A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Sarah Hough
Belle Vanderhoof's parents have long been a mystery. It is uncertain, but Sarah Hough seems like a good possibility for her mother, with a still-unknown father. I thank Maria Carriere (Carriere Family Tree) for this suggestion.
It appears that Sarah's parents died when she was young, and she was raised by Mathew and Miranda Vanderhoof (various spellings), who also later raised Belle. Whether there is some kinship with the Vanderhoofs -- and how to spell Vanderhoof -- are open questions. For example, there is a chance that Sarah was Miranda's child from a previous marriage, though I don't think that is likely. We know from censuses that:
Susan (14 years old) and Sarah (8) Hough were living with Marthew (50) and Miranda (49) Vandenwoff in Jay County, Indiana, in the 1850 census. (Ancestry transcribes their names as Martha and Miranda Vanderwoff.)
Sarah Huff (18) was living with Matthew (59) and Miranda (58) Vanderhof in Wayne County, Indiana, in the 1860 census. (Ancestry transcribes their names as Matthew and Meranda Nanderporf.)
Belle Vanderhoff (10) was living with Mathew (67) and Marinda (68) Vanderhoff in Linn County, Missouri, in the 1870 census. (Ancestry actually gets the transcriptions right this time.) Meanwhile, Sarah (30) was married to George Leininger (44) and living in Whitley County, Indiana, with him and four children from his previous marriage (John, William H., Julius B., and Melius G.) and two children they had together (Effa S. and David A.).
The conjecture is that Sarah had Belle, and Mathew and Miranda adopted and raised her. Belle could have been born out of wedlock or to a short-lived marriage that we don't know about. The fact that she went by Vanderhoof seems to make the former more likely since they also raised Sarah, but kept her name of Hough.
Sarah Leininger's death certificate (on Ancestry.com) lists her father as William Hough, mother unknown. Maria Carriere links to a William Hough who died in 1844. I would say that unknown mother on her death certificate argues against Miranda Vanderhoof being her mother. The connection to Belle is enhanced a little bit by Belle's death certificate, which lists her father's last name as Huff, mother unknown. The informant was Belle's son Rolland, and this would seem to indicate that he had heard the name Huff (Hough), but didn't know or remember the specifics. This might not be that surprising, since many years had passed—Belle was 87 when she died and Rolland was 60.
Probably the most important evidence is that Maria Carriere and I both have DNA matches with descendants of Sarah Hough and George Leininger. The connection could possibly be confirmed beyond doubt with mtDNA matching if I could find an appropriate candidate for it. Belle Vanderhoof Curtis is in in my direct maternal line, so I could compare to a direct maternal descendant of Sarah's daughter Margaret Leininger Manges. More about this is on the DNA page of the website.
A package of genealogical information for Wanda Irene Engle dated 1996 (I don't know who put it together) indicates that Belle's mother's maiden name was Wilburn. I don't know where that came from.
The name on her death certificate (obtained from Ancestry.com) is Sarah Leininger. Cause of death was paralysis with something I can't read. Place of death was 312 Brandriff St., which is the same as the address of the informant, Mrs. (hard to be sure, could be Mr.) David Manges (Mrs. David Manges was Sarah's daughter Margaret). Her mother's name is unknown and father's name is shown as William Hough. There is some question about her birth year -- the death certificate gives her birth date as 3 Jul 1841, but age is given as 82 years 7 months 2 days, which works out to a birth date of 3 Jul 1840. The 1900 census also says she was born in July 1840 and her gravestone (shown on Find A Grave, listing for Sarah Hough Leininger) shows birth in 1840. However, 1841 fits better with the ages of 8 and 18 in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. So which is it??
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
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