In 1870 Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp drowned off the Irish coast

On her twelfth Atlantic crossing, the British cargo-passenger steamship “Cambria” departed New York on October 8, 1870, under the command of Captain John Carnighan, carrying a general cargo, a crew of 74, and 105 passengers. Two of those passengers were 59-year-old widower Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp, and his 23-year-old daughter Lobetta Johanna.

Algemeen Handelsblad, 13-11-1870

On October 19, around 11:00 pm, the steamship “Cambria” was sailing in heavy seas when it struck Tor Beg Rock, half a mile north-west of Inishtrahull Island. The vessel immediately commenced to fill with water, thus it became at once evident that a large hole bad been made in the ship. Lifeboats were launched, but the only survivor was a passenger named John M'Gartland. Four lifeboats were found empty at the Giant's Causeway, while the stern of the ship drifted ashore at Islay, Scotland.

Opregte Haarlemsche Courant, 26-10-1870

The drowning of Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp and his daughter wasn't the only disaster that struck his family in the year 1870. On January 21, 1870, in Zutphen, his youngest son Jan junior had died “after a short but intense suffering” at the age of 16. By the end of 1870, only 6 of Jan's 14 children were still alive.

Algemeen Dagblad van Nederland, 31-1-1870

Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp was born on April 7, 1811, and baptised in Hasselt, The Netherlands, on the 14th. He was the seventh and youngest child of real estate agent Jan Mattheus Nieuwenkamp (1764-1824) and his third wife Adriana Kits (1774-1881, to the right).
As an adult, Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp worked as a merchant in Amsterdam. Aged 24, Jan married Lobetta Johanna Ruys. She was born in Lage near Bentheim in Germany on July 1, 1812, as daughter of Theodorus Ruys (1790-1868) and his first wife Johanna Jacoba Reyniera Boom (1790-1819). Lobetta Johanna gave birth to 14 children, and died on May 13, 1863, in Hillegom.
Jan and his wife Lobetta Johanna had these children:

1. Abrahamina Geertruida Wilhelmina was born in Amsterdam on April 15,1836. She married Gerardus Hermanuus van Waveren (1821-1919) on November 26, 1836 in Hillegom. She die din Haarlem, Holland, on March 22, 1919.

2. 

   Opregte Haarlemsche Courant, 21-9-1869

   Lobertus Johannes Jacobus was born in Amsterdam on Austust 30, 1837. He first marred in Leimuiden, Holland, on August 15, 1866, Lijntje Timmers (1845-1867). He secondly married in Onarga, Illinois, USA, on August 4, 1869, Minerva Gray. His third wife was Jenny Gray, a sister of his second wife. Lobertus Johannes Jacobus died in Lakeland, Florida, USA, on November 2, 1905. He had issue.
3. Adriana Christina (Kits) was born in Amsterdam on September 13, 1838. She died in Gouda on April 30, 1898. In Hillegom on March 28, 1866, she had married clergyman Adriaan Wartena (1840-1935) who reached the age of 94.
4. Theodora Wilhelmina Jacoba was born on October 22, 1839, in Amsterdam, and died there on May 29, 1841, aged 1.
5. Jan Kits was born on April 7, 1841, in Amsterdam, and died there on September 2, 1841.
6. Theodorus was born on December 9, 1842, in Amsterdam, and died there on September 9, 1843.
7. Jan Kits was born on October 4, 1844, in Amsterdam, and died there on October 16, 1845, aged 1.
8. Lobetta Johanna was born on October 14, 1845, in Amsterdam, and died there on May 12, 1846.
9. Lobetta Johanna was born on January 4, 1847, in Amsterdam. She drowned with her father in the Irish Sea on October 19, 1870.
10. Johanna Mathilde (Kits) was born in Amsterdam on September 1, 1848. She married clergyman Johan Wilhelm Unger (1845-1893) in Hillegom on April 30, 1873. Their son Frederik Carel Unger (1874-1944) married Hillegonda Alwine Johanna Ruijs, a granddaughter of Jacob Adolph Ruys, who was a brother of Johanna Mathilde's mother Lobetta Johanna Ruys. Johanna Mathilde died in The Hague on July 28, 1933.
11. Theodora (Kits) was born on August 22, 1850 in Amsterdam. She worked as a nurse. She died, aged 91, on December 1, 1941, in Brummen.
12. Johanna Alida (Kits) was born in Amsterdam on December 11, 1851.
13. Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp was born in Hillegom on January 6, 1854, and died in Zutphen on January 21, 1870, aged 16.
14. Marinus Nieuwenkamp was born on January 29, 1855, in Hillegom and died there on January 29, 1856.

After the death of Jan Kits Nieuwenkamp, his 4 younger daughters added the name "Kits" to their names.

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, Delpher.nl, IrishShipWrecks.com, Wikipedia.org, Nederland's Patriciaat 1927, 1950, 1957 & 1976 (Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie en Heraldiek's booklets), De Navorscher 1925 & 1940 (magazines edited by G. Fuldauer).