Longevity ~ Aaltje Brand (94) survived her siblings

Aaltje Brand was born in Enkhuizen, Holland, on 8 March 1832. Her parents are fisherman Bote Brand (1800-1888) and his first wife Geesje Fasol. Bote and his wife married on 1 April 1824 in Enkhuizen. They had more children, including Jan Brand (1830-1923) and Klaas Brand (1839-1933) who both reached the age of 93.
When Aaltje Brand was 15 years old, her mother Geesje Fasol died at the age of 50 on January 21, 1848, in Brielle, Holland. Her father, Bote Brand, remarried on July 31, 1852, in Brielle to Maritje Kramer (1813-1891) who originated from Enkhuizen, too. Bote Brand died in Brielle on April 30, 1888, at the respectable age of 87.

Enkhuizen as painted by C. Springer

At the age of just 20, on 25 March 1852, Aaltje Brand married 20-year-old sailor Jacob van der Schilt. Jacob was born on 9 September 1831 in Brielle as son of Jan van der Schild and his wife Amarensje van der Kraan.
The marriage of Aaltje and Jacob van der Schilt remained childless. For some years a niece lived with Aaltje and her husband. Her name is Aaltje Jacoba van Noord. She was born in Brielle on 22 May 1863 as daughter of steersman Pieter van Noord (1830-1907) and his wife Fijtje Brand (1827-1899), Aaltje's sister. In 1884 Aaltje Jacoba married Johannes Arnoldus Pols, and had issue. Aaltje Jacoba van Noord died in Dordrecht on 28 January 1946, aged 82.

At the age of 77, Jacob van der Schilt died on New Years Day 1909 in Brielle. His widow Aaltje Brand lived for another 18 years. She died in Dordrecht on 20 January 1927 around 11 AM. Aaltje Brand was 94 years and 10 months old.

Aaltje Brand died at the age of 94 on 30 January 1927 in Dordrecht 

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, StreekarchiefVP.nl, WestFriesArchief.nl.

Jan Witvliet (1846-78) and his son Jan Cornelis Witvliet (1872-99)

Jan Cornelis Witvliet was born in Middelharnis, Holland, on 26 March 1872. His parents are Neeltje van Tol and Jan Witvliet. Father Jan was born on 7 February 1846 in Middelharnis as son of Mattheus Witvliet (1821-1884) and his wife Jannetje de Bloeme (1823-1892).
Jan Cornelis had siblings named Mattheus, Adriaantje and Arend Witvliet. These children's father, Jan Witvliet, at the young age of 32, on 21 June 1878 in Rotterdam, when Jan Cornelis was 6 years old. Neeltje van Tol was a widow at the age of 32.

On 25 February 1880 in Rotterdam Neeltje van Tol remarried. The groom was 30-year-old Richard Ernst Sylvester Schneider. He was born on 31 December 1849 in Frankfurt an der Oder in Germany. His parents are Ernst Carl Schneider and Rozalie Emilie Friederike Messer. Thus, 7-year old Jan Cornelis Witvliet and his siblings had a stepfather.

As an adult, Jan Cornelis Witvliet was a stoker, tending the fire for the running of the steam engine of a ship. He married Antje Groenewoud on 27 December 1894 in Rotterdam. The bride was born on 14 December 1866 in Amsterdam as daughter of Johannes Wilhelmus Groenewoud and Lijsje Beth.

Jan Cornelis Witvliet and his wife Antje had a son Richard Ernst Silvester Witvliet, born on 29 March 1896 in Amsterdam. The baby was named after his father's stepfather. Another son, Johannes Wilhelmus Witvliet, was born in Rotterdam on 28 March 1898.

Dutch translation of the death certificate of Jan Cornelis Witvliet as registered on 7 July 1899 in Rotterdam

Jan Cornelis Witvliet died on 24 June 1899, between 12 and 1 o'clock in the morning, on the River Rhine near Mainz in Germany. His stepfather, Richard Ernst Silvester Schneider died, at the age of 53, on 22 November 1903 in Rotterdam. His widow, Antje Groenewoud, died in Amsterdam in August 1941, at the age of 74.
Her eldest son, Richard Ernst Silvester Witvliet, married Maria Margaretha Farber, and emigrated to South-Africa. They had a son named Boudewijn Egbert Richard Witvliet.

