as the mother of his five children, born from 1794 to 1803. Thus, there is no way for John b. 1797 to have been the son of a Magdalena Coryell Van Boskirk. Also, there is no indication anywhere in the published genealogies of the Coryell family of a Magdalena Coryell.
• Descendants of John b. 1818 claim that his full name was John Thomas Van Boskirk, which would indicate that one of his grandfathers might have been named Thomas, the other grandfather John -- but neither of them Richard or Benjamin (as were the grandfathers of the four known children of John b. 1797).
• The 1880 census entry for John b. 1818 shows that his father was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in New York. Since Rachel Thompson, the wife of John b. 1797, was born in Pennsylvania, and John b. 1818 did not name any of his daughters Rachel, this suggests that John b. 1797 was not the father of John b. 1818, and that the mother of John b. 1818 was not Rachel, but perhaps a woman named Magdalena (whether or not a Coryell).
• Most revealingly, none of the family Bibles of any of the other four children of John b. 1797 mention a fifth child, John. And there is no appearance of the names Benjamin, Franklin, Catherine, or Rachel among any of the descendants of John b. 1818. This shows that at best there was a severe alienation between John and the other four children -- but more likely that he was not even their brother, but from another line entirely.

So, if there is any truth to this family legend of the descendants of John b. 1818, it can only point to some other Richard Van Boskirk having been his father and having had wife Magdalena Coryell (or at least Magdalena ___) born in New York. But who? The only plausible answer that comes to mind is that the father of John b. 1818 was someone born in Pennsylvania about 1794 and baptized as John Richard Van Boskirk, but going by the name John. And since the name Richard only appears as a source for Pennsylvania Van Boskirks among the Van Horns -- Richard b. 1764 being named after Charity Van Horn Van Boskirk's brother, Richard Van Horn -- it seems reasonable to suspect that Richard Van Horn's name got passed down a second male line of the Van Boskirks descended from Andrew and Charity Van Horn Van Boskirk.

The only current candidate for this would be a son of John Jr., whom we presume to have been the nephew (or brother?) of Richard b. 1764. If John Jr. did in fact name a son John Richard Van Boskirk -- in honor of both his father, John b. about 1742, and his uncle (or brother?) Richard b. 1764 -- then this would provide the source of the first name Richard for the eldest son of John b. 1818, who would have been naming that son after the boy's grandfather John Richard Van Boskirk. And if John Richard Van Boskirk married a Franklin woman -- perhaps the daughter of a Thomas Franklin -- that would provide the middle name of the eldest son of John b. 1818.

5. The Descendants of John Van Boskirk b. ca. 1742

Using census data from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, plus data from a query recently received, we have pieced together a hypothetical family outline for John Van Boskirk b. about 1742, that includes John b. 1818 and others as descendants of John Van Boskirk, Jr., born about 1769. In contrast to Mrs. Shoemaker and others, we exclude Richard, who is not plausibly named for an eldest son, and replace him with Andrew, to help account for the presence in the 1810 census of a mystery John and Andrew, both b. before 1865, in Northampton Co., PA.

Here is our thinking about John Jr., b. ca. 1769:

