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Archive for the ‘Netherlands history’ Category

What Does the Book in Her Hand Mean?

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Mulder, Netherlands history, Paak, Peek, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 4, 2015| 15 Comments »

If you tuned in last week (here), you saw a photograph of a woman in a Pilgrim-style bonnet and black dress. The photographer was based in the Dutch towns of Utrecht and Den Haag (The Hague).  Thanks to a Dutch reader, Hubert Theuns, I learned these facts associated with the photo:

The photographer, Cornelis Johannes Lodewicus Vermeulen, was born in Utrecht 18.11.1861 and died in Hilversum 05.01.1936. Photographs from the period 1886-1915 can be found athttps://rkd.nl/nl/explore/portraits#query=cjl+vermeulen&start=0&filters%5Bcollectienaam%5D%5B%5D=RKD%20%28Collectie%20Iconografisch%20Bureau%29

In the Dutch province of Zeeland there is a society for the preservation of traditional costumes. The secretary of that society identified the traditional costume as the traditional costume of Cadzand, a small town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. In 2007 Cadzand had about 800 inhabitants. I believe this information may be useful to you.

I was thrilled with this information. The thought of a costume native to a small town–and owning a family photograph of that costume–was beyond anything I ever expected.

A couple of days later, I had a thought. What if I was wrong and this photo wasn’t the only one by this photographer in my archival boxes? So I searched and searched. And then I found. This photo:

Compare it with the photograph of the woman. Different table, but the screen and the carpet are the same. The chair might be the same. Now we have clothing that looks more fashionable for the period.

Craziest connection between the two photos: the book held by a woman above and by the woman below! The same book? What is the meaning of holding the book? Is this a stylistic tic of the photographer or does it have Victorian meaning, something like the language of flowers?

Do you think these photos were taken at the same time? Part of a family group? Could the woman below be the mother of the three above?

 

 

Here are the backs of the photos in case they offer any clues:

 

Note that they both have the 3 digit telephone numbers. According to the research of Hubert Theuns:

The telephone was introduced at The Hague on July 1, 1883, and at Utrecht in February 1883. There used to be local telephone directories, but I have not (yet) found any on the internet. National telephone directories were published as from 1901. The collection of national telephone directories from 1901 till 1950 are being digitalised by the dutch national library, but unfortunately this process has found delays. Only the national directory of 1915 is available on the internet, and shows that the photographer in 1915 in Utrecht had the same three digit number as mentioned on the photograph, but that his number in The Hague already had four digits.

That leaves quite a range of time that the photo could have been taken. It definitely is pre-WWI; that is one thing I know. But are the styles 1890s or after 1900? It seems to me that the skirts are becoming “slim,” so maybe closer to 1910?

Well, Hubert has been busy at work and has been able to narrow down the time period even more. This is what he wrote yesterday:

New developments. I contacted a local history circle in Zeeland (without being a member) to have the photo put up at their website for identification. I got the reply that they contacted a museum in Nieuwvliet, devoted to the regional costume of Cadzand. The museum replied that the scan of the photo is not detailed enough and requested the original photo. . . .
I also contacted the museum on communication (devoted to the telephone) in The Hague about telephone directories. The librarian informed me that the archive of the municipality of The Hague has a collection of old telephone directories of The Hague. This morning I visited the archive and consulted their collection of “Adresboeken” for The Hague and Scheveningen.
C.J.L. Vermeulen was listed for the first time in the Adresboek, 47th edition, year 1898-1899, but without telephone number.
In the books 1899-1900, 1900-1901, 1901-1902, en 1902-1903 he is mentioned with telephone number 774 (as on the photo).
In the book 52the edition 1903-1904 the telephone number is 1873.
On the basis of the information the photo must originate from 1899-1902, with a possible extension to 1898-1903).

–

Isn’t that something?! Now we know that the photograph had to have been taken between 1898 and 1903, most likely between 1899 and 1902. Hubert’s sleuthing is beyond compare!

