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Posts Tagged ‘Richard DeKorn’

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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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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My Grandfather’s Story, Part IX

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 17, 2013| 15 Comments »

My grandfather was an individualist and an independent thinker. But he was also a bit of a contradiction because he was dependent on my grandmother (and she on Grandpa) and liked to talk to other people. Grandpa was a born storyteller and storytellers need audiences.

The next passage in Grandpa’s story illustrates his individualism:

Grandma and Grandpa attended First United Methodist Church in downtown Kalamazoo (known for many years as First Methodist before the denomination merged with United Brethren). Although his relatives had belonged to the (Dutch) Reformed Church, that stopped after Grandpa’s mother had gotten angry at someone. She had given a quilt to the church for a White Elephant sale (or something similar), and then she saw it hanging from someone else’s clothesline. The implication was that she discovered someone had “appropriated” the quilt for herself. That caused my great-grandmother not to go back to her own church. Like many of the family stories that have been told and re-told until I learned them, this could be the reason–or there could be another reason.

Grandma was brought up in Caledonia, and the Methodist Church was part of her upbringing. So it was natural that my grandparents attended the big English Gothic church. The building was brand new when my grandparents were starting out their lives as a married couple.

First United Methodist Church, Kalamazoo

First United Methodist Church, Kalamazoo

A lot of my mother’s extended family went to this church and it’s seen my family at baptisms, weddings, and funeral receptions. I attended Sunday School there at least one year and Bible School at least one summer and have gone to services, most notably many Christmas Eves.

Photo by Chad Boorsma

I remember looking for Grandpa after the service one Sunday. He was in the “treasury.” On other occasions, I remember trying to get him to come to service with us, but he never would.

Why? He said he couldn’t sit still.

And I think that’s true. Wherever Grandpa was with family, no matter what we were in the middle of, he would suddenly stand up and say, “Time to go, Edna.” He had what we used to call “ants in his pants” and had to be on the move.

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part X 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

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part VIII

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 10, 2013| 11 Comments »

In the last post I told you how Grandpa owned the Sunoco gas station. He actually ran it for fifty years. In the middle of the passage about the business, Connie mentioned the following:

They [Adrian and Edna] built a new house (Adrian can still recite all the specs and dimensions  for that house) and their son was born in 1936. They had two daughters, one 2 and one 7 years later.

I’d like to clarify what Connie wrote there.  Grandma and Grandpa got married in 1932, then built their new house in 1934, the same year their first child, my mother was born. Two years later, her brother was born, and in 1940, her sister was born.

Mom and Uncle Don

Mom and Uncle Don

According to Google maps, the house Grandpa built is still there.  Here is a photo of it from 1947:

Grandma and Grandpa's house on Burdick Street

Grandma and Grandpa’s house on Burdick Street

Eventually ivy grew up the chimney side of the house.

This is the house where my mom and her siblings grew up. It’s where we went for Christmas and Thanksgiving. It’s where I stayed every weekday in kindergarten while Grandma babysat me.

When you walked in that front door, their living room was to the left and the kitchen to the right. Straight ahead took you to the two back bedrooms. Upstairs there were three bedrooms. The window over the front porch was the tiny room in front. In there they kept an iron crib and I found my uncle’s books. The bedroom on the side by the chimney was the big bedroom. In there I found the chest with my mother’s treasures and the little corner shelf. The mirrored shadowbox hung on the wall with the miniatures displayed on the shelves.  I slept in the bedroom which was really a hallway, tucked under the eaves, but right by the stairway and therefore closest to the only bathroom, which was around the corner from the bottom of the stairs.

This house is also where I read the books of my mother and uncle and aunt (Zane Gray, the Bobbsey Twins, Black Beauty, all the Louisa May Alcott books) and played with their toys, such as my mom’s miniature collection. I pored over all the scrapbooks my mother had made out of newspaper and popular magazine clippings.  Scrapbooks about grooming and beauty, Frank Sinatra, Shirley Temple. I studied the photo albums, especially the pictures of my mom with her light brown braids pinned up on top of her head.

Eventually my grandparents sold the house and bought one in Portage, the suburb their kids lived in. Though the house left the family, I doubt the house ever really left any of us.

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part IX 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

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part VII

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 3, 2013| 22 Comments »

When we left off, Grandpa had lost his parents and grandfather.

