After I posted the wedding invitation for John DeSmit and Nellie Squares, the mystery of Nellie was solved by Adri van Gessel.
Nellie was born Pieternella Paulina Schrier on Sunday, October 5, 1879, at Kortgene, the Netherlands. She immigrated to the United States in 1891 with her mother, the widow of Paulus Schrier, and 5 siblings.
On Thursday, July 20, 1899, Nellie married John DeSmit in Kalamazoo.
Wedding dress circa 1900
On May 9, 1900, Nellie died in Kalamazoo. She was a 20-year-old housewife, according to her death record.
But the story does not end here.
Adri found the birth of a girl, Nellie D. DeSmit, born April 30, 1900, in Kalamazoo. The daughter of Nellie and John. Sadly, Nellie must have passed away from giving birth.
Baby Nellie was not listed on the 1900 census with her father, John, who was living at home with his family. Instead, the baby was listed as an adopted daughter in the family of Christopher (Christiaan) Schrier, Nellie’s brother and baby Nellie’s uncle.
Baby Nellie, no longer a baby, was married on June 13, 1918, in Kalamazoo, to Garret Johnson, son of J.G. Johnson and Nellie Groenhuizen. Garret was born on May 11, 1895 at Hilversum, the Netherlands. He died August 18, 1961, in Kalamazoo.
It appears, though, that baby Nellie still considered herself the daughter of John DeSmit because in the 1940 census she, her husband, and son Robert (born 1935) lived in the household of John DeSmit and was listed as daughter.
One of the biggest mysteries has been why Nellie’s parents are listed as Mr. and Mrs. A. Ver Sluis. At first I thought, well, Nellie’s brother Christiaan married Nellie Ver Sluis in 1898, only a year before our wedding invitation for Nellie Schrier and John DeSmit. Does this have something to do with the fact that there was not a living father to give Nellie Schrier away?
No, it does not!
Nellie’s mother Pieternella de Looff Schrier was married on Wednesday March 2, 1892, in Kalamazoo, to Abraham Jacob Versluis, son of Willem Versluis and Pieternella de Lange. Abraham had been previously married to Cornelia Verburg and had two children by her. He immigrated to the United States in 1891. Abraham was born on Sunday October 13, 1850 at Kortgene and died on Tuesday November 1, 1938 in Kalamazoo.
Look at the timeline:
1891, Pieternella and her children, including Nellie, arrived in the United States AND Abraham Ver Sluis and his two children, including his Nellie, arrived in the United States
1892, Pieternella married Abraham Ver Sluis (they got married in March, which is quite early in the year–is it possible that the two families traveled together, intending to marry in this country?)
1898, Christiaan married the daughter of Abraham Ver Sluis and his deceased wife Cornelia Verburg
1899, John DeSmit married Nellie Schrier, daughter of Pieternella and the deceased Paulus and stepdaughter of Abraham Ver Sluis
Was it customary to marry step-siblings, as Christiaan did?
Ring any bells?
In case the name Schrier rings any bells for those from Kalamazoo, there have been many residents with that surname. The name comes from the Zeeland province of the Netherlands. Paul J. Schrier was the mayor of Kalamazoo from 1967-1969. He was the son of Peter Schrier, who was a brother of Nellie Schrier DeSmit. Therefore the mayor was our Nellie’s nephew, although he never knew her since she died at the age of 20 from giving birth to her daughter.
Paul J. Schrier
Mayor of Kalamazoo
1967-1969
What I don’t know:
If baby Nellie ever had any half siblings. Her father apparently married Margaret when he was between 42 and 52.
When baby Nellie passed away.
If baby Nellie perhaps lived with her uncle so that she would be raised with his two children. Did Christiaan and his wife already have their babies when Nellie was born or did they come after?
This still doesn’t explain the Corliss home for the wedding.
And we think families are confusing today . . . .
The Family Kalamazoo 
Interesting twists and turns!
I know! How surprising! This was really a fun thread.
Wow – this is really interesting, Luanne – and yes, your family married their in-laws just like mine did in Texas! Isn’t that wild?? Great one!
