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Posts Tagged ‘DeKorn genealogy’

Dogs in the Family

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

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

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

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

TOM AND CARLO DEKORN

TOM AND CARLO DEKORN

BOBBY DEKORN

BOBBY DEKORN

Is the dog running toward Richard DeKorn?

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

The dogs with Cora, Adrian, and Alice

The dogs with Cora, Adrian, and Alice

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

Bobby in the yard

Bobby in the yard

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

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

Baby Alice playing with the kittens

Is that baby Alice playing with the kittens?

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

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Another Strange Coincidence Linking Branches of My Family

Posted in Chicago history, Family History, Genealogy, Klein, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , on March 18, 2014| 16 Comments »

Back in October I mentioned that thanks to meeting Adri van Gessel, an amateur genealogist who lives in the Netherlands, through this blog, I learned of an astonishing connection or coincidence in my family.  Adri first read my post, “Another Sailor in the Family,”  about my father’s uncle, Frank Klein.

I have been concentrating on my mother’s relatives on this blog. They are primarily of Dutch ancestry, mainly from Goes, a city in Zeeland, or the surrounding area. Before you read this blog, had you heard of Goes? Probably not, unless you’re Dutch. My mother’s father grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and her mother in Caledonia, Michigan. Kalamazoo and Caledonia are in different counties. It was quite the coincidence to learn that their relatives came from the same place in Europe.  Last spring I discovered that my grandparents, in fact, had an ancestor in common.

But my father’s family was in the Chicago area, and they weren’t Dutch, and there should have been no connections. My father and mother met when my father chose to attend Western Michigan University, which is located in Kalamazoo.

Imagine my surprise when Adri contacted me, and I learned that I have another connection to Goes through my father’s aunt, Elizabeth Klein. The grandfather of her husband, Peter Van Gessel, came to the United States (Grand Rapids, Michigan–same county as Caledonia!)  from a little village near Goes!

Is that not the wildest coincidence?!

Elizabeth was the oldest of my great-grandparents’ five children.  She was born in 1891 in Budesheim, Germany, outside of Bingen on the Rhine. Elizabeth married Peter Van Gessel, and they had seven children. Unfortunately, Elizabeth passed away in 1926 of “Edema of lungs due acute debilitative heart. CONTRIBUTORY:  Chronic myocarditis under my [doctor’s] care for 2 years.”

Elizabeth was about 34 when she passed away in 1926. Her youngest child was born in 1923, and according to the death certificate, she had been treated for myocarditis since her youngest was a baby. Since myocarditis typically is caused by bacteria or a virus, I wonder if his birth had anything to do with it.

I have photos of Peter and the Van Gessel children, but I wasn’t sure which woman in the family photos was Elizabeth. Nobody who knew her in person is still alive. But after studying the photographs and the contexts and ages of the children, and then asking my father and my uncle what they thought, it seems clear which woman is Elizabeth.

In the photo above, Elizabeth is the woman in the back, not the woman in front. That one is Aunt Anna, the sister one year younger than my grandmother–the 3rd sister. The two or three of the children belong to Elizabeth.  Notice how Elizabeth’s daughter, probably Colleta (maybe Josephine), has the same haircut as her mother.

Here is the same photo focusing on Elizabeth.

This photo was probably taken at the same time. Seated, holding the little boys, are Helen, my grandmother’s youngest sister, and an unidentified woman, probably a friend or neighbor. Anna is most likely taking the photo. Nobody looks very happy in this one!

Picture 610Does Colleta look about 11 or 12? If so, these boys would have to be either Robert and Laurence, the two youngest, or Robert (on Helen’s lap) and a child of the other woman. The thing with Robert is that he, unfortunately, passed away just short of 3 years old–of acute bronchitis. He was treated by the doctor for five days before he passed away.

Two years after her little boy died, Elizabeth also passed away.

So who is in the photo above and what year might this be?  The back row is Helen, Marie (my grandmother), Elizabeth, Margarethe (their mother), Peter Van Gessel.  In the front row is Frank (their father) and the Van Gessel children–Frank and Margarethe’s grandchildren. Anna, the other sister, is probably taking this photo.

Notice Peter: he had quite a sense of fun and joking.  Here’s another:

That’s Anna holding the baby. Peter (the oldest son of Elizabeth and Peter) is the boy standing, wearing glasses.