According to Connie:

Adrian and Edna were married just before Adrian’s mother passed away in 1932. That same year he bought back the family market. The following year he tore down the market and built a gas station on the corner of Burdick and Balch. He ran that station for the next 50 years.

As the story goes, Adrian and his sweetheart, Edna, married a few months before his mother passed away.  They got married in May of 1932 in South Bend, Indiana, without a big wedding. This is their wedding portrait:

Adrian Jr. and Edna (Mulder) Zuidweg, 1932

Adrian Jr. and Edna (Mulder) Zuidweg, 1932

What I hadn’t realized was that Grandpa bought back the “family market.” I hadn’t even known the store was sold! After his father got ill, Adriaan (sr.) sold the soda shop along with, I presume, the beautiful marble countertop. I don’t know who purchased it, but Grandpa bought it back–and instead of running the same sort of shop as his father, he turned it into a gas station.

Grandpa by the pump at his Sunoco station

Grandpa by the pump at his Sunoco station

In this photo of Grandpa by the pump, we are facing the station, which was at the SW corner of Burdick and Balch in Kalamazoo. On the NW corner, just across the street stood, and still stands, the Richard DeKorn house, built in 1885 by my great-great-grandfather. The brick house in the background of the photo is not the Dekorn house, but a different house, a bit farther down Balch Street.

Connie writes that Grandpa said that although he worked 12-14 hours a day at the station, he spent plenty of time with his kids.

When I was five Grandma babysat me every school day, and I saw that Grandpa had his own routine down. Early in the morning he would leave the house and pick up a newspaper at Michigan News Agency. It was still dark outside. Then he would leave for work while it was still early. However, the station was only three lots down from the house so he didn’t go far. And we could go down and see him whenever we liked–and always to bring him a home-cooked lunch.

When Grandpa came home from work at suppertime, his work uniform was covered with grease from working on cars down in the “pit.” He’d go straight downstairs to the basement and take a shower under the shower head he had rigged up over the drain in the floor. That way when he came upstairs to greet us, he would be squeaky clean and ready for his dinner.

Grandpa’s shock here at the loss of “personal contact” is emblematic of his practical and logical thinking, as well as his  homespun philosophies. I can’t help but feel that he was so right in what he said. If he knew that today people sit with each other and interact only with their cell phones, he would be appalled.

It’s true that Grandpa loved to take his family on vacations. My mother has good memories of the family road trips.  When I stayed at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I discovered a cedar chest filled with my mother’s treasures, and one of them was a very pretty silver and turquoise bracelet she had gotten on a family trip.  I still have that bracelet.

Grandma and Grandpa playing shuffleboard in Florida

Grandma and Grandpa playing shuffleboard in Florida

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part VIII 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

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part VI

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 August 27, 2013| 17 Comments »

Part VI

Today’s passage is about a sad and difficult time in Grandpa’s life.  Connie wrote, Adrian was

Grandpa, an only child, grew up living with his parents and his widowed grandfather. Yet, by the time he was 23 years old, he was alone in the world, except for his new wife, my grandmother.

He had lost both parents and his grandfather. Yet, at the interview, he told Connie that it “didn’t bother” him that much. He said his father prepared him ahead of time for his death and for taking care of the household affairs.

Grandpa’s mother Cora DeKorn Zuidweg’s obituary

Since Grandpa’s father died in 1929, of kidney failure, and his mother died three years later in 1932, of leukemia, I suspect that his father prepared him to take over the family affairs so that his ailing mother didn’t have to do so. It was probably taken to be a man’s work, and since Grandpa was an adult, he would be expected to take care of his mother. He did take care of her, and towards the end had the help of Grandma. Grandpa and Grandma were married in May of 1932, and Grandpa’s mother died in December of that year. So for seven months, newlywed Grandma helped Grandpa to take care for her ailing mother-in-law.

Grandma and Grandpa formed a strong bond, which lasted their entire lives. It’s no surprise that Grandma interrupted the interview to explain why Grandpa would say he wasn’t “bothered” by losing his family at such a young age. She knew that he was raised not to show emotion and that he was very good at showing a “stiff upper lip.” But being married to him all those years, she knew that it was very difficult for him to experience such loss.

