It's my 12th Blogiversary!

On  17 January 2013   I published my 1st post for this blog,  so  today is my  12th   blogiversary !

My genealogy research file contains ancestors from January 2003 onwards. Those are ancestors of my father's mother, so I must have started my research even earlier. My paternal ancestors, the Bos family in Cillaarshoek were the ancestors I started with.
My ancestors with the most children are Otto van Driel (1756-1832) and my male-line ancestor Cornelis Bos (1813-1888): both had 17 children with 2 wives. In the 17th century Arij Peijnsz. Hogerwaert and his wife Trijntje Willems had 16 children together.
The couple Gerrit Korver and Neeltje Bloet (±1640-1727) were married for over 66 years. When my ancestor Jan Pieterse Vasen died on 11-8-1702 in Ottoland, Holland, he was "around 100 years old and had been blind for 3 or 4 years".

My favourite blog posts of my own ancestors are:

1. Arie de Sterke (1796-1892) fought in Russia and at Waterloo
2. Thomas Brullee's Whaling Expeditions of 1687 and 1712
3. Bos is a common name in The Netherlands

Tips & Tricks

These are some tips and tricks for researching ancestors.

• Genealogy in The Netherlands
• Dutch Sources for Genealogy
• The Netherlands Links at Cindi's List
• Dutch Naming Traditions by Yvette
• How to Find Your Dutch Ancestor’s Occupation by Yvette
• Genealogy in Europe
• Passenger lists of the Holland-America Line
• Extracts of emigration cards of Dutch people in Australia 1946-1991
  
• Checklist for starting Research in the Country of Origin by Yvette
• Find East European Ancestors Online by Geoff
• Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives feature immigration records and maritime history
• Scottish BMD Exchange for researching Scottish ancestry
  
• Search for Napoleon's Soldiers
  
• Illustrations for Genealogy
• Add an image to your blog post
• The location of Blogger's Photo Albums
  
• Sources for images to illustrate your family tree by Yvette
• Improve your research
• Check for improbable dates
• Was your ancestor married more than once?
• Don't be afraid to question 3rd-party publications
  
• Tips for finding Brick-Wall Ancestors
• Additional Tips
• DNA and Inheritance explained by Marc 
• Find relevant genealogy results in Google by using key search commands by Marian 
• Mind the Chronology of a Population Register
• Searching for soldiers fighting for the Dutch Republic 1595-1795
  
• Marriage Impediments for Catholics
• Latin Abbreviations when doing Genealogy

Ancestors of Aart and Gijsbert van Houwelingen in Pella

At the age of 78, widower Gijsbert “Gijs” van Houwelingen, left for the USA. He was accompanied by his sons Aart (1799-1893) and Gijsbert (1813-1876) and their spouses and children. They sailed with the ship “Maasstroom” which left Rotterdam, Holland, in April 1847 for Baltimore. In the fall they arrived in Pella. Gijs sr. seems to have died soon after arriving in the USA. Gijsbert jr. started the first dairy and butcher shop in Pella. His elder brother Aart van Houwelingen lived to be no less than 94 years old.

De Volksvriend, 4-1-1894

Gijs van Houwelingen was born on 3 July 1768, and baptised on the 10th in Kedichem, Holland. His late wife was Eigje van den Berg. She was baptised on 20 May 1770 in Nieuwland, and died there on 5 December 1836. Gijs and Eigje had a large family.

These are Gijs' ancestors:

2. Aart Gijsbertsze van Houwelingen was baptised on 12-3-1719 in Leerbroek, Holland He married
3. Jacobje (“Japikje”) Gijsbertse Sterk was baptised on 5-2-1736 in Schoonrewoerd, Holland.
4. Ghijsbert Herbertsz van Houwelingen was baptised on 20-5-1691 in Leerbroek. He married in Leerdam on 13-10-1715 
5. Maeijcke Aerts Sprong is baptised on 8-8-1684 in Leerdam, Holland. 
6. Gijsbert Cornelize Sterck married in Schoonrewoerd on 10-4-1735
7. Lijsbeth Ariense het Lam.
8. Herbert Gijsbertsz van Houwelingen originated in Leerbroek. He married in on 4-11-1689 
9. Metje Bolant was born around 1665 in Genderingen. 
10. Aert Bastiaansz Sprong originated in Leerdam. Aert died before 1699. He married around 1682
11. Steijntje Beerents was born around 1660 in Leerbroek. Steijntje's death was registered on 4-8-1733 in Leerbroek. 
12. Cornelis Gijsbertse Sterk married
13. Japickje Jans Hol.
14. Arie 't Lam married
15. Arike Claassen van Kersen.
16. Ghijsbert Herbertsz van Houwelingen originated in Leerbroek. He married in the spring of 1657
17. Lijsgen Thonisse was born around 1635 in Heicop, Holland. 
20. Bastiaen Herberts Sprongh originated in Leerdam. He died in March 1698. Bastiaen married around 1642
21. Maijke Huberts was born around 1620 in Leerdam. 

Map of Leerdam in 1649

20 Years of Genealogy - How it started, how it's going

Early 2022, Paul Chiddicks wrote a blog post named "How it started, How it’s going". He made a reference to a supposed blog post by Kelly Wheaton supposedly called "What Got You Started in Genealogy?", but that post has either been removed, or is not publicly accessible - either in Europe or anywhere. According to Paul, however, it was about how “we” became interested in genealogy, and how “our” genealogical research is going.

My interest in genealogy started with my interest in royals in history, and how they were all related. It wasn't until many years later, that I found out that it was also possible to find my own, humble ancestors who worked the land on an isle named Hoeksche Waard, located south of the city of Rotterdam and west of the city of Dordrecht.
I don't know exactly when I started researching my own ancestors, but the oldest changes in my genealogy file date from January 2003, while the oldest pictures date from February 2003. The oldest post on this blog dates from January 2013. So by now it's 20 years of finding ancestors, and 10 years of blogging about it.

In the early years I got a lot of help. My distant Bos ancestors in the villages of Puttershoek and Numansdorp had already been researched by someone at the local Museum Hoeksche Waard. All I had to do was was fitting in our branche that had moved to Cillaarshoek around 1803. The most distinct features of our Bos family turned out to be the recurrence of the unusual first name Cent over the centuries, and the fact that they'd been living on the same isle since at least 1600.
Luckily my mother's 4 eldest siblings had been named after their grandparents, and I also got help over the Internet with finding them, too. My maternal grandfather's family had been living in a part of Holland that was incorporated into Brabant around 1810. In 1867 my great-grandfather in Capelle, Brabant, was convicted "for playing with and for money on the Public Street". One of his cousins was convicted for drunkenness.
Many of my ancestors in the maternal line had been living in the city of Dordrecht. One of my more interesting ancestors, Arie de Sterke (1796-1892), was also living there. In the archives of Dordrecht I've actually once had the original 17th-century book with baptism records of Zwijndrecht in my hands!

So far I’ve found the most ancestors, 852, in the 13th generation, followed by 842 ancestors in the 12th generation. In the 7th generation I’m missing the first 2 ancestors due to inbreeding among my ancestors: Genis Brand (1857-1930) married his first cousin Jannigje van Houweling (1857-1936). I've always wondered of the large nose and ears of my father, his mother and his grandmother - a daughter of Genis and Jannigje - could have been a result of this cousin marriage.
I may descend from Charlemagne, likely through Gijbert Gijbertsz van Langerak, who lived around 1400, or possibly through triple ancestor Eltke Tonis Joosten (ca1570-1624) who married (1) Huijbert Baeijens Verhaegen and (2) Jan Wouters Mandemaecker.
One of my favourite websites is Delpher.nl, where you can search Dutch historical newspapers and magazines. The website GeneaKnowHow.net features links to genealogical sources in The Netherlands and Belgium. The website of the Dutch national archives, NationaalArchief.nl, has a lot of interesting info, too, but it's sometimes difficult to find.

