It's FINEHOUT not FINDOUT

Well, I managed to "find out" about my 3rd great-grandmother. Her actual name is Elisabeth Fineout. It appears, that there is a large group of Fineouts or Finehouts (they tend to add or drop the "h" from generation to generation) in the mid-Hudson region of New York (Dutchess, Ulster, Orange counties) who arrived in the late 1680s. I now need to make my connection to one of the two settlers with that last name.

There are various issues involved with such a search even though I've managed to track down Elisabeth Finehout's parents: John Fineout, b. about 1810 in Scotland - I'm not sure this is actually her father. When dealing with early US Census pages, only the head of household is listed. In the 1850 Census, there is a listing of a daughter Elizabeth born about 1839 which matches my Elisabeth. But I can't find any other info on John Fineout beyond this listing and the 1880 Census listing.

Obviously I have my work cut out for me - I posted a few queries over on the Ancestry bulletin boards and I'll see whats comes of it.

Looking to "findout" about a Findout ancestor

Well, this is a weird one. I know this blog is supposed to be about my Austin ancestors, but lately I've been stuck researching my father's side of the family, namely the DeGroodt branch. DeGroodt, being a good New York Dutch name, is pretty easy to find - I am descended from the branch which settled in Ulster County, NY.

I am stuck on one person - Elisabeth Mariah Findout. The last name is vexing - at first I thought it might be an American Indian last name but then realized it probably is an Anglicized version of a Dutch last name such as Findhout, Vyndhout or Wyndhout. I've posted a query over on Ancestry's website but not sure I will get an answer, at least not right away.