Genealogie Bos

This is my English-language Genealogy & Ancestry Blog.
(Mijn Nederlandstalige blog is genealogiebos.blogspot.nl).

20 Apr 2026

Johann Peter Friedrich Dicke moved to The Netherlands

Johann Peter Friedrich Dicke was born on 20 April 1796 in Wesel in Germany as son of Matthias Dicke and Catharina Kemper. Johann had an elder brother Wilhelm Herman Dicke, who was born in August 1783 in Wesel. Wilhelm - now Willem - married Petronella van Dockum (1780-1860) on 25 November 1812 in Rotterdam. They are the parents of Jacob Matthijs Dicke (1819-1888) and Peter Willem Dicke (1822-1886).

Marketplace in Wesel

In 1815 master carpenter Johann Peter Dicke joined the volunteer hunter detachment established in Wesel. He fully equipped himself at his own expense, and participated in a campaign against France.

Wesel, 30 mei 1823: 

“Dass den hiesige Johann Peter Dicke, geboren am 20. April 1796, bei den in 1815 hier errichteten freiwilligen Jäger-Detachement eingetreten ist, sich auf eigene Kosten vollständig ausgerüstet und den Feldzug gegen Frankreich mitgemacht hat, wird hiermit auf den Grund der rathäusslichen Akten attestiert.”

Matthias Dicke, the father of both Johann and Willem, died in Wesel on 29 October 1818.
By 1823, Johann Peter Friedrich Dicke was 27 years old, and living in Dordrecht, Holland. There, on 17 September 1823, Johann married 32-year-old Diderica Alida van Droogen. She was born in Gorinchem, Holland, but now living in Rotterdam. Her parents and grandparents had all died.

Dordrecht, 17 sept. 1823: 

- Johann Peter Friedrich Dicke, 27 jaar, geboren en onlangs gewoond hebbende te Wesel, thans wonende te Dordrecht, zoon van Matthias Dicke, overleden te Wesel op 29 okt. 1818, en Catharina Kemper, 63 jaar, trouwt met
- Diderica Alida van Drogen, 32 jaar, geboren te Gorinchem en wonende te Rotterdam, dochter van Jacobus van Drogen en Neeltje van den Berg, beiden overleden, en kleindochter van Albertus van Drogen en Dirkje Ladder en Leendert van den Berg en Alida Klein, allen overleden. 

Johann and Diderica had 2 daughters: Mathilda Catharina Dicke (1828-1850) and Diderika Johanna Dicke (1829-1882). In 1861 Diderika Johanna married Rudolph Römer who originated in Orsoy in Germany. They had four children who would later marry.

7 Apr 2026

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.