Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Netherlands history’ Category

2020 Fill in the Gaps Project: My 2x Great-Grandfather Johannes Zuidweg

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2020| 16 Comments »

I will continue to move forward with updates about my fill in the gaps project. If anything, the pandemic has reinforced to me that I need to get the rudiments of my family history completed so that I can get digital copies to other family members.

So I moved on to Grandpa’s Zuidweg grandfather, Johannes Zuidweg, born 23 December 1842 in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands.

You can find out about him in these posts. A lot of information can be found there.

I have these records: birth, marriage, criminal, death, obituary, 1910 census, headstone, photo, and I manage his memorial page on Findagrave.

Did Johannes serve in the Dutch military? I did ask Yvette to research this question, and this is her summary reply:

Johannes Zuijdweg, born 1842. He was found fit for duty and designated to serve.
Unfortunately, the enlistment registers did not identify the regiment he served in, so his
military records could not be located.

What a shame! I would love to know more about his military service, especially in light of the disturbing news that he served two months in jail for theft after the accidental death of son Lucas. I discuss this crime in the two blog posts above.

Here is Yvette’s more detailed response:

Johannes Zuijdweg in militia registration, 1861
Source: Goes, lists of men registered for the National Militia, levies 1851-1862, 1851 no. 8,
Johannes Zuijdweg; call no. 1438, archives of the city of Goes, 1851-1919, Goes Municipal
Archives, Goes; scans provided by Goes Municipal Archives.
Abstract:
No. 8, Johannes Zuijdweg, born Goes 23 December 1842.
Physical description: 1.601 m, long face, narrow forehead, grey eyes, ordinary nose and
mouth, round chin, brown hair and eyebrows, no noticeable marks.

Son of Adriaan [Zuijdweg] and Johanna Mulder
Occupation: “kruidewerker” [spice worker, probably: grocer], father deceased, mother maid
Informant: himself.
Johannes Zuijdweg in militia enlistment, 1861
Source: Goes, lists of men registered for the National Militia, levies 1854-1862, 1861 no. 36,
Johannes Zuijdweg; call no. 1484, archives of the city of Goes, 1851-1919, Goes Municipal
Archives, Goes; scans provided by Goes Municipal Archives.
Abstract:
No. 36, Johannes Zuijdweg, born Goes 23 December 1842.
Height: 1.601 m
Son of Adriaan [Zuijdweg] and Johanna Mulder.
Occupation: “kruidenwerker” [grocer], father deceased, mother maid
Informant: himself
Lot number 59
Designated to serve.
Regiment: [blank]
These registers show that Johannes Zuijdweg was found fit for duty and designated to serve.
Unfortunately, the register does not indicate which regiment he was in, so his military record could
not be located.

As far as Johannes’ immigration and naturalization information, I am awaiting the completion of the project Amberly is undertaking for me. He only lived in the United States for ten years before his death (1901-1911), so I think it’s unlikely that he was naturalized.

Read Full Post »

Assessing Where I’m At–and The Start of New Info

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2020| 19 Comments »

I am going to avoid the elephant in the room in this post. You know, the Thing that has taken over our lives. But let’s go back to family history and just pretend for a few minutes that everything is normal.

So far I have searched for gaps in my immediate maternal ancestors going back through the great-grandparents.  From that point on, this is what I have been up to. I am bolding the questions I have in case anyone can answer.

  • All my Findagrave memorials through great-grandparents (direct line only) are completed for me and through grandparents for my husband. This means that I have sponsored them and now manage the memorials and can make appropriate edits and additions.
  • I have requested management of my maternal great-great-grandparents memorials from the current managers. There were 8. Almost immediately the manager of Peter and Nellie Mulder turned it over to me. That was so kind. I would have thanked him or her, but the person is not accepting messages at Findagrave. I am waiting to hear on the other six.
  • I requested management of my father’s paternal grandmother who was the first of my grandfather’s branch to die in the United States, and very quickly the manager transferred management to me. I recognized that it was a man I have corresponded with over the family on Ancestry. His wife is related to the branch, but is not a direct descendant of my great-grandmother. I was able to thank him. I already manage both paternal grandparents and my paternal grandmother’s parents. That means that I manage memorials for the all the paternals that are buried in this country.
  • I am making folders on my computer and putting docs on Ancestry for my ancestors on my father’s side, although not posting about them. Have my grandparents done so far. Need to keep moving backwards.
  • Amberly is working on immigration and naturalizations for all my ancestors who immigrated to this country.  I have some of the research findings now.
  • Yvette is working on the Dutch military records going back to my 3x greats. I have some of these research findings, as well.
  • I need 1920 census record for my paternal grandfather and 1900 census record for my paternal grandmother. I’ve searched for their other family members, but can’t find these entries. How certain are we that everyone is in the census?
  • Another question: I can’t find a social security number for my paternal grandmother. She worked until the 1950s (60s?) so why not?

Yvette Hoitink was able to find the military records for my great-grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg (Adriaan Zuijdweg), born 1871 in Goes.

