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Archive for the ‘Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr.’ Category

What Did She Keep in All Those Pockets?

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Photography early 20th century, Photography late 19th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2014| 12 Comments »

I haven’t written much about my grandfather’s paternal grandparents. I wrote about his aunt’s family, the Van Lieres, but we know very little about the parents of Grandpa’s father and his aunt.

His paternal grandmother was Jennegien (Jennie) Bomhoff. She was born 5 March, 1838 in Zwolle, Overjissel, the Netherlands. She passed away on 16 December 1924 in Kalamazoo.

She married Grandpa’s grandfather, Johannes (John)  Zuidweg, in Goes, the Netherlands on 4 November 1869, when she was 31 years old and working as a maid.

Grandpa told me that she wore many layers of skirts and they all had pockets in them.  Can you tell below that she was wearing layers of clothing? What do you think she carried in those pockets? He did tell me that he saw her pull an apple out from an under skirt.

The following photos were identified to me as Jennie.  How old do you think she is in each one?

 

What style bonnet is she wearing? And how many decades did she wear that same bonnet?!

 

In the next photograph, she is the woman on the side, in the dark dress.

Here is some research Yvette Hoitink provided about this family:

In 1869, Jennegien married Johannes Zuijdweg in Goes, Zeeland, about 150 miles away. That is an uncommonly large distance for somebody to travel in the 19th century, especially for an unmarried woman from the working class. Further investigation showed that her brother Albert Bomhoff was married in Goes in 1867. It must be through this connection that Jennegien moved to Goes, where she worked as a maid prior to her marriage. A rich and easy to retrieve source of information for ancestors in the 19th century are the marriage supplements: the documents a bride and groom had to submit when they got married. Unfortunately, the Goes marriage supplements for the period 1811-1877 got lost in 1877. Since several marriages on the Zuidweg side took place in Goes, these records could not be obtained. Digital images of the marriage supplements of Lucas Bomhof and Jeuntien Dansser, the parents of Jennegien Bomhof, were retrieved from Familysearch.org. Lucas Bomhof was born as Nijentap, but his family took the name Bomhof around 1812. In the province of Overijssel, it was common to be named after the farm you lived on. It was only with the French occupation that people were obliged to take a hereditary surname. Nijentap may be the name of the farm that the family lived at.

 

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Dogs in the Family

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography early 20th century, Photography late 19th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2014| 16 Comments »

When I was a little girl, my aunt was in college and still lived at home. Her dog, the family dog, was an English Springer Spaniel named Sandy. That dog had bitten me near the eye when I was a baby so everybody was always warning me not to go near the dog and to be careful of the dog. In kindergarten, my grandmother babysat me and I had to negotiate my way through the house with Sandy. I tried to make peace with him by making him a meat pie (with Grandma’s help) for his birthday.

What I didn’t realize was that dogs had been part of the family for generations.

Grandpa shared these photos and told me which dog was which. They belonged to Richard DeKorn, and Grandpa and his parents lived for some time with Richard (Grandpa’s grandfather). It means that they lived well over 100 years ago. I’m sorry the quality of the following photos isn’t better.

TOM AND CARLO DEKORN

TOM AND CARLO DEKORN

BOBBY DEKORN

BOBBY DEKORN

Is the dog running toward Richard DeKorn?

Is the dog running toward Richard DeKorn? Adriaan Zuijdweg in the background.

The dogs with Cora, Adrian, and Alice

The dogs with Cora, Adrian, and Alice

That’s Grandpa as a baby in his mother’s lap, so he grew up with the dogs.

Bobby in the yard

Bobby in the yard

For those of you who know about dog breeding or shows, can you tell me anything about the following?

I’ve owned dogs, too, but now I have four cats. Did my family have cats 100 years ago?  Here’s the answer:

Baby Alice playing with the kittens

Is that baby Alice playing with the kittens?

I sense that you want to know about my cats ;), so here is a slide show of my beautiful cats, as well as my grand-cats.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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The Van Lieres of Kalamazoo Redux

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Netherlands history, Photography early 20th century, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2013| 9 Comments »

Last week I wrote about my grandfather’s cousins, the Van Liere boys of Kalamazoo.

After I published that post I was given supplemental information by the very kind Adri Van Gessel, so I would like to add a little information and eventually I will go back and update the earlier blog post.

Marinus van Liere was born in 1874, not 1875. Goes is the correct location. His birth date was September 29, 1874, and his parents were Jacob and Katharina. Marinus was the 3rd boy named Marinus born to the couple, but the first two had died as infants. Out of 12 children, only five lived into adulthood. Pieter also immigrated to the United States. Here is the info on Pieter:

          Pieter Marcus van Liere (Peter), son of Jacob van Liere (I) and Katharina Barbier, was born on March 9, 1868 at Goes, died on January 8, 1953 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Pieter was married on July 31, 1890 at Kloetinge to Pieternella van Haveren (Nellie), daughter of Cornelis van Haveren and Pieternella Louisse. Pieternella was born on October 20, 1871 at Wolphaartsdijk, died on January 13, 1941 at Kalamazoo (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Catharina Van Liere was born on May 29, 1893 at Goes.

Catharina was married on May 6, 1915 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Dirk Goldschmeding (Dick), son of Johannes Leonardus Goldschmeding and Gijsbertje de Haas. Dirk was born on August 2, 1891.

2  Cornelius Van Liere was born on November 8, 1895 at Goes, see III-A.

(Peter has emigrated with his wife and his two children to America on March 13, 1909. He was a painter).

The question is if this Pieter is the same Peter Van Liere who shows up in the Kalamazoo Gazette. Because there are several articles spanning a period from 1888 to 1911, it becomes clear that the Peter Van Liere in the paper is older than Pieter and was already causing a ruckus in Michigan before our Pieter was married in the Netherlands.

As a reminder, here is the photo of the sons of Marinus and Johanna (my great-grandfather’s sister).

The Van Liere Brothers

From left to right they are:

Eugene (the tallest), Luke, Jake, Jim, John, Renny. Jane wasn’t sure about the last two, but if the others are correct perhaps Adrian and then Peter.

Here is updated information on dates. This changes the birth order to Eugene being 3rd born, not Adrian. Adrian is #4. It also adds a sad note to the family history by noting a stillborn baby in 1913.

