Hello, I just joined this list and have no idea how active it is. I have quite a few Dutch and Palatines in my heritage and thought this might be a good list to join. I am having a problem with figuring out how to find a person whose surname is spelled quite a few ways and was at the mercy of whoever was writing it in the records as he seems to have been illiterate if marking an "X" to documents is any intimation. I have seen this name as Rulef, Ruelif, Roelof, Roloff, Ruluf, Ruliff...It's a nightmare to find in the census. The individual and what I surmise about him is as follows: John or Johannes Ruleff/Roelof etc. Was in Canajoharie buying land in 1815-1824, but was mentioned as already having a house adjacent to lot purchases. Appeared on the Canjoharie census in 1825 next to Jacob Ruleff (likely his son who removed to Cayuga) Was in 1830 census in Canajoharie. Was a deponent for the military pension application of Rudolph/Adolphus Dingman of Minden in 1833. In said testimony said he was acquainted with Rudolph in Claverack during the Revolutionary War. In said testimony made remark of himself serving 9 months under Philip Miller in Col Van Renssalaer's Regiment Puts him in Claverack during Rev War. A Johannes Roelof married Eva Keller in 1786 in the Kinderhook DRC. Jacob, possible son, was born ca 1788 and likely married a Dingman relative of above Adolphus. A "Dolly Rulef" is mentioned in Canajoharie in the Index to Reverend Toll's Lost Records. Cited he, John, was 87 years of age in 1833  thus born ca, 1746.  The census records for Montgomery County are dreadfully difficult to read and smeary, so I cannot tell if he went to Canajoharie earlier than ca 1815. I cannot find evidence of him in Columbia. I cannot find a listing of militia for Claverack to see if he is on there. I don't know if I should be looking for a parent with the last name R*l*f or if it would be someone like the following using the tradition of father's first name becomes the son's last name: Jansen, Roelof of Schodack, Albany, NY I am really having difficulty with tracing this surname back any further, though I can find plenty of instances of using it as a given name, which I think is the variant of "Rudolph". Thank you for any assistance. Sue

Hi Sue, Try my website at www.angelfire.com/ga4/myhayes_family/. I have many Dutch families on the website. If you are looking for Palatine families try freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nelliswebsite/ If you are looking for a specific family, let me know. Richard