In recent years it has become harder to find any new ancestors, so I've also been researching ancestors of people related to me, like my cousins Ruth van Valen, Nettie Looij, and Dick Koomans. Recently, I've also started researching my partner's ancestors who lived in the eastern parts of The Netherlands. In those areas the usage of surnames seems to have started later than in Holland, where most of my own ancestors lived, and they have other types of sources, too. Therefore, I became a member of some additional genealogical societies that publish genealogical journals, and transcripts of sources in other Dutch areas than Holland.

Genealogy is an addictive hobby!

It's my 10-Year blogiversary !

On 17 January 2013, I published my 1st post for this blog, so today is my  10th  blogiversary !

In those years the months with the most posts (5) were January and August 2018 and October 2019. But it’s not about quantity but quality, and that's for you to determine. The most popular blog posts in 2022 were those explaining where and how to find genealogy information, so I've added a list of blog posts with genealogy tips below.

The downside of 10 years of blogging is that it has become harder to find new topics to blog about. I skipped the month of December to be able to plan some blog posts in the first months of 2023. I may skip more holiday months in the future, because blogging should remain a hobby, and not an obligation.

The most common surnames among my known ancestors are Van Driel, Oerlemans, Spruijt, Brand and Bos. On this blog the most common surnames in my posts are Bos and De Jong, which are the surnames of my parents.
My ancestors with the most children are Cornelis Bos (1813-1888) and Otto van Driel (1756-1832); both had 17 children with 2 wives. In the 17th century Arij Peijnsz. Hogerwaert and his wife Trijntje Willems had 16 children together.
Ancestors Gerrit Korver and Neeltjen Bloet (±1640-1727) were married for over 66 years. When my ancestor Jan Pieterse Vasen died on 11-8-1702 in Ottoland, Holland, he was "around 100 years old and had been blind for 3 or 4 years".

To celebrate this 10-year milestone, I've updated - in addition to the statistics above - my list featuring interesting genealogy posts from this and other blogs.

Tips & Tricks

• Check for improbable dates
• Was your ancestor married more than once?
• Dutch Genealogy Research Tips
• The Netherlands Links at Cindi's List
• Dutch Naming Traditions by @DutchGen
• Researching Unusual Last Names for Genealogy by David
• How to Find Your Dutch Ancestor’s Occupation by @DutchGen
• Find European Ancestors on the Internet
• Checklist for starting Research in the Country of Origin by @DutchGen
• Passenger lists of the Holland-America Line
• Ships Passenger Lists to New York 1624-64 by Lorene
• Castle Garden Immigration Before Ellis Island by FamilySearch
• Search for Napoleon's Soldiers
• Searching the Soundtoll Registers for shipmasters sailing the Baltic Sea
• Mind the Chronology of a Population Register by @DutchGen
• Find relevant genealogy results in Google by using key search commands by @MarianBWood
• Ancestors With Unusual Names - Weird, Cool, or Historical? by Mercedes
• Tips for finding Brick-Wall Ancestors by Family Tree Magazine
• Sources for images to illustrate your Dutch family tree by @DutchGen
• Add an image to your blog post
• DNA and Inheritance explained by Marc
• Marriage Impediments for Catholics 
• Latin Abbreviations when doing Genealogy
• Extracts of emigration cards of Dutch people in Australia 1946-1991

‘Black Sheep’ Sources

• Historical U.S. Prison Records Online
• Prisons, Prisoners & Outlaws at Cindi's List
• Criminal Ancestor Records at Family History Daily
• Prisoners in Brabant
• Prison Record Index for Zeeland
• Dutch Prison Record Examples by @DutchGen
• Inhabitants of the Dutch colonies of the Society of Benevolence
  
• Black Sheep Ancestors Sources (USA & Canada)
• Insane Asylums Search (USA)
  
• Scottish Asylum Archives and more on Scottish ‘Lunatics’

Surname Line With the Longest Stay in a Locality

On his Genea-Musings Blog, Randy Seaver wrote about a Surname Line With the Longest Stay in a Locality. Many of my ancestors lived for several generations in the city of Dordrecht, on an island named the "Hoeksche Waard", and also in an area known as the "Langstraat" (a small protestant area, surrounded by a much larger catholic area). Most of my ancestors all used to live in Holland, a geographical region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands, so lines of ancestors in one region is not a challenge for me at all. Therefore I've made a line of ancestors (a) living in one city, Dordrecht, (b) living on one island, the Hoeksche Waard, and (c) living in one village, Strijen.

