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Pulling Together Information on The Bosman Family, Part I

Posted in Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Jennie DeKorn Culver, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography late 19th century, Remine, Richard DeKorn, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2014| 17 Comments »

I only knew that the Bosmans existed because Grandpa told me that this photo was John Bosman.

This is what I wrote on the back of this photo, at Grandpa’s instruction:

John Bussman

2nd Reformed Church

on Park Street

Aunt Jen went there

Hmm. I have no idea what that means. I spelled the name “Bosman” incorrectly because Grandpa pronounced it “Bussman,” and I either didn’t ask how to spell it or he didn’t know.

Aunt Jen is Jennie DeKorn Leeuwenhoek, Richard DeKorn’s daughter, the sister of my great-grandmother.

The matriarch of the Bosman family was Adriana (also called Johanna and Jennie–very confusing) Remijnse or Remynse.  She was my first cousin 4x removed. She married Dirk Pieter Bosman, and John was one of their children. Grandpa told me that John was the oldest child, but according to the following information, there was another son, Garrett, who died between the ages of 7 and 12.

Dirk and Johanna/Adriana gave birth to eight children. At least four of them died as children.

In this photo, John looks like a boy who likes hunting. He was born 14 March 1876 in Kalamazoo. He grew up to marry Nellie Robb on 14 May 1903 in Windsor, Canada. On 30 April 1943, he passed away in Detroit. Please note that Windsor and Detroit are right next to each other, although they are in different countries.

Back to what I wrote on the back of the photo. Grandpa said Aunt Jen went to Second Reformed Church on Park Street, not that his mother did. The story he told me was that his mother donated a quilt to the church (Second Reformed or a different Reformed Church?) and saw a woman hanging it on her own clothesline, signifying that the woman had appropriated the quilt. Great-Grandmother Cora quit going to her church after that incident.

I’ve looked online for a photograph of Second Reformed Church on Park Street, but cannot find anything. It is probably gone, but I hope to find a photo eventually.

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The Todd House

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, tagged , , , , , , , on February 18, 2014| 16 Comments »

My last post was about the Todds–a family that, unfortunately, I am not related to ;). One last thing about them. My mother-in-law, an artist, painted the Todd House for a man named Paul H. Todd in 1970.

Todd House Kalamazoo, Michigan

Todd House
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Artist: Diana Dale Castle

So I did a little research. Paul H. Todd was one of the sons of Albert May Todd, the founder of the A.M. Todd Company. He, and his brother Albert J., both served as mayors and city commissioners of Kalamazoo. Paul’s son, Paul H. Todd, Jr., later filled his seat in Congress from 1965 to 1967.

Which Paul Todd did my MIL paint for?

In the 1960 city directory, Paul Jr. lived at 3713 West Main Street. His business was the Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Company (now called Kalsec). Paul Sr.’s business was Farmer’s Chemical Company. He lived at 3715 West Main Street. Next door neighbors! Paul Sr. was born around 1884, so he would have been around 76 years old in 1960.

Ten years later, Paul Sr. would have been 86. So I asked my husband. He says the Paul Todd who commissioned the painting was middle-aged, so it must have been Paul Jr. Searching a little farther, it appears that Paul Sr. died in 1969.

On the bottom right corner of this print (because I only have a print, of course), my MIL wrote that this building was Paul Todd’s house (but is that possible?), and that it was located on the corner of Kalamazoo and Rose Streets. I found the intersection of W. Kalamazoo and N. Rose on Google Maps. The building is no longer there.

It seems likely that, in 1970, the business was operated in this inner city area, but that the family didn’t live there. Nevertheless, in a family discussion, others thought that Mr. Todd lived in the same building that the company was operated from.

Back to my MIL’s paintings: she painted many locations in the Kalamazoo area.

Here is another one she painted in the very early 70s. It’s known as the Gourdneck Prairie-Webber Schoolhouse, Schoolcraft Township. It still stands today. Here is a link to check it out.