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, StadsArchief.Rotterdam.nl, Archief.Amsterdam website, Delpher.nl.

Surname Saturday ~ Brand

Amongst my ancestors I have two distinct families with the surname Brand. Those ancestors and their surname originate in the Alblasserwaard in South-Holland. Slices of land in the region of the village of Brandwijk were known as “Brande weren”, so their family name may refer to that specific area in the Alblasserwaard.

Pieter Klootwijk &
his wife Adriana Brand

One of my great-grandmothers, Adriana Brand (1880-1965), married Pieter Klootwijk (1875-1964) and was known to her grandchildren - including my father - as “Opoe Klootwijk”. Her male-line ancestors - including her father Genis Brand (1857-1930) - lived in Dubbeldam, South-Holland. They descend from 17th-cenutry ancestor Willem Dirksz Brand who originated in Bleskensgraaf in the Alblasserwaard, also in South-Holland.
Adriana Brand had the same name as her mother-in-law. The elder Adriana Brand (1845-1880) was the wife of Samuel Klootwijk (1835-1912) and mother of Pieter. This Adriana Brand originated in Wieldrecht, just south of Dubbeldam. She belonged to a family of millers. Her male-line ancestor Jacob Jillisse Brand (1743-1796) moved to Wieldrecht to become a miller. Jacob was baptised in Hardinxveld in South-Holland, but his father, Jillis Jacobsen Brand, was baptised in Bleskensgraaf on 1 December 1697.
Although members of both these two Brand families lived in Bleskensgraaf, the different first names in both families suggest that they were two distinct families. Approximately 6,400 Dutch people bear the surname Brand.

Worldwide, approximately 200,000 people bear the surname Brand. This family name has its highest density in Montserrat in the Caribbean, but is most prevalent in Germany with over 26,000 people named Brand. The USA and South-Africa, too, have more inhabitants named Brand than The Netherlands. The fifth place is for England, followed by Australia, Colombia, France, Switzerland and Brazil. 

Brand surname distribution map

Sources: Forebears.io, Familienamen.net, CBGFamilienamen.nl.

Longevity ~ Cornelia de Groot (94) in Oud-Alblas

This is a blog post about Cornelia de Groot who outlived her husband by 56 years, and reached the age of 94.
She was born on 30 November 1792, and baptised on 9 December in Oud-Alblas, Holland, with witness Annigje Neef. Cornelia's parents are Meinsje Neef (1756-1845) and her husband Teunis de Groot (1760-1837). This couple had several other children.

Cornelia de Groot was born on 30 November 1792 in Oud-Alblas

Cornelia de Groot was 26 years old and working as a cleaning woman when she married Frederik Boele on 4 December 1819 around 18:00 in Oud-Alblas. Frederik was born on the 22th and baptised on 24 November 1790 in Streefkerk with witness Hendrika Zweere. Frederik father is Jacobus Boel (1739-1792), a son of my ancestor Teunis Boel (1703-1793). Frederik's mother, Ariaantje Zweere (1759-1821), was present at the wedding ceremony, as was Cornelia's father.

Frederik and Cornelia are the parents of

1. Meijncie Boele was born on 5-2-1820 in Papendrecht, Holland. At the age of 48, Meijncie was finally married on 31-7-1868 in Ridderkerk, Holland. The groom was Cornelis Stok (1820-1881), son of Willem Stok and Grietje van den Hoek. Meijncie died in Dordrecht, Holland, on 30-9-1913 around 21:00 at the age of 93.
2. Jacoba Boele was born on 9-9-1821 in Oud-Alblas. She married Adriaan Korteland on 5-6-1847 in Oud-Alblas. Jacoba died there on 12-12-1897, aged 76.
3. Arieaantje Boele was born on 20-1-1824 in Oud-Alblas. She married Teunis de Lange on 5-1-1854 in Oud-Alblas.Arieaantje died on 27-12-1905 in Papendrecht, aged 81.
4. Teuntje Boele was born on 7-6-1826 in Oud-Alblas. She married Willem Kreukniet on 12-10-1850 in Sliedrecht. Teuntje died there on 31-10-1911, aged 85. Her widower, Willem Kreukniet, reached the age of 90. Willem was born on 2-9-1824 in Peursum as son of Arie Kreukniet and Maaike de Keijzer. Willem died on 4-4-1915 in Sliedrecht.
5. Cornelis Boele was born on 2-12-1828 in Oud-Alblas. He first married Lijntje Frederika Kooij in 1855. He remarried Antje Teeuw in 1868. Cornelis died 18-02-1910 in Sliedrecht at the age of 81.

