The Family Kalamazoo

As you know if you have been reading this blog for any length of time, a lot of my ancestors were Dutch people from the town of Goes in Zeeland, the Netherlands.

When I read the family tree information on these branches, I see that generation after generation comes from this one town–or from near by. But one ancestor stands out from the others, like an iris in a bouquet of tulips.

Her name was Rose Melanie Bataille, and she was born about 1810 in Etaples, France.

How did she wind up in Goes, 200 miles away and why?

Her father was François Marie Bataille. He was also known as Philip François Bataille. He died before 5 May 1836 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands, which means that he must have immigrated with his family to the Netherlands from France. Rose’s mother was Melanie Berthany, who was born about 1782.

On 5 May 1836, Rose married Karel Mulder, a shoemaker. He owned 3/8 of a house and yard in the “Papegaaistraatje [Parrot Street]” district C nr. 97 on 3 January 1870 at section D nr. 278 in Goes. On the wedding document, Rose was listed as a servant and her mother  Melanie was listed as a laborer.

On 22 April 1881, Rose was still living in Goes, and she died there on 10 July 1887 at the age of 77, having outlived her husband by eleven years.

Here is the timeline:

Rose was born in Etaples, France, in 1810.

The family was living in Goes, the Netherlands, by 1836.

The family stayed in Goes and all died there.

So at some point between 1810 and 1836 the Bataille family left France for the Netherlands. Why?

Because I had always been told we had French Huguenot ancestry, I first thought of them. But a quick refresher on their history showed that their emigration from France to the Netherlands (and other countries) would have stopped by the time the Batailles moved.

Was it a reason to leave France or a reason to go to Holland?  I checked out the history of the Netherlands during this time period and guess what I found? That the French, thanks to Napoleon, kind of appropriated the Netherlands!  This is according to Wikipedia:

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1839) (Dutch: Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, French: Royaume-Uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name used to refer to theKingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, French: Royaume des Pays-Bas) during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empireand before the new Kingdom of Belgium split off from it in 1830. This state, a large part of which still exists today as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was made up of the former Dutch Republic (Republic of the Seven United Netherlands) to the north, the former Austrian Netherlands to the south, and the former Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The House of Orange-Nassaucame to be the monarchs of this new state.

Since the Netherlands was for a short period part of France at the time Rose was growing up, it might not have been a stretch for the family to move to Zeeland.

Without knowing her father’s occupation, it is hard to tell if it was easier to make a living in Goes than in Etaples, but Rose married Karel Mulder who was a shoemaker (it wouldn’t be a leap to guess that her father might have had a similar occupation).

Let’s take a look at Etaples.

The first thing I discovered is that Etaples has a Dutch connection from its very origins.  According to Wikipedia, “Étaples takes its name from having been a medieval staple port (stapal in Old Dutch), from which word the Old French word Estaples derives.”  So Etaples is a port city and Goes is also on a river and somewhat close to the sea. In 1807, the population of Etaples was 1,507. Goes was a much larger town. Perhaps the job opportunities were greater for Philip/François in Goes.

What is more puzzling is Rose’s religion. To marry Karel Mulder, she would have been Protestant, no doubt. But the period when France made it impossible to be a Protestant in that country meant that the Huguenots had either converted to Catholicism (about 3/4 of them) or had emigrated to other countries. How would the Batailles have still been Protestant in France?  Does anyone have any ideas about this?

Descendents of Rose Melanie Bataille and Karel Mulder

Karel Mulder and Rose Melanie Bataille had nine children. The oldest, Karel Mulder, was born 21 February 1837, Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands and died 22 April 1881 in Goes. He and his wife, Johanna Boes, had several children, and Pieter Philip Mulder, born 1865 was my great-grandfather’s father, the generation to immigrate to the United States.

Karel Mulder and Rose Bataille

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Karel Mulder and Johanna Boes

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Pieter Philip Mulder and Neeltje Gorsse

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Karel Pieter Philippus Mulder and Clara Waldeck

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Lucille Edna Mulder and Adrian Zuidweg

(Yup, that’s my grandparents!)

Traditional Dutch clothing and house furnishings circa 1830