Thanks for the information. I think he might be related to the French Vonoven branch. Do you have any indication that he or his ancestors were Jewish?

Why was he called William in the 1880 census? Are you sure that this is the same person? He states his age as 23 which would mean that he was born in 1856/57. In other census records about Gaston I find his birth year as 1851. Also I do not find a daughter called Mary. Couldn't it be that this William was a younger brother of Gaston?
It is also strange that Gaston reports different years of immigration and naturalization.
I do not see the connection with John Koontz (given that he was Dutch I guess his name would have been Coensz. or so). They were neighbours, but why would they be related?

Do you know if there are any living descendants in the male line of Gaston Vanoven (so males with the name Vanoven)? In that case, with a simple DNA test we would know if our families are related (see http://www.smgf.org/)

Best regards,
M.J. van Oven

You will find when using census records that the ages and sometimes names vary but are indeed one in the same family. Why he went by William on the 1880 census I do not know. On this census they had a daughter Mary. Evidently she died young. I mentioned Koontz since they were from Holland and I thought that perhaps he came over with them. Yes, we do have female and male lines from Gaston as he had 13 children. I am in contact with those lines. Am I to understand you need a direct male descendant from Gaston for DNA?

Also, Gaston was by himself, the reason this research has been so difficult. We dont believe he was ever naturalized as that was not a requirement for staying in the USA nor did he need it for work, which was in a sawmill. The difference in immigration dates was obvious to us too. He just didnt want anyone to know when he came in. Very secretive. TAlked very little about his life before coming here. Those that heard the stories are now deceased.

Indeed for the DNA research a direct male descendant from Gaston is needed. The part of the DNA they look at is the Y-chromosome, which is inherited from father to son (patrilineally). So in most areas of the world the inheritance of the Y-chromosome goes parallel with the inheritance of surnames. Any two patrilineally related males have identical Y-chromosomes (or almost identical because minor changes do occur due to mutations). This is an ideal tool for genealogy as it can be used to confirm if two lineages are related (or not). There are many companies nowadays offering genealogical DNA tests, the most well-known being Family Tree DNA (http://www.ftdna.com/). These tests are however quite expensive. The SMGF (Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation) does exactly the same but for free. It would be great if patrilineal descendants of Gaston (the more the better, preferably from different branches) would be willing to participate. Just go the SMGF website and order a free kit: http://www.smgf.org/

I am very interested in the DNA process. I know of a few male lines and will see if they are interested. I will need to go through a cousin as I have been estranged from this family since my gfather, son to Gaston, left Missouri and moved to California whereas everyone else stayed in Missouri and moved to Arkansas. Therefore, they know each other, have meet and attended family reunions and the such.
Also, Is there someone researching the french Vonoven side? I would be interested in communicating with them as well. I would also like to know the history of the French Vanovens and why there are two branches of this line, one French and the other Dutch

Hi my friend is Brenda Vanoven her father was Milford Marvin Vanoven one of the sons of Gaston Vanoven Would like to hear from other Vanovens. Brenda Vanoven and Betty Craig

Ok. I was estranged from this family through a divorce of my biological father, Raymond Vanoven and my mother Margaret Niderost. Also, when my mother remarried my brother as well as myself's last name was changed so we wouldnt know who our father was. I found out by getting into genealogy at 30-my brother was told when he was 16. I am now 60, still doing genealogy and as you can see from the emails I was contacted by an individual from The Netherlands. DNA was done but no match was made. We were both very disappointed!!

However, I am hoping a closer relative will find our Vanoven line but from what I have been told it is possible our last name may not be Vanoven, especially with the DNA not matching!

919-557-1984; 108 Phelps Farm Road, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526

I also would love to share pictures, stories, whatever. Because I came from a "black sheep" of the family who moved to CA I dont have any stories but do have some pictures that were given to me from Dollie, which was great!

Sorry I missed your call! I tried calling you back 5:28 my time but no answer. I will try again.

Starr