Gourdneck Prairie-Webber Schoolhouse, Schoolcraft Township

Gourdneck Prairie-Webber Schoolhouse, Schoolcraft Township
Artist: Diana Dale Castle

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How Did They Know Each Other?

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Jennie DeKorn Culver, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Leeuwenhoek, Michigan history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 11, 2014| 12 Comments »

I posted a copy of a graduation announcement last week. I didn’t know who it belonged to, but it turns out it belonged to Uncle Joe DeKorn. A reader posted a link to the answer. It turns out that Uncle Joe graduated from Kalamazoo High School in a class of 26. One of his classmates was an Upjohn son, William Harold Upjohn, and one was a Todd daughter, Ethel May Todd.

When Uncle Lou (Lambertus) Leeuwenhoek passed away on April 20, 1949, another Todd–Mary Todd–sent flowers and a sympathy notecard. You can read about Uncle Lou and his wife, my Aunt Jen, if you click on the following links: a post about Uncle Lou’s hero brother who died at war, a post about Uncle Lou’s Bible collection, and one which focuses on my Aunt Jen, Uncle Lou’s wife. When I was growing up, she was the oldest person I knew. A post I still need to write is about the store Uncle Lou and Aunt Jen owned.

I don’t know how Aunt Jen knew Mary Todd, but maybe it was at church or maybe it was through the store.

Sent with a vase of mixed flowers

Sent with a vase of mixed flowers

Mary Todd was Ethel’s sister-in-law, the wife of Albert John Todd, the President of the A.M. Todd Company. Mary’s husband was a son of the company founder. In 1950, Albert and Mary lived at 2344 Midvale Terrace in Kalamazoo. The house was in the middle of a section known as Westnedge Hill, where the houses are all large and custom and the lots large for city lots.

The 1920 census indicates that Albert and Mary lived with their four children and two servants, an “Englishman” and a local girl. According to the 1930 census, they had one servant, a different girl from ten years earlier. It’s hard to tell about the 1940 census because Albert and Mary are at the bottom of the page, and I am not sure how to find the next page. Any ideas?

When people think of the A.M. Todd Company, they think of mint. According to the company website, the history is summed up this way:

Quality. Purity. Integrity. An unwavering belief in these principles inspired Albert May Todd, then a teenager, to found A. M. Todd Company in 1869. It was an era when mint essential oil from Michigan had a poor reputation thanks to widespread adulteration by unscrupulous vendors. Albert May’s initiatives brought credibility to Michigan essential oils and early success to the A. M. Todd Company, now the world’s oldest and largest supplier of American peppermint and spearmint oil.

Maybe Uncle Lou and Aunt Jen were customers, through their store, of the A.M. Todd Company.  This company was sold a little over two years ago. You can find an article here which describes the company, the sale, and the influence of the company on the Kalamazoo area.

This is a passage from a book entitled Vanilla: Travels in Search of the Ice Cream Orchid by Tim Ecott:

Notice that the notecard also has the name Frances Haskell. Maybe that indicates that the flowers were, in fact, from women who knew Aunt Jen through a women’s group? Frances Haskell seems to be a middle-aged single daughter of Gertrude Haskell. The Haskells lived in the beautiful area near Kalamazoo College and the Henderson Castle.

Once again, this item and the information I’ve found leads to more questions than I had originally!

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Who Was Graduating?

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Joseph Peter DeKorn, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2014| 18 Comments »

Remember that genealogy research “to do” list I made back in December?

Good, I’ll forget about it, too.

I’ve been so busy at work lately that I am behind in everything. But readers are so helpful, that I will post something that is a bit of a mystery to me (what isn’t?!).

This “Class Day Exercises” announcement for the Kalamazoo High School Class of 1902 was with some other papers and clippings my grandparents held for years.

But who did it originally belong to? Who in the family graduated from high school in 1902?

My first guess was Joseph DeKorn because he seemed about the right age. Joseph Peter DeKorn: June 30, 1881. Look at that! He was born under the astrological sign of Cancer, just like me.

How old would he have been in 1902? My advanced math skills tell me he would have been 21.  Hmm, that seems a little old for graduating from high school. Especially for a very smart young man like Uncle Joe.

