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Posts Tagged ‘Zeeland history’

2020 Fill in the Gaps Project: My 4XGreat-Grandparents, Dirk Gillesz and Adriana (Krijger) Remijnse

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 9, 2020| 19 Comments »

Like the great-greats in my last post, Jan and Geertruijd (Engelse) de Korne, Dirk Gillesz Remijnse and his wife, Adriana Krijger (Kriger), are ancestors of Richard DeKorn, the man who had a great influence on my grandfather. Richard was Grandpa’s grandfather, and he lived with his parents at the home of Richard. Richard’s given name was Dirk, so he was named after his grandfather, Dirk Gillesz Remijnse.

By the way, according to Family Search:

In Dutch the word for son is zoon; in Old Dutch, it is soen, zoen or soon, which can be abbreviated to sz, z, se, sen and x. Daughter in Dutch is dochter and in Old Dutch it is doghter which can be abbreviated to d, dr, s, se, sen, sens, and x.

Using this info, we can see that Dirk Gillesz means that his father’s name was Gillis or Gilles.

According to Dirk’s and Adriana’s life stories on Ancestry:

When Dirk Gillesz Remijnse was born on November 22, 1786, in Kruiningen, Zeeland, Netherlands, his father, Gillis, was 29 and his mother, Hendrika, was 23. He married Adriana Krijger on August 26, 1810, in Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands. They had ten children in 15 years. He died on September 9, 1840, in Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands, at the age of 53.

When Adriana Krijger was born on June 11, 1787, in Biggekerke, Zeeland, Netherlands, her father, Jan, was 53, and her mother, Janna, was 31. She married Dirk Gillesz Remijnse on August 26, 1810, in Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands. They had ten children in 15 years. She died on April 14, 1845, in Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands, at the age of 57.

I would add that of these ten children, nine lived to adulthood, whereas Pieter died at age 8. It is possible that there were other babies who passed away, but I have not yet searched for them. For the most part, these children are 1-2 years apart, though, so it’s likely that the family was blessed with good odds (for those days) and that the majority of their children survived.

I found a death record for both husband and wife.

Dirk’s record:

Index of Dirk’s death record:

Adriana’s death record:

Index of Adriana’s death record:

I have not found a marriage record for this couple, nor a baptismal record for Dirk. But I did finally find a baptismal record for Adriana and ordered it from Zeeuws Archief. It arrived in time for this post!

At the birth of their daughter, Johanna, my 3x great-grandmother (who died in Kalamazoo in 1864), Dirk’s occupation was listed as bread baker. Probably a good thing, since he had all those mouths to feed! But think of him getting up really early and getting the ovens going. A pretty hard job, although a good smelling one.

I must confess that the birth date for Dirk and the marriage date that I show come from online family trees on “genealogy online,” a Dutch site. I do not have documents verifying them. So let’s just use them as place holders for now. Of course, the birth years are fairly accurate because of the ages listed on the death records, but I still need those documents!

Adriana was born in Biggekerke. This is a “ground sailor,” which is a term for a windmill that can be operated from the ground. Brassers Molen is a flour mill that was built in 1712, so it had already been around for quite some time when Adriana was born in 1787.

Brassers Molen from Wikipedia

Dirk hailed from Kruinengen, and that town also has an old flour windmill, Oude Molen (literally, Old Mill). This one was built in 1801 when Dirk was 25 years old.

Oude Molen from Wikipedia

If you would like to understand the role of some windmills in controlling the water in below-sea-level Netherlands, read Eilene’s wonderful post: Milling Water to the Sea

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2020 Fill in the Gaps Project: My 4XGreat-Grandparents, Jan and Geertruijd (Engelse) de Korne

Posted in DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 2, 2020| 16 Comments »

My 3x great-grandfather, Boudewijn DeKorn and his wife, Johanna Remine, were the first generation in the DeKorn branch to immigrate to the United States. Boudewijn’s parents, Jan and Geertruijd (Engelse) de Korne (de Corne) were the last generation of my direct ancestors to remain in the Netherlands. By the time that the younger couple had emigrated in 1856, Boudewijn’s parents were already deceased.