• A correspondent told us of an ancestor, Levi Buskirk, born 1826 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, whose father John Buskirk was also born in Lehigh County about 1794 and whose wife's name was Katie Weaver. Levi was shown in the 1850 census of Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania as being age 24 and living in the household of Jacob Yeakle 70, along with William Yeakle 23, Mary Yeakle 23. We suspect that Mary might be Levi's sister, b. about 1827. We also note a Joseph Buskirk in the 1850 census of North..., Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, shown as being age 28 and living in the Fricker household. we suspect that Joseph might be Levi's brother, b. about 1822. We also suspect that John Van Boskirk born 1818 (see above) was Levi's brother. Some tantalizing evidence for this connection is that (a) John b. 1818 had a son named Joseph Weaver (!) VB and a daughter named Mary, and (b) John b. 1818 had a son named Franklin Levi VB.
• We found a John Buskirk age 18-26 (thus born 1794-1802) with a son age 0-10 in the Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County census of 1820, so we figured this John was Levi's father John b. 1795, even though Levi (and Mary? and Joseph? and John?) who was not to be born for another 6 years did not appear in the household to give confirmation. For reasons explained directly below, we will refer to him henceforth as John Van Boskirk III. (Unfortunately, we have not yet found this John in the 1830 census -- perhaps he had died by then -- but there is no other possibility in the 1820 census to be Levi's father.)
• Looking back to the 1800 census, at which time Lehigh County was still part of Northampton County, we found John Van Boskirk Jr., listed as John Buskirk Jr., in Upper Saucon Township. This man, who was age 26-45, had a son age 0-10 in his household (and two daughters of the same age). We assumed again that this son was the one we call John Van Boskirk III and who was the father of Levi Buskirk -- and that the head of the household, John Van Buskirk Jr., was Levi's grandfather. When we look in the other direction, we note by John Jr.'s age group in the census that he could be Andrew and Charity Van Horn Van Boskirk's grandson John Jr. (as we call him). John Jr. was born about 1769 and would have been age 31 at that time.
• Looking back to the 1790 census, we noted that a John Buskirk age 16+ was in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, with wife and no children. Assuming he was John Van Boskirk, Jr., he would have been about 21 and just married. Presumably he is the one in Upper Saucon Township in 1800.
• In 1810, we find John Van Boskirk Jr. listed as John Van Buskirk in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, age 26-45, with a son age 10-16 and a son 0-10 and two daughters the same ages. We conjecture that the boys are John Van Boskirk (aka Buskirk) III, born about 1794 and Ralph Van Boskirk (aka Buskirk) born about 1802. See immediately below.
• Before 1820, the family apparently split up. John III was in the 1820 census of Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh Co., where he was again found much later in the 1880 census household of his son Tilghman. Although Tilghman was in the 1850 census of Upper Saucon Twp., his father was not in his household at that time. John III's whereabouts in the censuses of 1830-1870 are currently a mystery. John Jr. apparently moved west by 1815 or so with whatever children he had; we have not yet located him in the 1820 census, whether in Pennsylvania or Ohio (the two likeliest possibilities), but if Eliza Buskirk who married in 1844 to Isaac Quick is his daughter, then John Jr. had settled in Ohio (probably Butler Co.) no later than 1812-1815.
• The 1830 census of Union Township, Butler County, Ohio has John Buskirk age 60-70, indicating the possibility of his being John Van Boskirk, Jr. (age 61 at that time), along with a son 20-30, and younger males: one 15-20, one 5-10, and one 0-5. We think the other adult male is John Jr.'s son Ralph, who appeared twice in marriage records in the 1830s (apparently marrying his second and third wives during that time), but who seems to have died before 1840. The youngest boy we think is Ralph's son, John Buskirk, who was born about 1829 in Butler County, Ohio.
• John and Ralph Buskirk, Jr., born about 1832 in Butler County, Ohio, appeared in the 1850 Sycamore Township, Hamilton County, Ohio household of Isaac Quick 35 born New Jersey and his wife Eliza 35 born Ohio. (We speculate that Eliza might be Ralph Sr.'s younger sister.) Also in that census was Caroline Buskirk 35 born in Ohio, with daughter Alivia Lewis 12, son James Buskirk 10, and George Buskirk 9, all born in Ohio. This establishes that Ralph Sr. had at least two sons with his third wife, Caroline V. Lewis, a widow with a daughter, whom he married on June 9, 1839.
• By 1860 Ralph and John had moved to Darlington, Sugar Creek Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, and by 1880 John had moved on to Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, the census of which indicated that his father, Ralph, was born in Pennsylvania and his mother in Ohio. The parents of Ralph Jr., who was still in Montgomery County, Indiana in 1880, were both shown as being born in Pennsylvania, indicating that they were born of different mothers. This is supported by the fact that Ralph Sr. married second Clarissa Lamb on July 7, 1831, the year before Ralph Jr. was born and two years after John was born.

Based on this data and speculation, here is a tentative family outline for Andrew and Charity Van Horn Van Boskirk's son John born about 1742:

John Van Boskirk b. ca. 1742, Bucks Co., PA, m. about 1768 Maria ____, died 1815, Northampton Co., PA? in 1810 census of Northampton Co., PA

1.     Andrew Van Boskirk, b. ca. 1764, in 1810 census of Northampton Co., PA?

2.     another son named after Maria's father, b. ca. 1767? died young?