Grandpa wasn’t born until 1908. I wondered about Alice Leeuwenhoek, but she was born in 1897. The daughters of Richard DeKorn’s second wife were born in the 1890s, as well. The first VanLiere boy wasn’t born until 1902 (in Goes, the Netherlands). It is possible that it could belong to a child of Mary DeKorn DeSmit and John DeSmit, but that seems unlikely.

It could have belonged to a friend, but then why would the family have held onto it all these years?

Any ideas on how I get a list of 1902 graduates of Kalamazoo High School from the comfort of my computer chair?

Another thing I wonder about is exactly what Class Day Exercises are. I believe they are still held today, but what role does it play in the graduation process that includes commencement, baccalaureate service, etc.?

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Hobnobbing

Posted in Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Leeuwenhoek, Photography early 20th century, Remine, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2014| 12 Comments »

I started to prepare a post about the Bosman branch of the Remine (Remijnse) family, but then one character in the drama led to another, and I realized I need to do more work on it before I can post.

So instead I offer you a photo from a collection I have not yet shared. It’s from a photo album owned by Alice Leeuwenhoek Moerdyk. She has a lot of photos of the good time the family used to have at Brook Lodge, outside of Kalamazoo.

In this photo, taken at Brook Lodge, the boy is most likely my grandfather. The date is 1915, and my grandfather was born in 1908. This photo was taken in the summer, and Grandpa’s birthday was October 31. The boy looks to be about six, and the facial resemblance is there.

Brook Lodge, Michigan 1915

Brook Lodge, Michigan
1915

Brook Lodge  was a 40 acre farm that was purchased in 1895 by Dr. W.E. Upjohn, founder of the Upjohn Company. He converted the old creamery to a summer cottage for his family. Grandpa told me that the family was invited often to relax at Brook Lodge. This photo was taken two years after Dr. Upjohn married the widow of James F. Gilmore, a founder of the Gilmore Brothers Department Store. People from the area will recognize both the names Upjohn and Gilmore.

Update: My uncle believes that the woman in the photo is Alice who would have been about 18 at the time of this photo.

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Christmas 1907 in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Posted in Alice Paak DeKorn, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Jennie DeKorn Culver, Joseph Peter DeKorn, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Leeuwenhoek, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Paak, Peek, Richard DeKorn, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2014| 27 Comments »

My great-great-grandmother Alice Paak (the brave woman who survived a horrific near-tragedy that I wrote about last spring) gave her middle child Cora a gift for Christmas 1907. Perhaps she gave one to each of her three children.

You can see from the photo that it’s a hand-painted genealogy shell.

My grandfather and grandmother inherited it, and my grandmother gave it to me.

Let’s take a look at what she wrote over one hundred years ago, and how it relates to the information I have received more recently.

Alice Paak

If you remember my story about Alice’s near tragedy, you might also remember the post I wrote about her beautiful handmade shawl. Or the post I wrote about Alice and all her sisters.

On the shell, she names herself “Alice Paak ,” which is the name Grandpa had told me.  But genealogical research in the Netherlands shows that she was born Aaltje Peek. The source used for that name was this:

Lexmond, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands, birth record, 1852, 36, Aaltje Peek, 9 September 1852; digital images,
Familysearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-159370-202016-19?cc=1576401&wc=6426532 : accessed 23
December 2012)

Apparently, she accepted the American name “Alice.” Her granddaughter, Alice Leeuwenhoek, the daughter of Jennie and Lou Leeuwenhoek, was named after her. Later, my own aunt, the granddaughter of Alice’s daughter Cora, was given the name Alice.

Alice Paak’s birth date is given on the shell as 17 September 1852.  But my genealogical information (the source I listed above) shows that she was born on that same month and year, but on the 9th, not the 17th. Wouldn’t she know her own birth day? That confuses me.

On the shell, she lists her birth place as Leksmond, Nederland. That sounds right, and I think it’s the same place as Lexmond, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.