1  Jacob Van Liere (Jake) was born on April 14, 1902 at Goes, see III-B.

2  Johannes Van Liere (John) was born on April 23, 1903 at Goes, see III-C.

3  Eugene Van Liere (Curly) was born on June 28, 1904 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-D.

4  Adrian Van Liere (Ade) was born on October 7, 1905 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-E.

5  Peter M. Van Liere was born on October 24, 1907 at Kalamazoo (MI), died in October 1965.

Peter was married on May 2, 1936 at Kalamazoo (MI) (1) Louise Watson, daughter of William Watson and Bertha Stanley. Louise was born in 1916.

Peter was married on July 2, 1948 at Kalamazoo (MI) (2) to Lorraine J. Mentor, daughter of Frederick C. Mentor and Irene Johnson. Lorraine was born on October 2, 1910 at Kalamazoo (MI), died in March 1981 at Lawton (MI).

6  Lucas Van Liere (Luke) was born on August 7, 1909 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-F.

7  James Van Liere was born in 1912 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-G.

8  N.N. van Liere was stillborn on August 25, 1913 at Kalamazoo (MI).

9  Marinus Van Liere (Renny) was born on September 23, 1915 at Kalamazoo (MI), see III-H.

There are some other details, but rather than getting too mathematical again ;), I will pass them on to the Van Lieres by email.

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The Van Lieres of Kalamazoo

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Netherlands history, Photography early 20th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2013| 21 Comments »

As I grew up, relatives would say to me that we were related to this family or that family, but any description of the connections seemed vague. One of those names I heard I was related to was VAN LIERE. I think I even went to school with a Van Liere or two.

After all these years and lots of research, I now understand how I am related to the Van Lieres. They are my grandfather’s cousins!

This is how the connection works:

In My Grandfather’s Story Part II, I described how, when he was a child, his family lived two houses over from Grandpa’s aunt’s house on Burdick Street in Kalamazoo.

His father’s sister, Johanna Geertruida Maria Zuijdweg was born in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands on 23 December 1873. On 10 May 1900, she married Marinus van Liere in Goes. Marinus was born in 1875 in Goes. He was the son of Jacob van Liere and Katharina Barbier.  When he married Johanna, he was a shoe maker.

Johanna Zuijdweg VanLiere and Marinus VanLiere with son Jacob

Johanna Zuijdweg VanLiere and Marinus VanLiere with son Jacob

They had two boys and then immigrated to the United States in 1904.

They lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan and had another six boys, for a total of eight. Here is a photo of the family with the first three boys, taken in Kalamazoo.

Johanna has not only gained weight with the birth of the 2nd and 3rd children, but she seems to have aged. In a very short period of time she not only had the three boys, but also left her country and started a new life in Kalamazoo.

The Van Lieres

The Van Lieres

I believe Marinus may have had a shoe store in Kalamazoo because I found an ad for the store, dated 30 Oct 1917, and it was on Burdick Street. In the 1910 census the Van Lieres lived at 1338 S. Burdick St. The store is 1208 S. Burdick St. 

Marinus passed away 22 November 1941 in Kalamazoo, and Johanna died on 14 July 1947 in Kalamazoo.

Here is a photo shared by Jane Van Liere of the eight Van Liere boys, sons of Marinus and Johanna (Zuijdweg) Van Liere. NOTE:  THESE ARE THE FIRST COUSINS OF MY GRANDFATHER, ADRIAN ZUIDWEG. Click on the photo so you can see it enlarged!

The Van Liere Brothers

The Van Liere Brothers

From left to right they are:

Eugene (the tallest), Luke, Jake, Jim, John, Renny. Jane wasn’t sure about the last two, but if the others are correct perhaps Adrian and then Peter.

This is how we get a lot more Van Lieres in Kalamazoo than Zuidwegs: Johanna took her husband’s name and had eight boys who then kept their last names, whereas Grandpa was an only child of the only surviving Zuijdweg boy (his father Adrian).  By the way, we do have another Adrian Zuidweg in the family as my cousin’s son shares Grandpa’s and Great-Grandpa’s name.

So the Van Lieres might be Van Lieres, but they are also Zuidwegs!

Here is the information we have collected so far. There are no doubt large gaps and most likely children missing in this list.

JACOB (Jake), the oldest Van Liere boy, grew up to be a fireman for the City of Kalamazoo.  He was born 14 April 1902 in Goes, the Netherlands, and died May 1968 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

He married Margaret Lucas (1911-1971). Jake and Margaret had a son, Charles Robert (born 28 Jul 1933 in Michigan and died 29 may 1957 in Kalamazoo), and a daughter Jean Kilgore.

I believe this photo was taken of Jacob when the family still lived in Goes.

Jacob Van Liere

Jacob Van Liere

JOHN, son #2, owned a shoe repair near the family home on Burdick Street, across from the ice cream shop. The shop has been called Mathews, but it could have been Mursch’s ice cream shop.  The ice cream was made in the back of the store.

John was born 23 April 1903 in the Netherlands, most likely Goes. He died 7 January 1974 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

He married Trinet Van Tichelt (born 22 Jan 1906 in the Netherlands and died 28 Mar 1989. John and Trinet had a son, John. He was their only child. John married Jane and they have 7 children and 16 grandchildren.

This is the branch of the family that provided me with the photograph and with information about the boys.

ADRIAN (this name goes back far in the Zuijdweg family), son #3, was a golf instructor. He was born 7 Oct 1905 in Michigan and died 16 Apr 1984 in Brevard, Florida.

He married Vivian or Violet Irene (born 7 Feb 1908 in Michigan and died 21 Apr 2007 in Belmont, Kent, Michigan). Adrian and his wife had a daughter, Betty (born c. 1928 in Michigan).

Here is Adrian’s 8th grade graduation notice in the Kalamazoo Gazette on June 16, 1920.

EUGENE (Curly), son #4,  lived in Las Vegas. He was born around 1905 in Kalamazoo and married Lydia B., who was born in1906.

PETER, son #5, owned Van Liere Tile in Milwood. He was born 24 Oct 1907 in Michigan and died in Oct 1965. He married Lorraine. Peter was a member of the Elks. He played a lot of golf.

LUCAS (Luke), son #6, worked for The Upjohn Company. He was born 7 Aug 1909 and died 12 May 2001, both in Kalamazoo. He was married twice, first to Sadie and then Myrteen A. Wolcott.

On 27 August 1922, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported on Luke’s golf game in this article. Start reading about half way down on the left column.

JAMES (Jim), son #7, worked for The Upjohn Company in Arizona. He was born in 1913 in Michigan.

