Prolific - The 13 pregnancies of Adriana Aaldijk (1832-74)

Adriana Aaldijk was born on 13 October 1832 in Streefkerk, Holland. She is the youngest daughter of Adrianus Aaldijk (1802-1873) and his wife Maria Schoonderwoerd (1797-1876). Adriana had 3 sisters and 2 brothers.
The first of these siblings to marry, was the eldest daughter Maria Aaldijk (1821-1898) who married Teunis (van) Houweling (1817-1902) on 19 February 1842 in Streefkerk. Maria gave birth to 12 children including a daughter Jannigje Houweling (1857-1936) who was to marry her first cousin.

Extract from the baptismal register of Streefkerk

At the age of 20, Adriana Aaldijk married 25-year-old Arij Brand on 27 September 1852 in Wieldrecht, Holland. The witnesses at their wedding ceremony were the groom's mother and the bride's father.
Arij Brand worked as a labourer. He had a length of 1,72 meter. His face was full, his nose thick and his chin round. His eyes were grey.
Arij Brand was born in Wieldrecht on New Year's Day 1827. His parents are Genis Brand (1802-1844) and Willemijntje Booij (1800-1878). Arij's elder brother Joris died at the age of 18 in 1844, while his younger brother Evert Brand (1835-1917) and 3 of his sisters reached adulthood.

Description of Arij Brand

Coenraad Rijsdijk (1844-1923) married his niece Pietertje Rijsdijk (1869-1946)

Coenraad Rijsdijk was born on 20 June 1844 in IJsselmonde, Holland. His parents are Arij Rijsdijk (1815-1883) “the elder” and his first wife Pietertje Mens (1820-1847). Coenraad had an elder brother Arie Rijsdijk “the younger”, born on 29 October 1841 in IJsselmonde.
After their mother’s death on 20 November 1847 in nearby Ridderkerk, their father married Lena de Ruiter on 14-3-1840 in nearby Barendrecht. By the time Arij “the elder” married his third wife, Maria Monfrooij (1826-1892), on 10 September 1880 in IJsselmonde, Coenraad was already a married man.

Coenraad’s elder brother Arij “the younger” was the first to marry on 27 June 1863 in IJsselmonde. His bride was Maria Wuister (1840-1880). Maria and Arij had several children, including a daughter Pietertje Rijsdijk, born on 30 January 1869 in IJsselmonde. Arie Rijsdijk “the younger”, aged 29, died on 30 April 1871 in Charlois, now part of Rotterdam. His widow Marie Wuister died at the age of 39 on 4 March 1880 in Barendrecht, leaving her daughter Pietertje an orphan at the age of 11. Thus, Pietertje's uncle Coenraad Rijsdijk became her guardian.

At the age of 23, on 24 April 1868 in IJsselmonde, Coenraad Rijsdijk had married 20-year-old Trijntje de Ruiter. She was born on 12 August 1847 in IJsselmonde, and her parents were Arie de Ruiter (1796-1863) and Pieterje van der Velde (1809-1890). Coenraad and Trijntje had 10 children, but most of them died young, including twin daughters. Trijntje died on 26 March 1886 in Spaarndam, Holland, 2 weeks after giving birth to her youngest daughter, who died young, too.
The next year, on 24 March 1887 in Barendrecht, 42-year-old Coenraad Rijsdijk married his 18-year-old niece Pietertje Rijsdijk whose guardian he was. On 29 November 1886 the couple had obtained a special permission to marry, because an uncle-niece marriage is usually not allowed. The couple also got permission to marry without fees, because they were poor, so Coenraad’s job as “merchant” was likely more like a humble door-to-door salesman.

Dutch King Willem III gave permission for this uncle-niece marriage

Pietertje Rijswijk gave birth to a death baby in IJsselmonde on 22 July 1887 around 4 o’clock. It’s unknown if the baby was either a miscarriage, or full-term - and then conceived before the wedding ceremony. Three more pregnancies resulted in lifeless children. Twelve other pregnancies were successful, but half of those children died young anyway.

A Kootkar Family of Meppen in Germany (2): Hermanus

The previous blog post was about Anna Maria Elisabeth Francisca Kootkar who was born in Meppen in Germany. This post is about Hermanus Kootkar who was born in Meppen, too.
Hermanus kootkar was married on 5 April 1763 in Culemborg in The Netherlands to Margaretha Roelofs, who was born in Amsterdam. The next day their wedding was celebrated in the catholic church with witnesses Theodorus Tienhoven and Anna Maria de Weert. A notice of their intended marriage had been registered in Amsterdam, too, on 11 March.

