Longevity - Franciscus Servanus Jacobus Otterspoor (92)

Franciscus Servanus Jacobus Otterspoor was born on 5-3-1864 in Utrecht city in The Netherlands as the eldest son of Servanus Otterspoor (1838-1919) and his first wife Jannetje Aletta Offerman (1838-1885). Franciscus had an elder sister and more siblings were to follow, among them a brother named Servanus, born in 1871.

Franciscus Otterspoor (21) was married to Johanna Jacoba Strijver (23) on 19-8-1885 in Utrecht. She was born in Utrecht, too, on 28-10-1861. The bride’s parents were Leendert Johannes Schrijver and Jacoba van Dijk. Within two months of his marriage, Francisus' mother died. His father was to marry two more times before he died on 2-6-1919 in Utrecht, aged 81. 

Franciscus Otterpoor and his wife had 10 children:

1. Jannetje Aletta, born on 31-3-1886 in Utrecht, was married on 6-5-1908 in Utrecht to Cornelis Mooij (22), born in Alkmaar. They were divorced on 21-9-1915 in Haarlem “based on facts committed by the woman”. She was remarried on 20-9-1916 in Haarlem to Gerrit van de Gevel (27), born in Haarlem. Jannetje Aletta died on 10-10-1944 in Haarlem, aged 58.
2. Jacoba Johanna, born on 8-9-1887 in Utrecht, was married on 21-4-1909 in Schoten to Hermanus Jacobus Hartman (23), born in Oestgeest. He died on 14-1-1953 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. She died in Hastings, Michigan, USA, on 16-6-1969. 
3. Maria Wilhelmina Petronella was born on 19-5-1889 in Utrecht. In 1913 she was living in The Hague. In 1915 she moved to Leiden. On 24-5-1916 she arrived on  Ellis Island in the USA.
4. Franciskus Stephanus, born on 19-4-1891 in Utrecht, died there on 12-3-1910, aged 18.
5. Servanus, born on 5-11-1892 in Utrecht, was married in Utrecht on 7-9-1916 to local woman Pieternella Maria van Doorn (27) who died in May 1965. Servanus died in Utrecht on 24-8-1972.
6. Pieter Willem, born on 12-4-1894 in Utrecht, was married there on 11-7-1918 to local woman Johanna Maria Vogt (27). He died in Utrecht on 4-8-1962. She died in Utrecht on 12-5-1965.
7. Johannes Jacobus, born on 25-6-1895 in Utrecht, died on 14-7-1895 in Utrecht.
8. Willem Pieter, born on 3-12-1898 in Utrecht, was married there on 17-8-1921 to local girl Johanna Wilhelmina Leunen (23), daughter of Teunis Leunen and Berta Busson. She died in 1983. Willem Pieter died in Utrecht in august 1962.
9. Johannes Theodorus, born on 13-2-1900 in Utrecht, was married there on 18-5-1921 to local woman Berta Leunen (21), a sister of his brother’s wife. In 1930 he moved to Indonesia with his wife and children. Johannes died during World War II in Japan on 27-4-1943. His widow died in Utrecht on 9-2-1976.
10. Theodora Elisabetha, born on 14-8-1901 in Utrecht, was married there on 16-6-1927 to Cornelis van Willigen (28), born in Oegstgeest, son of Nicolaas van Willigen and Dirkje de Kort.

Haagsche Courant Newspaper, 1-2-1928

Franciscus' son Franciskus Stephanus died aged 18. Two younger sons, Willem Pieter and Johannes Theodorus, were married in 1921 to 2 sisters. His daughter Jannetje Aletta was the guilty party in a divorce. Francisus' wife, Johanna Jacoba Schrijver, died on 14-7-1931 in Utrecht, aged 69.
For over 40 years Franciscus Otterspoor worked in beer brewery “De Krans” in Utrecht. In 1928 he received a honorary golden medal of the order of Oranje-Nassau. It's a chivalric order open to to “everyone who has earned special merits for society”. These are people who deserve appreciation and recognition for the special way in which they have carried out their activities.
After 25 years as a widower, Franciscus Otterspoor died on 25-11-1956 in Utrecht, aged 92.

Provinciale Drentsche En Asser Courant, 8-2-1928

Sources: WieWasWie, Delpher Newspapers, Het Utrechts Archief, Stamboom Otterspoor, Wikipedia.

Surname Saturday - Tuck

The Tuck surname, recorded as Tock, Took, Toke, Tuck and Tuke, usually is of pre-7th-century Norse-Viking origins. It derives from a Scandinavian personal name variously recorded as Toki, Toka or Toke, short or nickname forms of Thorketill. This popular personal and - later - surname, was a compound of the divine name Thor. That's the name of the Viking mythological god of thunder and the originator of "Thors day" or Thursday, plus "ketill", meaning a cauldron. 

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Tucke. This was dated 1202 in the fines tax rolls of Norfolk, during the reign of king John of England, 1199 - 1216. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. 

I'm a descendant of Joost Jansz Tuck who originated in Mesele, Belgium. He was married on October 14, 1589, in Ridderkerk, Holland, to his first wife, Beeltijen Dircks who originated in Wuustwesel, Belgium. They had 6 children. Joost married his second wife, Neeltje Warrebouts, a widow, on September 22, 1619, in Ridderkerk. They had an additional son. Jan Joosten Tuck, my ancestor, too.

Sources: SurnameDB.com, Ridderkerk Marriages 1579-1643, transcribed by C. Hutchinson, P.F. Klok, B. Tabbernee, J.J. Vervoet & J. Wisskink.

The 11-month-marriage of Niesje Kleinjan (1861-1887)

Niesje Kleinjan was born in Rhoon in Holland on October 21, 1861, as the second surviving daughter of Jan Kleinjan (1825-1903) and Maria van Leeuwen (1835-1870). Niesje was also the first daughter to marry. On February 23, 1886, Niesje became engaged to Bastiaan Klapwijk.

Rotterdamsch Niewsblad, 27-2-1886

Bastiaan Klapwijk was born postumously on March 25, 1860, in Charlois - now part of Rotterdam - in Holland. His father, Simon Klapwijk, had died on October 19, 1859, in Charlois, aged 49. His mother, Lijdia Vermaat (1837-1919), had been widowed at the age of 22. On August 29, 1860, Lijdia had married her second husband, Dirk Vermaat. She had additional children named Dirk Roodenburg Vermaat and Neeltje Elisabeth Vermaat.

In Charlois on March 10, 1886, Bastiaan Klapwijk and Niesje Kleinjan were married. After a marriage of nearly 11 months, Niesje gave birth to a dead girl on January 29, 1887, in Charlois. The next week, on February 5, 1887, Niesje died.

Rotterdamsch Niewsblad, 10-2-1887

Bastiaan Klapwijk married his second wife, Maartje Kluifhoofd (1868-1920), on May 13, 1891, in Charlois. They had two children named Dirk Klapwijk and Wilhelmina Klapwijk. A widower again, Bastiaan Klapwijk died on December 3, 1933, in Rotterdam, aged 73.

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, Delpher.nl, Stadsarchief.Rotterdam.nl/.

Pieter Koomans drowned in 1864

Skipper Johannes Josephes Killian was living in Rotterdam and working as a skipper at a Dutch Ship named "Koning Willem III". He made a declaration that on September 3, 1864, around 23:00, he was sailing at sea at 52° north latitude and 3° east longitude, when purser Pieter Koomans, aged 24, fell overboard and drowned. He drowned in the North Sea.

Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 10-9-1863

Pieter Koomans was born on September 9, 1839, around 03:00 in Delft, as a younger son of Jacobus Koomans (1797-1874) and Anna Margaretha Wonders (1797-1860). His grandfather was Nicolaas Koomans (±1752-1829).
Pieter Koomans had two elder brothers: Hendrik Anthoon Koomans (1827-1861), who died childless, aged 33, and schoolteacher Nicolaas Koomans (1882-1910) who was married and had children, including professor Nicolaas Koomans (1879-1845).

Sources: Delft Archive, West-Brabant Archive, Delpher Newspapers, Huygens Knaw Resources.