Haha, I didn’t realize people actually did that, especially since these kids would have been teens living in the same house. !!! So, yes, like your relatives in Texas, Sheila ;).
Luanne, is there any way for you to add the little box for notify me of new posts by email? I really would like to keep up with each post but don’t read the wordpress reader faithfully.
I can try to work on that!
Get some answers and more questions pop up.
Isn’t it true?! Just as soon as I think something is solved I think of another gap, another mystery. It’s like a puzzle that never gets finished!
I love all the twists and turns—like reading a good mystery. Good work!
Amy, this had some real surprises in it! The marrying of stepsiblings is new to me. As I mention above, presumably they would have been raised in the same house for a few years. This is when you really wish censuses were every year and not every ten years!!!
I actually had a friend in high school who became romantically involved with her stepbrother. They didn’t marry each other though. They remain very close as friends though 40+ years later.
Wow, I am so surprised. It seems so awkward to me.
Well, to be honest, I think they were both pretty upset about the divorce of their respective parents. They turned to each other for comfort, and…one thing led to another. At the time I thought it was gross, but when I look back, I see two lonely teenagers living with a couple of lovebird newlyweds who probably paid little attention to them.
That makes a lot of sense! I guess it alllll makes sense, but makes it awkward for people with teens to marry . . . .
Great post…so interesting! Getting answers to our questions is what its all about! Nice going!
I agree. I think it’s my curiosity that drives my interest! Thanks, Lenore.
As I build my family tree, I am amazed at how many men loose a wife and then marry her sister. Many first cousins have married. In the old days men remarried very fast. I guess they needed mothers for their children.
And the marrying a sister has its roots in the Bible, I’m pretty sure. It actually makes a lot of sense and probably better for the kids than a stepmother who might not have the best interests of the kids at heart. I have a post somewhere here that describes how one of my ancestors and his brother were sent to the orphanage by the stepmother after their father died. Sometimes it was a financial necessity as how could a widow support a lot of children. But, yes, I think they needed mothers for their children and someone to run the household in general. They didn’t have microwaves and refrigerators ;).
The picture of the wedding dress is beautiful! And what mystery you have…
One mystery after another!
My Great Grandfather was Johannes Daniel DeSmit, born March 12, 1865, in Sluis, Zeeland, Netherlands. His siblings migrated to Kalamazoo and made a life for themselves in Michigan. This was an amazing story. Thank you.
Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know! My post last Wednesday was of a photograph that was identified as being the traditional costume of Cadzand, which I believe is very near Sluis. I am still searching for a branch of the family from that particular area. I will check out the DeSmits. My great-great grandfather’s sister, Mary married a DeSmit. (John DeSmit in this post is their son–they had many children). I have yet to write posts about Mary and her family, but I will be doing some at some point in the future.
She married “John” DeSmit. I haven’t yet found where he was born, but his mother is listed on his death record as “Van Sluice,” which is remarkable for being similar to Sluis, isn’t it? Her name was Jennie. His father was also “John DeSmit.” His (Mary’s husband) occupation was “brick layer.” I wonder if he was one of your relatives.
What were the circumstances surround the death of Paulus Schrier at sea? Do you know what happened, or know someone who can read Dutch to translate the archives? He was my third great grandfather! Thank you!
Mary, what a sad story for Paulus! Are you on Facebook? If so or if you can join, there is a group here that will translate for you: https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogytranslation/ This “Genealogy Translations” group is very kind about translating from various languages into English. If you provide them the document you want translated, you will get the information. Here is another group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DutchGenealogy/ On “Dutch Genealogy” there are Dutch speakers who can translate for you as well, although that is not the purpose of that group so it is probably best to try the other one first. Good luck! If you want to write a guest post about your findings about Paulus, I’d love to publish it on this blog!
[…] Their daughter Nellie D. DeSmit was born on 30 April 1900 in Kalamazoo. Sadly, John’s wife Nellie died 10 days later, on 9 May 1900. I had more answers to this story of John and Nellie in the post Another Mystery Solved. […]