I am having a difficult time dating the photos based on the ages of the children.

Here is a photo where I feel confident, and so does Adri. It shows the 4 oldest Van Gessel children: Colleta, Josephine, Peter, and Elizabeth. Grace is probably the baby in the carriage. I’m actually not sure if the woman is Elizabeth or my grandmother. This photo would have been taken somewhere between 1917 and 1920. I think Elizabeth would have still had long hair at this early date.

Here is a photo of the four oldest children when they are older than the above photo: Colleta, Josephine, Peter, and Elizabeth.  I’m guessing this one to be around 1922.

A lucky happening is that, through Adri, I have “met” and been in contact with one of my Van Gessel cousins, the daughter of Laurence, the youngest Van Gessel child. Like me, she loves animals and likes to write.

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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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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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Do You Remember The Mystery of Mrs. Jacob Flipse?

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Richard DeKorn, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2014| 16 Comments »

Last July I posted about the Flipse family. I grew up knowing that we were related to them, but I didn’t understand the connection.

When I got married, we bought my wedding flowers from the Flipse family flower shop. In 2007 the Flipse business was bought out by the VanderSalm flower shop. Here is an article about the new business, ValderSalm’s-Flipse Flower Shop and Garden Center. I also discovered that in 2010, the former location of Flipse flowers burned down. Here is an article about the fire. You will also find a map of the location of the business, on Burdick Street, just north of my grandparents’ old house and in the same area where many of my grandfather’s relatives owned homes and businesses.

Click the photos for another article and the photo credits.

I met the elderly Mrs. Flipse when I was around twenty. Her name at birth was Frances DeSmit, and her mother, Mary DeKorn DeSmit, was Richard DeKorn’s sister. Richard is my 2nd great grandfather, so that makes Frances my first cousin 3x removed. As I mentioned at the time, Frances was near the end of her life when I met her; she died at the age of 97.

When I researched Frances, I discovered that Mr. Flipse had been married before he married Frances and was, in fact, a widower.  But I couldn’t figure out who was his first wife.

My friend Adri has helped me out once again and located more information about the Flipse family. The family patriarch was Flip Flipse. That’s right: Flip. Like Flip Wilson. I looked up this name, and apparently it is the diminutive form of the Dutch name Filip or Filippus.

Flip Flipse was born in 1787 at Colijnsplaat and died on July 25, 1842 at Wissenkerke.

Flip was married on July 20, 1814 at Colijnsplaat to Maria Leendertse.  Maria was born in November 24, 1792 at Colijnsplaat and died on  September 13, 1828 at Wissenkerke.

The children of Flip and Maria were:

1 Pieter Flipse was born on September 9, 1817 at Wissenkerke.

Pieter was married on October 14, 1842 at Wissenkerke to Cornelia Blazina de Smit, daughter of Eduard de Smit and Anna van der Maas.  Cornelia was born on October 14, 1822 at Wissenkerke.

2  Izak Flipse was born on January 3, 1821 at Wissenkerke, died on July 17, 1875 there.

Izak was married on August 2, 1848 at Wissenkerke to Pieternella Spruit, daughter of Adriaan Spruit and Geertruid Buis.  Pieternella was born on January 29, 1826 at Wissenkerke, died on March 8, 1896 at Goes.  Pieternella was before married (1) to Johannes de Dreu.

3  Marinus Flipse was born on April 3, 1822 at Wissenkerke.

4  Iman Flipse was born on January 25, 1827 at Wissenkerke, see II-A.

Flip was married on June 4, 1829 at Wissenkerke (2) to Maria Dorst, daughter of Jan Dorst and Maria Boer.  Maria was born in 1809 at Ouwerkerk, died on January 14, 1834 at Wissenkerke.

From this marriage:

5  Jan Flipse was born on January 8, 1830 at Wissenkerke.

6  Pieternella Flipse was born on June 11, 1831 at Wissenkerke, died on December 21, 1831 there.

7  Jacob Flipse was born on November 14, 1832 at Wissenkerke, died on January 15, 1833 there.

8  Maria Pieternella Flipse was born on November 9, 1833 at Wissenkerke, died on April 24, 1836 there.

When Flip married for the third time, he waited a decent amount of time.