MARINUS (Renny), son #8, worked for The Upjohn Company. he was born in 1915 in Michigan. He married Dorothy.

In looking for articles on the Van Lieres in the local newspaper, I happened upon two other Van Lieres at the turn of the century. One was Peter Van Liere, who was somewhat regularly in the newspaper. I did not find a connection with our Van Lieres, although a familial connection is still possible.

The other was a Cornelius Van Liere, who died in 1902. The Probate Order (5 June 1902), as well as related information, is in the newspaper. What is worth noting is that Marinus Van Liere is mentioned in the Probate Order. This is two years before Marinus and Johanna immigrated to the U.S. Was Cornelius an uncle of Marinus? There’s always another mystery . . . .

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Remember That Relative Who Left for America Ahead of the Others?

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Caledonia Michigan history, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Michigan history, Mulder, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 30, 2013| 15 Comments »

I’ve been given a detailed genealogical report by Dutch genealogist Adri van Gessel who I met through this blog. Adri and I have an astonishing connection, which was discovered when Adri happened to read the one post I wrote about my father’s uncle, Frank Klein. I will save the surprise about our connection for a future post!

More recently, Adri read my post about the link between the Mulders and Zuidwegs and has given me some valuable information on the Mulders in Michigan.

In that post, I provided a family tree of sorts to show how my grandparents were related. Carel Mulder (1780 – 1847) married Johanna Cornaaij (1782 – 1863). They had ten children. Grandpa’s great-grandmother Johanna Mulder was the 3rd child. Grandma’s great-great-grandfather was the 7th child.

Child number four, born between my two ancestors, was the only relative from the generation to emigrate from the Netherlands.  My relatives came to the United States one and two generations after him. (On Grandpa’s, the Zuidweg, side, Johannes’ sister’s son emigrated and came to Kalamazoo, Michigan.  On Grandma’s, the Mulder, side, nobody came to the United States for yet another generation, when the grandson of the  7th child of Carel and Johanna emigrated–that was Pieter the Orphan.  What is interesting about this is that a representative of the Mulder family came to Michigan before my ancestors did. And he started his own “dynasty” in the Holland, Michigan area).

This 4th child, Johannes Mulder, was born on 25 October 1809 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands. He was baptized on 6 November 1809 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.

On 10 May 1838 he married Henderika Johanna Hogesteger (born 1810 in Goes), daughter of Marinus Hogesteger and Geertrui Seibel. At this time, Johannes was listed as a bricklayer  (please note the connection there with Richard DeKorn, brickmason).

From this marriage, the following children were born:

From this marriage:

1  Karel Mulder was born on February 16, 1839 at Goes, see II-A.

2  Marinus Mulder was born on September 27, 1840 at Goes, see II-B.

3  N.N. Mulder was stillborn on September 30, 1841 at Goes.

4  Kornelis Mulder was born on December 30, 1842 at Goes, died on 6 January 1843 there.

5  Kornelis Mulder was born on February 27, 1844 at Goes, died on 15 May 1844 there.

6  Leendert Mulder was born on October 11, 1845 at Goes, see II-C.

7  Johannes Mulder (John) was born on October 11, 1850 at Goes, see II-D.

8  N.N. Mulder was stillborn on 29 April 1852 at Goes.

Almost twenty years later after his marriage,  Johannes, who was now working as a laborer in Goes, emigrated in 1857  with his wife and three children. He listed “amelioration of existence” as his reason for emigrating, and that is the reason most of my relatives seem to have given.

As you can see from the bolded names above, there were actually four surviving boys, but the oldest, Karel, appears to have emigrated in 1853. The others must have traveled to Michigan in 1857 with their parents where they settled in Holland, Ottawa, Michigan.

It looks as if Karel Mulder (1839 – 1878), the son of Johannes, actually was the first person in the Mulder family to immigrate to Michigan.  Then the parents and brothers followed him four years later. He would have been 14 years old.

This is an unconfirmed theory, but it makes sense for now with the information I have from Adri and Yvette.800px-Holland_MI_Tulips_01

The following are the descendents of Johannes Mulder (and therefore his father, Carel, the jailor’s hand) who have lived in the United States. If there is too much begetting here for you, skip to the end for my followup comments. My Comments.

Generation II

(from 1839 until 1911)

II-A  Karel Mulder, son of Johannes Mulder (I) and Henderika Johanna Hogesteger, was born on February 16, 1839 at Goes, died before 1878.

Karel was married on October 30, 1866 at Holland (MI) to Tenzina Bosch, daughter of Lubbert Bosch and Elizabeth van Laar. Tenzina was born in 1849 at Vriesland (MI), died in 1920. Tenzina was married on November 22, 1878 at Vriesland (MI) (2) to Nicholas Trompen. Nicholas was born on September 22, 1823, died on March 18, 1901 at Zeeland (MI). Tenzina was married in October 16, 1902 at Zutphen (MI) (3) to John Bouwens, son of Cornelis Bouwens and Maria Pouro. John was born in 1843.

Karel Mulder emigrated to the United Stated in 1853.

From this marriage:

1  Elizabeth Mulder was born on July 28, 1870 at Zeeland (MI), died on January 13, 1941 there.

Elizabeth was married to Gerrit Van Koevering, son of Christopher Van Koevering and Cornelia Dykwel. Gerrit was born on January 3, 1867 at Zeeland (MI), died on February 25, 1942 there.

2  Johanna Hendrika Mulder was born in 1872 at Zeeland (MI), died on September 13, 1872 there.

3  N.N. Mulder was born on December 5, 1873 at Zeeland (MI).

4  Johannes Karel Mulder (John K.) was born on November 14, 1874 at Zeeland (MI), see III-A.

II-B   Marinus Mulder, son of Johannes Mulder (I) and Henderika Johanna Hogesteger, was born on September 27, 1840 at Goes, died on April 4, 1911 at Holland (MI).

Marinus was married on June 5, 1866 to Jansje Scholten, daughter of Riekert Scholten and Trijntje ter Beek (Katherine). Jansje was born on March 3, 1843 at Apeldoorn (Holland), died in 1909.

From this marriage:

1    Johannes Mulder (John) was born on April 28, 1867 at Holland (MI), see III-B.

2    Catherine Mulder (Katie) was born on December 3, 1869 at Holland (MI), died on May 21, 1920 there.

3    Hendrika Johanna Mulder (Reka) was born on August 3, 1871 at Holland (MI), died on December 29, 1939 there.

Hendrika was married on November 28, 1901 at Holland (MI) to Frank Van Ark, son of Gradus Van Ark and Aaltje Oldenhof. Frank was born on March 11, 1870 at Holland (MI), died on January 8, 1937 there.