Grandpa saying “I guess that’s why there’s Valium” sounds just like his sense of humor, another way of deflecting from deep emotion.

Grandma and Grandpa in later years

Grandma and Grandpa in later years

I hope you’ll stay tuned for Part VII 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

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part V

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography early 20th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2013| 12 Comments »

Click this link for Part I

Click this link for Part II

Click this link for Part III

Click this link for Part IV

Part V

I remember my grandmother telling me about Grandpa’s father, my great-grandfather, Adriaan Zuijdweg. She said he worked all day at the store without a day off, and during the day he wouldn’t eat. He would go hungry for hours and then come home and eat a steak the size of a dinner plate. Not much else. But a giant steak.I can’t remember for sure if he put horseradish or hot mustard on it, but I’ll bet he did. Grandpa always liked to add the hot stuff to his meats, and I think he probably learned it from his dad.

Adriaan Zuijdweg with son Adrian Zuidweg

Adriaan Zuijdweg with son Adrian Zuidweg

Grandpa brings up his father at this point in his story:

The story continues that, in 1929, Grandpa’s father died, at age 58, of kidney failure. Grandma thought maybe that eating pattern contributed to or caused his death.  I do wonder how they knew it was his kidneys or if they would have done an autopsy.

The rest of the information in this passage was new to me. I didn’t realize when Adriaan became ill, the family had to sell their store.  Nor did I know that he went back to school to become an accountant.  This kind of blew my mind for a couple of reasons. First, I didn’t realize that the idea of re-educating oneself at midlife was considered an option in those days!  My goodness, that is something to consider . . . .  I’m proud of him for taking that step. I wonder where he went to school.

Second, I love that he went to become an accountant because it shows that Grandpa also got his love of accounting and finance from his father (or was it the other way around?!).  My Uncle Don then followed in their footsteps by going into the field.

I was sorry to see that Grandpa had to quit school because of his father’s poor health. Although I knew he left school early, I thought it was because his blind eye made studying difficult. But from reading this story it’s become clear that his eyesight didn’t affect his school work in that way.  Knowing he quit for financial reasons made me more sad for him.

I’m glad he was still able to have a good time as a teen.  The mention of playing pool was astounding as my grandfather was not a party type at all, and I think of The Music Man:

Oh, we got trouble
Right here in River City
    Right here in River City
With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P'
And that stands for 'pool'
    That stands for pool

Imagining Grandpa at the poolhall . . . . 😉

It’s much easier to imagine him fishing with his grandfather.  I’ve already posted two photos of Grandpa with a fishing pole and one of his grandfather, Richard DeKorn, fishing. Here they are in a slide show.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part II

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography early 20th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 30, 2013| 9 Comments »

Click here for Part I.

In my post of July 16, I shared the beginning of the story pieced together by Connie Jo Bowman in 1994, when she interviewed my grandfather Adrian Zuidweg.  Here is the next part.  Today I am going to focus on just one paragraph–to try to unpack it.

Here is what Connie wrote:

His father owned a fish market and Adrian’s earliest memories were of going to his aunt’s house while his mother helped out at the market. He remembers playing with his cousins around the big woodburning stove and the “outside toilet.” This was before 1911 because that was the year gas and sewer lines were brought up the street to their house.

I’ve written before about Grandpa’s father’s fish market in the post “My Great-Grandfather Reinvented Himself as a Business Owner in the U.S.” I share photos in that post of the interior of the fish market and the interior of the ice cream parlor Adriaan Zuijdweg (Grandpa’s father) owned after the fish market.

Adriaan Zuijdweg, Proprietor, standing

Adriaan Zuijdweg, Proprietor, standing

So that’s where Grandpa’s mother Cora went to “help out” at the market.  But Grandpa himself stayed at his aunt’s. There are two possibilities. One is his Aunt Jen, Cora’s sister. The other is his Aunt Johanna, his father’s sister.  Before 1911, Grandpa was a toddler–maybe two years old. Some people don’t have memories from that age, but I also have memories from when I was two years old.

Let’s say the year was 1910.  In 1910, Johanna Zuijdweg Van Liere had been in the United States for six years. She married her husband Marinus Van Liere in Goes, the town in the Netherlands they were both from. Johanna had two baby boys when she immigrated here, and by 1910 may have had six, seven, or eight boys. I’m not sure if they all survived infancy, but she was evidently quite busy.

