Wilhelm Kevelmann (1828-1905) was naturalised as a Dutch citizen

Wilhelm Kevelmann was born on 11 January 1828 in Diersford, a village in Germany, located between Xanten and Wesel. His parents are Gerhard Kevelmann and Mechtilde Gräff.
At the age of 27, on 7 December 1855 in Kralingen (now part of Rotterdam), Wilhelm married 31-year-old Clara Catharina Elisabeth van Beuzekom. She was born on 12 March 1824 in The Hague as daughter of carpenter Adrianus van Beuzekom. At that time, Wilhelm lived in Puttershoek and worked as a baker. On 15 April 1856 in Puttershoek Clara gave birth to a stillborn son.

In the 1880s Wilhelm Kevelmann was living in Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands. Wilhelm was naturalised as a Dutch citizen on 11 August 1892.

Nederlandsche Staatscourant, 3 September 1892: Naturalisation of Wilhelm Kevelmann

Johannes George Vrolijk (1920-43) in WWII

Johannes George Vrolijk
(1920-1943)

Johannes George Vrolijk was executed in the Tegel area of Berlin, Germany, on 4 June 1943, aged 23. He had been part of a World War II resistance group known as the "Strijkelgroep". In the spring of 1941, 47 men and women of this group were arrested by the Nazi's. Johannes George Vrolijk was one of the 32 people executed on 4 June 1943. The others were send to prison camps. Just 3 women and 1 man of the group survived the horrors of the German concentration camps.

Johannes George Vrolijk was born on 30 April 1920 in Zwijndrecht, Holland, as eldest son of Johannes George Vrolijk (1888-1983) and his wife Baartje den Hoed. His paternal grandparents were Johannes George Vrolijk (1862-1949) and Neeltje Bos (1860-1936). Neeltje is a granddaughter of my ancestor Cent Leenderts Bos (±1787-1869). In the paternal line Johannes George Vrolijk descends from a Jakob Fröhlich of German origin.

Sources: OorlogsGravenStichting.nl, WieWasWie.nl, Stijkelgroep.nl.

Wedding Wednesday ~ Jacoba Johanna Naaktgeboren

In Zwijndrecht on Thursday 23 December 1926 Jacoba Johanna Naaktgeboren (22) and Cornelis Stok (23) were married. Cornelis was born in Zwijndrecht. His parents are Corstiaan Stok (1864-1943) and Antonia Vorster (1868-1948). Jacoba Johanna was born in The Hague. Her parents are Adrianus Naaktgeboren (1862-1950) and Johanna de Rooij (1873-1947). Johanna is a daugher of Willem Marinus de Rooij (1853-1933) and Christina Jacoba Faassen (1854-1936), who descends from my ancestor Lodewijk Faassen (1746-1816).

Cornelis Stok & Jacoba Johanna Naaktgeboren

Wedding Wednesday ~ Joost Zijderveld & Cornelia de Rijke

Joost Zijderveld & Cornelia de Rijke

The given name Joost was common in the Zijderveld family in Holland. The Joost in this post was born on September 28, 1893, in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, as second son of Jan Zijderveld (1864-1935) and his wife Adriana van Namen (1865-1930). He was named after his grandfather - also my great-great-grandfather - Joost Zijderveld (1822-1893). He had two elder and two younger siblings: Willempje Cornelia, Anthonie, Jan and Gijsbertus.

Joost was married on October 11, 1928, in Zwijndrecht. His bride was 33-year-old Cornelia de Rijke. She was born on May 12, 1895, in Zwijndrecht. Her parents were Pietertje van Ammelrooij (1867-1950) and Marinus de Rijke (1866-1945) who was born in Oosterland in Zeeland. Joost and Cornelia had no (surviving) children.

Cornelia had been ill for a long time before she died in March 1960 in Zwijndrecht. Her burial in Zwijndrecht was on April 1. Near the end of his life, her widower Joost Zijderveld lived in a retirement home in Sprang-Capelle in Brabant where he died on August 1, 1975. Like his wife, Joost was buried in Zwijndrecht. 

Sources: RegionaalArchiefDordrecht.nl, WieWasWie.nl, Delpher.nl.