4    Mary Mulder was born in 1873 at Holland (MI), died on January 30, 1879 there.

5    Rikus Mulder was born on November 10, 1875 at Holland (MI), died on August 30, 1876 there.

6    Jansje Mulder (Jennie) was born on July 25, 1877 at Holland (MI), died on September 26, 1940 there.

Jansje was married on October 8, 1901 at Grand Haven (MI) (1) to Francis E. Fox, son of L.O. Fox and S. Rocket.

Jansje was married on February 6, 1907 at Holland (MI) (2) to Isaac Romein VerSchure, son of Adriaan Verschure and Sarah DeKraker. Isaac was born on March 20, 1866, died on April 12, 1936 at Holland (MI). Isaac was before married on December 24, 1891 at Holland (MI) (1) to Hattie Elizabeth Haven, daughter of Dewitt C. Haven and Lizzie Partridge. Hattie was born in 1874 at Brien Co (OH).

7    Riekus Henry Mulder was born on May 20, 1879 at Holland (MI), see III-C.

8    Karel L. Mulder (Charles) was born on April 9, 1881 at Holland (MI), died on November 11, 1937 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Karel was married on September 19, 1903 at Paw Paw (MI) to Adaell Pelton, daughter of F.S. Pelton and Katherine Colborn. Adaell was born in 1882.

9    Maria Mulder (Mary) was born on April 26, 1883 at Holland (MI), died on October 11, 1935 there.

Maria was married on April 8, 1908 at Holland (MI) to Harry A. Broek, son of Henry Broek and Helen Spanler. Harry was born in 1876.

10  Marinus Mulder (Mack) was born on February 19, 1885, see III-D.

11  Hendrik Mulder (Henry) was born on April 8, 1887 at Holland (MI), see III-E.

12  Leonard C. Mulder was born on May 4, 1889, see III-F.

II-C   Leendert Mulder, son of Johannes Mulder (I) and Henderika Johanna Hogesteger, was born on October 11, 1845 at Goes, died on September 13, 1897 at Holland (MI).

Leendert was married on October 30, 1866 at Holland (MI) to Janke Mulder, daughter of Berend Mulder and Antje Wierda. Janke was born on April 27, 1848 at Ferwerderadeel (Holland), died in 1935 at Holland (MI).

From this marriage:

1    Johanna Hendrika Mulder was born on July 4, 1867 at Holland (MI), died on December 24, 1941 there.

Johanna was married on September 3, 1891 at Holland (MI) to Henry Geerlings, son of Hendrik Geerlings and Dirkje Van Voorst. Henry was born on February 27, 1868 at Holland (MI), died in 1960 there.

2    Antje Mulder was born on February 10, 1869 at Holland (MI), died on August 4, 1869 there.

3    John B. Mulder was born on February 15, 1870 at Holland (MI), see III-G.

4    Benjamin A. Mulder was born in 1871 at Holland (MI), see III-H.

5    Charles Leonard Mulder was born on August 24, 1874 at Holland (MI), see III-I.

6    Antje J. Mulder was born on December 1, 1877 at Holland (MI).

Antje was married on August 7, 1901 at Holland (MI) to old John E. Kuizenga, son of Elder Kuizenga and Johanna K. Soldaat. John was born on December 20, 1876, died on July 8, 1949 at Holland (MI).

7    Helena M. Mulder was born in 1879, died in 1955.

Helena was married on June 6, 1900 at Holland (MI) to Andrew Steketee, son of Andries Steketee (Andrew) and Gertrude Schouten. Andrew was born on December 18, 1879 at Holland (MI), died in May 1970 there.

8    Marguerite B. Mulder was born on November 13, 1882 at Holland (MI), died after 1940.

Marguerite was married on May 31, 1906 at Holland (MI) to Anthony Karreman, son of Arie Karreman and Marguerite Koolmers. Anthony was born in 1881 in Nebraska, died after 1940.

9    Marinus Mulder was born on February 22, 1884 at Holland (MI), see III-J.

10  Jennie Mulder was born on July 18, 1886 at Holland (MI), died on August 5, 1887 there.

11  Leendert Mulder was born on August 1, 1889 at Holland (MI), died on August 2, 1897 there.

II-D  Johannes Mulder (John), son of Johannes Mulder (I) and Henderika Johanna Hogesteger, was born on October 11, 1850 at Goes, died on September 20, 1877 at Holland (MI).

Johannes was married on January 21, 1874 at Holland (MI) to Trijntje Zuidema (Nancy), daughter of Douwe Zuidema and Grietje Nieuwsma. Trijntje was born in 1853 at Lancaster (NY).

Trijntje was married on November 8, 1887 at Holland (MI) (2) to Evert Bos, son of Hinderikus Bos and Martje Dijkstra. Evert was born on October 22, 1845 at Wildervank (Holland) , died before 1910.

From this marriage:

1  Johanna H. Mulder (Jennie) was born on May 12, 1875 at Holland (MI), died on January 22, 1958 at Los Angeles (CA).

Johanna was married on May 17, 1905 at Holland (MI) to Abel Smeenge, son of Geert Smeenge and Isabella Anna Brink. Abel was born on March 18, 1879 at Eelde (Holland), died in 1945.

2  N.N. Mulder was stillborn on June 25, 1877 at Holland (MI).

800px-8thStreetHolland

Holland, Michigan (from Wikipedia)

Generation III

(from 1867 until 1964)

III-A   Johannes Karel Mulder (John K.), son of Karel Mulder (II-A) and Tenzina Bosch, was born on November 14, 1874 at Zeeland (MI), died on January 2, 1949 there. .

Johannes was married on January 11, 1900 at Vriesland (MI) to Johanna Verhage, daughter of Dirk Verhage and Annigje Timmer. Johanna was born on April 17, 1880 at Vriesland (MI), died on December 27, 1943 at Jamestown (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Nicholas Mulder was born on March 14, 1901 at Zeeland (MI), died in 1960.

Nicholas was married after 1940 to Margaret N.N.. Margaret was born on January 28, 1904, died on April 26, 1988.

III-B    Johannes Mulder (John), son of Marinus Mulder (II-B) and Jansje Scholten, was born on April 28, 1867 at Holland (MI).