Marriage of Hermanus Kootker and Margaretha Roelofs in 1763 in Culemborg

Hermanus and Margaretha are the parents of 

1. A child was buried on 28-1-1764 in Culemborg.
2. Wilhelmus Jacobus was baptised on 27-4-1765 in Culemborg with witnesses Willemina Bardon, Wilhelmo Jacobo Kootker.
3. Joanna Maria (“Maria”) was baptised 18-3-1768 in Culemborg with witnesses Anna van Sticht, Maria Schoelle. Maria was married in Culemborg on 25-5-1790 to Jacob Berentsen, born in the vicinity of Rees in Germany. They had several children. Maria died, as a widow, on 1-6-1829 in Culemborg.
4. Juliana was baptised on 3-6-1770 in Culemborg with witness Juliana Schole.
5. Joanna Juliana was baptised on 17-9-1771 in Culemborg with witnesses Jacomijn Joosten and Juliana Scholle. Juliana Kootker married Joseph Bergman and had children. Juliana Kootker died on 23 August 1811 in Leiden, a few days after giving birth. She was buried there on the 26th.
6. Joanna Catharina was baptised on 28-8-1773 in Culemborg with witnesses Josephus Antonius, Maria Elisabetha Kootker. She may have died unmarried on 5-3-1838 in Rotterdam.
7. Harmanus was baptised on 17-10-1776 in Culemborg with witness Arnoldus Roelofs. Hermanus Kootker jr. was married on 1-11-1796 to Maria Stoffels, and had some children. Hermanus died in Culemborg on 20-1-1848 around 15:00, aged 71.
8. Johannes Wilhelmus was baptised on 5-5-1779 in Culemborg with witness Elisabetha Kootkar. In Utrecht on 26-4-1805 he married Jacoba Margarita (“Margaretha”) Roelofse. They had some issue. He died on 6-10-1841 in Utrecht (see below).
9. Antonius Josephus was baptised on 9-12-1781 in Culemborg with witnesses Reckje van Panwijk, Antonio Josepho Kootker. A child of Hermanus Kootker was buried on 17-12-1781 in Culemborg.
10. Joannes was baptised on 27-6-1784 in Culemborg with witness Anna Maria Kootker (his eldest sister). Joannes was buried on 10-8-1784 in Culemborg. 
11. Joannes “Jan” was baptised on 13-10-1785 in Culemborg with witness Joanna Maria Kootker (his eldest sister). Jan was married on 2-5-1809 in Culemborg to Hendrika de Jong. They had several children, including a son named Hermanus. Jan died in Culemborg on 16-2-1816, aged 30.

Longevity ~ Pieter de Jong (95)

Pieter de Jong was baptized on April Fools' Day in 1759 in Oud-Alblas in Holland with witness Jannigje de Jong. Pieter is the 10th and youngest child of Tijs de Jong and Jannigje Kooijmans.

Pieter de Jong married Neeltje Stichter on 3 May 1801 in Oud-Alblas, Holland

Pieter de Jong was married on 3 May 1801 in Oud-Alblas to Neeltje Stichter. She was baptized on 30 October 1774 in Noordeloos. Her parents are Claas Stigter and Pieternella de Kluijt.

Pieter de Jong and Neeltje Stigter had 9 children:

1. Jannigje de Jong was born on 17-2-1802 and baptized on 21-02-1802 in Oud-Alblas with widness Marijgje de Jong. Jannigje married Jan Korporaal in 1827. He died in 1859. Jannigje survived him. Among their children was Marigje Korporaal, born on 16-7-1828 in Oud-Alblas, who reached the age of 93 before she die don 6-5-1922 in Oud-Alblas. 
2. Tijs de Jong was born on 4-9-1803 and baptized on 11-9-1803 in Oud-Alblas with witness Marijgje de Jong. At the age of 51, Tijs married 40-year0old Wouterina Groeneweg. Tijs die don 12-3-1874 in Oud-Alblas, aged 70.
3. Pieternella de Jong was born 26-3-1805 and baptized on 31-3-1805 in Oud-Alblas with witness Ariaantje Kooijwijk, wife of Jan Stichter. At the age of 40, Pieternella married 48-year-old Cornelis Hardam. Pieternella died on 5-8-1876 in Alblasserdam, aged 71. 
4. Klaas de Jong was born on 28-03-1806 and baptized on 30-3-1806 in Oud-Alblas with witness Ariaantje Kooijwijk. Klaas married Dirkje Boer. He died on 5-6-1879 in Alblasserdam, aged 73.
5. Arie de Jong was born on 19-5-1808 and baptized on 19-6-1808 in Oud-Alblas. Arie was married on 18-11-1843 in Nieuw-Lekkerland to Aartje Berkouwer, born on 17-2-1821 in Nieuw-Lekkerland. Arie died on 15-11-1859 in Alblasserdam, aged 51. 



