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 Adrian Zuidweg, Bosman, DeKorn family, early 1900s, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, John Bosman, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo Michigan, Michigan history, Remijnse, Remine, Remynse | 19 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.
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 Adrian Zuidweg, Bosman, DeKorn family, early 1900s, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo Michigan, Michigan history, Remijnse, Remine, Remynse | 17 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
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
Artist: Diana Dale Castle
Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history | Tagged A.M. Todd Company, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Michigan, Michigan history, Paul H. Todd | 16 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
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!
Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Jennie DeKorn Culver, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Leeuwenhoek, Michigan history | Tagged A.M. Todd Company, Albert John Todd, DeKorn, DeKorn family, DeKorn genealogy, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Michigan, Michigan history | 12 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?
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.?
Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Joseph Peter DeKorn, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg | Tagged Class Day Exercises 1902, Class of 1902, DeKorn, DeKorn family, DeKorn genealogy, early 1900s, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo High School, Kalamazoo history | 18 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 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.
Posted in Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Leeuwenhoek, Photography early 20th century, Remine, Zuidweg | Tagged Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn family, history of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo Michigan, Michigan history, Upjohn, Upjohn Company, William E. Upjohn, Zuidweg surname | 12 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.
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.
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
Born March 18, 1873. That’s according to the shell. But my information is March 8, 1873. I have to check on this!
Born January 2, 1875. That’s according to the shell and to my records.
Born June 30, 1881. That’s according to the shell and to my records.
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.
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 DeKorn, DeKorn family, DeKorn genealogy, Dutch Genealogy, early 1900s, family history, genealogy, Goes, Kalamazoo, Kapelle, Paak genealogy, Peek family, Richard DeKorn, the Netherlands | 27 Comments »
Maybe you can help me with a brick wall. I’m looking for ways to research my great-great-grandfather, Richard DeKorn’s, little sister Jennie. I mentioned her and the mystery of her in a post called Uncertainty about Boudewijn’s Kids
Let me back up a bit. Boudewijn DeKorn and Johanna Remijnse had three children in the United States:
The family immigrated to the United States in 1856, right after the birth of Maria. After locating in Holland, Michigan, they had one or two other girls. I found record of a daughter Adriana, born around 1859, and a daughter Jennie, born around 1861. Dutch genealogist Yvette Hoitink thinks they may be the same girl. She says, “Jennie is a common English version of Adriana. The nickname for Adriana in the Netherlands could have been ‘Sjaan’ or ‘Jaantje’, which sounds similar to Jennie. My own great-aunt Adriana has been called Jeanny since she moved to the US in 1948. So chances are that Jennie and Adriana are indeed the same person.” I suppose it is also possible that the first Adriana died and then Jennie was born and that her name could have been either Adriana or Geertruit or something else.
What I do know was told to me by my grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg. He said that Jennie DeKorn married John Culver, had children, and moved to Seattle.
Jennie DeKorn Culver
In the photo I think she does look a lot like Richard DeKorn, her brother, and like Boudewijn her father.
Richard (Dirk) DeKorn (brother of Jennie)
Boudewijn de Korne (father of Jennie)
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I found the following information about her death in the Washington State Death Records.
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These records are kind of a mess. Her maiden name was not Dekoris. And her father wasn’t Richard. And her mother’s maiden name wasn’t Remyure.
The Culver Children
I haven’t been able to find these people in the censuses or other documents, other than Jennie’s death certificate.
Posted in Genealogy | 35 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:
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.
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!
Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Lucille Edna Mulder Zuidweg, Michigan history, Mulder, Netherlands history | Tagged Dutch Genealogy, family history, genealogy, Goes, history of Kalamazoo, history of The Netherlands, Holland, Kalamazoo history, Michigan history, Mulder, Yvette Hoitink, Zeeland | 16 Comments »
I mentioned in a post called “My Great-Grandfather Reinvented Himself as a Business Owner in the U.S.” that my grandfather was in the Dutch army.
Adriaan Zuijdweg
He was born in 1871 and immigrated from Goes to the United States in 1893, at the age of 22. According to Yvette Hoitink, it would appear that he fulfilled his military duties before he left the country.
Notice that the photo says “BERGEN OP ZOOM” on it. Yvette says that this was “a fortified town with a garrison.” So my relatives did get to other places in Holland besides Goes!
However, there might be more to the story.
Can I learn anything from the back of the photograph? Let’s see.
The first thing I learn is that when I was twenty I was a nitwit. Who writes on the back of an antique photograph? I did. What in the world. I can’t believe I was so stupid ignorant.
Sigh.
Notice what I wrote. That was dictated by Grandpa (Adrian Zuidweg), Adriaan’s son. So he says his father ran away from the Dutch army because the man (officer?) over him had a contagious disease! He went AWOL!
I suppose the disease could have been anything, but it was something that Adriaan was afraid to get. Maybe tuberculosis?
We still need to investigate my great-grandfather’s military records to see if they support this family story.
Finally, do you know what it says at the bottom of the back of the photo? De plaat blijft ter nabestelling bewaard. My Dutch friend Linda says that this means “the picture will be saved for order purposes.” Maybe it was a proof?
Posted in Genealogy | 17 Comments »
The Family Kalamazoo 