Cornelia de Groot was 94 years old when she died

Susanna van Houten (3) succumbed to measles in 1814

Susanna van Houten was born on 3 March 1811 and baptised on 4 April in Rotterdam. Her parents are Willem van Houten Junior and his first wife Johanna Suzanna Rocques. They were both born in Rotterdam, where they married on January 24, 1802.

Willem van Houten married Jeanne Susanne Rocques on 24 January 1802 in Rotterdam

Willem van Houten Junior was baptised on 4 October 1778 in Rotterdam. His parents are Willem van Houten Senior (1744-1820) and his wife Agnita Urvin/Erven.

Willem's first wife, Jeanne Susanne Rocques, died in Rotterdam on 10 July 1813, aged 35. She was born on 8 August 1778, and baptised in the Walloon church in Rotterdam on the 12th. Her parents are Anne Rabié en Jean Pierre Rocques.

Within a year of the death of Jeanne Susanna, their daughter Susanna died of measles on 20 April 1814 in Rotterdam.

Rotterdamsche Courant (newspaper), 21 april 1814

Willem van Houten Junior remarried in Rotterdam on 28 February 1818. His bride was 20-year-old Marie Sophie Billiau, who was born in Embden, Germany. Her parents, Joseph Billiau and Jeanne Catharine de Cuijper, had settled in Amsterdam. Marie Sophie died, at the age of 40, on 16 July 1839 in Rotterdam.

Louise Susanne Nau (1806-1845), Christiaan Godfried (1807-1869), Johannes Nicolaas (1803-1869), Pieter Jacobus (1809-1859) and Angenita Anna (1812-1884) van Houten reached adulthood and married. They were surviving children from Willem's first marriage to Jeanne Susanna Rocques.
Willem Alexander (1818-1872), Christiaan Frederik (1823-1886), Sophie Louise Agathe (1825-1885), Hendrik Cornelis (1830-1885) and Anna Susanna Maria (1834-1868) van Houten were children from Willem's second marriage to Marie Sophie who reached adulthood and married. Their children Catharina Hermina (1821-1894) and Lodewijk Theodoor van Houten (1832-1871) remained unmarried. Herman van Houten (1827-1871) also married, and later emigrated with his family to Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Algemeen Handelsblad (newspaper), 19-10-1871

Sources: Delpher.nl, StadsArchiefRotterdam.nl, WieWasWie.nl.

Old Utensil - Chamber Pot

The word utensil can refer to a tool that serves a specific purpose, or has a specific use.

A chamber pot was simply a bowl or bucket designed for one to do their “business” in, when one couldn't - or didn't want - to leave their house to take care of it. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. A chamber pot was also known as Jordan, po, potty, a chamber utensil or bedroom ware. In the England's West Midlands it was called a “guzunder” because it “goes under” the bed.

The purpose of a chamber pot was a portable toilet, meant especially for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It allowed people to relieve themselves privately. In the morning, contents were often tossed onto the street, creating major health hazards. Sometimes they were emptied into cesspits. Cesspits were large holes dug into the ground. Often they were designed to be porous, so that liquid waste soaked away into the soil, leaving solid waste to be removed, or covered over, when the pit was full.
The “privy” - an “outhouse” - was an outdoor wooden structure built over a cesspit of some kind, but not everyone had one. Inside the structure, a wood plank served as the seat. A round hole cut in this plank allowed the waste to fall down into the cesspit.

A chamber pot was often kept under a bed. Or it could be hidden in a kind of chair (“a close stool”). It could also be stored in a cabinet with doors to conceal it. Wealthy owners owned highly decorated, plush models.
En route, chamber pots were stored under the seats of the carriages.