This was particularly exciting for me because of the photograph. Here is a summary of what Yvette discovered:

He entered the 3rd regiment infantry on 11 May 1891. On 2 November 1891, he was promoted to corporal. On 30 July 1892 he was sent on grand leave. He did not fulfill his military duties but emigrated before his service was completed. He was registered as a deserter on 7 December 1893.

This is what Yvette explained about the “grand leave.”

Military service was five years. Typically, this consisted of eighteen months of active service followed by grand leave. At the end of their service, they were called back up for final training and then received their passport of fulfilled service. People who emigrated during grand leave were considered deserters and were registered in the police journal.

Here is the more detailed account of Adriaan’s military service.

ADRIAAN ZUIJDWEG
Posited: Adriaan did not marry in the Netherlands, so there are no marriage supplements. Since he emigrated, it is possible he went before completing his service.
Algemeen Politieblad 1894 Source: Algemeen Politieblad (1894), p. 555, entry 591, Adriaan Zuijdweg.
Translation
591. Adriaan Zuijdweg, soldier-corporal in the 3rd regiment infantry, born in Goes (Zeeland) 3 Jan. 1871, height 1.672 meters, long face, high forehead, blue eyes, small nose and mouth, round chin, blond hair and eyebrows, deserted 7 December.
7

This shows that Adriaan Zuijdweg was listed as a deserter in the police journal. He deserted on 7 December 1893. He would have been 22 years old, which suggests he had finished basic training and left while on grand leave.
Military record of Adriaan Zuijdweg Source: 3rd Regiment Infantry (Netherlands), muster roll of petty officers and men, 1890-1891, no. 80475, Adriaan Zuijdweg; digital film 008480935, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C39V-FQ7G-B : accessed 10 March 2020).
Abstract:
Number 80475. Adriaan Zuijdweg Father: Johannes [Zuijdweg], mother Jennegien Bomhoff Both Goes, 3 January 1871. Physical description upon arrival: 1.62 m, long face, high forehead, blue eyes, small nose and mouth, round chin, blond hair and eyebrows, no noticeable marks. On 11 May 1891 recruited as part of the levy of 1891 under number 40. On 30 July 1892 on grand leave [blank] returned [blank] on grand leave] Promoted to soldier-corporal 2 November 1891
On 7 December 1893 removed as deserter because not responding to being called to duty.
This confirms he did not return from grand leave and was marked as a deserter.

Very interesting that he left before completing his military duty. But such a long period of service for a young man eager to get on with his life. After all, this was not voluntary service, but the LUCK OF THE DRAW, much like our own draft (when we’ve had a draft).

So let’s look at Adriaan’s timeline. He did not return to duty on 7 December 1893. He seems to have shown up in the United States in 1893.

On 4 April 1894, his only brother Lucas was killed in an accident by falling on a ship’s anchor, so Adriaan was already in the United States. Thus, it seems to me that the reason he left the Dutch Army and the Netherlands was to begin a new life in the  United States. He was the first in his family. Eventually his parents and then sister and brother-in-law followed. They all settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Because Adriaan lived a reputable life in Kalamazoo and raised an upstanding son, my grandfather, I don’t view him as a military deserter. But maybe the Dutch viewpoint would be different.

Read Full Post »

The Inheritance of Handedness

Posted in Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, DNA, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Zuidweg on March 11, 2020| 36 Comments »

I will be moving forward–I mean backward!–to other ancestors in my efforts to fill in the gaps. However, I’ve been gone for awhile, and I haven’t had a chance to do any research.

That said, Amberly did find records for me, and I will be posting about the results in the future. Also, the social security app I ordered for Charles Mulder arrived, but it did not give me any information I didn’t already have. The date on the application is 21 November 1955. Since Great-Grandpa was born in 1885, why would he apply at that late date for his social security number?

Ever so often I have wondered if being left-handed, as I am, is genetic, as I had been told. My mother isn’t left-handed, and neither was my father. But my grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg, was left-handed. I get my long-term memory and storytelling from him. I am good at math, and I believe he was, as well. So we have a lot in common.

Grandpa Adrian Zuidweg with my son Marc

Apparently, they have discovered the gene that causes left-handedness, although it’s not a cut-and-dried case of who gets to be left-handed, as it is with right-handers.

For me, the most interesting article about left-handedness is one that argues that the Netherlands has the highest percentage of left-handers in the world. I’m not presenting this as “gospel,” but it is fun. Click here or click on the image:

I read one article that insists that there is an environmental component to handedness, as if it isn’t innate. Trust me, my hand preference was completely innate. With two right-handed parents and no siblings until I was eight years old, I used the hand that came naturally to me.

Here is a very clear image of Grandpa with his cousins Dick and Phil DeKorn in the 1920s (the boys were born in 1920 and 1922). This could possibly be Long Lake in Portage, Michigan, but my family was associated with several different lakes, so it is impossible to know for sure.

Read Full Post »

2020 Fill in the Gaps Project: What Information Am I Missing on Charles Mulder?

Posted in Caledonia Michigan history, Family History, Genealogy, Kent County history, Michigan history, Mulder, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , on February 19, 2020| 19 Comments »

Last maternal great-grandparent: Charles Mulder of Caledonia, Michigan. He was the only great-grandparent I knew–and I adored him.

