The Dutch word for "wood'" is "bos". Bos is also a very common surname in The Netherlands. Many non-related families with that surname can be found all over the country. My paternal ancestors with the name Bos have always lived on an island in the south of Holland called "Hoeksche Waard".
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| The Hoeksche Waard is an island in the south of Holland |
My family likely started with Gijsbert Gerrits ("Gijsbert, son of Gerrit") who married around 1600 a woman called Centje Cente ("Centje, daughter of Cent"). Ever since the name "Cent" has been given to males in our family. Since "Cent" is not a common given name, the name combined with the location uniquely identifies our family.
Gijsbert and Centje lived in Puttershoek in the "Hoeksche Waard", located near the cities of Rotterdam and Dordrecht. After the reclamation of the polders that nowadays surround the village of Numansdorp, the Bos family moved to Middelsluis, just north of Numansdorp.
Cent Leenderts Bos (1788-1869) and Barbara van der Giessen (±1787-±1854) were the couple who decided to settle in Cillaarshoek, some kilometres south of Puttershoek. My male ancestors have lived in Cillaarshoek for over 200 years, and some family members are still living there.
Members of other branches of this Bos family still live in Numansdorp. The name Cent is no longer used in those branches, but, like in our branch, the name Cornelis is common. The branches in Numansdorp also feature male names like Huib(ert) and Meeuw(is), names that are not used in our branch of the family.
In the village of Heerjansdam on the isle of IJsselmonde to the north of the Hoeksche Waard lived another family with the name Bos. That family started with Cornelis Pieters Bos(ch) who married twice and baptised children in Heerjansdam. A member of that family, Adrianus Bos, lived with his wife Neeltje Verrijp in Oud-Beijerland in the northwestern part of the Hoeksche Waard.
Yet another family with the name Bos started - as far as I know - with a Cornelis Bos(ch), who was baptised in 1711 in Tricht. His son Hendrik Bos (1734-76) moved to Oud-Alblas in the Alblasserwaard. His youngest son was named Aalbert, a name that clearly distinguishing that family. This Aalbert Bos (1770-1852) moved to Geervliet. His son Cornelis Bos (1807-89) moved to Numansdorp. There he married twice and fathered 9 children.
In Vlaardingen lived yet another family with the name Bos. Willem Bos was baptised on 3-10-1706 in Nieuwerkerk. He became a mason and moved to Kethel near Schiedam. His son Jan Willemse Bos (1744-1808) moved to nearby Vlaardingen. His younger son Adrianus Bos (1778-1861) moved to nearby Maasland, but his elder son Willem Jans Bos (1766-1847) remained in Vlaardingen, as did his elder sons.
And these are just examples of different families with the name Bos in the area to the south of Rotterdam.