WIKOFF/WYCKOFF/WYKOFF, Auke “Aukey”, 1748 -1820 Monmouth Co., NJ

The grey color of the regiment’s frock coats resulted in the nickname ‘Jersey Greys.” Updated uniforms were later issued, at which time the group became known as the “Jersey Blues.” http://www.jerseygreys.org/history.html
“In memory of, Col. Auke Wikoff who departed this life April 26th, 1830, in his 72nd year of age.”
The “Hulbert Flag'” which may have flown over Ft. Ticonderoga during the Jersey Grey’s encampment there. This particular flag was likely the first model for the American “Stars and Stripes.”

My recent family history is surrounded by immigrants, except for one grandmother. It is that grandmother that makes me an American “mutt.” My grandma, Ethel Rosalia Jordan (Kwiatkowski/Knight), also makes me a Daughter of the American Revolution. Well, not officially–I haven’t yet applied (bad girl).

Colonel Aucke Wikoff served in the Third Regiment Battalion, Monmouth County, NJ, during the Revolutionary War. His name can be found on rosters, in histories, and in genealogical records all over the United States. The spellings vary wildly in most historical documents. I even found one record which had his first name spelled “Ocky.” Well, at least I know how to pronounce it now. It’s not unlikely, though, that even the colonel himself could not read or write, and didn’t even know how to spell his own name, or that he spelled it differently himself on different occasions.

Colonel Wikoff’s tombstone can be found in the Polhemus Cemetery in Colts Head, NJ. He was born in October of 1748 and died in April 1820. But the actual dates and places vary just a little as well. Some accounts of his birth and/or death differ by a few days, and accounts of his birth often differ by location. Some place his birth in New Jersey, others  in New York. There is little doubt, though, that Auke Wikoff spent most, or all, of his adult life in New Jersey. Take a look at my own example from Ancestry.com:

Auke Wikoff Ancestry comparison
I have the name spelled differently in my tree, and place his birth in New York. A map search reveals a Freehold in New York and in New Jersey, but many accounts have listed completely different townships in both states.

Auke Wikoff’s Story

POLHEMUS Tobias and WYKOFF Aucke friendship1820Find A Grave contributor, Pete Bennett, includes a short story with every grave in the Polhemus family cemetery (Colonel Wikoff was a family member by marriage): He was taken prisoner by the British Army during the American Revolution and was held captive under deplorable conditions in one of the infamous New York Sugar House prisons. It is a very interesting story which I will gladly tell in more detail sometime in the coming months.

Marriage to Sara Schenck

Auke Wikoff married Sarah Schenck on 19 Dec 1769 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Schenck was born 11 Nov 1749 in Trenton, New Jersey. She died 19 Aug 1832 in Tinton Falls, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States.

Known Children of Auke Wikoff and Sarah Schenck

  • Aaltje Wykhof b. 1771, Tinton Falls, Monmouth, New Jersey, d. 1775, Colts Neck, Monmouth, New Jersey
  • Garret Wyckoff b. 5 May 1773, Tinton Falls, Monmouth, New Jersey, d. 27 Jan 1849
  • Jannetje “Jane Auke” Wyckoff b. 23 May 1775, Tinton Falls, Monmouth N.J., 18 September 1826, Colts Neck, Monmouth, New Jersey
  • William Aukey Wikoff (My fourth great-grandfather) b. 1 March 1779, New Jersey, d. 8 April 1853. Grove Township, Potter, Pennsylvania
  • Charlotte Wykoff b.15 April 1795, Manalapan, Monmouth, New Jersey, d. 9 Jan 1862

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