On my mother's side I've got family that has been living for 9 generations in the city of Dordrecht:

1. Baerthout Pietersz de Sterke was born in Gouda and moved to Dordrecht; his son is
2. Matthijs Baerthoudsz de Sterke who was baptised in Dordrecht and lived there; his son is
3. Baerthout Thijssen de Sterke (1640-1712) who was born in Dordrecht and lived there; his son is
4. Pieter Baerthoutsz de Sterke (1672-1716) who was born in Dordrecht and moved in 1706 to Rotterdam; his son is 
5. Pieter de Sterke (1705-1769) who was born in Dordrecht and lived there; his son is 
6. David de Sterke (1733-1797) who was born in Dordrecht and lived there; his son is 
7. Pieter de Sterke (1765-1842) who was born in Dordrecht and lived there; his son is 
8. Arie de Sterke (1796-1892) who was born in Dordrecht and lived there; his daughter is
9. Adriana de Sterke (1828-1917) who was born and lived in Dordrecht. She is my great-great-grandmother.

My paternal ancestors all lived on an island named the Hoeksche Waard. It's located to the west of the city of Dordrecht, and to the south of the city of Rotterdam. Around 1600 my Bos family was living in Puttershoek in the north of the island. After the reclamation of a new polder at the south of the island, my paternal ancestors moved to the new village of Numansdorp. In the early 19th century my paternal ancestors moved to a dike just south of the tiny village of Cillaarshoek. Finally, my father moved to the nearby village of Strijen near the end of his life.
My paternal ancestral line has 12 generations on one island:

1. Gijsbert Gerrits Boschman lived around 1600 in Puttershoek in the Hoeksche Waard, an island. He is the father of
2. Gijsbert Cornelisse Bos who lived in Numansdorp in the early 17th century. He is the father of
3. Cornelis Gijsberts Bos (1655-1731) who was born in Numansdorp, and lived there. He is the father of
4. Leendert Cornelisse Bos (1693- ±1725) who was born in Numansdorp, and lived there. He is the father of
5. Cent Leenderts Bos (1723-1783) who was born in Numansdorp, and lived there. He is the father of
6. Leendert Cente Bos (1755-1830) who was born in Numansdorp, and moved to Cillaarshoek, both in the Hoeksche Waard. He is the father of
7. Cent Leenderts Bos (±1788-1869) who was born in Numansdorp, and lived in Cillaarshoek, both in the Hoeksche Waard. He is the father of
8. Cornelis Bos (1813-1888) who was born in Cillaarshoek and lived there. He is the father of
9. Teunis Bos (1853-1923) who was born in Cillaarshoek and lived there. He is the father of
10. Hendrik Bos (1901-1985) who was born in Cillaarshoek and lived there. He is the father of
11. Teunis Pieter Bos (1929-2021) who was born in Cillaarshoek and lived there, and - at the end of his life - in nearby Strijen, both in the Hoeksche Waard. He is the father of
12. me; I grew up in Cillaarshoek in the Hoeksche Waard, an island.

Dingena

The female first name Dingena or “Digna” is related to the Latin word “dignum” with the meaning “worthy”.

The first Dingena in this line was also known as “Digna”. She was baptized on 12-4-1733 in Loon op Zand, Brabant, as daughter of Michiel Hommel and Jacomijn or Heremijn de Geus (†1777). She had a sister named Hermijna Hommel (1735-1819).
On 11-5-1756 in Loon op Zand, Dingena Hommel married Dirk van der Leij. Dirk was baptized on 17-10-1730 in Loon op Zand as son of Wouter van der Leij and Theodora de Rooij. Dingena died on 27-12-1802, and her burial in Loon op Zand was recorded on 3-1-1803.
Among Dingena's children were Dingena van der Leij and Wouter van der Leij (1756-1826). Wouter was married in 1788 to Geertruij van Diemen (1759-1804). The eldest of their 11 children was Dingena van der Leij.