Johannes was married on November 15, 1890 at Graafschap (MI) to Anna Bouws, daughter of Rikus Johannes Bouws and Zwaantje Diekevers (Susan). Anna was born on August 22, 1867 at Graafschap (MI), died before 1930.

From this marriage:

1  Marinus John Mulder was born on August 22, 1891 at Holland (MI), see IV-A.

2  Janette Mulder was born on August 13, 1893 at Holland (MI).

3  Jennie Mulder was born in 1896.

4  N.N. Mulder was born on November 19, 1899 at Holland (MI), died on November 24, 1899 there.

III-C   Riekus Henry Mulder, son of Marinus Mulder (II-B) and Jansje Scholten, was born on May 20, 1879 at Holland (MI), died in 1961.

Riekus was married on May 19, 1904 at Holland (MI) to Jennie M. Van Spyker, daughter of John van Spyker and Tillie Hunderman. Jennie was born in 1881, died in 1957.

From this marriage:

1  Russell H. Mulder was born in 1904, see IV-B.

2  Junia F. Mulder was born in 1907.

3  Vera M. Mulder was born on September 8, 1909, died in December 1984 at Holland (MI).

Vera was married on April 1, 1933 at Adams Co (IN) to Lester E. Flight, son of Richard Flight and Bertha Simmelink. Lester was born on July 1, 1907.

4  Evelyn E. Mulder was born in 1910.

5  Lillian Mulder was born in 1912.

6  Marian Mulder was born in 1915.

III-D   Marinus Mulder (Mack), son of Marinus Mulder (II-B) and Jansje Scholten, was born on February 19, 1885, died on December 13, 1955 at Benton Harbor (MI).

Marinus was married on June 10, 1908 at Benton Harbor (MI) to Anna Hoffman, daughter of Herman H. Hoffman and Bertha Clemens. Anna was born on August 31, 1882 at Benton Harbor (MI), died on April 12, 1955 there. .

From this marriage:

1  Dorothy M. Mulder was born in 1909.

2  Jack M. Mulder was born on March 8, 1914 at Benton Harbor (MI), see IV-C.

III-E    Hendrik Mulder (Henry), son of Marinus Mulder (II-B) and Jansje Scholten, was born on April 8, 1887 at Holland (MI), died on February 10, 1941 at Grand Haven (MI).

Hendrik was married on July 16, 1921 at Grand Haven (MI) to Della B. Willet, daughter of David B. Willet and Minnie Verny. Della was born in 1899.

From this marriage:

1  Robert L. Mulder was born on November 15, 1922, died in May 1987 at Holland (MI).

2  Charles Henry Mulder was born on September 28, 1925, see IV-D.

III-F    Leonard C. Mulder, son of Marinus Mulder (II-B) and Jansje Scholten, was born on May 4, 1889, died in August 1964.

Leonard was married on April 17, 1922 at Grand Haven (MI) to Blanche B. Lambert, daughter of Silas Oliver Lambert and Rose Marie Gross. Blanche was born in 1898 in Iowa.

Blanche was before married (1) to N.N. Hornbeck.

From this marriage:

1  Leonard Paul Mulder was born on September 12, 1923, died in November 1970.

2  Delzia Mae Mulder was born in 1926.

III-G   John B. Mulder, son of Leendert Mulder (II-C) and Janke Mulder, was born on February 15, 1870 at Holland (MI), died on June 21, 1931 there. .

John was married on January 2, 1890 at Holland (MI) to Myra Arvillia McCance, daughter of Ohio McCance and Roselia Dyer. Myra was born on August 2, 1870 in Fulton Co (OH), died on Friday August 6, 1920 at East Grand Rapids (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Bernice Mulder was born in 1891.

Bernice was married on June 27, 1917 at Holland (MI) to Cornelis Bartel Muste, son of Marinus Muste and Johanna Jonker. Cornelis was born on December 13, 1887 at Zierikzee (Holland).

2  Leon Leonard Mulder was born on August 6, 1892 at Holland (MI), see IV-E.

3  Jeanette Mulder was born on January 7, 1895 at Holland (MI).

4  Esther Rozelia Mulder was born on March 19, 1897 at Holland (MI).

5  Maybelle Mulder was born on April 1, 1899 at Holland (MI), died on June 15, 1931 there.

Maybelle was married to N.N. Huff.

III-H   Benjamin A. Mulder, son of Leendert Mulder (II-C) and Janke Mulder, was born in 1871 at Holland (MI), died on January 1, 1947 at Paw Paw (MI).

Benjamin was married on May 10, 1893 at Holland (MI) to Mary VanLandegend, daughter of John VanLandegend and Anna J. Peyster. Mary was born on September 18, 1871 at Holland (MI), died on June 8, 1946 at Paw Paw (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Lucile Mulder was born on January 18, 1894 at Holland (MI), died in May 1975 there.

2  N.N. Mulder was born on April 13, 1896 at Holland (MI).

3  Ruth Mulder was born on April 13, 1896 at Holland (MI), died on July 13, 1941 at Ann Arbor (MI).

Ruth was married on July 18, 1931 in Cass Co (MI) to Roy C. Beardslee, son of Clark H. Beardslee and Margaret Titus. Roy was born in 1888.

III-I     Charles Leonard Mulder, son of Leendert Mulder (II-C) and Janke Mulder, was born on August 24, 1874 at Holland (MI), died on April 21, 1904 there.

Charles was married on May 1, 1895 at Holland (MI) to Edna Isadore Reeve, daughter of James W. Reeve and Irene Fenn. Edna was born on October 30, 1875 at Gilchins (MI), died on August 22, 1936 at Chicago (IL).

From this marriage:

1  Vivian H. Mulder was born on October 17, 1895 at Holland (MI).

2  Evelyn Mulder was born in 1898.

III-J     Marinus Mulder, son of Leendert Mulder (II-C) and Janke Mulder, was born on February 22, 1884 at Holland (MI), died on December 27, 1950 there.

Marinus was married on June 10, 1915 at Overisel (MI) to Minnie Dora Albers, daughter of John Henry Albers and Gerritdiena Veldhuis (Geraldine). Minnie was born on March 8, 1887, died in February 1971 at Holland (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Dorothy M. Mulder was born in 1918.

Generation IV

(from 1891 until 1987)

IV-A Marinus John Mulder, son of Johannes Mulder (John) (III-B) and Anna Bouws, was born on August 22, 1891 at Holland (MI), died in 1961.