A related item was the bourdaloue, a narrow, handheld oblong ceramic pot used in 17th- and 18th-century France to allow women to urinate conveniently. This item, similar in shape to a deep gravy boat, could be held between the legs, and urinated into while standing or crouching, with little risk of soiling the clothing. It was reputedly named after the French priest Louis Bourdaloue, who was renowned for his lengthy sermons.

Sources: toilet-timeline.co.uk, PortsmouthMuseum.co.uk, LivesAndLegaciesBlog.org, HistoryCollection.com, Collection.ScienceMuseumGroup.org.uk, an utensil is defined at en.Wikipedia.org, as is a chamber pot: en.Wikipedia.org.

Using AI to improve old images of villages

The term “AI” is buzzing around everywhere these days. It can do so much, but it often seems incredibly complicated. Luckily, you can also use AI for relatively simple tasks.

An old book series by Lieve van Ollefen (1749-1816), titled “De Nederlandsche stad- en dorpbeschrijver” (The Dutch Village and City Describer), contains drawings of Dutch villages from the 1790s. Some images from this book can be found online, but they are often of bad quality, often very dark, with little contrast, or of low resolution.

Therefore, I had Ollefen's drawing of the village of Strijen polished by ChatGPT. The original oval, black-and-white image of Strijen had a resolution of 1326 x 1022 pixels and a dpi of 96. The prompt I used was:

“Can you improve upon this image, make it better, more contrast and give it some color? Remove the circle and make it rectangular. Remove the heraldic shield at the bottom. Thanks.”

Original image of Strijen	ChatGPT's image of Strijen

I am very pleased with the result. The only comment I have on the result is that ChatGPT did not extend the dike behind the fence on the right. 

Alas, the result isn't always this good. I tried to improve Ollefen's image of a nearby village, Numansdorp (Buitensluis), with Gemini's Nano Banana. Alas, the resolution of the original image was quite low, and Gemini changed the water behind the houses into land, while creating water in front of the image, where the text used to be.
I also tried to improve Ollefen's image of the village of Ammerstol with a lot of trees in it. Using ChatGPT, I included the question “Can you make the church in the background to the right stand-out a bit more?” The result was a church with a longer nave and a much higher and more pointed tower. It was no longer the church of Ammerstol.

If you have an original picture with sufficient resolution, and ask the right questions, AI can improve your old images of villages.

Sources: ChatGPT.com, Gemini.Google.com/app, nl.Wikipedia.org.

Cornelia van Holst (1774-1829) ended up in Antwerp

Cornelia van Holst was baptised on 4 February 1774 in Dordrecht, Holland. Her parents are Hendrik van Holst and Maaike van Vliet. Cornelia's maternal grandfather is Josua van Vliet (1710-1765) who had 3 wives in succession.

In Delft, in the old church, at the age of 25, Cornelia van Holst married Abraham Glimmerveen on 21 July 1799. Abraham was baptised in Delfshaven on 21 July 1773 as son of Quirinus Glimmerveen and Elizabeth van Vijfwijk. Witnesses were Reinier Glimmerveen and Geertrui van Vijfwijk.

The notice of marriage for Abraham Glimmerveen and Cornelia van Holst was in Delft on 6-7-1799.

Abraham Glimmerveen and Cornelia van Holst had the following children:

1. Abraham was baptised on 15-9-1803 in Dordrecht. He was likely buried there on 6-12-1803.
2. Elizabet was baptised on 5-10-1804 in Dordrecht. She was likely buried there on 2-4-1805.
3. Johanna was baptised on 15-4-1806 in Dordrecht. She was buried there on 17-1-1807.
4. Johanna was baptised on 14-10-1807 in Dordrecht. She was likely buried there 27-11-1807.
5. Quirijnis was baptised on 7-5-1809 in Dordrecht. He died there on 27-9-1870, aged 61.

Abraham Glimmerveen died in Delft on 1 July 1811. His widow Cornelia van Holst died, aged 55, in Antwerp, Belgium, on 26 September 1829 due to intermittent comatose fever ("fièvre intermittente comateuse").

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, RegionaalArchiefDordrecht.nl, StadsArchiefDelft.nl, OpenArchieven.nl, FelixArchief.Antwerpen.be. Further reading: Resources.Huygens.knaw.nl.