Dingena van der Leij was baptized on 26-10-1788 in 's-Grevelduin-Capelle in Brabant. She was married in Loon op Zand on 4-10-1807 to Hendrik Dekkers (1784-1865), son of Adriaan Dekkers (1751-1828) and Teuntje Leempoel (1756-1830). One of their youngest children was Dingena Dekkers.

Dingena Dekkers was born on 27-11-1820 in Loon op Zand. She was married there on 28-4-1844 to Eland Nieuwenhuizen (1820-1890), son of Hendrik Nieuwenhuizen. Dingena died on 4-2-1827 in Loon op Zand. One of her children was Dingena Nieuwenhuizen.

Dingena Nieuwenhuizen was born on 15-4-1851 in Loon op Zand. She was married twice.
Dingena married her first husband Adriaan Werther on 14-10-1875 in Loon op Zand. He was born in Sprang on 23-9-1840. They had daughters named Hendrika and Dingena Pieternella. Their sons Eland and Adriaan both died young. Adriaan Werther died on 16-5-1878 in Loon op Zand.
Dingena married her second husband Pieter de Rooij (1853-1908) on 9-8-1889 in Loon op Zand. Pieter was born on 18-4-1853 in 's-Grevelduin-Capelle as eldest son of Gerrit de Rooij (1822-1882) and Pieternella Rosenbrand (1822-1887). In her second marriage Dingena had 4 children; Gerrit Pieter (1890-1959), the twins Eland and Pieter who both died as babies, and another Pieter, who died as a teenager.
Dingena van Nieuwenhuizen died on 11-8-1904 in 's-Grevelduin-Capelle, aged 53. Her widower, Pieter de Rooij, died there on 21-2-1908, aged 54.

Loon op Zand

Dingena Hommel (1733-1802) |

Wouter van der Leij (1756-1826) |

Dingena van der Leij (1788-1827) |

Dingena Dekkers (1820-1887) |

Dingena Nieuwenhuizen (1851-1904) |

Dingena Pieternella     Werther (1877-1908)

My Maternal Lineage - or “The Russian Doll Challenge”

 Your maternal lineage concerns your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, bed-great-grandmother, etc. It is mitochondrial DNA (or mtDNA) that's inherited exclusively through the female line. This small, ring-shaped DNA is not located in the cell nucleus, but in the mitochondria that are the energy converters of your cells. This maternal inheritance of mtDNA is used to map the distribution of a person's ancestors in prehistoric times.
 Genealogically speaking, your fully female-line ancestors are your ancestors with a 100% certainty. Before IVF your mother was always your biological mother. In the case of adultery, however, a woman's spouse is the legal father of the child, but the child may have a different biological father, so your male-line ancestry is less certain.
 This blog features my purely maternal ancestors*. They were all living in Holland. My purely matrilineal matriarch (upper left) is Ariaentke Willemsdr. who was born around 1595 in Oud-Alblas. My father's matrilineal matriarch is Machteltje Teunisdr. who lived in Ouderkerk aan de IJssel around 1600.

* Creating a line of purely female ancestors is also called “The Russian Doll Challenge”.