For me, there is no comparison between the two photographs in interest. The woman in the bonnet has a compelling expression and handles the book as if she cares about books. The young woman holding the book doesn’t seem to care at all about it. She does look uncomfortable–as if she would rather change into her everyday clothes! I’d guess it was her sister, standing, who wanted them to wear matching fashionable dresses.

My gratitude to Hubert Theuns is boundless. I could not have imagined such a detailed answer to the questions of the lady in the unusual outfit.

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City: Utrecht; Time Period: When?

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Mulder, Netherlands history, Paak, Peek, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2015| 27 Comments »

UPDATE:  This photograph has been identified as to the clothing and location it is from.  See the update at the bottom of the post!!

This one is no doubt my favorite of the unidentifed photos in the archival storage box.

Look at her outfit. She looks like a pilgrim, doesn’t she? Or maybe Emily Dickinson with a pilgrim bonnet on?

 

 

Look at the book in her hand. What is it? A Bible? A hymnal? A prayer book? Surely there is significance to the text.

This is one of my few photos from Utrecht. Did I have family there?

Well, Alice Paak, my great-grandmother, was from Lexmond, which is south of Utrecht, so you could say that that branch of the family comes from the vicinity of Utrecht.

I can’t figure out the relationship. Also, Alice and her siblings were blue-eyed blondes.

Here is the back of the photo in case it offers any clues:

UPDATE: Reader Hubert Theuns has commented below with the following information which adds a lot of information to this photograph.

The photographer, Cornelis Johannes Lodewicus Vermeulen, was born in Utrecht 18.11.1861 and died in Hilversum 05.01.1936. Photographs from the period 1886-1915 can be found athttps://rkd.nl/nl/explore/portraits#query=cjl+vermeulen&start=0&filters%5Bcollectienaam%5D%5B%5D=RKD%20%28Collectie%20Iconografisch%20Bureau%29

In the Dutch province of Zeeland there is a society for the preservation of traditional costumes. The secretary of that society identified the traditional costume as the traditional costume of Cadzand, a small town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. In 2007 Cadzand had about 800 inhabitants. I believe this information may be useful to you.

FASINATING information. I had never heard of Cadzand, but now I will do my research. It doesn’t look too terribly far from Goes–and both towns are in Zeeland.

 

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City: Goes; Time Period: When?

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Mulder, Netherlands history, Paak, Peek, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 18, 2015| 13 Comments »

Here’s another old photo that remains unidentified. Clearly, this elderly lady is from Goes, the Netherlands, and, no doubt, died in Goes.  Because of her age in this photograph, imagine how early she must have been born!

She must be from one of these branches: Paaks, Zuidwegs, or Mulders. It’s unlikely that she is a direct ancestor of Alice Paak, though, because Alice’s mother (born Bassa) died in her early 40s, in 1865. And her mother, a van Nek, died in 1848.

It’s less likely to be a Mulder because most of these photos come from my grandfather’s’ family, not my grandmother’s. She’s not a DeKorn because they came from Kapelle (very close to Goes, but not Goes). That leaves the Zuidwegs–or perhaps an aunt or other relatives of the Paaks.

How do you like her bonnet? Why does it look like her dress has creases around the skirt?

Here is the back of the photo in case it offers any clues:

 

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A Sailor’s Death

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Netherlands history, Photography late 19th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2015| 23 Comments »

My grandfather’s father, Adriaan Zuijdweg (later called Adrian Zuidweg), was born in Goes, the Netherlands, on 3 January 1871. He was the oldest of three children. On 17 September 1872, Lucas was born. Then, on 23 December, 1873, Johanna Geertruida Maria was born. The children were barely a year apart in age. I find it interesting that their mother Jennie had a child every year for three years and then no more children. I wonder if she had a health problem after delivering Johanna.