Latin Term ~ Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in Latin means “For Church and People”. It's a decoration of the Holy See - a papal distinction. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. The medal was established by Leo XIII on 17 July 1888 to commemorate his golden sacerdotal jubilee. In 1898 it became a permanent papal distinction. Cecilia Hubertine Custers had received this decoration.

Cecilia Hubertine (“Cecile”) Custers was born in Venlo on 12 November 1829 as daughter of merchant Mathias Antonius (“Mathijs Antoon”) Custers (1792-1866) and his wife Johanna Elisabeth Keuller (1795-1878). Johanna Elisabeth endured 12 pregnancies. Cecile was her sixth child. When Cecile's younger brother Johan Hendrik Hubert Custers (1834-1898) died at the age of 63, Cecile was the only survivor of all her siblings. She never married.
Cecile died, aged 84, on 23 February 1914 in Venlo.

Longevity ~ Anna Kamberg (96) in Dordrecht

Anna Kamberg was born in Dordrecht on 22 January 1861 around 20:30 PM. She had a brother, who lived to be 71 years old, 2 brothers who died young, and a number of sisters, including Catharina Kamberg, who lived to be 73 years old. Their parents are Catharina van Leliveld (1831-1905) and Dirk Eduard Kamberg (1831-1918). Anna's great-grandfather, Jan Kamberg, originated from Dalem near Gorinchem.

Anna Kamberg was born on 22 January 1861 in the Marienbornstraat in Dordrecht.

At the age of 27, on 8 February 1888 in Dordrecht, Anna Kamberg married 27-year-old Adrianus Knikman. Adrianus was born on 10 August 1860 in Dordrecht as son of Goverdina Johanna Nelemans (1828-1879) and Adam Knikman (1833-1900).
Adam Knikman is a son of Willemina Tielekind (1803-1856) and Arie Knikman (1807-1871). After fathering 2 sons, Arie was admitted to a mental asylum, and placed under guardianship. He is a son of Hendrika Baks (1769-1840) and Adam Knikman (1775-1849). Adam is a son of my ancestors Arij Janse Knikman (1730-1778) and Maria de Sterke (1730-1806).

Anna gave birth to 8 children: Adam (1888-1895), Dirk Eduard, Adrianus, Catharina (1895-1967), Goverdina Johanna (1897-1970), Anna (1899-1972), Adam (b†1901) and Adam (1902-1967).
On 16 September 1905 in Dordrecht Anna's mother, Catharina van Leliveld died at the age of 74. She was born in Dordrecht on 9 February 1831.
Anna's husband, Adrianus Knikman, died at the age of 56, on 6 December 1916 in Dordrecht. Anna's father, Dirk Eduard Kamberg, died in Dordrecht on 13 March 1918 at the age of 86. He was born in Dordrecht on 14 April 1831.

It's my 13th Blogiversary!

On 17 January 2013   I published my 1st post for this blog,  so  today is my  13th  blogiversary !

In those years August 2018, October 2019 and January and November 2022 were the months with the most posts. Of course it’s not about quantity, but about quality. I've tried to achieve quality by writing about topics that arouse my interest. The stories on this blog are usually not about my own ancestors, but about people who catch my attention while doing research.

Nowadays, with my own ancestors, I often find myself stuck in missing or illegible sources. Therefore, new research often depends on newly available transcriptions of sources that have become available.
In villages with mostly missing sources, like 's-Gravendeel and Sint Anthoniepolder in South Holland, I try to include many people of those and their surrounding villages in my database, hoping that someone will marry a relative of mine, I didn't know before. Occasionally, I do find a small addition this way.
Other times I find small additions in genealogical magazines.

These were Popular Blog Posts in 2025:

• The Kleinjan family and their American branch (2013)
• Anneke Jans and the Webber Controversy (2013)
• Alberdiena Rientjes was locked up in a mental institution (2025)
• Divorce and longevity for Johanna Schenk in Gouda (2025)
• Short-lived Marriage ~ Maria Fresia Kromme and Hermann Franz Kromme (2025)
• Paternal ancestors of rock star Eddie van Halen in Dordrecht (2025)

Surname Saturday - Bedé in Streefkerk

One of my 'brickwall ancestors' is Pieter Cornelisse Bedé who lived in Streefkerk, Holland. His patroniem is Cornelis, so that's his father's first name. The spelling of Pieter's surname varied quite a bit, such as Bedé, Bedee, Biddee and Bodee. It's likely his ancestors were foreigners, and the parson didn't know how to write their foreign surname. The surname could be a toponym if the family originated in Bédée, a village in Bretagne in France.

