Below is a little history of the towns where the Whitenacks first lived in New Jersey. It is a little confusing to follow them from one town to another town, after reading this history, you will see that they probably didn't move--the name of the town changed.
The first Court House built in Somerset was in 1716 at Six Mile Run now called Franklin Park, a hamlet of 20 dwellings, hotel, schoolhouse, store, and post office and it is partially in Somerset Co. The first Court House burned down in 1737 and was rebuilt at Hillsborough now called Millstone, this court house was burned down in 1779 and rebuilt at Raritan now called Sommerville (since 1800).
The old First Church (Sourland) at Harlingen was on the Delaware and Bound Brook. A new church was built at Millstone (Harlingen) in 1752. In 1751 at Millstone, Johannes was voted an elder. in 1728 at North Branch (Readington) Johannes (Weitkneght) took confession and so did Annetje Polkerse and Annetje van Neste. In 1780 Solomon Teroeligh was pastor of churches of Hillsborough, Millstone, and Neshanic. The Reformed Church at Readington was on land belonging to John Vosseller.
The town of New Brunswick (Piscataway) was a military tract as early as 1675. In 1`716 a road ran through New Brunswick but it was not called New Brunswick until 1724. Before 1724, New Brunswick was called Indians Ferry. Early settlers of New Brunswick area were: Tunison, Van Nest (formerly from Long Island), John Inian, Benjamin Predmore, Leandert Smock, Cornelius Longfield, Peter Sonmans, Hendrick Bries, Thomas Auten, Van Vochten, Jan Hendricksen, Roelif and Abraham Voohees formerly of Long Island, Veghte, Williamson, Nicholas Van Dyke, Dirck Van Alen, Cortelyou, and others. Most of these people were Dutch who emigrated from Holland in the 1600's and settled in Long Island. One of the first was Enoch Vreeland who settled here about 1680 and sold land to John Van Nuys. The Skillman family was from London but of Dutch or Belgic origin. Thomas Skillmand had 500 acres on the Millstone below Rocky Hill, New Jersey and it stretched upward to the Sourland Mts. Jacob Skillmand bought 600 acres of land and built first mill where the Gread Road to and from New York and Philadelphia crosses the Millstone and opened a store and tavern. Abraham Skillmand drove a stagecoach (8 passenger limit) in 1770's from Philadelphia, Newark, Elizabethtown, Woodbridge, Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton and Bristol--2 day trip for 20 shillings.
Thomas Auten was master of Schooner "Cornelia" which sailed to Savannah and Nicholas Auten sailed a boat to Albany.
Jan Jansen Van Ditmarsen emigrated from Ditmarsen, duchy of Holstein, Holland and obtained a patent 24 Mar 1647 for 24 morgens of land in Manhattan Island at Dutch Kills, Queens Co., L.I. He married Altje Douwe before 1650.
A Cornelius Covenhoven owned a sloop and settled in Monmouth Co., NJ as early as 1663 and a Jacob Couwenhoven who married Margaret Schenck traded with the Indians.
In 1704 Joseph Stout, son of Jonathan was one of three families who settled in north part of Hopewell near the Sourland Mountains and it was wilderness, full of Indians. The Sourland ridge was called "Devil's Half Acre." The Sourland Mtns. Hunterdon Co. extend from Delaware River until it is lost in Somerset Co. and runs approximately 17 miles.
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