Luanne and her great-grandfather Charles Mulder

Charles was born Karel Pieter Phillipus Mulder on 6 March 1885 in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands. On my Ancestry page for Charles, I had posted a link to his birth record, but had not downloaded it. I now downloaded it, added it to his Ancestry page, and put it into a folder for all of his documents.

Amberly is helping me with his naturalization info. I do have a ship record (the Zandaam), so I know two-year-old Charles arrived in the U.S. with his parents and his brother Jan, a baby of one. Jan died very soon after the family immigrated.

In fact, I made the Charles folder because I had not yet done so. To that folder, I added his marriage record, death record, and all the census records that feature Charles: 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940. I also downloaded and added his military registrations for both WWI and WWII.

I was surprised to see that Charles had a social security number. For the sake of dotting all the Is and all that, I ordered  his application.

Charles and his wife Clara share a headstone, and I have that photograph. I added it to Ancestry and to the new folder.

I found that I had a copy of Charles’ obituary, so I added it to Ancestry and to the folder on my computer.

Reading over my great-grandfather’s obituary I was shocked to see he only lived to be 82 years old. I was about 12 when he passed away, and I remember feeling frustrated that I was not allowed to attend his funeral since I adored him. But I thought he was about  a zillion years old. No, he was elderly, but only 82. That doesn’t even seem old to me today.

Once again, I had sponsored my great-grandfather’s page on Findagrave, but am not managing it. I have submitted a request to transfer management to me, but I suspect as with the others I have mentioned before, that I have asked in the past and been ignored. We will see what happens.

 

###

I’ll be taking a little blog break for a couple of weeks. Hope all is well with you and yours. I also hope that when I begin the search for gaps in my great-greats I don’t get too discouraged!

 

Read Full Post »

J. G Remijnse: Professor and Doctor

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Netherlands history, Remine, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2020| 22 Comments »

For all of you who predicted I would go off on a tangent, you get gold stars. Here is my first tangent of 2020.

I was asked by someone who works for the City of Portage to search for some photos in my Remine (Remijnse in the Netherlands) collection. While I was looking through the images, I ran across a photo that was clearly identified on the back–both the name and the year.

Clearly, the person on the other side is J. G. Remijnse, and the year mentioned is 1878.

Rather than mess around trying to figure out who the man was, I decided to go to the source–one of my contacts with the Remijnse family, Yvette Boertje. Yvette had contacted me about a photograph that I posted on this blog. Yvette’s great-great-great grandfather Marinus Remijnse was the brother of my great-great-great grandmother Johanna Remijnse DeKorn, so we share 4x great-grandparents and are 5th cousins.

Yvette provided all the Dutch to English translations for this post, which is quite a feat. Thank you so very much, Yvette, for your work on this project.

I was in luck because Yvette’s family was able to identify him almost certainly as Johan Gilles Remijnse, born 19 January 1878. He was the son of Marinus Remijnse (1854-1923) and Maria Pieternella De Ligny (1855-1938). Dr. Johan Gilles Remijnse was my second cousin, 3x removed, according to Ancestry.

Yvette wrote, “According to the following website: https://repertorium.library.uu.nl/node/2850 , his name was Johan Gilles Remijnse, born January 19, 1878. Gilles is also Willem. On this site you can also see the plaque and a more recent image of him.” I highly recommend you follow the link to see the comparison with the earlier image.

Dr. Remijnse worked at the municipal hospital in Rotterdam from 1920 to 1939. Here is a photo of the hospital provided by Yvette.

Yvette provided me with three newspaper clippings about Dr. Remijnse.

19-04-1939

Dr. J. G. Remijnse

Last presentation on the doctor’s course

They tell us:

When Dr. J.G. Remijnse had finished his well-attended doctor’s class at the hospital at the Coolsingel, there was a moment of silence, which Dr. H.W. van Rhijn from Dordrecht used to ask Dr. Remijnse if it was true that this was his final presentation of the doctor’s course.

Dr. Remijnse did not deny it, although the possibility to present again in the fall could not be excluded. Dr. van Rhijn felt obligated – and he thought he spoke on behalf of the whole auditorium – to tell Dr. Remijnse at this parting, that his consistently numerous listeners didn’t want to let him go without expressing their heartfelt thanks for his always so well-prepared and high-level presentations, that, because they are so useful for general practice – would always be unforgettable to them all.

He said that the hospital, but in particular his patients, but no less his colleagues, who had gotten used to his calm and contemplative teachings, would profoundly miss him and would continue to value his lessons substantially.

But they granted him his well-earned complete or partial rest, that he was taking.

Dr. Remijnse thanked him with kind words and said that he had given the presentations from a certain egotistical standpoint because it forced him at the very least to think more deeply, and therefore more beneficially, about the patients.

18-07-1939 (or is it 10-07-1939?)

Prof. Dr. J. G. Remijnse

Successor of prof. Baart de la Faille at Utrecht

The main board of the Dutch Society for the improvement of medicine has appointed Dr. J.G. Remijnse of Rotterdam as extraordinary professor of social medicine at Utrecht as the successor of prof. Dr. J.M. Baart de la Faille, who will resign October 15.