Richard DeKorn

My great-great-grandfather Richard DeKorn was born Dirk de Korne.  But he clearly changed both his first name (Americanized it) and the spelling of his last name (maybe to make it easier for others).

He was born on 21 Aug 1851.  The shell corroborates the date.

However, his birth place is listed on the shell as Goes, Zeeland, Nederland. But wait!  In another post I mentioned that I had always thought he was born in Goes, but the genealogical documentation shows that was born in Kapelle, Zeeland, the Netherlands! This is the documentation:

Kapelle, Zeeland, the Netherlands, birth record, Dirk de Korne, 21 August 1851

Jennie DeKorn

Born March 18, 1873. That’s according to the shell. But my information is March 8, 1873. I have to check on this!

Cora DeKorn

Born January 2, 1875. That’s according to the shell and to my records.

Joseph Peter DeKorn

Born June 30, 1881. That’s according to the shell and to my records.

The treasure itself

The design is beautiful with holly branches. The berries are raised to look like real berries. Originally there was a gold leaf paint trim around the shell, but it has worn off in many places.

Her use of “Xmas” because it fit better on the small surface seems astonishingly modern, as does the use of metallic gold and red and green for Christmas.

What I find particularly poignant, though, about this family heirloom is the date. She gave this gift to her daughter on Christmas 1907, and on May 5, 1908, a little over four months later, she passed away.

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A Familial Occupation

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Michigan history, Mulder, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2014| 16 Comments »

When I posted my genealogy to-do list, I asked if you could guess what occupation I found a few of my Mulder relatives engaged in during the 19th century in Holland. I said it was one I have had–and so have my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.  Emily Ann at Child Out of Time wondered if it was teaching, which was a very good guess, based on our family history, but isn’t correct.

What I am talking about is retail.  My family was engaged in retail business for a long time.  My husband and I owned stores, and so did my parents. My grandfather owned a gas station. His father owned a fish market and a soda shop.

My 3rd great-grandfather, Karel Mulder, was born 21 February 1837 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands. He married Johanna Maria Boes on November 1861, also at Goes. On 27 August 1868, he married Klazina Otte at Goes. He died on 22 April 1881 in Goes.

His parents were Karel Mulder and Rose Melanie Bataille (remember the Bataille family?).  These are the children of Karel and Rose Melanie–namely, Karel and his siblings:

  • Karel Mulder, born 21 February 1837, Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands (Witnesses: Carel Mulder and Adriaan Zuijdweg). On 7 November 1861 he was an apothecary’s assistant in Goes. On 27 August 1868 he was an apothecary’s assistant in Goes. On 22 April 1881 he was a shopkeeper in Goes.Karel died on 22 April 1881.
  • Pieter Philip Mulder was born on 29 August 1838 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.
  • Kornelis Mulder was born on 4 September 1840 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.25 He died on 3 June 1887 at the age of 46 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.26 On 3 June 1887 he was a shoemaker in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.
  • Melanie Mulder was born on 21 January 1842 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.27 She died on 23 June 1884 at the age of 42 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.
  • Johannes Mulder was born on 12 November 1843 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.29 He died on 7 January 1849 at the age of 5 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands. [died at age 5]
  • Andries Mulder was born on 23 January 1846 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands. [shop’s financial partner]
  • Jan Mulder was born on 9 December 1848 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.32 On 22 April 1881 he was a shopkeeper in paint and colonial goods in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.5
  • Johannes Mulder was born on 10 February 1851 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.33 He died on 26 June 1876 at the age of 25 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.34 On 26 June 1876 he was a shoemaker in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.
  • Jacobus Mulder was born on 13 May 1856 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.35 He died on 17 June 1874 at the age of 18 in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.36 On 17 June 1874 he was a shopkeeper’s assistant in Goes, Zeeland, the Netherlands.

My 3rd great-grandfather owned a “paint and colonial goods” store.