Flip was married on March 18, 1836 at Wissenkerke (3) to Janna Dorst, daughter of Jan Dorst and Maria Boer.  Janna was

born on March 19, 1811 at Ouwerkerk, died on February 21, 1878 at Wissenkerke.  Janna was married on April 9, 1846 at

Wissenkerke to Pieter Verhulst, son of Willem Verhulst and Pieternella Flipse. Pieter was born on July 14, 1816 at Kats, died

on June 23, 1891 at Wissenkerke.

From this marriage:

9  Maria Janna Flipse was born on February 11, 1837 at Wissenkerke, died on February 27, 1837 there.

10        Janna Flipse was born on August 2, 1838 at Wissenkerke, died on June 12, 1839 there.

11        Jacob Flipse was born on December 20, 1839 at Wissenkerke, died on April 21, 1840 there.

12        Pieternella Flipse was stillborn on December 20, 1839 at Wissenkerke.

13        Jacob Flipse was born on May 11, 1841 at Wissenkerke, see II-B.

NEXT GENERATION (if you’re falling asleep skip down to the next bolded passage):

Iman Flipse, son of Flip Flipse (I) and Maria Leendertse, was born on January 25, 1827 at Wissenkerke, died on February 11, 1886 there.

Iman was married (1) to Catharina de Moor.

Iman was married on May 4, 1853 at Wissenkerke (2) to Adriana Susanna Meulenberg, daughter of Dirk Meulenberg and Tannetje van der Weele.  Adriana was born in 1829 at Wissenkerke, died on July 28, 1864 there.

From this marriage:

1  Maria Flipse was born on October 15, 1853 at Kamperland, died on December 28, 1921 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Maria was married on August 16, 1876 at Wissenkerke to Cornelis Kallewaard, son of Pieter Kallewaard and Jacoba Rademaker.  Cornelis was born on November 18, 1851 at Nisse, died on March 12, 1931 at Kalamazoo (MI).  Cornelis was married on August 10, 1922 at Grand Rapids (MI) (2) to Adriana Gillesse, daughter of William Gillesse and Adriana Bolier. Adriana was born in 1859.

Jacob Flipse, son of Flip Flipse (I) and Janna Dorst, was born on May 11, 1841 at Wissenkerke, died on March 15, 1870 there.

Jacob was married on May 18, 1859 at Wissenkerke to Cornelia Kallewaard, daughter of Pieter Kallewaard and

Jacoba Rademaker.  Cornelia was born on July 27, 1839 at Wissenkerke, died after 1900.   Cornelia was married on March 1, 1871 at Wissenkerke (2) to Adriaan Boot, son of Cornelis Boot and Lena van der Maas. Adriaan was born on  November 30, 1838 at Kortgene.

From this marriage:

1  Flip Flipse was born on August 28, 1859 at Wissenkerke, died on September 30, 1859 there.

2  Pieter Flip Flipse was born on December 22, 1860 at Wissenkerke, died on January 18, 1861 there.

3  Flip Pieter Flipse was born on January 17, 1862 at Wissenkerke, died on December 15, 1897 at New Haven (CT).

4  Pieter Flipse (Peter) was born on April 2, 1863 at Wissenkerke, see III-A.

5  Janna Jacoba Flipse (Jennie) was born on September 23, 1864 at Wissenkerke, died on January 10, 1932 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Janna was married on January 18, 1888 at Wissenkerke to Johannes Boot (John), son of Iman Boot and Maria Albregtse.  Johannes was born on October 18, 1858 at Wissenkerke, died on November 7, 1922 at Kalamazoo (MI).

6  Jacobus Flipse (James) was born on March 14, 1866 at Wissenkerke, see III-B.

7  Jacoba Pieternella Flipse was born on May 28, 1867 at Wissenkerke, died on August 1, 1877 there.

8  Jacob Flipse was born on August 19, 1868 at Wissenkerke, see III-C.

9  Pieternella Flipse was born on October 2, 1869 at Wissenkerke, died on October 13, 1870 there.

III-A      Pieter Flipse (Peter), son of Jacob Flipse (II-B) and Cornelia Kallewaard, was born on April 2, 1863 at Wissenkerke, died on May 25, 1935 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Pieter was married on November 29, 1882 at Wissenkerke to Sophia Maria Meulenberg, daughter of Pieter Cornelis Meulenberg and Jannetje Verschuur.  Sophia was born on February 2, 1862 at Kats, died on March 11, 1918 at Kalamazoo (MI).