Jan had passed away nine years before, on 10 November 1847 in Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands, at age 54. Although I knew that my 2x great-grandfather Richard DeKorn was born in Kapelle, I think this is pretty much the same area as Goes, where so much of the family came from. In fact, the cities are only 7 kilometers apart (less than 4.5 miles!).

Jan was born on or around 16 November 1792 in Kattendijke, but this is a village in Goes. This shows that this portion of the family was in Goes before the move to Kapelle. Kloetinge is another village in the city of Goes that I have seen mentioned in my relatives’ records.

This is a copy of Jan’s baptismal record.

Dutch Reformed Church (Kapelle, Zeeland, Netherlands), baptisms 1777-1810, Jan de Cornee, 16 November 1792
Dutch Reformed Church (Kattendijke, Zeeland, Netherlands), baptisms 1755-1810, Jan de Corne, 16 November 1792.

Geertruijd had already been gone for some time when her husband passed. She died at age 40 on 23 May 1829 in Kapelle, just a few weeks after the birth of her son Pieter. She was born in Kruinengen, about 17 kilometers from Goes, so not far from Kapelle either, on or around 22 April 1789.

The couple was married on 22 April 1814 in Kapelle. According to Yvette Hoitink: “The marriage record of Jan de Korne and Geertruijd Engelse was found in the ZeeuwenGezocht.nl index of civil registration records. They were married in Kapelle on 22 April 1814. Scans of the 1814 marriage records of Kapelle are missing from the “Netherlands, Civil Registration, 1792-1952″ set of images at Familysearch.org so the original text has not been consulted. The (reliable) index provides the names of his parents: Boudewijn de Korne and Jacoba Loenhout and gives his age (21) and place of birth (Kattendijke).” Therefore, I do not have a copy of their marriage record.

At the time of their marriage, I believe that Jan was already living in Kapelle and working as a farmer. Whether his father or he owned a farm, I do not know. But he is listed as a farmer, not a laborer or day laborer, so it is likely that there was a family farm. I don’t know what brought Geertruijd to Kapelle.

After fifteen years of marriage and two living children (my 3x great Boudewijn and his brother Pieter–there were at least two infants who died, as well), Jan was left a widower. On 19 October 1832, he married Elizabeth Zandijk. After she passed away on or around 16 April 1833 (six months after their marriage!!!!), Jan married another Elizabeth. This third wife was Elizabeth Bustraan, and their marriage began on 16 April 1841 in Kapelle. I do not have a date for her death.

I do have copies of the marriage records for Jan’s second and third marriages.

I have a death record for both Jan and Geertruijd. Here is Jan’s.

And here is Geertuijd’s:

 

I hope to eventually find the couple’s marriage record. Additionally, I am looking for Geertruijd’s baptismal record and any evidence of a military record for Jan.

 

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2020 Fill in the Gaps Project: My 3XGreat-Grandparents, Karel Pieter Philippe and Johanna Maria (Boes) Mulder

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Michigan history, Mulder, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 8, 2020| 16 Comments »

My next fill-in-the-gaps couple is Grandma’s great-grandparents–my 3x greats, Karel Pieter Philippe Mulder and Johanna Maria Boes Mulder.

Here are the Ancestry-created bios:

When Karel Pieter Philippe Mulder was born on February 21, 1837, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, his father, Karel, was 24 and his mother, Rose, was 27. He married Johanna Maria Boes and they had six children together. He also had three sons and three daughters with Klazina Otte. He died on April 22, 1881, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, at the age of 44.

When Johanna Maria Boes was born on July 8, 1835, in IJzendijke, Zeeland, Netherlands, her father, Izaak, was 30, and her mother, Adriana, was 26. She married Karel Pieter Philippe Mulder on November 7, 1861, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands. They had six children during their marriage. She died as a young mother on November 19, 1867, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, at the age of 32.

Karel’s family had been in Goes and would continue in Goes, for the most part. But Johanna was born in a town about 30 miles away from Goes. She would marry, live, and die in Goes.

Such a sad story. After bearing six children, Johanna died at age 32. Her sixth child was stillborn about six weeks before Johanna herself passed. Also, a daughter born three years before had also passed away as an infant, only a few months old. The other four children, all boys, survived. One of them was my 2x great-grandfather Pieter Mulder who immigrated to the United States with his wife and first two children.