Marinus was married on June 30, 1915 at Graafschap (MI) to Gertrude Tien, daughter of Henry N. Tien and Cornelia Slint. Gertrude was born on November 8, 1890, died in August 1978 at Holland (MI).

From this marriage:

1  John W. Mulder was born on April 16, 1916, see V-A.

2  Kathryn M. Mulder was born in 1917.

Kathryn was married to Paul Harold Steffens, son of Harry Steffens and Anna Douma. Paul was born on February 25, 1916, died on January 18, 1996 at Holland (MI).

3  Anna Ruth Mulder was born on November 14, 1919, died on April 2, 2013 at Holland (MI).

Anna was married to John J. Batema, son of Johannes Batema (John) and Susie N.N.. John was born on April 20, 1916, died on November 11, 1989 at Holland (MI).

4  Harvey Dale Mulder was born in 1921, see V-B.

5  Robert Jay Mulder was born in 1923, see V-C.

6  Paul Melvin Mulder was born in 1924, see V-D.

7  Lois J. Mulder was born in 1927.

IV-B  Russell H. Mulder, son of Riekus Henry Mulder (III-C) and Jennie M. Van Spyker, was born in 1904.

Russell was married before 1930 to Gertrude N.N.. Gertrude was born in 1904.

From this marriage:

1  Sidney Jane Mulder was born in 1932 at Scotia (NY).

2  Donaldyne Mulder was born in 1935 at Scotia (NY).

IV-C Jack M. Mulder, son of Marinus Mulder (Mack) (III-D) and Anna Hoffman, was born on March 8, 1914 at Benton Harbor (MI), died in December 1984.

Jack was married on September 23, 1934 at Berrien Co (MI) to Marie Louise Price, daughter of Hubert Price and N.N. Glendenen. Marie was born on October 6, 1913 at Benton Harbor (MI), died on January 27, 2000.

From this marriage:

1  Jack Mulder was born in 1935.

2  James Raymond Mulder was born in 1938, see V-E.

3  Jerry Jay Mulder was born on July 27, 1941 at Benton Harbor (MI), died on October 17, 1941 there.

IV-D Charles Henry Mulder, son of Hendrik Mulder (Henry) (III-E) and Della B. Willet, was born on September 28, 1925.

Charles was married to Patricia Jane N.N.. Patricia was born in 1930.

From this marriage:

1  Steven Robert Mulder was born in 1956.

IV-E  Leon Leonard Mulder, son of John B. Mulder (III-G) and Myra Arvillia McCance, was born on August 6, 1892 at Holland (MI), died in February 1964.

Leon was married on December 1, 1917 at Grand Rapids (MI) to Laura C. Lindberg, daughter of Charles Lindberg and Johanna Johnson. Laura was born in 1886.

From this marriage:

1  Myra Mulder was born in 1920.

2  John Mulder was born in 1922.

Generation V

(from 1916 until 2013)

V-A       John W. Mulder, son of Marinus John Mulder (IV-A) and Gertrude Tien, was born on April 16, 1916, died on September 29, 2002 at Holland (MI).

John was married to Pauline Nyland, daughter of John Egbert Nyland and Willemina Donkelaar (Minnie). Pauline was born on July 2, 1919 at Holland (MI), died on January 8, 2011 there.

From this marriage:

1  Mary Ann Mulder was born on July 18, 1940 at Holland (MI), died on August 4, 1942 at Laketown (MI).

2  Mary Ann Mulder was born in 1943.

Mary was married to Glen Leon Elders. Glen was born in 1942.

3  Jonathan Mitchell Mulder was born in 1946, see VI-A.

4  Jean N. Mulder was born in 1949.

Jean was married to Ross A. De Witte. Ross was born in 1949.

V-B Harvey Dale Mulder, son of Marinus John Mulder (IV-A) and Gertrude Tien, was born in 1921.

Harvey was married to Kathryn Nellie N.N.. Kathryn was born on April 4, 1925, died on April 21, 2005.

From this marriage:

1  Brian Dale Mulder was born in 1954.

Brian was married to Lillian L. Postigo. Lillian was born in 1956.

V-C Robert Jay Mulder, son of Marinus John Mulder (IV-A) and Gertrude Tien, was born in 1923, died on September 10, 2012.

Robert was married in 1950 to Arlene A. N.N.. Arlene was born in 1924.

From this marriage:

1  Merilyn Mulder was born in 1952, died in 1954 at Holland (MI).

2  Marsha Kay Mulder was born in 1956.

Marsha was married to Dean Calvin Kuipers. Dean was born in 1953.

3  Sally Anne Mulder was born on July 7, 1958, died on September 9, 1965 at Holland (MI).

4  Robert S. Mulder was born in 1963, see VI-B.

V-D       Paul Melvin Mulder, son of Marinus John Mulder (IV-A) and Gertrude Tien, was born in 1924.

Paul was married to Joan Elizabeth N.N.. Joan was born in 1930.

From this marriage:

Donald Martin Mulder was born in 1962.

Donald was married to Susan A. N.N.. Susan was born in 1965.

V-E James Raymond Mulder, son of Jack M. Mulder (IV-C) and Marie Louise Price, was born in 1938.

James was married to Patricia Marie N.N.. Patricia was born in 1945.

From this marriage:

1  Todd Alan Mulder was born in 1970.

2  Scott Robert Mulder was born in 1971.

Generation VI

(from 1940 until 1965)

VI-A Jonathan Mitchell Mulder, son of John W. Mulder (V-A) and Pauline Nyland, was born in 1946.

Jonathan was married (1) to ???Pamela Marie Chappuzeau.

From this marriage:

1  Pamela Mulder was born in 1969.

2  Jonathan Mitchell Mulder was born in 1970.

Jonathan was married on July 3, 1993 at Grand Rapids (MI) to Patricia Ann VanAndel. Patricia was born in 1970.

3  David Vernon Mulder was born in 1973.

David was married to Sara Joan Sytsma. Sara was born in 1974.

Jonathan was married (2) to ???Vicki Lynn N.N.. Vicki was born in 1963.

From this marriage:

4  Matthew D. Mulder was born in 1990.

5  Ellie Mulder was born after 1991.

VI-B  Robert S. Mulder, son of Robert Jay Mulder (V-C) and Arlene A. N.N., was born in 1963.

Robert was married to Ronda R. Brouwer. Ronda was born in 1965.