Adriaan immigrated to the United States in 1893, but Johanna did not immigrate until 1904. She came to Kalamazoo, no doubt following her brother there. Lucas did not emigrate from Goes. Instead, on 4 April 1894, at the age of 21, he passed away. At the time of his death he was listed as a “laborer” in Goes; however, my grandfather’s story about his Uncle Lucas was different. Note that Lucas died not long after his older brother left the Netherlands.

Grandpa said that he was a sailor and, in a tragic accident, fell on the anchor of his ship and was killed.

It seems to me that Grandpa’s information has the stamp of authenticity, especially since Lucas did die at such a young age. But why was he listed as a laborer at the time of his death? Is that a term used for sailors? Maybe if he was hired as a sailor, but not part of the Navy?

I found a website with a photograph of a Dutch “Coast Defence” ship. This photo might be a ship called Piet Hein in 1894, the year of Lucas’ death. Would a ship this big have an anchor that would have killed Lucas? Or would it have been a smaller boat? Click through to the website if you like.

Jacob van Heemskerck (1906)

 

Hard to imagine a  ship this big in this harbor!! Photo of Goes harbor.

IMG_1390

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Balding with Glasses and a Mustache with Personality

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2015| 24 Comments »

Here’s another unidentified photograph. The cardboard frame says it’s from Kalamazoo, but of course, it could be a copy. That said, I have noticed that most of my photographs of adults have been taken in Kalamazoo, not brought from the Netherlands or mailed from the Netherlands either. Nevertheless, maybe my unidentified pix fit into that latter category!

 

I have no notes from Grandpa on this one. He’s certainly Dutch, even the frame is from a Dutch photographer.  He’s balding, but tries to make up for it with his rather wild mustache.  Looks like he uses a curling iron for it.

His glasses are noted. But what I find particularly interesting is the color and tie. Surely that is a style from a certain period? Maybe even the cut of his coat lapels?

His posture is ramrod straight, so he at least wants to give the impression of a business man or upstanding citizen.

Any ideas about this one? Decade? His age?

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Does This Unidentified Photo Offer Any Clues?

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2015| 32 Comments »

Here’s an old photo that remains unidentified. 35 years ago I asked my grandfather who the people were and he didn’t know.  “I dunno. Mebbe some VanLieres” is what he said.

I actually have no idea what branch of the family these people perch on.

 

In order to track it down I need to figure out approximately what year it is. Are there any clues if this picture was taken in the United States or the Netherlands? There are no clues on the actual photo.

Any guesses on the ages of the people–or their relationship?

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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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Paak-a-boo

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Paak, Peek, Photography early 20th century, Photography late 19th century, Remine, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , on April 1, 2014| 30 Comments »

The other day I posted a photo of a couple I had not yet been able to identify. Once I got it posted and readers started pointing things out to me, I began to wonder if it could be George Paak.

On the advice of some readers, I pulled the original photograph out of storage and looked at the back and at the sleeve. The back is blank, but the sleeve itself says this:

PATENTED MCH 271917

I still have a lot of work to do on the research, but I thought I’d post the photo with a concentration on the man’s face along with photos of the women I suspect could be his sisters. See what you think.

What I want to eventually find out is if this is George Paak.

Alice Paak DeKorn

Alice Paak DeKorn

Alice is my great-great-grandmother. Look at their mouths. The hairline, forehead, and sparkling eyes. Don’t they look alike?

Carrie Paak Waruf

Carrie Paak Waruf

Mary Paak Remine

Mary Paak Remine

The ones above are sisters Carrie and Mary. They don’t look quite like Alice or the man. Or do they?

Annie Paak

Annie Paak

 

There’s another look alike. I think Alice and Annie look a lot like each other–and they look equally as much like the man.  What do you think?

PAAK / PEEK FAMILY

 

Teunis Peek immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands with his children.

He was the son of Joost Peek and Annigjen den Besten, born on June 5, 1822 at Zijderveld. (He died on April 24, 1893, in Kalamazoo, Michigan).