Teunis de Jong
(1816-1876)

6. Willempje de Jong was born on 7-12-1810 and baptized on 16-12-1810 in Oud-Alblas with widness Ariaantje Kooijwijk. In 1835 Willempje married Hendrik de Haan. Willempje died on 23-10-1874 in Alblasserdam, aged 63. 
7. Marthijnus de Jong was born on 17-6-1812 and baptized on 28-06-1812 in Oud-Alblas with widness Marijgje de Jong. Marthijnus married Martijntje van Rijnsbergen in 1840. He died on 12-10-1892 in Oud-Alblas at the age of 80. 
8. Jan de Jong was born on 23-1-1815 in Oud-Alblas and baptized on 5-3-1815 in Oud-Olblas. Jan died there on 14-3-1845, aged 30. 
9. Teunis de Jong was born on 5-6-1816 in Oud-Alblas. He married 3 times, had issue, and emigrated to the USA. His third wife was Lijntje Boer (1812-1891).

Pieter's elder brother Adriaan de Jong (1736-1823) reached the age of 88. Pieter's wife, Neeltje Stigter, died on 7-2-1829 in Oud-Alblas, aged 54. Pieter de Jong survived his wife for 25 years and reached the age of 95. He died on 26 June 1854 in Oud-Alblas.

Sources: WieWasWie.nl, Dutch National Archives Website, G. Ouweneel CD with sources of Alblasserdam and Oud-Alblas, FamOfSH CD (“Klapper”), FindAGrave.com.

The picture of Teunis in this blog was added @ FindAGrave by Glen H. DeYoung.

Arie Toll (1834-1915) and his 3 wives

When Arie Tol married his second wife Neeltje Mouthaan, it was stated in the marriage registration that his father Aart was resident in Pella in the USA. Arie Tol was born on 25 August 1834 in Nieuw-Beijerland, Holland. He was the seventh of 14 children of Aart Tol and Neesje de Jong (1804-1850). While many of his siblings had died young, Arie survived. He was 16 when his mother died, aged 46.

When Arie Tol married his second wife on 10-10-1867, his father was in Pella.

Arie Tol was first married on 7 October 1853 in Heerjansdam, Holland, to Jannetje van der Mast. She was born 14 July 1827 in ‘s-Gravendeel, Holland. Her parents are Johannes van der Mast (1792-1857) and his first wife Adriaantje Naaktgeboren (1796-1828). They had 5 children before Jannetje died on 17 January 1867 in Rhoon. Holland.

Arie Tol was remarried on 10 October 1867 in Barendrecht, Holland. His second wife, Neeltje Mouthaan, was born on 18 June 1834 in Middelharnis, Holland. She was the widow of Cornelis Tulp, and had a surviving son of her first marriage named Simon. On 1 August 1869 Neeltje gave birth to a son named Arij who died after 11 days. Neeltje died on 12 September in Haarlemmermeer.

Arie Tol married his third wife, Arendje, on 11 July 1872 in IJsselmonde, Holland. She was born on 25 April 1849 in Ridderkerk, Holland. Her parents are Arie Zevenbergen and Neeltje Schilperoort. Arendje gave birth to 7 additional children. The youngest, Annetje, was born on 26 April 1888 in Zwijndrecht, Holland.

Somewhere between 1888 and 1896, Arie Tol and his third wife Arendje left for the USA. They were accompanied by Arie’s youngest daughter with his first wife, and the five surviving children of his third marriage. They settled in Pella, Iowa, and added an extra ‘l’ to their surname. Three of his daughters married three sons of Jan van Engelenhoven (1830-1915) and his wife Jansje Hessink (1834-1881) who originated in Ede in The Netherlands.