According to genealogist Yvette Hoitink:

Karel Mulder had a company in paint and colonial goods together with his brother Jan, called the “Gebroeders Mulder [Mulder brothers]”. This company owned a house at the Korte Kerkstraat (property tax registration section D nr. 377). The most important financer of this company was Andries Mulder in Goes, for a total of fl. 4000 (1/3 of the value of the company). This Andries is probably their brother Andries Mulder, son of Karel Mulder and Rose Melanie Bataille.

Here is a map of where the Mulder Brothers shop was located:

That means that at least 3 of the brothers were involved in the paint and colonial goods shop: Karel, Jan, and Andries. Two other brothers are shoemakers, one died at age five, and the professions of Pieter Philip (we don’t have a death date, so I’m not sure if he lived to maturity) and Melanie, the only girl.

Here are some photos taken by Yvette Hoitink of the building at the location of the Mulder Brothers shop. We don’t know if this is the original building or not. The houses adjacent to the building are original.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What do you imagine a “paint and colonial goods” shop would have sold?

Finally, do you remember (from this blog post) what happened to Karel’s son, my great-great-grandfather Pieter?  He ended up in an orphanage!

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An Update on the Bataille Family

Posted in Family History, France history, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Mulder, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 30, 2013| 12 Comments »

My last post was about the Bataille branch of the family from Etaples, France.

On 5 May 1836, Karel Mulder married Rose Melanie Bataille in Goes. It appeared that her family had immigrated to the Netherlands from France, but then it also seems that the Netherlands was part of the French empire at the time.

Since then I’ve gotten more information from my friend Adri.  This is what he provided.

Rose’s father, Philippus Franciscus Bataille (Philippe Francois Marie), was born on January 28, 1772 at Wimille (near Boulogne in  France). His parents were Pierre Philippe Bataille and Marie Nicole Austrebeth Fontaine. Philippus died on April 28, 1818 at Goes.

Philippus was married on November 28, 1802 at Waterdijk (Holland) to Rosalie Goduin, daughter of Jean Goduin and Marie Jeanne Oudaert.  Rosalie was born in 1780 at Bevercamp (probably Belgium), died on December 7, 1802 at Waterdijk (Holland).

Then Philippus  was married to a second wife on July 31, 1805 at Waterdijk (Holland). This wife was Rose’s mother, Melanie Regina Barthaux (Melanie Berthaudt), daughter of Adrien Joseph Bertaux and Marie Joseph Godart.  Melanie was born on June 28, 1782 at Meenen (Belgium) and died on October 18, 1853 at Goes.

Here are the children of Philippus and Melanie–Rose and her siblings:

1  Caroline Ugenie Stephanie Bataille was born on May 2, 1806 at Hoek (Holland), died on December 10, 1878 at Goes.

2  Maria Joseph Bataille was born on October 11, 1807 at Hoek (Holland) , died on February 3, 1873 at Goes.

Maria was married on May 15, 1834 at Goes to Jan de Munck, son of Pieter de Munck and Martijna Sloover.  Jan was born in 1803 at Goes, died on September 19, 1847 there.

3  Rose Melanie Bataille was born in 1809 at Etaples (France), died on July 10, 1887 at Goes.

Rose was married to Karel Mulder, son of Carel Mulder and Johanna Cornaaij.  Karel was born on December 3, 1812 at Goes, died on January 3, 1870 there.

4  Pierre Philippe Bataille was born in 1812 at Outreau (France), see III.

5  Angelica Louise Bataille was born on November 17, 1813 at Goes, died on February 8, 1857 there.

Angelica was married on August 15, 1839 at Goes to Leonardus Johannes Theuns, son of Pieter Theuns and Helena Briens.  Leonardus was born on September 11, 1813 at Kattendijke, died on November 22, 1867 at Goes.

Leonardus was married on July 2, 1857 at Goes (2) to Adriana Meulblok, daughter of Quinten Meulblok and Anna Elizabeth van Steveninck. Adriana was born on November 5, 1829 at Heinkenszand.

6  Catharina Johanna Bataille was born on May 28, 1817 at Goes, died on December 23, 1817 there.

Here is a little more information about Rose’s brother, Pierre:

Pierre Philippe Bataille, son of Philippus Franciscus Bataille (Philippe Francois Marie) (II) and Melanie Regina Barthaux (Melanie Berthaudt), was born in 1812 at Outreau (France), died on June 21, 1857 at Goes.