Johan Willem Remijnse was born in Goes in 1878. He attended the Grammar School at Middelburg and studied in Utrecht from 1897 to 1904, where he was promoted as a doctor. Already on January 1, 1905, he was appointed assistant of the surgical clinic under prof. Narath, where he worked until 1919. In 1914, he received the title of prosector under prof. Laméris. (a person who dissects dead bodies for examination or anatomical demonstration – YB)

In 1910, he also was established as a practicing surgeon in Utrecht, although during the years of mobilization, he was also working as a reserve-officer of health. He was relieved of this function in 1934, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

On November 1, 1920, he started working as a surgeon at the municipal hospital at the Coolsingel in Rotterdam, from which function he will resign at the end of this year.

At the third centennial celebration of the RijksUniversity of Utrecht in 1936, Remijnse was promoted for his scientific contributions to medicinae doctor honoris causa. (Doctor of medicine – Y.B.)

In 1934, he received the ministerial assignment for educating interns at the surgical department of the hospital in Rotterdam, and he was appointed as an expert of the doctors’ committee at the faculty of surgery in Utrecht, by which he was once more attached to education.

Many of his articles were published in the Dutch Magazine of Surgery and foreign magazines. In 1925 and 1926 he was chairman of the Dutch Association of Surgery, since 1930, he is chairman of the Clinical Academy in Rotterdam. At the department Rotterdam of the Dutch Society to promoting surgery, he very much enjoys the trust of his fellow members, who appointed him to the chairman of the department council in 1933, in which function he also dedicated himself to social surgical questions.

31 – 01 – 1940

Prof. Dr. J. G. Remijnse says farewell

Tribute at the hospital at the Coolsingel

Yesterday, prof Dr. J.G. Remijnse, who’s been a surgeon of the hospital at the Coolsingel in Rotterdam since 1920 and who was recently appointed as professor at Utrecht, said farewell to his important profession in Rotterdam. In the doctors’ hall of the hospital, prof. Dr. J.G. Remijnse was honored by the hospital staff and the committee for the administration of municipal hospitals. Many were present for this occasion.

First, alderman (municipal councilor – Y.B.) Nivard, then Dr. S. Westra, the hospital chief, spoke. As a farewell, the hospital staff wanted to give Dr. Remijnse something, but they also wanted to keep something: that’s why the choice was made for a bronze plaque, created by artist Begeer, which shows the image of Dr. Remijnse with the years of his employment of the Rotterdam hospital. This plaque will be placed in the hospital near the surgical suites. A second casting was presented to Dr. Remijnse, to put in his home in Utrecht.

In conclusion, Dr. Westra wished the departing surgeon much happiness with the Royal award, which was presented to him by the alderman because it had pleased Her Majesty the Queen to bestow on prof. Dr. Remijnse the title of Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

***

Note that the end of the above clipping shows that J. G. Remijnse was an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. If you want to know more about this, check this link: Knight Orders.

Yvette also provided some death announcements from Dr. Remijnse’s family.

Clockwise top left:

Today passed way to our great sadness, after long and grievous suffering, our dear Mother, in-law and Grandmother

NEELTJE VEERHOEK

Widow of N. Remijnse at the age of over 78 years old.

Family Remijnse

Kapelle, July 19, 1947

The funeral was today, Tuesday.

===

Sole general announcement

Today our dear sister and sister-in-law, Mrs the widow

MARIA JOHANNA ADRIANA SILLEVIS- REMIJNSE

The Hague, September 22, 1956. Nieboerweg 21C.

On behalf of all:

Breukelen (where he lived)

Prof. Dr. J. G. Remijnse

No visitors.

===

Today, our dear mother, in-law, and grandmother, passed away in her sleep,

MARIA PIETERNELLA REMIJNSE-DE LINGY,

At the age of 83.

On behalf of all:

Dr. J.G. REMIJNSE

Rotterdam, March 7, 1938

No flowers.
No condolences.
The funeral is Thursday at 14:30 at the General Cemetary Crooswijk. (this means she was not Roman Catholic, or Jewish, they had their own cemetaries – Y.B.)

This is the sole announcement.

===

Sole and General announcement

Today passed away unexpectedly our fine Husband, Father, in-law, and Grandfather, Mister

  1. Remijnse

At the age of 69.

M.P. Remijnse-De Ligny (wife)

J.G. Remijnse (eldest son)

J.F. Remijnse – vd Made and children (Son, married to vd Made, and children)

J.P. Remijnse (son)

MJA Sillevis – Remijnse (daughter) (her anouncement is above)

A Sillevis (husband of MJA, above)

FW Remijnse (son, probably)

A Remijnse de Vrijs (son, married to De Vrijs)

Rotterdam December 11, 1923
Hoflaan 41 (adress)

No visitation.

The internment will occur at the General Cemetary Crooswijk (this means he was not Roman Catholic, or Jewish, they had their own cemetaries) on Saturday December 15 (a.s. is short voor aanstaande – meaning “this coming”  or “next” lit. the first Saturday that is to come from now.)

***

After his death the following was published in Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch Journal of Medicine May 8 1971. 115. Number 9), one of the world’s oldest journals.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In memoriam Prof. Dr. J.G. Remijnse –

On April 20th, 1971 Prof. Dr. Johan Gilles Remijnse passed away in Breukelen at the age of 93. He was former-professor at the RijksUniversity of Utrecht and as surgeon practiced the public praxis in Utrecht.