From this marriage:

1     Jan Flipse (John) was born on May 11, 1879 at Wissenkerke, see IV-A.

2     Cornelia Flipse was born on October 17, 1885 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on February 17, 1900 there.

3     Sofie Flipse was stillborn on December 31, 1886 at Kalamazoo (MI).

4     Peter Flipse was stillborn on January 24, 1887 at Kalamazoo (MI).

5     Peter Cornelius Flipse was born on August 6, 1888 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on August 7, 1888 there.

6     Peter C. Flipse was born in 1890 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on February 26, 1890 there.

7     Jennie Flipse was born on September 24, 1890 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Jennie was married on July 15, 1910 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Tour Grobsky, son of John Grobsky and Torrey Mozzes.  Tour was born in 1891.

8     Nellie Flipse was born on September 20, 1893 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on January, 22 1971 there.

Nellie was married on April 5, 1916 at Kalamazoo (MI) to William Van Zee, son of Aart Van Zee and Martha Immerseel.  William was born on October 11, 1882, died in April 1965.

9     Adah Flipse was born on March 16, 1896 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on April 15, 1948 at Grand Rapids (MI).

Adah was married on July 29, 1920 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Roy J. Wiarda, son of John Wiarda and Jennie Huyser.  Roy was born on April 8, 1896 at Grand Rapids (MI), died on October 8, 1979.

10   Jacob Peter Flipse was born on June 4, 1898 at Kalamazoo (MI).

Jacob was married on February 28, 1919 at Muskegon (MI) to Phoebe Stanbaugh, daughter of John Stanbaugh.  Phoebe was born in 1900.

11   Marnie Flipse was born on July 24, 1899 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on June 27, 1931 at Dowagiac (MI).

Marnie was married on September 7, 1918 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Cornelius Hiemstra, son of William Hiermstra and Jessie DeYoung.  Cornelius was born on August 16, 1896.

Cornelius was before married (1) to Harriet Stafford, born in 1909.

12   Cornelius Flipse was born on February 5, 1902 at Kalamazoo Twp (MI), died on July 13, 1902 at Kalamazoo (MI).

III-B      Jacobus Flipse (James), son of Jacob Flipse (II-B) and Cornelia Kallewaard, was born on March 14, 1866 at Wissenkerke, died before 1949.

Jacobus was married on July 21, 1892 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Joanna VanBrussel, daughter of Cornelius VanBrussel and Pieternella Faasse.  Joanna was born on February 7, 1870 at South Haven (MI), died on October 25, 1949 at Lansing (MI).

From this marriage:

1  Cornelia E. Flipse was born on February 9, 1893, died in August 1976 at Cuyahoga (OH).

Cornelia was married (1) to Ernest A. Armbrest, son of Gideon M. Armbrest and Mary Gharkey.  Ernest was born on  February 22, 1878, died in September 1957 at Palm Beach (FL).

Ernest was married on September 30, 1906 at Columbiana (OH) (2) to Nettie C. Taylor, daughter of Ira M. Taylor. Nettie was born on July 15, 1883 at Columbiana (OH), died on August 7, 1922 at Cleveland (OH).

Cornelia was married on June 17, 1916 at Cuyahoga (OH) (2) to Lucien Perry Shepard, son of Ralph C. Shepard and Alice J. Shaylor.  Lucien was born on December 22, 1889 at Cleveland (OH), died on February 16, 1920 at Warren (OH).

2  Nellie A. Flipse was born on October 2, 1894 at Kalamazoo (MI), died in February 1980 at San Marcos (TX).

Nellie was married on July 2, 1915 at Cuyahoga (OH) (was divorced before 1930) (1) to Claude G. McKim, son of J.C. McKim and Lillie Willett.  Claude was born on October 29, 1890 at Pratt (KS).

Claude was married before 1930 (2) to Marion N.N. Marion was born in 1895.

Nellie was married on March 25, 1922 at Kalamazoo (MI) (2) to Ernest Hermon Forth, son of Herman Forth and Julia Schuman.  Ernest was born on February 14, 1893, died in November 1970.