Pierre was married on November 22, 1849 at Goes to Victoria van Ranst, daughter of Adriana Francisca van Ranst.  Victoria was born in 1824 at Doel (Belgium), died on July 9, 1868 at Goes.

Victoria was married on July 22, 1858 at Goes (2) to Jacobus van Buijsse, son of Frans van Buijsse and Aleida Groeneveld. Jacobus was born on February 21, 1815 at Goes, died on February 17, 1876 there. Jacobus was before married (1) to Maaijke van Brakel.

From the marriage of Pierre and Victoria:

Pierre Philippe Bataille was born on April 16, 1853 at Goes.

Here is the information that I wanted to know about Rose’s father.  

In 1802, Philippe was an “employ de la douane”. This means that he was a customs officer. In 1805, he was listed similarly.  In 1817, Philippe was a laborer. 

His father, Pierre, was “sous Lieutenant a la Douanes.”

Look at how the French empire is all in darker green and includes the Netherlands (and therefore Belgium, too)

Now go back and look at the birth places of Rose and her siblings. Her older siblings were born in Holland, not France. So either the father has been assigned to various customs ports and moves around and is clearly French. Or the family is more Belgian (see Rose’s mother’s birth place), which would have been part of the Netherlands at that time. Or the family could have been the descendents of Huguenots.

One last thing: Karel Mulder, the husband of Rose Bataille, and the great-great-grandfather of Grandma, is the brother of Grandpa’s great-grandmother.

We are getting closer with this wonderful information! The more I know, the more I want to know . . . .

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How Did Etaples, France, Show Up in My Family Tree?

Posted in Family History, France history, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Mulder, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 23, 2013| 15 Comments »

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

*

Karel Mulder and Johanna Boes

*

Pieter Philip Mulder and Neeltje Gorsse

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Karel Pieter Philippus Mulder and Clara Waldeck

*

Lucille Edna Mulder and Adrian Zuidweg

(Yup, that’s my grandparents!)

Traditional Dutch clothing and house furnishings circa 1830

Traditional Dutch clothing and house furnishings circa 1830

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Making My List and Checking It . . .

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Photography late 19th century, Remine, tagged , , , , , , , on December 10, 2013| 25 Comments »

I have a lot of genealogy projects I need to work on and posts I want to write, but it’s a busy time of the year, and so I am going to use today’s post to make my list and to show you what will be coming up here as well (bolded will be blog posts):

  • I have more results from Yvette Hoitink to share. One is about the Mulder family and how they made their living in Goes, the Netherlands.  This also relates to me and an occupation I have had in my life. So have my parents and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Any guesses?
  • Work on the occupations of my family in the Netherlands.
  • Check into the location of Etaples.
  • Work on my tree branch that connects to the Van Gessel family.
  • Write a post about my (Klein) connections with the Van Gessel family.
  • Update my tree with all the new information I have gotten from many sources.
  • Go through new information from Grady.
  • Write a post on the Flipse update and the DeSmits (one or two posts)
  • I plan to reorganize the pages of this blog (not the posts, but the pages, which are tabbed at the top of the page). I want to organize pages by family branch: DeKorns, Zuidwegs, Mulders, etc. 
  • Brook Lodge
  • Harold Remine
  • Alice Leeuwenhoek Moerdyk
  • Organize newspaper clippings and photos and eventually prepare posts

After I do all the above, there will be plenty more to do, including finding out more about some of these photos I have. Here is one of a boy in “Nymegen,” according to the name on the photo. W. Ivens is the photographer.  But so many mysteries. Who is W. Ivens? When was the photograph taken? Is Nymegen the same city as Nijmegen? If so, it’s a city on the opposite (eastern) side of the Netherlands than my relatives came from. Nijmegen is almost to the German border. It’s on the Waal River, which is the main distributary branch of the Rhine River and flows through the Netherlands. Who is the boy? Why is he so far from Goes?

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