Grandpa’s mother’s sister Jen, on the other hand, had one 13-year-old daughter in 1910.

If Grandpa played with his cousins around the stove and the outhouse in the yard, it would be Johanna’s children.  This led to me to search out where Johanna and Marinus were living in 1910.

Shed or outhouse?

Shed or outhouse?

The 1910 U.S. Census shows Grandpa living with both his parents, Adriaan and Cora, his grandfather Richard DeKorn, and his uncle Joseph DeKorn in the Richard DeKorn house at the corner of Burdick and Balch: 1324 S. Burdick Street. Since the house still stands today, if it wasn’t moved, the address numbers have been changed on Burdick. The VanLieres, Johanna and Marinus, and their six boys lived at 1338 S. Burdick Street. It looks like another family lived between them. About four houses down from the VanLieres lived John and Mary DeSmit and their children. Mary DeSmit was Richard DeKorn’s sister.

I found it interesting that the census shows Johanna and Marinus speaking English, although they had only been in this country for six years. A few of the neighbors spoke Dutch, but most of them spoke English.

Johanna Zuijdweg VanLiere and Marinus VanLiere with son Jacob

Johanna Zuijdweg VanLiere and Marinus VanLiere with son Jacob

In this section of Grandpa’s story, he remembers that gas and sewer lines were brought up to their house in 1911. It must have made a monumental difference in the quality of their lives. Because his grandfather, Richard DeKorn, was a building contractor, would they have been quicker to get connected or was it something they had to wait their turn for, like everybody else?

On a personal note, I was surprised that Grandpa’s family was as close with his father’s sister and her family as this research shows.  I knew that the family was often with Aunt Jen, as many of the family photos are of Jen and her husband Lou.  But there aren’t as many photos of Johanna, nor do I know the history of that branch of the family as the children all grew up.

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

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My Grandfather’s Story, Part I

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Adrian Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Photography early 20th century, Richard DeKorn, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2013| 24 Comments »

In 1994, five and a half years before he passed away, my grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg, was interviewed by Connie Jo Bowman, the head of residents at Crossroads Village, a retirement community in Portage, Michigan. Connie was taking a course about the elderly at Western Michigan University and chose Grandpa as her subject.  I’ve written about Grandpa in a post about our left-handed connection.

The entire interview is eight typed pages, so I’ll divide it among a few blog posts.

Adrian Zuidweg 1908-2000

Adrian Zuidweg 1908-2000

Connie begins by introducing my grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg.  To read the excerpts of Connie’s report, you can click them for a better view (I hope):

Connie identifies my grandfather here as a “tall, gentle dutchman with a big friendly voice.” That would probably be how Grandpa thought of himself. He identified strongly with his Dutch heritage.  He had a lot of jokes, but one of his favorites was to say, “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.” He didn’t really mean it, which you will see by the end of the interview, but he was very proud of being Dutch.

She also notes here how after talking with Grandpa for two years it wasn’t until she began interviewing him that she realized how much there was to know about Grandpa. Grandpa’s powers of observation were impressive to her, especially in light of his blindness. He only became completely blind in his old age, but he had been blind in one eye since he was a small child.

Connie was right–Grandpa had an amazing memory. He also loved to tell stories, especially stories about the past. As the oldest grandchild, I was privy to more of them than the other kids, but I still only know a few from his vast store.

Now that I realize that Grandpa knew the name of the midwife who delivered him, I wish Connie had put that information into her report, but perhaps it didn’t fit with the class assignment.

Here she mentions how Grandpa’s father came to the U.S. from the Netherlands when he was a child. This was Adriaan Zuijdweg, who I have written about in the past. He owned a fish market and then a candy and soda shop.  You can find a story about his retail businesses here.

When Grandpa was a baby his parents moved in with “his recently widowed grandfather,” Richard DeKorn, the brick mason and contractor. You can read more about Richard in the following posts:

Richard DeKorn: Brick Mason and General Contractor

More Mighty Kalamazoo Buildings from Richard DeKorn

Richard DeKorn and His Bride Tied the Knot in Kalamazoo

By the way, a big thank you to Linda at Living with My Ancestors for her help with watermarking my photograph.

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

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