Teunis was married on December 21, 1848 at Lexmond to Jacoba Bassa, daughter of Dirk Bassa and Aaltje van Nek.  Jacoba was born on June 18, 1824. She died on November 23, 1865 at Lexmond, before Teunis took the kids and left the country.

From the marriage of Teunis and Jacoba:

1  Joost Peek (George Joseph Paak) was born on August 25, 1850 at Lexmond. He died December 9, 1925, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.*

2  Aaltje Peek (Alice Paak) was born on September 9, 1852 at Lexmond. She died in Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 5, 1908, a few months before her grandson, my grandfather, was born.

3  Anna Catharina Peek (Anna or Annie Paak) was born on January 6, 1855 at Lexmond and died on October 6, 1933 at Kalamazoo (MI). She married Jacob Salomon Verhuist.

Anna was married on March 20, 1890 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Jacob Salomon Verhulst, son of Jacob Verhulst and Cornelia Strijd.  Jacob was born on May 1, 1848 at Kortgene, died on June 20, 1923 at Kalamazoo (MI).

4  Willempje Peek was born on September 17, 1856 at Lexmond (alive in 1870, as William ??).

5  Maaike Peek (Mary Paak) was born on July 28, 1859 at Lexmond. Mary married Richard Remine. She died in 1954 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

6  Cornelia Peek (Carrie Paak) was born on May 8, 1862 at Lexmond, died in 1957 at Kalamazoo (MI).  Cornelia was 95 years old. Cornelia was married on June 2, 1882 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Hendrik Waruf (Henry).  Hendrik was born in 1863, died in 1945 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Later, Teunis was married on January 8, 1869 at Kalamazoo (MI) (2) to Prina Adriana Schoonaard (Perena), daughter of Jan Schoonaard and Tannetje Servaas.  Prina was born on August 1, 1814 at Borssele.

The other day another Paak descendent found this blog. I am looking forward to comparing notes with him about the family.  He is the grandson of George Joseph Paak (Pake).

 * Joost Peek, or George Joseph Paak (Pake): could he be the man in the photo?

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Who Is This?

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Paak, Peek, Photography early 20th century, Photography late 19th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2014| 38 Comments »

One of the most frustrating aspects of this whole family photo/genealogy project is not being able to identify some of the photos. It’s bad enough to see the names and not know what the people looked like, but to actually have a photo in hand and not know which person or persons it represents is just maddening.

Take this one, for example.

This photo is from my the photographs my grandfather gave me, so these people were part of the Zuidweg/DeKorn/Paak family. But who were they? Is there a way to collect clues from the photo?

What do you notice about the photo?

And what could I investigate to learn more about it?

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Let’s Revisit The Van Gessels (The Klein Girls)

Posted in Chicago history, Family History, Genealogy, Klein, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , on March 21, 2014| 11 Comments »

Identifying the Klein sisters and others in the family photos on my dad’s side of the family is very difficult. It’s particularly difficult when sisters look very similar. So maybe you can help me?

To remind you, this is my dad’s Aunt Elizabeth.

Here is a photo of my grandmother:

Although my grandmother kept her long hair to a much later date than Elizabeth did, the picture of Elizabeth above with short hair was taken later. So I don’t want you to be swayed by the hair.

Which woman do you think is in the following photograph?

OK, here’s another one.

The above photo is the Van Gessel children again.  Which woman is this? Here she is in a close-up.

The man appears to be a friend of Peter’s.  How do I know that?  See below.

This photo of the two men with the boy was taken at the same picnic as the previous picture.

Now here are the two women together, but unfortunately, Grandma is looking down so you can’t see her face.

For fun, here is another Van Gessel photo.

That’s Grandma with her brother-in-law Peter Van Gessel.  The photo is around 1921.

Here is another question. How do we identify the building in the background of this last photo?

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