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.

The Van Ryswyk family; Hessel is third on the top row, Peter is far right on the top row,
and Evalena is third on the bottom row.

Pella

In 1919 Maria Wilhelmina's brother Gerrit Branderhorst (1894-1975) married Evalena van Ryswyk (1897-1982), a daughter of Dirk Jan van Ryswyk and sister of Hessel. The couple were to have several children.
In 1920 a third sibling, Nellie Branderhorst (1896-1985), married Peter van Ryswyk (1895-1967), a brother of Hessel and Evalena. They are the parents of Dorothy and Helen Louise.

Maria Wilhelmina Branderhorst and Hessel van Ryswyk are the parents of Margaret Hester (1917-2017), Hessel Junior (1924-1970) and Wilbur Donald (1927-2018). Hessel died on 18 February 1985 in Pella. Maria Wilhelmina Branderhorst survived her husband by 8 years and died in Pella on 24-6-1993, aged 97.

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, Salha.nl, Delpher.nl, FindAGrave.com (family photo by Ron Steenhoek).