Teacher Leendert Bras (1828-69) in Haarlemmermeer

Leendert Bras was born on 22 March 22 1828 in De Werken in Brabant, southeast of Gorinchem in Holland. His parents are Leendert Bras (1793-1862) and Sijke van Drunen (1797-1874). Among Leendert's siblings were Bastiaan Bras (1819-1898) and Adriaan Bras (1830-1881). Their father worked as a workman, miller and innkeeper.

In Utrecht on 17 July 1850, at the age of 22, Leendert Bras did exams to become a teacher. He acquired a 4th rank as teacher on 29 April 1851. He was working as an assistant teacher in Utrecht, when he acquired his 2nd rank as teacher on 6 April 1853 at the age of 25. In the autumn of 1854 Leendert Bras was appointed as a teacher in a specialized Day and Boarding School for boys in Zuilen, west of Utrecht.

On July 17, 1850, Leendert Bras did his exam to become a teacher

Leendert Bras had been married on17 May 1852 in De Werken to Jannigje Pruissen. Jannigje was born on 28 December 1828 in De Werken. Her parents are Jan Pruissen and Hasia van Dijk. Leendert Bras and his wife were to have 11 children but 3 of them died young.
At first they lived in De Werken, but around 1860 they moved to Haarlemmermeer, a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. First, a 61 kilometres long canal had been dug around the lake to carry the water drainage and traffic. All of the pumping was done by steam mills, an innovation contrasting with the historic Dutch practice of draining polders using windmills. The first church was built in 1855. By 1860 Haarlemmermeer's population was 7237 people.
Leendert's father had died on 5 Janaury 1862 in Almkerk in Brabant. His mother remained in Almkerk until her death on 16 January 1874. Leendert died at the early age of 40 on February 14, 1869, in Haarlemmermeer. Six months later his widow, Jannigje Pruissen, gave birth to her last child, a daughter named Govertje after her brother Govert who had died the year before. Jannigje survived her husband for 26 years and died in Haarlemmermeer on 12 December 1895, aged 66.
Their daughter Anna was married in 1880, and had a son in 1881. On 9 May 1902 Anna and her husband and son left the Haarlemmermeer for the USA.

Lijntje Boer (Puttershoek 1812 - Chicago 1891) married 3 times

Lijntje Boer originated in Puttershoek in Holland, married 3 times and died, aged 79, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA. This is the story of her life.

Lijntje Boer was born on 7 March 1812 in Puttershoek, Holland. She is the 5th - but eldest (possibly only) surviving - child of Arie Boer (1774-1847) and Hilletje van de Graaf (1782-1849). Lijntje's grandparents are Arie Boertje (1725-1782), Pietertje van Roon (±1734-1778), Johannes van de Graaf (±1754-1830) and Lijntje Blankenaar (1757-1824). They were all living in Puttershoek.

On 29 September 1826 in Puttershoek, Lijntje Boer, aged 24, was married to Kleijs van Kleef. Kleijs was baptised on 5 April 1804 in Dordrecht. His parents are Arij van Kleef (1754-1833) and Maria Valster. Kleijs' elder siblings were baptised in Puttershoek. Lijntje and Kleijs had 4 daughters, but 2 of them died young. Kleij van Kleef died in Puttershoek on 1 May 1844, aged 40. Lijntje's father, Arie Boer, died on 12 January 1847 in Puttershoek, aged 72. Lijntje's mother, Hilletje van de Graaf died there on 25 May 1849, aged 67.

On 30 October 1850 in Puttershoek Lijntje Boer, aged 38, was married to Arij van Driel. Arij was born on 20 January 1817 in Strijen als the eldest surviving son of Gerrit van Driel (1748-1847). Arij's mother is his father's second wife Adriaantje Schaap (1785-1851). Lijntje and Arij had 2 daughters who died young and 2 sons who survived to adulthood.
In 1859 Lijntje's eldest daughter Hilligje van Kleef married Willem de Best (25). In 1865 Lijntje's second daughter Maria van Kleef married Aalbert den Boer (27). They became parents of a daughter Lijntje den Boer on 28 April 1867 in Strijen.

In 1866 Arij van Driel en Lijntje Boer decided to emigrate to the USA and they took their sons Gerrit (14) and Arie (12) with them. Arie died, aged 49, just before arriving in America. As their ship was going down the St. Lawrence River, it stopped at the Île d'Orléans to allow the Van Driel family to bury Arie there. Lijntje and her 2 sons arrived in New York on May 11, 1866.