Karel himself was two years younger than Johanna, so when she died, he was a 30-year-olg widower with four children. Nine months later, he married Klazina Otte. He had six children with Klazina. I have written before about the situation with this family. Karel ended up being a prosperous merchant, but when he died at age 44 in 1881, Klazina was left with her own children, as well as the two youngest children of Johanna’s. Those two were sent to the orphanage in Goes. I wrote about it here: Pieter the Orphan. In that post I wrote how Karel owned the store with family members, and I don’t know how that affected things financially when he passed. Perhaps Klazina couldn’t care for that many children physically. Perhaps she couldn’t afford to. I wondered if the family had been “severed” from the boys being sent to an orphanage, but then I was contacted by family in the Netherlands who shared with me a letter from Pieter to his half-brother Jan: The Treasure that Arrived in an Email. Then I could see that the siblings kept in touch. That was wonderful news.

So what do I have about Karel and Johanna and what am I missing?

For Karel, I have his birth and death records. I also have his marriage records for Joanna. I have information from Yvette Hoitink about Karel’s business and real estate ownership. In working on this fill-in-the-gap project I dug up a marriage record for Karel and Klazina.

For Johanna, I have her birth, marriage, and death records.

I found a painting to represent Johanna on Ancestry. This painting is of a woman from the same town Johanna was, painted by Jan Haak. Maybe this is how she looked when she got married, before she had six children.

Yvette Hoitink was able to find some information about Karel’s military history–namely, there is none. That is because he was actually too short to be taken for the military.

 

KAREL PIETER P. MULDER

  1. 21 February 1837, Goes m. 7 November 1861, Goes

Karel Pieter Mulder married in Goes in 1861, so his marriage supplements did not survive. Goes enlistment records were ordered. He married at age 24, so could have fulfilled his military before marriage.

Karel Mulder in militia registration, 1856 Source: Goes, lists of men registered for the National Militia, levies 1851-1862, 1856 no. 27, Karel Mulder; call no. 1438, archives of the city of Goes, 1851-1919, Goes Municipal Archives, Goes; scans provided by Goes Municipal Archives.

2

Abstract:

No. 27, lot no. 77

Karel Mulder, born Goes 21 February 1837. Physical description: 1.495 m, broad face and forehead, blue eyes, pointy nose, ordinary mouth, round chin, bond hair and eyebrows, no noticeable marks. Son of Karel [Mulder] and Rose Melanie Bataille. Occupation: apothecary’s hand, father: shoemaker Informant: himself.

This shows the name as Karel Mulder, not Karel Pieter P. Mulder. Karel Mulder is the name found in previous phases. The birth date and parents match the information previously found, proving this is the correct person.

Karel Mulder in militia enlistment, 1856 Source: Goes, lists of men registered for the National Militia, levies 1854-1862, 1856 no. 29, Karel Mulder; call no. 1484, archives of the city of Goes, 1851-1919, Goes Municipal Archives, Goes; scans provided by Goes Municipal Archives.

Abstract:

No. 29, Karel Mulder. Born Goes 22 February 1837. Height: 1.495 m Son of Karel [mulder] and Rosie Melanie Bataille Occupation: apothecary’s hand, father shoemaker Informant: himself

Lot number 77

Undersized, one year delay.

This shows that Karel Mulder was too short to have to serve in the military. He got a one year delay to see if he would grow. Unfortunately, the Goes archives did not check the register for the next year to see if he made the mark that year.

Later from Yvette by email:

The Goes archivist had to be in the archives and checked the following years of militia enlistment registers, but Karel Mulder does not appear in the later years. It appears he never served in the military on account of being too short.

It looks like Karel never got tall enough for the military. Maybe he was happy about that, maybe not.

So how short was he? I believe he was about 4’9. I do think that a line of short men came from this branch. His grandson, my great-grandfather, was not a tall man, although definitely taller than 4’9. After that the men were taller as my great-grandmother was tall.

The gaps I have for Karel and Johanna will probably always be places where I have to insert my imagination. I have all the main pertinent documents relating to their lives.