November 25, 1904 Remijnse was promoted and he became assistant to Prof. Narath and later chef de clinique at Prof. Lameris, who succeeded Prof. Narath.

Remijnse taught general medicine until 1920. In that year he was appointed city surgeon at the General Hospital at the Coolsingel in Rotterdam, where he succeeded Noordenbos, who had been called to Amsterdam. In this Rotterdam period Remijnse spent his happiest surgical years.

An important event voor Remijnse was receiving the doctorate in medicine honoris causa at the 300 centennial celebration of the Utrecht University.

After Remijnse said farewell to his surgical practice he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of social medicine in Utrecht. After several years, he withdrew permanently to spend more time on his hobbies.

Remijnse educated numerous surgeons. Besides operating techniques he taught students how, in his opinion, medicine would best be served. The character of his opinions was and always remained simplicity and honesty, for which he lead by example his students and coworkers in their duties as doctors.

When the milestone 90 was reached, a delegation of former-students gave him a certificate that made it clear once more how much Remijnse was appreciated by all of us. Later, a large number of his former-coworkers came to wish their ‘boss’ a happy birthday. They brought tangible evidence to show their affection for him and his wife. The ‘dernière vieillesse” had begun, but hope remained that our teacher would be around for some years to come.

The Archivum chirurgicum neerlandicum (1968, vol XX, Fasc. III) published an extensive “tribute.” In which an attempt was made to paint a portrait of the exceptional figure of Remijnse into our Homeland of surgery.

It was a huge blow for him that his wife passed away, whom he only survived by a few months. We will miss him.

Groningen, 24 April L.D. Eerland.

***

I am so glad that I stopped to follow this tangent and share my photo and Yvette’s information about Dr. Remijnse.

Someday I hope to research the uniform in the photo of the young J. G. Remijnse.

Read Full Post »

New Review of KIN TYPES

Posted in Book review, Family History, Genealogy, Kin Types, Mulder, Netherlands history, Noffke, Paak, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , on November 6, 2019| 13 Comments »

 

Joy Neal Kidney has written a lovely review of my family history poetry and flash prose chapbook Kin types. Thank you so much, Joy. While you’re over there, check out Joy’s great blog if you haven’t already done so!

 

Kin Types by Luanne Castle

 

Kin Types can be purchased by using the photo as a link to get to Amazon.

Read Full Post »

Happiness is A Labelled Photograph

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Family History, Genealogy, Kent County history, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , on March 20, 2019| 26 Comments »

In the latest batch, I found a portrait of a man.

And I was thrilled to see an identification on the back.

So a man named Jacobus Zuidweg was living in Grand Rapids on or around 7 January 1901! And he was a cousin of Grandpa’s father, Adrian Zuidweg, Sr. Woohoo!

This made me go to my family tree on Ancestry and see who he would be related to. The only sibling of Adrian Sr’s father, Johannes Zuidweg, to immigrate to the United States was the youngest, Willem.

Then what did I see? I had connected with a man some time back who was related, but his family had changed their surname to Southway. Yes, that is what Zuidweg means in Dutch! And the ancestor that we had connected on was JAMES WILLIAM SOUTHWAY, born 16 August 1880 in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands. He passed away on 12 December 1922 in Detroit.

Funniest thing: my connection had used this exact portrait for James’ “headshot” on Ancestry. I wonder if he knows his name? Going to message on Ancestry!

It looks like Jacobus/James had a brother named Adriaan/Adrian who did keep the surname Zuidweg. He passed away in 1949 in Kent County, Michigan.

I am guessing that James moved from Grand Rapids to Detroit some time between 1901 (when he was 21) and 1914 (when he was 34) because he married and had children in Detroit, plus as I mentioned above, he passed away in that city. James is my first cousin, 3x removed.

Read Full Post »

Six-Week Family History & Poetry Series at BROAD STREET MAGAZINE

Posted in Caledonia Michigan history, family heirloom, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Kalamazoo mid 20th century, Kent County history, Kin Types, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Photography late 19th century, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2018| 29 Comments »

The different ways that family history and genealogy intersect with other aspects of the culture is growing. But I think this project might be a first for family history.

Broad Street Magazine, which publishes nonfiction narratives in a variety of genres, has begun a six-week series of feature articles on six poems from my family history poetry and flash prose chapbook Kin Types. Each article publishes one poem and then provides information on the research that went into the poem. Included are family photos, historical records, and old newspaper articles.

An introduction to the series can be found here. SERIES INTRODUCTION

The first feature article is Family Laundry: “An Account of a Poor Oil Stove Bought off Dutch Pete,” by Luanne Castle

 

Read Full Post »

Narrowing Down the Characters or Narrowing Them OUT?

Posted in family heirloom, Family History, Genealogy, Netherlands history, Photography late 19th century, Remine, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2018| 16 Comments »

Last week I wrote about the Remijnse (Remine) family from the beginning (of our current knowledge). There is a huge pedigree chart available online, and while I need to take it all with a grain of salt, it is extremely useful. It prints out to exactly 248 pages!