Pieter Bedé is a brother of Ariaentie Cornelisse Bedé. She married Bouwe Claesse van der Leck on 26 December 1659 in (Nieuw-)Lekkerland, Holland. They had children baptised with the names Claes, Cornelia (witnesses Dirk Cornelisse, Geertie Reijnders, Neeltie Claes), Jacob, Dirck (witnesses Jan Jansen, Jan Cornelisse, Annegie Herperts), Willem (witnesses Jan Cornelisse, Ariaentie Cornelis) and Jan.

Pieter Cornelisse Bedé married Ariaentje Cornelisse (de Groot) on 27 november 1667 in Streefkerk, Holland. They had children named Annigje (2x) and Cornelis. With his second wife, Sijchie Arijens (Aaldijk), Pieter had children named Cornelis (witnesses Pieter Arijenze, Bouwe Claeze, Cornelia Bouwenze), Ariaentje (2x) and Annigje.
Both Pieter's wives had a mother named Annechie, while Pieter's younger daughters Ariaentje may have been named after his first wife. Thus, the names of Pieter's children yield no convincing clues.

2026 Ancestor Score Completeness Statistics

Geneanet defines the Ancestor Score as 

“comparing the number of possible ancestors 

with the number of identified ancestors ”.

Inspired by the Ancestor Score - or “Completeness Statistics” - of other blogs and GeneaNet's definition above, I generated my first one in February 2016. Since then I haven't just been able to linearly increase my known ancestors. Instead, I had to remove a whole line of wrong ancestors in 2018. I could partially replace them by already existing ancestors - due to inbreeding among my ancestors.

Therefore, I decided to generate a new in-between ancestor score in August 2018 to be able to continue this series of posts (and removed the wrong one of 2017). Since then I've been gradually able to increase my number ancestors.

The generation with the most known ancestors is the 13th generation with just 21% of the theoretically maximum number of ancestors in that generation. In the 12th generation I've found 41% of the theoretical maximum (if there wouldn't be inbreeding).

Composition and Bandwidth of various Generations
Gen	Composition								Bandwidth **
	Men	Women	Total	% 2026	% 2024	% 2022	% 2020	% 2018*	% 2016	From	Until
G 3	2	2	4	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1892	1906
G 4	4	4	8	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1850	1880
G 5	8	8	16	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1804	1857
G 6	16	16	32	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1756	1832
G 7	30	30	60	100.0	93.8	93.8	93.8	93.8	93.8	1724	1802
G 8	59	59	118	118	92.2	92.2	92.2	92.2	90.6	1680	1777
G 9	114	113	227	88.7	88.7	88.7	89.1	88.3	86.7	1645	1749
G 10	209	203	412	80.5	79.9	80.1	79.7	78.7	76.4	1600	1722
G 11	348	319	667	65.1	64.5	64.4	61.8	60.8	57.0	1560	1695
G 12	454	395	849	41.5	41.4	41.0	38.4	37.3	33.8	1510	1666
G 13	493	375	868	21.2	21.1	20.0	18.7	17.9	15.7	1505	1645
G 14	456	318	774	9.5	9.3	9.0	7.3	7.1	6.1	1440	1625
G 15	351	226	577	3.5	3.4	3.2	2.3	2.0	1.6	1440	1580
G 16	217	129	346	1.1	1.0	1.0	0.6	0.6	0.5	1395	1540
G 17	119	64	183	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	1365	1500
G 18	77	41	118	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	1335	1470

     *) The years 2016 and 2020 feature an ancestor score of February; 2018 has an August score; 2022 and 2024 have a January score. 

   **) The Bandwidth of a generation is determined by the earliest and latest known birth or baptism date within that generation. 

   ***) I have many ancestors in places like Sint Anthoniepolder, 's-Gravendeel, Wieldrecht and Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, where pre-1800 baptism records are (mostly) missing.