				Machteltje Teunis   (* ±1565, aft. 1640 ) |
				Ariaantje Jans   (* ±1596, bef. 1656 ) |
				Elijsabeth Cornelisse Back   (* ±1615, bef. 1676 ) |
Ariaentke Willems   (~ Oud-Alblas, ±1595 ) |				Lijsbet Pieters   (* ±1645 ) |
Catalijntje Claes Ariense   (~ Oud-Alblas 25-7-1621, [] Oud-Alblas 30-9-1662) |				Joosje Willems Segwaert   (~ Ouderk./IJ. 8-12-1675, † Ouderk./IJ. 30-8-1745) |
Catalijntje Willems Bras   (~ Oud-Alblas, 30-9-1662 ) |				Merritje Cornelisse van Erk   (~ Ouderk./IJ. 7-10-1703, † 19-1-1774) |
Cornelia Aerts Stock   (~ Dordrecht 2-9-1707, [] Dordrecht 27-12-1780) |				Teuntje Teunisse Boel   (* ±1729, † Moordrecht 26-5-1769) |
Caatje Pieters van Driel   (~ Dordrecht 26-12-1737, [] Dordrecht 26-7-1800) |				Maria Huige Booij   (~ Moordrecht 24-10-1756, † Streefkerk 3-9-1810) |
Cornelia van der Koog   (~ Dordrecht 11-3-1774, † Dordrecht 4-12-1854) |				Maria Schoonderwoerd   (* Streefkerk 4-10-1797, † Streefkerk 26-3-1876) |
Hendrika Faassen   (~ Dordrecht 6-2-1795, † Dordrecht 3-1-1871) |				Maria Aaldijk   (* Streefkerk 22-9-1821, † 13-9-1898) |
Adriana de Sterke   (* Dordrecht 11-11-1829, † Dordrecht 11-7-1917) |				Jannigje van Houweling   (* Streefkerk 9-8-1857, † Dordrecht 29-3-1936) |
Pieternella (“Nellie”) Langeweg   (* Dordrecht 2-1-1861, † Dordrecht 18-5-1912) |				Adriana (“Adriaantje”) Brand   (* Dubbeldam 28-5-1880, † ?-9-1965) |
Willempje Cornelia (“Willie”) Zijderveld   (* Dordrecht 6-11-1892, † Oud-Beijerland 16-7-1976) |				Jannigje (“Jansje”) Klootwijk   (* Dubbeldam 7-5-1906, † 27-11-1965) |
“Rie” de Jong			× |	“Teun” Bos
“Joan” Bos

Ancestor Score 2020: 79.7% in the 10th generation

Inspired by the Ancestor Score - also called "Completeness Statistics" - of other blogs, and GeneaNet's definition, I generated my first one in February 2016. Since then I haven't just been able to increase my score, I also had to remove a whole line of wrong ancestors***. I could partially replace them by already existing ancestors - due to inbreeding among my ancestors, which didn't increase the score either. Therefore, I decided to generate a new in-between ancestor score in August 2018 to be able to continue this series of posts. Thus, in February  2019 I was able to continue with my Ancestor Score Series.

Geneanet defines the Ancestor Score as 

“comparing the number of possible ancestors with 

the number of identified ancestors on a 10-generation report”. 

My Ancestor Score at generation 10 in the period 1600-1740 is 79.7%. It will never reach the 100%, because some cousins intermarried in generation 7. The total number of my “known” ancestors - starting with my parents (generation 2) - is currently 4618.

Composition and Bandwidth of various Generations
	Composition							Bandwidth**
Generations	Men	Women	Total	% 2020	% 2019	% 2018*	% 2016	From	Until
G 3	2	2	4	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1892	1906
G 4	4	4	8	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1850	1880
G 5	8	8	16	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1804	1857
G 6	16	16	32	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	1756	1832
G 7	30	30	60	93.8	93.8	93.8	93.8	1724	1802
G 8	59	59	118	92.2	92.2	92.2	90.6	1680	1777
G 9	115	113	228	89.1	89.1	88.3	86.7	1645	1750
G 10	207	201	408	79.7	79.5	78.7	76.4	1600	1740
G 11	330	303	633	61.8	61.2	60.8	57.0	1560	1695
G 12	420	360	780	38.1	37.6	37.3	33.8	1510	1695
G 13	438	322	760	18.6	18.1	17.9	15.7	1505	1670
G 14	356	240	596	7.3	7.0	7.1	6.1	1440	1625
G 15	231	132	363	2.2	2.0	2.0	1.6	1440	1580

     *) All years feature an ancestor score of February, except for the August score of 2018 and a January score for this year.
   **) 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 missing.