My new chum Jacob Remijnse decided to try to figure out the identity of the people in the unidentified Remijnse family photo, using the pedigree chart.

The photograph seems to have been taken upon the occasion of a wedding–the bride is in the white dress in the center and the groom is to her left (our right). The other seated man is probably the father. Let’s assume the five standing behind are siblings.

The only thing I know about this photo is that my family believes it is of one of the Remijnse branches. I figured out it has to be from the Netherlands because it doesn’t fit the Remijnse family members who came to this country.

Using the clothing as a guide, especially the styles of the dresses and the women’s hats, I think the photo was taken somewhere between the late 1870s and 1890. Jacob came to that independent analysis, as well.

Then he drew up a chart of the Remijnse family with dates of birth, dates of death, dates of marriage, and names of spouses. He made columns for how old each person was in 1865, 1875, and 1885. This was extremely helpful.

Using this analysis, it seemed likely that the young couple was one of two choices.

Jan Remijnse 29-05-1863 01-05-1900 2 12 22
07-08-1885
Cornelia Bijlo 06-03-1863 01-04-1942 2 12 22

Jan was 22 in 1885 when he married 22-year-old Cornelia Biljo. There is no doubt that this couple looks 22 or so.

OR

Dina Remijnse 17-02-1856 09-01-1943 9 19 29
07-05-1886
Francois Bijlo 09-08-1864 09-09-1942 1 11 21

Dina was 29 when she married Francois Biljo in 1886. Francois was 21.

Doesn’t Dina seem a better candidate for the standing woman in the back? She would have been 29 here and married the following year at age 30.

So what was the next step?

We needed to look at the family groups. Were Jan and Dina siblings? Was their mother deceased by 1885 since there is no mother in the photograph?  Were Cornelia and Francois siblings? The last is purely curiosity because I think this photo is a Remijnse family photo with the new spouse included. I don’t think it is a combination of members of the Remijnse and Biljo families.

Here is info on Dina Remijnse:

Dina Remijnse, born Sunday 17 February1856 in Kapelle. Notes at birth: Witnesses Pieter Staal and Jan Loijs. Dina died on Saturday, January 9th1943 in Kapelle, 86 years old. Note Dina: Religion Dutch Reformed. Profession housewife. Dina married, 30 years old, Friday 7 May1886 inKapelle [source: huw.akte nr. 13 BS Kapelle] with Francois Bijlo , 21 years old, born Tuesday 9 August1864 in Kapelle as son of Willem Bijlo and Maria van de Linde. Francois died on Wednesday 9 September1942 inKapelle, 78 years old. At the marriage ceremony the following witness was present: Nicolaas Remijnse (ca.1858 – 1909).

Notes on marriage: Witnesses Leendert Monter, 50 yr. Anton Leijs, 32 yr. Worker, Cornelis Markusse, 42 yr. Innkeeper.

Here is info on Jan Remijnse:

Jan Remijnse, born Friday 29 May1863 in Kapelle [source: certificate no. 34 BS Kapelle].

Notes at birth: Witnesses Thomas Snoep, 22 yr. Quartermaster and master, Johannes Staal, 29 yr., Tailor. Jan died Tuesday, May 11900 in Kapelle, 36   years old. The following witness was present at the death report: Nicolaas Remijnse (ca.1858 – 1909). Note on the death of Jan: Witnesses Willem Bijlo, 75 years of field worker, father-in-law. Profession: Field worker Religion: Free Evangelical. Jan married at the age of 22 on Friday 7 August 1885 inKapelle with Cornelia Bijlo, 22 years old, born on Friday 6 March1863 inKapelle as a daughter from Willem Bijlo and Maria van de Linde. Notes on the birth of Cornelia: Witnesses Pieter Snoep, 58 yr., Laborer, Nicolaas Mieras, 40 yr., Laborer. Cornelia died on Wednesday 1 April1942 in Goes, 79   years old [source: deed no. 75 BS Goes]. Note on death Cornelia: Witnesses Cornelis Sleutel, 55 yr., Caregiver. Note Cornelia: Religious Affection Dutch Reformed. At the wedding ceremony the following witness was present: Nicolaas Remijnse (ca.1858 – 1909). Notes on marriage: Witnesses Pieter Hoogstraat 34 jr. Merchant, brother-in-law of Jan, Simon Kramer, 63 jr. Shopkeeper, Dingenis Jeremiasse, 55 jr. Tailor.

On the big document where I pulled the above info from, I saw that Jan and Dina were, in fact, siblings, the children of Marinus and Jozina. But when I searched for siblings, I was dismayed to see that they had two sisters, Adriana and Wilhelmina–and only ONE brother, Nicolaas. This does not fit the portrait with all the young men.  While this might be explained away, the mother Jozina was alive in 1885 and 1886, not dying until 1896. And the mother is not in the photo.

My conclusion: We do not have a match.

But Jacob is not ready to give up on it. He has another scenario worked out, but for that we need more info on the Bijlo family!

###

I might be off-the-blog for a week or two, but I’ll be back with more Remijnse information (I hope)!