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2020 Fill in the Gaps Project: My 3XGreat-Grandparents, Jan and Kornelia (Heijman) Gorsse

Posted in Family History, Genealogy, Michigan history, Mulder, Netherlands history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 1, 2020| 19 Comments »

My next fill-in-the-gaps couple is Grandma’s great-grandparents–my 3x greats, Jan Gorsse and Kornelia Heijman Gorsse.

Here are the Ancestry-created bios:

Jan Gorsse was born on October 29, 1840, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, the son of Neeltje and Willem. He married Kornelia Heijman on September 4, 1862, in his hometown. They had two children during their marriage. He died on April 25, 1911, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, at the age of 70.

When Kornelia Heijman was born on February 1, 1840, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, her father, Willem, was 27, and her mother, Pieternella, was 27. She married Jan Gorsse on September 4, 1862, in her hometown. They had two children during their marriage. She died on December 20, 1909, in Goes, Zeeland, Netherlands, at the age of 69.

Notice that the bios state that the couple had two children. That is all I know about right now. It is possible that there were more. Since I am so focused this year on my direct ancestors I am not putting the time into searching laterally right now. The two children I know about are my great-great grandmother Neeltje Gorsse Mulder and her sister Wilhelmina. Because Neeltje wasn’t born until almost seven years after the couple married and then her sister two years later, it is possible that the couple did have other children before Neeltje–children that either lived or died in infancy.

I read over that paragraph and thought: why not do a quick wiewas wie search. Just for a few minutes. Guess what I discovered? Three children of Jan and Kornelia who all died in February 1879: 5-year-old Gerard, 3-year-old Jan, and 15-month-old Hendrica. So I did some conjecturing. These children were younger than Neeltje and Wilhelmina, thus more vulnerable. One of Neeltje’s descendants believed that the tuberculosis that killed her was something that she brought with her from the Netherlands. Could her younger siblings have died from it?

I am guessing that Neeltje named her sons Jan and Henry after her deceased siblings, but it is possible she only used the names for her father and another family member. Here are the death records.

 

 

 

Keep in mind that I need to do a more exhaustive search in the future. I need to look for the birth records for these children, as well as seeing if there were other children in the family.

For both Jan and Kornelia I am lucky enough to have birth, marriage, and death records. Maybe it helps that they both were born, lived, and died in Goes–all in one city.

From Yvette, I obtained Jan’s military record. Here is a summation:

  1. 29 October 1840, Goes m. 4 September 1862, Goes

Jan married in a period where marriage supplements do not survive. He married at 22, so either he did not have to serve, or got permission from his commanding officer. Enlistment records in Goes were checked.

Jan Gorsse in militia registration, 1859 Source: Goes, lists of men registered for the National Militia, levies 1851-1862, 1859 no. 21, Jan Gorsse; call no. 1438, archives of the city of Goes, 1851-1919, Goes Municipal Archives, Goes; scans provided by Goes Municipal Archives.

Abstract:

Jan Gorsse, born Goes 24 October 1840 Physical description: 1.683m, oval face, narrow forehead, blue eyes, ordinary nose and mouth, round chin, blond hair and eyebrows, no noticeable marks. Son of Willem [Gorsse] and Neeltje Reijerse. Occupation: laborer, father broom maker. Informant: himself.

This record gives Jan’s name as Jan Gorsse, not Gorsee and has a slightly different birth date than the date provided by Luanne Castle. The original birth record showed the name as Jan Gorse, born 29 October 1840. The birth record named the parents as broom maker Willem Gorse and Neeltje Reijerse.1 This information perfectly matches the information in the militia registration, proving this is the correct record.

1 Civil Registration (Goes), birth record 1840 no. 184, Jan Gorse (29 October 1840); “Zeeuwen Gezocht,” index and images, Zeeuws Archief (http://www.zeeuwsarchief.nl : accessed 13 March 2020).

Jan Gorsse in militia enlistment, 1859 Source: Goes, lists of men registered for the National Militia, levies 1854-1862, 1859 no. 17, Jan Gorsse; call no. 1484, archives of the city of Goes, 1851-1919, Goes Municipal Archives, Goes; scans provided by Goes Municipal Archives.