From this marriage:

1  Rachel Lynn Mulder.

2  Kerri Renae Mulder.

3  Nathan Robert Mulder.

See?

My comments:  I grew up in southwestern Michigan, where so many Dutch immigrants settled. It is fascinating to see the last names of people I went to school with over the years popping up both as my ancestors’ names and the names of people my relatives married.  It makes me wonder what the statistics are for how many of the Dutch in Kalamazoo, Holland, and Grand Rapids are from the same area of Zeeland as my relatives.  How much of the population of Goes was lost to emigration in the 1800s? The rest of Zeeland? And what does “amelioration of existence” REALLY mean?

If you are a Mulder from the Holland, Michigan, area, we have common ancestors. Meet me over at Ancestry.com with your tree . . . .

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The Links Between the Mulders and the Zuidwegs

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Caledonia Michigan history, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Mulder, Netherlands history, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 15, 2013| 13 Comments »

This post starts a new series about my Dutch ancestors, and I need to get a little of the basic information out of the way here.  Please bear with me.

Once again, I have been the recipient of good information from Yvette Hoitink at Dutch Genealogy.  She did further research on the Mulder branch of my family, but because of the “Intriguing Coincidence” I’ve written about earlier, this also meant further research on the Zuidweg branch.

My grandfather (the one of the 12 part story) was a Zuidweg and my grandmother (his wife and the creator of the scrapbook I’ve posted on here) was a Mulder.  And they share a common ancestor: one Carel Mulder from Goes, the Netherlands.

In Yvette’s initial research she discovered this Carel Mulder in the Zuidweg family–an ancestor of my grandfather, Adrian. He was born about 1781.  She found that on 5 May 1836 he was listed as a jailor’s hand in Goes.  He died on 19 May 1847 at the age of 66 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.”  At that point, because I recognized the name I researched and found that this man was an ancestor of my grandmother, Edna.

HERE IS A MODIFIED FAMILY TREE SHOWING HOW THE MULDERS AND ZUIDWEGS ARE CONNECTED THROUGH CAREL MULDER:

MULDERS ARE BOLDED.  ZUIDWEGS ARE ITALICIZED.

 

  • Carel Mulder (1780 – 1847) married Johanna Cornaaij (1782 – 1863)
  • Carel was from Goes (a town in Zeeland) and Johanna was from Middelburg (a town in Zeeland)
  • Carel’s parents were Johannes Mulder and Jacoba Verhoef
  • Carel and Johanna had ten children. One of their children (not my direct ancestor) immigrated to Holland, Michigan, in 1860.

The information for their descendents is in the following image as WordPress wouldn’t allow me to indent as I wished. Click on the image to see a larger version.

So when Adrian Zuidweg and Edna Mulder got married in 1932, they were re-linking the family lines.  The jailor’s hand, Carel Mulder, was Grandpa’s great-great-grandfather.  The jailor’s hand was Grandma’s great-great-great-grandfather.

It also means that Grandpa’s family at one time was a Mulder one, also.

 

I see some areas for further research based on this portion of the family tree.

* Jan Mulder, born not in Goes, but in Kloetinge, could not have immigrated to New York on his own, at the age of one year. What is this mystery? If there was a Jan born to the family, it would seem that he didn’t survive. Did someone steal his identity? Why would he not be born in Goes, where the family lived and where Great-Grandpa was born a year earlier? Maybe it’s an error. That needs to be checked on.

UPDATE ON JAN MULDER: Jan, or John, Mulder was born in Kloetinge in 1886 and immigrated with his parents and brother to Michigan. Unfortunately, he died in Kent, Michigan, before he was a year old. How sad to uproot your lives and travel all that way with your young family only to lose one of your children! (Info courtesy of Adri Van Gessel).  I should have known Yvette, with her extremely meticulous research, would never let an error like that slip by! 🙂

* Are there any records which could verify that Lucas really did die by falling on an anchor? And would he have been at sea or in port?

* Who is this Rose Melanie Bataille, a French woman, and why was she in Holland?

* I’d like to find out more about Johannes Mulder, born 1809 in Goes, to that “first generation” Carel and Johanna Cornaaij. He is a sibling of both Karel and Johanna, my ancestors that led to the Mulder and Zuidweg lines.  But before anybody else in the family immigrated to the U.S., he came to Holland, Michigan. What happened to him and his line?

THANKS FOR READING THROUGH THE MATH AND SCIENCE PORTION TODAY. I PROMISE THE NEXT POSTS SHARING THE RESULTS OF YVETTE’S RESEARCH WILL BE MORE ENTERTAINING! AND AS A REWARD FOR SLOGGING THROUGH THIS ONE, HERE IS MY FAVORITE PHOTO OF GRANDMA AND GRANDPA, TAKEN BEFORE THEY WERE MARRIED.

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part XII (Final “Episode”)

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2013| 20 Comments »

After collecting hours of tapes from interviewing my grandfather (in 1994), the interviewer began to get into her final questions. She wanted to know how Grandpa spent his time. 

Grandpa really liked to “read” about one of his favorite subjects: finance. Note: this was my absolutely worst subject in college. I dropped out of it twice before I could stick it out.

At one time, Grandpa did read fiction.  When I was a little kid, I remember he liked to read paperback cowboy novels.

The interviewer began to probe a bit more about certain subjects at this point. Grandpa admitted that being a teen was the best time of his life:

Grandpa did used to give us all advice about saving our money. It wasn’t my best subject ;), but I think my husband learned from him.

The interviewer wrote this about Grandpa at the end of her research paper:

While Grandpa was born in 1908 and a product of his times, he was a remarkably tolerant person. That doesn’t mean that he was free of all prejudices because every human has them. But he is the man who told me that our family had some African ancestry and that his father’s mother was Jewish. He seemed to love the idea that his own background was more diverse than it appeared. Now I know from my 23andme DNA test, that we do not have African ancestry. However, I do have some Asian background, and maybe he did, too.

Most pertinently, Grandpa believed in live and let live. This was a trait he probably believed was a Dutch trait, and he prided himself on being Dutch. As I mentioned in Part I, one of his favorite jokes was “if you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.”

When my husband and I were first dating, he drove down Burdick Street with his dad.  My grandfather was standing out in the yard, and my husband’s father (a dear man himself) said to my husband, “Now there’s an old Dutchman.”

Eventually we told this story to Grandpa and he loved it.