Read Full Post »

The Remijnses: From the Beginning

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Remine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 2, 2018| 17 Comments »

I’ve written quite a few posts about the Remine/Remijnse family, and this includes the Bosmans and Tazelaars. But I haven’t really gone back and examined the branch in detail. Recently, I was contacted by one of the last people who bear the surname Remijnse, Jacob, who lives in the Netherlands. We have exchanged information, and now I am going to try to examine the branch more carefully, beginning with this post. Jacob also sent me a link to a massive pedigree chart available online for this family. It is so massive that it will take a very long time to go through. I can imagine myself just searching for the branches and generations of the most interest to me.

This earliest information contains, I believe, some conjecture and begins in 1600. Sometimes the surname is known as Romijnsen–OR Van Remy, Romijn, Remijn, Romans, Remijnsen, Romeijnsen, Remijnse, Remine.

Jan Jans Remy Gesyt de Wale was born about 1600 in the French-speaking southern region of Belgium known as Wallonia or Wallonie.  He married Magarite van Wesepoel, who died between 21 Jun 1626 and 1 March 1627. They had one child, Jan, who was baptized on 21 June 1626 in Baarland and died before 26 December 1627.

He then married Tanneken (Jans) Jacobs. Tanneken was born in Baarland, Zeeland, Netherlands. She had previously been married to Cornelis Janse Durinck from Baarland.

 

Baarland * see info below

They had at least three children: Jan Janse Remijn, baptized on 26 December 1627 in Baarland. Godparent was Cornelis Andries Jacobsen; Janneken Remijn, baptized on 4 May 1631 in Baarland and died before 12 March 1644, also in Baarland; and Mayken Remijn. Mayken was married to Guillaeme Pauwels. Mayken and Guillaeme had a child, Mayken Pauwels who married Franciscus Coene, son of Cristiaen Coene and Mayken Ghysel.

Tanneken Jacobs, my 9th great-grandmother, had already been widowed on 3 April 1644 because she married Blaes Pierse, born in Ovezande (he had been married to Tanneke Machiels, born Ellewoutsdijk). They lived in Oudelande and Everinge. Jan Jans Remy had died BEFORE 12 March 1644.

The first child of Jan and Tanneken, Jan Janse Remijnse, had an extramarital relationship with Stoffelijntje Suythoff, born c. 1630 in Baarland. Her parents were Bastiaen Janse Suthoff and Tanneken Adriaens van Schuyle.

They had a child, Marinus Remijn, christened on 26 February 1656 in Baarland. He died on 5 August 1711 in ‘s-Heerenhoek. He was listed as a country man. According to the website for this family, “Marinus is the ancestor of the Catholic branch of REMIJN, which has established itself mainly in Zuid-Beveland. This family REMIJN married on the basis of religion up to the present day with a limited number of Catholic genders mutually to the third degree kinship and second degree kinship.”  WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

On 24 May 1656, in Baarland, Jan married Hijbrechtje (Huybregthie) Marinis, born Bakendorp. Notice this is a few months after the birth of his  illegitimate son, Marinus.  Hijbrechtjie was baptized on 10 February 1638 in Baarland. She was baptized by Cornelis Jacobs. Her parents were Marinis Marijnisse and Grancijntje Andries. This couple are my eighth great-grandparents.

Jan died 18 December 1696 in Ellewoutsdijk,  6.2 km from Baarland.

My 8th greats’ children included Jan Remijnse 1675-1732. I don’t know the exact date of Jan’s birth, but it was in Ellewoutsdijk. He died in the same town on 24 March 1732.

Between those dates, he  married Elisabeth Pieters on 3 May 1706 in Reimerswaal. (There is a city that was lost from flooding called Reimerswaal. This one is is probably not the lost city as the last residents moved in 1632. This must be a replacement city). Elisabeth, my 7th g-grandmother, was born in 1678 in Ellewoutsdijk and there have been reports of her death on 1 February 1840 in the same town, but that is IMPOSSIBLE haha.

Jan and Elisabeth had many children, but I have not been able to sort them all out. Their son, Dirk Jansz, is my 6th great-grandfather. He was born about 1720 in Ellewoutsdijk. On 1 December 1745 he married Janna Joannisdr Stroosnijder in Krabbendyke (or in 1750 in Ellewoutsdijk).

Rather than make too many conjectures, I will say that there is another second wife problem with this couple that I have not yet figured out. I have only been able to digest so much of the 248 page document online!!!

My 5th great-grandfather was Dirk and Janna’s son, Gillis (Gilles). If the dates 1757-1789 are correct for him, the towns are a bit different, so I am not sure the dates are even close. He married Hendrika Pietertse de Jong (born 20 October 1763 in Kloetinge; died 1835) on 2 May 1782 in Krabbendyke.

The following report, kindly prepared by Adri Van Gessel, begins with my 4th great-grandparents, Dirk and Adriana (Krijger) Remijnse. I now believe Dirk was born on 22 November 1786, rather than in 1787.

Dirk and Adriana also are the couple who probably settled in Kapelle, which is the last residence of the branch before they immigrated to the United States.

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM WORK BY ADRI VAN GESSEL–IN ALL CASES EXCEPT GEERARD, I HAVE KEPT THE SPELLINGS THAT ADRI USED.