3.     John (Richard?) Van Boskirk Jr. b. ca. 1769 -- m. ca. 1789, Magdalena Coryell? lived Northampton Co., PA (Plainfield and Upper Saucon Twps [later Lehigh Co.], and Wayne Co. PA (1810), relocating in Butler Co., OH by 1830 (probably around 1815; did not appear in either PA or OH census of 1820). May have married a second time about 1827 to Eliza Rosser(?). Changed name to Buskirk.

a. John Van Buskirk b. ca. 1794, Upper Saucon Twp., Lehigh Co., PA, m. before 1820 Katie (Catherine) Weaver, found in 1820 census of Upper Saucon Twp., not located in census again until 1880, appearing widowered in census household of youngest son, had 4 sons, 2 daughters? Stayed in PA when father moved to Ohio ca. 1815. Changed name to Buskirk.
.....(1) son b. before 1820, possibly John (Thomas?) Van Boskirk b. Nov. 1818 (after census), m. 1 Elizabeth Douglas ca. 1844, m. 2 Elizabeth Stoner, in 1850 Richland Co., OH census, in 1860 and 1870 Iowa census, 1880 Kansas census, d. 1897 Kansas; had son Richard Franklin, son John Jackson, son Joseph Weaver, daughter Mary, grandson Franklin Levi. Extensive listing of descendants in Van Buskirk genealogy by Irene Shoemaker, who claimed his grandparents were Richard Van Boskirk and Magdalena Coryell. (Note niece below: Mary Magdalena Buskirk. Shoemaker possibly correct, that his grandfather was John Richard.)
.....(2) Joseph Boskirk b. 1822, in Lehigh Co. 1850 census
.....(3) Levi Buskirk b. Apr. 17, 1826, Upper Saucon Twp., Lehigh Co., PA, found in Montgomery Co. 1850 census, Yeakle household, d. Sep. 15, 1905 in Indiana. A correspondent notes that Levi married Elizabeth Kline (?) (1839-1916, and they had eight children (a) Sylvester, (b) Anna F., (c) George, (d) Thomas, (e) Sarah, (f) Frederick, (g) Mary Magdalena b. 1874, Clinton Co., IN, and (h) Charles. Mary Magdalena Buskirk m. 1892 to Robert Joseph Caine, and they had seven children, the eldest, Leila Undine Caine, being the grandmother of the correspondent.
....(4) Mary Buskirk b. 1828, PA, found in Montgomery Co. 1850 census as wife of William Yeakle. ....(5) Tilghman Buskirk b. 1832, found in 1850 and 1880 censuses of Lehigh Co., still alive in 1905; married Susanna ____, at least two children: (a) Oliver b. 1860, (b) Agnes b. 1868. Stated by correspondent to be surviving brother of Levi who d. 1905. ....(6) Tillie (Matilda?) Buskirk b. ca. 1835?, married ____ Moyer, still alive in 1905. Stated by correspondent to be surviving sister of Levi who d. 1905.

4.     Charity Van Boskirk b. 1771 -- m. 1790 George Coryell, lived Hunterdon County, NJ, Union and Lycoming Counties, Pennsylvania, Shelby County, Indiana, and Butler County, Ohio (by the 1830s, where she died in 1839). 

a. Tunison Coryell -- George's grandmother's maiden name
b. John Coryell -- named for Charity's father and/or George's brother?
c. Martha Coryell m. Dingler -- named for George's sister
d. Hetty Clay Coryell m. McCormick -- name for Charity's sister? (Esther=Hester=Hetty?)
e. Joseph Robinson Coryell -- named for George's brother
f. Abraham Coryell -- named for George's father
g. Sarah Davis Coryell m. Nicholas Van Vost -- named for George's mother and/or Charity's sister?
h. Maria Eliza Coryell m. John B. Oaks -- named for George's sister
i. Susan Coryell m. Francis Van Vost -- named for George's sister

5.     Sarah Van Boskirk b. 1774, bpt. 1781, Hamilton Twp., Northampton Co., PA.

6.     another son or daughter b. ca. 1777, d. young?

7.     Esther Van Boskirk b. 1780, bpt. 1781, Hamilton Twp., Northampton Co., PA.