Although I have not found a baptismal record for Dirk, I suspect he was born in Lexmond, Zuid-Holland. His parents are associated with that town, his wife Aaltje was born and died there, and Dirk was a farmer in Lexmond, so he probably owned a farm.
While I do not have a baptismal record for Aaltje either, the couple’s marriage document (I have the index, but not the record itself) shows that the marriage took place in Lexmond and states that Aaltje was born in Lexmond on 19 November 1793. Dirk was about four years older than his wife, so he probably was born in or around 1789.
For both Dirk and Aaltje I have death index records, but not the death records themselves. Aaltje passed away on 16 August 1829 at the age of 35. She had given birth to at least seven children. One of the children died at age 5, one at age 20, and two more at age 23 (they were not twins–these deaths were years apart). That left my 3x great-grandmother who died at 41 and her two sisters who died in their early 70s.
At first I thought it was strange that Dirk died in Meerkerk instead of Lexmond, but upon consulting a map I once again discovered how close these towns are: 7 kilometers apart. Here is the index of his death record:
And here is Aaltje’s:
What was Dirk’s life like for the forty years after Aaltje died? It’s hard to believe that a farmer wouldn’t remarry. He would need a partner in running the place. The only other thing I can think of is that one of his children and his/her spouse lived there and helped him manage life on the farm. Of course, after his first born, a son, died at age 20, the other surviving children were all girls.
If I were able to do a heritage tour of the Netherlands, Goes and Zwolle and Lexmond would be the three towns to focus on. Although I thought my Dutch ancestors were mainly from Zeeland when I began this project, I see that they are also from Overijssel province and Zuid-Holland province. However, Lexmond was in Zuid-Holland, but is now in the province of Utrecht.
The Dutch Reformed church building in Lexmond dates from the 13th century. I hope to eventually see how far back I can find family in Lexmond.
The Family Kalamazoo 