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Posts Tagged ‘old photographs’

Grandpa’s Girlfriend

Posted in Adrian Zuidweg, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Photography early 20th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2017| 39 Comments »

Almost two years ago, I posted photos of my grandfather as a very young man with an unidentified female. I hypothesized that she was his girlfriend before my grandmother.

Here they are together–looks like a couple to me.

I was going through some papers and found memory books my grandparents had prepared (one of his memories and one of hers) for the grandchildren. Inside Grandpa’s memory book, the question is asked: WHO IS THE GIRL YOU REMEMBER THE MOST?

This was his answer: (2) Vander Weele and Garthe: Don’t remember first names

So I did a little research on these names. I figured out who I believe at least one of the girls is, based on the census reports and other documents.

Garthe turned out to be Margaret Christine Garthe, born 11 days after my grandfather in 1908. She wasn’t from Kalamazoo, but from northern Michigan. She had come to Kalamazoo to attend Western. I found her in the 1928 Western State Teacher’s College yearbook.

Tell me if this isn’t the girl my grandfather is seen with above. Back row, 3rd from left.

 

From Ancestry it looks as if Margaret married Hans James Knutson. She passed away in 1997 in Muskegon, Michigan. Grandpa lived until 2000, happily married to the end to Grandma.

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I Have a Theory about These Women: Vintage Photographs from Kalamazoo

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Jennie DeKorn Culver, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Photography early 20th century, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2015| 12 Comments »

I recently found this photograph in a group of photos. Because of a clue on one of the other pix, I narrowed the date to between 1928 and 1931.

I know who the man is because he has a very distinctive look. This is my great-grandfather, born Adriaan Zuijdweg and called Adrian Zuidweg in the United States. I’ve written about him many times, but the best posts would be My Great-Grandfather Reinvented Himself as a Business Owner in the U.S. and My Grandfather’s Story, Part V and Back to the Dutch-American Newspaper.

Adrian died in 1929, according to my grandfather–of kidney disease. But I have not been able to find a death certificate or a grave. Maybe it’s because his name was mangled, but keeping that in mind, I still haven’t found him yet. It is so frustrating. Also, the newspapers from that year are not on Genealogy Bank. Nevertheless, I would put this photo at 1928 or 1929. Because other photos show him more fit than in his photo, I think he might have been ill (or close to it) by the time this photograph was taken.

But who are the women in this photo?

Adriaan Zuijdweg

Could the woman on the left be my Great-Grandmother Cora DeKorn Zuidweg? She looks a lot taller than he does, but maybe she was taller. I will post a known photo of her so you can compare.

Cora DeKorn at her father Richard DeKorn's cottage on Long Lake

Cora DeKorn at her father Richard DeKorn’s cottage on Long Lake

Similar hats, for sure! If that is Cora in the first photo, then she would have been about 53 years old. She herself passed away in 1932 from cancer.

Do you think that is Cora in the photo with Adrian?

Who is the shorter woman? Is this another photo of her?

The only child of Adrian and Cora was my grandfather. Cora’s only sister was Jennie–and this is not Jennie. However, she had two younger step-sisters, Marion and Marge Sootsman. They would have been in their 30s at this time. This woman does not look like one of them. She actually looks more like one of the Culver sisters, but we figured out that they moved to Seattle before this period.

The only thing is . . . there are a lot of photos of this woman. Was she a girlfriend of my grandfather?

 

Kinda looks like it. After a series of these photos, there is a series of him with my grandmother.

Do any family members know the answer to this mystery?

 

 

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Let’s Visit Kalamazoo!

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography early 20th century, Photography late 19th century, tagged , , , , , on April 12, 2013| 12 Comments »

I’ve been chatting on about Kalamazoo, Michigan, for some months now, but if you don’t know the city or the area, you probably only know what I’ve been able to post.

If you would like to see more of historical Kalamazoo, here are some links:

Kalamazoo Public Library

The library has links to many collections, including one which displays this photo of 310 E. Michigan Avenue in 1893.

Vanished from Kalamazoo, County

This site allows people to send in photos of businesses and other places in Kalamazoo which have vanished from the landscape.  Here is a photo which was sent in by my brother of the family business.  At the time of this photo my father Rudy Hanson owned both the luggage store and Why Shoe Works located next door (you can see a bit of the sign).

The History of Kalamazoo, MI

This site provides history, but no photos.

Michigan Genealogy

At this site you will find photos such as the one below of the Upjohn Company, a very important part of Kalamazoo for decades, in 1933.

Portage District Library

This site is good for history and photos of Portage.

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