3  Cora A. Flipse was born on September 10, 1896 at Kalamazoo (MI), died in June 1987 at Lansing (MI).

Cora was married on June 16, 1915 at Cuyahoga (OH) to Hardy Brabbs, son of John Brabbs and Mary Holsteiner.  Hardy was born on April 6, 1890 at Flint (MI), died in February 1973 at Boyne City (MI).

4  Florence R. Flipse was born in July 1898 at Flint City (MI).

Florence was married on July 2, 1921 at Cuyahoga (OH) to Floyd George Brightbill, son of George B. Brightbill and Elizabeth Sowden.  Floyd was born on June 10, 1891 at Harrisburg (PE), died on November 5, 1958 at Lakewood (OH).

5  Mildred H. Flipse was born in 1906.

Mildred was married to Charles T. Halier.  Charles was born in 1899 at Harmony (IN).

Charles was before married (1) to Hulda Deway.Hulda was born at Cleveland (OH).

6  Aileen M. Flipse was born in 1907 at Flint (MI).

Aileen was married on July 3, 1923 at Birmingham (MI) to Leland Stoll, son of George Stoll and Edna Spicer.  Leland was born on September 20, 1901 at Birmingham (MI).

The bolded section explains the first and second Mrs. Jacob Flipse–the second being my relative, Frances.

III-C      Jacob Flipse, son of Jacob Flipse (II-B) and Cornelia Kallewaard, was born on August 19, 1868 at Wissenkerke, died on August 11, 1940 at Kalamazoo (MI). 

Jacob was married on January 10, 1895 at Kalamazoo (MI) (1) to Christina Desmit, daughter of Jannis de Smit (John Desmit) and Jacoba Lamper.  Christina was born in September 1864 at Kalamazoo (MI), died on February 15, 1914. 

 

Jacob was married on September 17, 1914 at Kalamazoo (MI) (2) to Frances Gertrude DeSmit, daughter of John DeSmit and Maria Catharina de Korn (Mary DeKorn).  Frances was born on November 22, 1883, died on January 15, 1980. Frances was before married on November 26, 1902 at Kalamazoo (MI) (was divorced in 1911) (1) to Charles Reeves, son of Foster Reeves and Theresa Jewell. Charles was born in 1879 at Ann Arbor (MI).

Frances and Jacob had one child:

1      Richard Jacob Flipse was born on May 29, 1916. He died on June 10, 2001 at Kalamazoo (MI). Richard was married in 1940 at Kalamazoo (MI) to Florence Helen Jordan.  Florence was born on August 18, 1917, died on January 10, 1993 at Portage (MI).  Richard and Florence had three children.

I suspect that Richard Jacob is the man who helped me pick out my white orchid wedding bouquet.

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What Fell Off the Bridge? (Mystery Solved With Your Help!)

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Joseph Peter DeKorn, Kalamazoo history, Michigan history, Photography early 20th century, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2013| 21 Comments »

Since I haven’t had time to work on any of my larger genealogical projects, I thought I’d share a smaller one today.  This photo is from the Joseph DeKorn collection. He was my great-grandmother’s brother, and he took a great number of our family photos during the very early 1900s.

Because someone took the time to write on the back, I felt that this photo was important to someone in the family. In fact, I believe the handwriting belongs to Uncle Joe.

Timber trestle bridge over the Huron River at Ann Arbor was designed and built by Professor Charles Ezra Greene.

Timber trestle bridge over the Huron River at Ann Arbor was designed and built by Professor Charles Ezra Greene.

Here is what is written on the back:

This is the bridge across the Huron R. It was designed by the late Prof. Greene. The place where the posts are close together is where the [?] fell through. The track in the foreground is the Michigan Central. The Ann Arbor crosses the bridge.

Where the WHAT fell through?

Does that say “where the car fell through”? Did someone’s car fall between the posts into the river?

I looked on the internet and all I found was that in the Detroit River, during Prohibition, this happened, according to Wikipedia:

There was no limit on the methods used by rum-runners to import alcohol across the river. Government officials were unable or unwilling to deter the flow of alcohol coming across the Detroit River. In some cases, overloaded cars fell through the ice, and today, car parts from this illegal era can still be seen on the bottom of the river.