Abstract:

No. 17.

Jan Gorsse, born Goes 29 October 1840, height 1.683, son of Willem [Gorsse] and Neeltje Reijerse. Occupation: laborer, father: broom maker. Informant: Himself

Assigned lot number 61.

Designated for duty.

Entered into service in the place of Petrus Arnoldus Franken, levy 1858, deceased. 2nd regiment infantry. Passport 1 March 1863 muster roll no. 48491.

This record has the correct birth date of 29 October 1840.

This shows that he was initially not supposed to serve, but entered in the military to make up the numbers because another man in his levy passed away.

Military record of Jan Gorsse Source: 2nd Regiment Infantry (Netherlands), muster roll of petty officers and men, 1859-1860, no. 48491, Adriaan Zuijdweg; digital film 008341183, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSTP-QWV9-4 : accessed 10 March 2020).

Abstract:

No. 48491.

Jan Gorsse Son of Willem [Gorsse] and Neeltje Reijerse Born Goes 29 October 1840, last residence Goes

Physical description at arrival: 1.709 m, oval face, narrow forehead, blue eyes, ordinary nose and mouth, round chin, blond hair and eyebrows, no noticeable marks.

Service: On 14 May 1859 assigned as soldier for the time of four years as a conscript of the levy of 1859 from Zeeland, Goes no. 61. Replaces the deceased soldier Franken, Petrus Arnoldus of the levy of 1858 see no. 25 regiment grenadiers and hunters. reserve On 17 April 1860 inactive On 15 July 1861 on grand leave

Promotions [blank] Campaigns [blank]

End of service: 1 March 1863 received passport of for expiration of military service.

This confirms he served in the place of someone else. He served for four years, including two years of training and two years of grand leave. He got out of the army on 1 March 1863.

Let me sum up the summation (haha). At first Jan (pronounced Yahn) did not have to serve (he won the lottery so to speak), but then he had to take the place of someone who had passed away in order to keep up the numbers for his area. He ended up serving for four years, being discharged on 1 March 1863, which is a half year after he and Kornelia married.

Something I have started to notice from the descriptions that I have been provided for the men on my maternal side. I haven’t found one yet that wasn’t a blue-eyed blond. When I was little, I remember my father telling me about how blue eyes were a recessive gene, which of course went way over my head. What I took away was that he was surprised that I had blue eyes since he had brown eyes and my mother blue. But at least one of Dad’s grandparents was blue-eyed (his mom’s mother) and it looks like my mother’s family was awash in blue eyes, so I guess it makes sense that my eyes turned out blue. Of course, I still don’t understand recessive and dominant genes!

This is a windmill in the hometown of Jan and Kornelia, Goes in Zeeland, built in 1801. it’s called De Korenbloem.

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Assessing Where I’m At–and The Start of New Info

Posted in Adriaan Zuijdweg/Adrian Zuidweg Sr., Family History, Genealogy, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Michigan history, Netherlands history, Zuidweg, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2020| 19 Comments »

I am going to avoid the elephant in the room in this post. You know, the Thing that has taken over our lives. But let’s go back to family history and just pretend for a few minutes that everything is normal.

So far I have searched for gaps in my immediate maternal ancestors going back through the great-grandparents.  From that point on, this is what I have been up to. I am bolding the questions I have in case anyone can answer.