Longevity: Josina de Bondt (93) in Zwijndrecht

When Josina de Bondt died - during World War II - on November 17, 1943, in Zwijndrecht, Holland, she was 93 years and 4 months old. Josina was born in Zwijndrecht on July 5, 1850, as the 3rd of 8 children of blond, blue-eyed Anthonie (“Thomas”) de Bondt (1822-1891) and his wife Pietertje den Hollander (1823-1915). On May 15, 1852, Josina's next sibling was born and named Joost - like his paternal grandfather.

On October 3, 1872, in Zwijndrecht, Josina was married to Cornelis van Wingerden. Both her parents were present at the ceremony and gave their permission for the marriage. The bride and groom were so poor that they were unable to pay the municipal wedding expenses. Cornelis was born on August 11, 1841, in Zwijndrecht as the eldest son of Klaas van Wingerden (1813-1855) and Jaapje van Wensveen. Cornelis had been exempted from military service. He worked as a workman and gardener.

On February 21, 1873, in Zwijndrecht - just 4½ months after her wedding - Josina gave birth to her eldest child, but the boy lived for just 1 month. Josina's next child, a son named Jacob, was born in Zwijndrecht on August 20, 1876. The next moth, on September 7 in Zwijndrecht Josina's brother Joost de Bondt was married to Cornelis' sister Anna van Wingerden (1855-1926). Cornelis was one of the witnesses at this wedding.

Cornelis van Wingerden and Josina de Bondt were to have 7 more children during the period 1878-1892. Cornelis was assisting his brother-in-law Joost de Bondt on May 21, 1892, in Zwijndrecht, when Joost reported the birth of triplets Cornelis, Arie and Corstiaan on the 20th. Sadly, within 3 days all 3 new-born children had died. Besides the triplets and a stillbirth, Joost de Bondt and Anna van Wingerden had 6 additional children. The children Anthonie, Jaapje, Pietertje, Wiekert Gijsbert and Nicolaas Cornelis would reach the age of majority and marry.

Jacob, the oldest surviving child of Cornelis van Wingerden and Josina de Bondt, was the first to marry in 1904. By 1919 their other children Anthonia, Klaas, Adriana Cornelia, Cornelis, Josina and Maaike were all married, too.
Cornelis van Wingerden died in Zwijndrecht on April 23, 1911. His widow, Josina de Bondt, survived him for 23½ years. Josina may have inherited her strong genes from her mother, Pietertje den Hollander, who had died in Zwijndrecht on February 6, 1915, aged 91 years and 8 months.

A mill in Zwijndrecht with a view at the city of Dordrecht.

One of the common ancestors of Josina and me is whaler Thomas Brullee. Another common ancestor is Joost Cornelisse de Bondt (±1680-1753). 

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, FamilySearch.org, RegionaalArchiefDordrecht.nl.

Surname Saturday - Zijderveld in Holland

Zijderveld is a surname derived from a place name, a toponym. Zijderveld is a village located in the middle of The Netherlands in an area known as Vijfheerenlanden (literally “land with 5 lords”). Among the 5 lords that the area takes its name from are the medieval Lords of Arkel that are likely my ancestors, too.

Zijderveld is a small village in the middle of The Netherlands.

Willie Zijderveld (1892-1976)

My maternal grandmother is Willempje Cornelia (“Willie”) Zijderveld (1892-1976). We descend form Joost Florens Zijderveld who was married to Hester van Dam on 20 June 1717 in Lexmond. Lexmond is another village in the Vijfheerenlanden area. Their grandson, another Joost Zijderveld (1759-1805) moved to Zwijndrecht, Holland, and married twice. His son Willem Zijderveld (1794-1859) moved to nearby Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. Willem's grandson Cornelis Zijderveld (1858-1928) moved to the nearby city of Dordrecht. There his only daughter, my grandmother, was born.

Joost Florens Zijderveld is likely (but not proven) the grandson of a Joost Floren who lived in Lexmond in the 17th century. One of his sons, Floor Joosten, baptized on 25 April 1652 in Lexmond, is likely the father of my ancestor Joost Florens Zijderveld. Another son, Cornelis Joosten, baptized on 23 January 1659 in Lexmond, is the ancestor of a Zijderveld family that remained in the Vijfheerenlanden.