Now it’s time to turn my attention to one of my maternal great-grandfathers, Adrian Zuidweg.
I had Adrian’s birth (Netherlands), marriage (US), and death records (US). He is listed on the social security records, but I believe that is because he is listed as my grandfather’s father because Adrian died in 1929, several years before social security started. I have a photo of Adrian’s headstone and photos of him.
Last June I posted Adrian’s probated will at Great-Grandpa’s Will
Since I did not yet have Adrian and Cora’s wedding announcement from the Kalamazoo Gazette, I looked for that. I discovered that it was announced on four different days. The first two were standard announcements, and the other two were perhaps license listings. The two standard announcements were published with an egregious error. Cora’s surname was listed as Wilhelmina, her middle name. I’m sure that was disappointing to the young couple, and to Cora’s parents, Richard and Alice DeKorn. See third listing down.
The other error on the announcement is one that even I make when I am typing fast: the bridesmaid was Miss Jennie DeSmit, not DeSmith. Jennie was Cora’s first cousin and two years older than Cora.
Adrian’s files on my computer were a disaster, so I organized them. On Ancestry, I was missing his birth record, which I added. I also discovered an incorrect fact and document added on Ancestry. Yikes! It was a military registration for the OTHER Adrian Zuidweg, the one that lived in Grand Rapids. Yes, they were related, but not too closely.
I find no military records for Adrian, and that surprises me because I think he would have had to register for WWI. Wouldn’t he? So I looked it up. There were three registrations. The first one was for men only to age 30. The second one was ages 21 and up? Up to what? And the third one, in 1918, was up to age 45. Adrian turned 45 in 1916. He just missed the registration then, unless he qualified under the middle registration, which I doubt as he was still 46 in 1917.
What about his military records in the Netherlands, though? As you can see from the photo he was in the Dutch army as a young man. I am not sure how to find Dutch military records. I would really like to do so. There is a link on Family Search for where he might be located, but unfortunately I cannot figure out a way to search the website, only to browse.
I find no obituary for Adrian, and that also surprises me. I searched on Genealogy Bank in general and around the time of his death–19 December 1929. I submitted a request through the Kalamazoo Public Library to see if they could uncover an obit. Sure enough, the obituary was in an unindexed newspaper! Thank you to the library!
Like a lot of my immigrant ancestors, I have no immigration or naturalization records for Adrian. Since this is such a huge gap, and it seems to be a real weak point of mine, I enlisted Amberly Beck who is working on her genealogy certification to help me find this information.
Finally, I checked out his page on Findagrave. I sponsored his page some time ago, but now I put in a request for management of the page. Fingers crossed.
The Family Kalamazoo 
Aren’t libraries wonderful? I also have benefited from the generosity of both public and academic librarians.
As for omitting her last name, at first I thought it was because her parents were identified in the announcement so the surname would have been assumed. But then I read the other announcements on that page and saw each bride was identified with a surname. Maybe when Cora or her parents filled out the form, they put her first and middle name and figured the surname would be obvious? Of course, that’s assuming there were forms used for these type of announcements.
Well, maybe it was an error made by the family. I’m more inclined to think it was a rather typical newspaper printing error. I just proofed something, for instance, that was to go to printer and the printer changed the spelling of a name that HAD been correct and is no longer correct. So annoying.
Yes, we are so blessed to have libraries!!!!
The press make a mistake?? Never! 😉
LOL!
One of the families I’m researching had three young adult children die in 5 years. one died in the Civil War but the others deaths are a mystery. They lived in a such a small farming village that the records were not really kept up. I think its so sad not to know what they died of 😦 Good luck on your search.
That is so very sad. In a similar vein, another one of my great-grandfather’s lost 2 baby sisters when he was five, right at Christmas. In most cases, this was because an illness was ravaging the whole family. You, too, Adrienne!
Such painstaking research
Thank you. I feel a lot better going back this way and looking to fill in the gaps.
Aha…at last a family connection between us – the confectioner’s store!
My maternal grandfather and two of his brothers owned and operated similar businesses in the 1930s, 40s, 50s in two Texas towns.
I knew we had to be related!!
Haha, we knew we were related before this!
Now that is really cool. Can you even think of a better retail business to own ;)?! Yum!
Adrian’s military photo is really a gem. I sure hope you can find some information on this. You might try going to your local family history library for help with this. I love what you’re doing with ‘filling in the gaps’
You and I think alike. I thought about going there, but the one by us is very small and when I went before I felt like I knew more than they did–and that is NOT much. I think I would have to go all the way to Mesa. I think that one must be big and well-staffed (with volunteers?). That might be a trip in my future!
Not knowing your area at all – I would definitely say the bigger center and well staffed for sure.
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Your military photo is a wonderful keepsake. I do love a librarian! I am so fortunate that we have a library only an hour away that has indexed most of the obituaries in my state. I try to plan an all day trip there every couple months to find more. The local newspapers put so much information in the listings.
Isn’t it beautiful! Val Erde at https://colouringthepast.com/ colorized the photo for me. She does such beautiful work.
Aren’t newspapers wonderful?! So glad you have a library where you can travel to to do that. I, unfortunately, live too far from kalamazoo these days.