  • All my Findagrave memorials through great-grandparents (direct line only) are completed for me and through grandparents for my husband. This means that I have sponsored them and now manage the memorials and can make appropriate edits and additions.
  • I have requested management of my maternal great-great-grandparents memorials from the current managers. There were 8. Almost immediately the manager of Peter and Nellie Mulder turned it over to me. That was so kind. I would have thanked him or her, but the person is not accepting messages at Findagrave. I am waiting to hear on the other six.
  • I requested management of my father’s paternal grandmother who was the first of my grandfather’s branch to die in the United States, and very quickly the manager transferred management to me. I recognized that it was a man I have corresponded with over the family on Ancestry. His wife is related to the branch, but is not a direct descendant of my great-grandmother. I was able to thank him. I already manage both paternal grandparents and my paternal grandmother’s parents. That means that I manage memorials for the all the paternals that are buried in this country.
  • I am making folders on my computer and putting docs on Ancestry for my ancestors on my father’s side, although not posting about them. Have my grandparents done so far. Need to keep moving backwards.
  • Amberly is working on immigration and naturalizations for all my ancestors who immigrated to this country.  I have some of the research findings now.
  • Yvette is working on the Dutch military records going back to my 3x greats. I have some of these research findings, as well.
  • I need 1920 census record for my paternal grandfather and 1900 census record for my paternal grandmother. I’ve searched for their other family members, but can’t find these entries. How certain are we that everyone is in the census?
  • Another question: I can’t find a social security number for my paternal grandmother. She worked until the 1950s (60s?) so why not?

Yvette Hoitink was able to find the military records for my great-grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg (Adriaan Zuijdweg), born 1871 in Goes.

This was particularly exciting for me because of the photograph. Here is a summary of what Yvette discovered:

He entered the 3rd regiment infantry on 11 May 1891. On 2 November 1891, he was promoted to corporal. On 30 July 1892 he was sent on grand leave. He did not fulfill his military duties but emigrated before his service was completed. He was registered as a deserter on 7 December 1893.

This is what Yvette explained about the “grand leave.”

Military service was five years. Typically, this consisted of eighteen months of active service followed by grand leave. At the end of their service, they were called back up for final training and then received their passport of fulfilled service. People who emigrated during grand leave were considered deserters and were registered in the police journal.

Here is the more detailed account of Adriaan’s military service.

ADRIAAN ZUIJDWEG
Posited: Adriaan did not marry in the Netherlands, so there are no marriage supplements. Since he emigrated, it is possible he went before completing his service.
Algemeen Politieblad 1894 Source: Algemeen Politieblad (1894), p. 555, entry 591, Adriaan Zuijdweg.
Translation
591. Adriaan Zuijdweg, soldier-corporal in the 3rd regiment infantry, born in Goes (Zeeland) 3 Jan. 1871, height 1.672 meters, long face, high forehead, blue eyes, small nose and mouth, round chin, blond hair and eyebrows, deserted 7 December.
7

This shows that Adriaan Zuijdweg was listed as a deserter in the police journal. He deserted on 7 December 1893. He would have been 22 years old, which suggests he had finished basic training and left while on grand leave.
Military record of Adriaan Zuijdweg Source: 3rd Regiment Infantry (Netherlands), muster roll of petty officers and men, 1890-1891, no. 80475, Adriaan Zuijdweg; digital film 008480935, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C39V-FQ7G-B : accessed 10 March 2020).
Abstract:
Number 80475. Adriaan Zuijdweg Father: Johannes [Zuijdweg], mother Jennegien Bomhoff Both Goes, 3 January 1871. Physical description upon arrival: 1.62 m, long face, high forehead, blue eyes, small nose and mouth, round chin, blond hair and eyebrows, no noticeable marks. On 11 May 1891 recruited as part of the levy of 1891 under number 40. On 30 July 1892 on grand leave [blank] returned [blank] on grand leave] Promoted to soldier-corporal 2 November 1891
On 7 December 1893 removed as deserter because not responding to being called to duty.
This confirms he did not return from grand leave and was marked as a deserter.

Very interesting that he left before completing his military duty. But such a long period of service for a young man eager to get on with his life. After all, this was not voluntary service, but the LUCK OF THE DRAW, much like our own draft (when we’ve had a draft).

So let’s look at Adriaan’s timeline. He did not return to duty on 7 December 1893. He seems to have shown up in the United States in 1893.

On 4 April 1894, his only brother Lucas was killed in an accident by falling on a ship’s anchor, so Adriaan was already in the United States. Thus, it seems to me that the reason he left the Dutch Army and the Netherlands was to begin a new life in the  United States. He was the first in his family. Eventually his parents and then sister and brother-in-law followed. They all settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Because Adriaan lived a reputable life in Kalamazoo and raised an upstanding son, my grandfather, I don’t view him as a military deserter. But maybe the Dutch viewpoint would be different.

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