I  Dirk Remijnse was born in 1787, died on September 9, 1840 at Kapelle.

Dirk was married to Adriana Krijger  Adriana was born in 1787 at Biggekerke, died on April 14, 1845 at Kapelle.

From this marriage there were ten children. One of them, Gillis, is the ancestor of Jacob Remijnse. Two others are the only two who immigrated to the United States. One is my 3rd great-grandmother, Johanna. The other is Geerard, the ancestor of the Remines, Tazelaars, and Bosmans. I have bolded those three children of Dirk and Adriana.

1 Gillis Remijnse was born on July 1, 1811 at Kapelle, died on October 16, 1868 there. 

Gillis was married on April 26, 1850 at Kapelle to Janna Leijs, daughter of Marinus Leijs and Cornelia Katte.  Janna was born on January 20, 1831 at Kruiningen, died on August 22, 1863 at Kapelle.  This is the ancestor of Jacob Remijnse who currently lives in the Netherlands—one of the few descendents with that surname.

2   Jan Remijnse was born on July 22, 1813 at Kapelle, died on December 21, 1837 there.

3   Hendrika Remijnse was born on October 29, 1814 at Kapelle, died on July 5, 1893 there.

Hendrika was married on December 9, 1836 at Kapelle to Marinus Damme, son of Jan Damme and Helena Potter.  Marinus was born on March 4, 1812 at Heinkenszand, died on August 18, 1893 at Kapelle.

4   Johanna Remijnse was born on July 15, 1817 at Kapelle, died in 1864 at Kalamazoo (MI).  .

Johanna was married on May 21, 1847 at Kapelle to Boudewijn de Korne, son of Jan de Korne and Geertruid Engelse.  Boudewijn was born on June 11, 1816 at Kapelle, died in 1873 at Kalamazoo (MI).  These are my 3rd great-grandparents who immigrated to Michigan.

5   Johannis Remijnse was born on February 14, 1819 at Kapelle, died on May 7, 1846 there.

6   Adriaan Remijnse was born on February 6, 1821 at Kapelle, died on February 17, 1849 there.

7   Pieter Remijnse was born on March 27, 1822 at Kapelle, died on March 15, 1830 there.

8   Frans Remijnse was born on June 20, 1823 at Kapelle, died on November 7, 1860 there.

Frans was married on May 7, 1847 at Kapelle to Maria van de Vrie, daughter of Jan van de Vrie and Pieternella Koster.  Maria was born on April 1, 1824 at Kapelle, died on January 30, 1888 there.

Maria was subsequently married on April 25, 1862 at Kapelle (2) to Bastiaan Huizer, son of Cornelis Huizer and Neeltje Smits. Bastiaan was born in 1804 at Ridderkerk, died on January 19, 1882 at Kapelle.

9 Geerard Remynse was born on February 21, 1825 at Kapelle. He was married to Janna Kakebeke on 30 April 1855 in Kapelle. Janna was the daughter of Jan Kakebeke and Johanna Pikkaard. She was born 24 March 1827 at Hoedekenskerke. They had three children in the Netherlands (one died), and then another in the United States. Geerard is the sibling that is the ancestor of Therese Remine, Harold Remine, and Genevieve Remine Tazelaar. This couple immigrated to Michigan. Geerard died on 1 January 1910 in Kalamazoo, and Janna died on 25 April 1910 in Kalamazoo. 

10    Marinus Remijnse was born on November 27, 1826 at Kapelle, died on August 8, 1863 there.

Marinus was married on May 18, 1849 at Kapelle to Jozina Meijer, daughter of Nicolaas Meijer and Willemina Mieras.  Jozina was born on December 28, 1826 at Kapelle, died on December 26, 1896 there.

So, Johanna, her husband Boudewijn de Korne, and their children, and then Geerard, his wife Janna, and their first baby are the only Remijnses to emigrate. I believe that Johanna’s family traveled by sailing vessel on 13 April 1856. Jacob found a note that states that Geerard and his family traveled in 1856, also; therefore, I believe it highly likely that the siblings and their families traveled together to Michigan.

To find out how Geerard and Janna both passed away in 1910, you can read the sad story in this old post: What Happened to the Remijnses?

Jacob noticed something interesting about my 3rd great-grandparents. He says that Johanna’s father, Dirk, was a witness to the birth of her future husband Boudewijn de Korne. This is not surprising because the threads of my family history are very tangled. To give you an idea of the size of Kapelle, it is now a bit over 12,000 people. But in 1849, seven years before they emigrated, the entire population of the province of Zeeland was only 102,000! So all these towns and cities and villages that I mention on this blog–and many more–are part of that figure!

I’ve posted this photo before, but I have still not been able to identify it. It belongs to the Remijnse family, but to which branch? I might have to spend more time trying to identify a date range here. Because I don’t think it belongs to the two branches of the family that immigrated to the U.S., it must be a photograph of a branch that remained behind in the Netherlands.

*The photograph above of Baarland gives an idea of what a charming village it is.  It is part of the municipality of Borsele in Zeeland. The former Slot Baarland still exists in part–the moat, the wall, and the coach house have been preserved. Outside the village, are the foundations of the medieval castle Hellenburg.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »