Longevity ~ Maria Wilhelmina Branderhorst (97)

Maria Wilhelmina Branderhorst was born on 23 July 1895 in Genderen, Brabant, The Netherlands, as the 6th child of  William Marius Branderhorst (1863-1944) and hist wife Maria Johanna van der Beek (1869-1957). One of her elder siblings, Gijsbert, died on 8 October 1898 at the age of 6. Eight more siblings were to follow. The siblings closest in age to Maria Wilhelmina were Gerrit Branderhorst, born on 13 January 1894 in Genderen, and Pietronella Cornelia ("Nellie") Branderhorst, bron on 18 Ocotber 1896 in Genderen.
In 1908 Maria Wilhelmina and her parents and siblings boarded the S.S. Rotterdam and travelled to the U.S.A. The family settled in Pella, Iowa. There, Maria Wilhelmina had 2 additional sisters.

In 1915 Maria Wilhelmina Branderhorst was married to Hessel D. van Ryswyk. He was born on 31 December 1898 in Leighton, Mahaska County, Iowa. His father is Dirk Jan van Rijswijk (1861-1952) who originated in Heukelum in The Netherlands. Hessel's mother is Dena Evelena Bierma (1864-1937). She was born on 28 October 1864 in Holwerd, Frisia, The Netherlands, as Ybelina Hesselina Bierma, daughter of Hessel Bierma and Jelktje Denkema.

My Maternal Lineage - or “The Russian Doll Challenge”

 Your maternal lineage concerns your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, bed-great-grandmother, etc. It is mitochondrial DNA (or mtDNA) that's inherited exclusively through the female line. This small, ring-shaped DNA is not located in the cell nucleus, but in the mitochondria that are the energy converters of your cells. This maternal inheritance of mtDNA is used to map the distribution of a person's ancestors in prehistoric times.
 Genealogically speaking, your fully female-line ancestors are your ancestors with a 100% certainty. Before IVF your mother was always your biological mother. In the case of adultery, however, a woman's spouse is the legal father of the child, but the child may have a different biological father, so your male-line ancestry is less certain.
 This blog features my purely maternal ancestors*. They were all living in Holland. My purely matrilineal matriarch (upper left) is Ariaentke Willemsdr. who was born around 1595 in Oud-Alblas. My father's matrilineal matriarch is Machteltje Teunisdr. who lived in Ouderkerk aan de IJssel around 1600.

* Creating a line of purely female ancestors is also called “The Russian Doll Challenge”.

				Machteltje Teunis   (* ±1565, aft. 1640 ) |
				Ariaantje Jans   (* ±1596, bef. 1656 ) |
				Elijsabeth Cornelisse Back   (* ±1615, bef. 1676 ) |
Ariaentke Willems   (~ Oud-Alblas, ±1595 ) |				Lijsbet Pieters   (* ±1645 ) |
Catalijntje Claes Ariense   (~ Oud-Alblas 25-7-1621, [] Oud-Alblas 30-9-1662) |				Joosje Willems Segwaert   (~ Ouderk./IJ. 8-12-1675, † Ouderk./IJ. 30-8-1745) |
Catalijntje Willems Bras   (~ Oud-Alblas, 30-9-1662 ) |				Merritje Cornelisse van Erk   (~ Ouderk./IJ. 7-10-1703, † 19-1-1774) |
Cornelia Aerts Stock   (~ Dordrecht 2-9-1707, [] Dordrecht 27-12-1780) |				Teuntje Teunisse Boel   (* ±1729, † Moordrecht 26-5-1769) |
Caatje Pieters van Driel   (~ Dordrecht 26-12-1737, [] Dordrecht 26-7-1800) |				Maria Huige Booij   (~ Moordrecht 24-10-1756, † Streefkerk 3-9-1810) |
Cornelia van der Koog   (~ Dordrecht 11-3-1774, † Dordrecht 4-12-1854) |				Maria Schoonderwoerd   (* Streefkerk 4-10-1797, † Streefkerk 26-3-1876) |
Hendrika Faassen   (~ Dordrecht 6-2-1795, † Dordrecht 3-1-1871) |				Maria Aaldijk   (* Streefkerk 22-9-1821, † 13-9-1898) |
Adriana de Sterke   (* Dordrecht 11-11-1829, † Dordrecht 11-7-1917) |				Jannigje van Houweling   (* Streefkerk 9-8-1857, † Dordrecht 29-3-1936) |
Pieternella (“Nellie”) Langeweg   (* Dordrecht 2-1-1861, † Dordrecht 18-5-1912) |				Adriana (“Adriaantje”) Brand   (* Dubbeldam 28-5-1880, † ?-9-1965) |
Willempje Cornelia (“Willie”) Zijderveld   (* Dordrecht 6-11-1892, † Oud-Beijerland 16-7-1976) |				Jannigje (“Jansje”) Klootwijk   (* Dubbeldam 7-5-1906, † 27-11-1965) |
“Rie” de Jong			× |	“Teun” Bos
“Joan” Bos