Grandpa helping 2-year-old me blow out the candles on my birthday cake

Grandpa helping 2-year-old me blow out the candles on my birthday cake

Thank you for staying along for the ride. I hope you enjoyed Grandpa’s story!

One last image of Grandpa with his Great Grandson Marc.

Great Grandpa with Marc (my son)

Great Grandpa with Marc (my son)

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

Click this link for Part IX

Click this link for Part X

Click this link for Part XI

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part XI

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2013| 13 Comments »

The next paragraph of the interview of Grandpa really stirs up my memories of my grandparents. (Remember that this interview was conducted in 1994. Grandpa and Grandma have been gone 13 years now).

Adrian is still very close to his children. He has twice weekly if not daily contact with all three. Adrian and Edna also have six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren and love to show you their pictures! They are looking forward to Thanksgiving when they will have 34 members of their family over for dinner. “Nobody can cook like Edna,” Adrian proclaims. (I know I gained three pounds eating her baked goods during the interviews!)

One of the most special parts of living in Michigan (until I moved away in 1990) was that my grandparents always visited. They didn’t wait for their children and grandchildren to come visit them, they got in their car (Grandpa driving as Grandma did not drive) and came to see us. When I lived at home with my parents, they visited there. And when I got married and had my own apartment and then house, they visited me, too.

During the summer and fall they always brought vegetables grown in their garden and a jar of Grandma’s ratatouille. In the winter they brought Grandma’s cookies or fruit bread.

Here is Grandma’s recipe for Pumpkin Bread, which I am sharing through the old recipe card I wrote myself. Bake 1 hour or 50 means an hour or 50 minutes, but don’t get mad at my lack of clarity if you mess it up ;).

Just because they visited us often, doesn’t mean we didn’t go see them. At one point they moved very close to where my husband and I lived, and I liked to stop by their house. I never left without something special clutched in my hands–zucchini, zucchini bread, an old newspaper article.

My own kids admiring their great-grandparents' flowers

My own kids admiring their great-grandparents’ flowers

My grandparents doted on their family, and we felt the same way about them.

Grandma holding her first grandchild (that's me)

Grandma holding her first grandchild (that’s me)

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part XII or “The Final Episode” of Grandpa’s story . . . .

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

Click this link for Part IX

Click this link for Part X

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part X

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Photography early 20th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2013| 13 Comments »

At this point in the interview of Grandpa, a time warp occurs.  The interviewer writes:

Once the children were in school, Edna went back to work. She worked in Western Michigan [University]’s print shop. She told Adrian that they were doing fine on his earnings so she was going to invest hers so they could travel. And travel they did. Between 1964 and 1988 they toured Europe (twice), Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal, North Africa, Australia, New Zeeland, Fiji Islands, Hawaii (twice), all the continental United States and Canada! After 1988 illnesses and surgery prevented them from traveling but this past summer [1994] they were again able to travel to Minnesota and Georgia.

In fact, it wasn’t until around the time that a few of us grandchildren were in school that Grandma went “back” into the work force full-time. I used to visit her on campus in the tiny old building where the print shop was housed. In there, she worked the mimeograph and xerox machines. It was fun to see Grandma in her work element with her co-workers–and at the college she had graduated from, as well as so many other family members (including, eventually, me). The only other time I had seen this was when she worked Christmas season at the J.C. Penney,in the basement of the downtown store. In an earlier post, I wrote about Grandma working as a teacher her first year out of college, but then she had gotten married and raised a family.

I remember when they first went to Europe in 1964. They brought me back an Eiffel tower charm for my charm bracelet, a signed book called Ludmila, from Liechtenstein, and a doll in a native Swiss costume.

Grandpa set up a projector in our living room and showed his children and grandchildren their slides from Europe. I remember the glory of the tulips in the country of his ancestors, The Netherlands.

I just bought this book to read about the tulip craze that swept the world and brought wealth to The Netherlands.

Travel abroad was so special in those days. Grandma and Grandpa spread their belongings to be packed out on a long table in the basement, showing us how they were bringing American toilet paper because the toilet paper was like sand paper in Europe. They were so excited to share all the little details they had learned about travelling out of the country.

When Grandma and Grandpa travelled to California, they took the train. At one point a little boy decided that Grandpa was James Arness, the star of Gunsmoke, or Peter Graves, the star of Mission Impossible (I can’t remember right now which one; the actors were brothers). He refused to be told anything different. That wasn’t the only time Grandpa was mistaken for a movie actor.

Because I was so young when my grandparents started travelling, I think they helped expand my view of the world–and of them.

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part XI of Grandpa’s story . . . .

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

Click this link for Part IX

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part IX

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Photography early 20th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2013| 15 Comments »

My grandfather was an individualist and an independent thinker. But he was also a bit of a contradiction because he was dependent on my grandmother (and she on Grandpa) and liked to talk to other people. Grandpa was a born storyteller and storytellers need audiences.

The next passage in Grandpa’s story illustrates his individualism:

Grandma and Grandpa attended First United Methodist Church in downtown Kalamazoo (known for many years as First Methodist before the denomination merged with United Brethren). Although his relatives had belonged to the (Dutch) Reformed Church, that stopped after Grandpa’s mother had gotten angry at someone. She had given a quilt to the church for a White Elephant sale (or something similar), and then she saw it hanging from someone else’s clothesline. The implication was that she discovered someone had “appropriated” the quilt for herself. That caused my great-grandmother not to go back to her own church. Like many of the family stories that have been told and re-told until I learned them, this could be the reason–or there could be another reason.

Grandma was brought up in Caledonia, and the Methodist Church was part of her upbringing. So it was natural that my grandparents attended the big English Gothic church. The building was brand new when my grandparents were starting out their lives as a married couple.

First United Methodist Church, Kalamazoo

First United Methodist Church, Kalamazoo

A lot of my mother’s extended family went to this church and it’s seen my family at baptisms, weddings, and funeral receptions. I attended Sunday School there at least one year and Bible School at least one summer and have gone to services, most notably many Christmas Eves.

Photo by Chad Boorsma

I remember looking for Grandpa after the service one Sunday. He was in the “treasury.” On other occasions, I remember trying to get him to come to service with us, but he never would.

Why? He said he couldn’t sit still.

And I think that’s true. Wherever Grandpa was with family, no matter what we were in the middle of, he would suddenly stand up and say, “Time to go, Edna.” He had what we used to call “ants in his pants” and had to be on the move.

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part X of Grandpa’s story . . . .

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

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