But that’s not the Huron River. And what time period are we talking about for this photo?

On the back, it says “the late Prof. Greene.” Here is biographical and obituary information about Professor Charles Ezra Greene. He died in 1903. So the photo was taken at some point after that.  A steel bridge eventually replaced this bridge, and it might have happened in 1924.

In this bio, we learn this about Professor Greene’s credentials:

[Professor Greene] entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here he was graduated Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1868. From this time until 1870 he was Assistant Engineer on location and construction of the   and   Railroad in Maine. The next year he was United States Assistant Engineer on River and Harbor Improvements in Maine and New Hampshire, and was then appointed City Engineer of, where he also carried on a general practice until the summer of 1872. In that year he was appointed Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan, a position which he held to the time of his death, October 16, 1903. When the Department of Engineering was established as a separate organization in 1895, he was made its first dean. In 1884 he received the honorary degree of Civil Engineer from the University of Michigan. In addition to his duties as professor he carried on an extensive consulting practice. He was Chief Engineer of the Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Northern Railroad from 1879 to 1881; Superintending and Consulting Engineer of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad bridge at Toledo in 1881-1882; designer and Superintendent of the construction of the Ann Arbor water-works in 1885; and designer of the Ann Arbor sewerage system in 1890. He paid special attention to the invention and development of graphical methods of analysis of frames, bridges, and arches. He published several works which were well received by the profession and which have been used in designing important structures: “Graphical Analysis of Bridge Trusses” (1874); “Trusses and Arches, Part I, Roof Trusses (1876), Part  , Bridge Trusses (1878), Part  , Arches (1879) “; “Structural Mechanics” (1897). He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers; also of the Michigan Engineering Society, of which he was president for three terms. In 1872 he was married to Florence Emerson, of  , Maine, who with their two children survives him, – Albert Emerson (Ph.B. 1895, B.S. [ ] 1896) and Florence   (A.B. 1903).

Joseph DeKorn attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. I’ll make a guess he took the photo when he was a student at Michigan. This helps narrow down the date of the photo because Uncle Joe was born in 1881, so he would have been studying at the university in the first few years of the 20th century.

Joseph Peter DeKorn (photography by Marion Studio)

Joseph Peter DeKorn (photography by Marion Studio)

What is perhaps very telling is that Uncle Joe studied Civil Engineering, so perhaps he was a student of Professor Greene before the man died.  It does sound as thought Professor Greene taught up to the last. It also sounds as if he was an amazing teacher. At the least, Joe would have learned of Greene’s influence in the classroom.

Joseph DeKorn stayed true to his studies and went on to become Chief or Supervisor of City Light and Water for the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Additional information provided by my uncle in a comment to this post: Charles E. Greene was indeed Joe DeKorn’s prof. He learned both what to do and what not to do from him! Joe DeKorn was in charge of building the Grand Rapids water system which to this day draws it’s primary water from Lake Michigan.  As Uncle Don says, it was a big project!

What do you think that he writes on the back of the photo? Does it say car or cars? Or something else?

FABULOUS CLUE BY MY FRIEND WANDA WHO POINTED OUT THAT THE CAR OR CARS IN QUESTION WOULD BE TRAIN CARS LED TO THE SOLUTION TO THE MYSTERY

This article is from the January 29, 1904 Kalamazoo Gazette.

There is a long article in the Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat on the same day. It indicates a dispute over the cause of the accident and says that actually 13 cars were destroyed.  But the bottom line is that it was NOT a defect in the bridge that caused the accident, but a broken flange on a coal car.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One last image of Grandpa with his Great Grandson Marc.

Great Grandpa with Marc (my son)

Great Grandpa with Marc (my son)

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

Click this link for Part IX

Click this link for Part X

Click this link for Part XI

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part XI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My own kids admiring their great-grandparents' flowers

My own kids admiring their great-grandparents’ flowers

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

Grandma holding her first grandchild (that's me)

Grandma holding her first grandchild (that’s me)

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

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

Click this link for Part IX

Click this link for Part X

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part X

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are the first parts of the story:

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Click this link for Part V

Click this link for Part VI

Click this link for Part VII

Click this link for Part VIII

Click this link for Part IX

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