Tuesday's Tip: Don't be afraid to question 3rd party publications - or how to knock down a Brick Wall

In The Netherlands the genealogy magazine "Ons Voorgeslacht" is well known. Years ago, I found an article on ancestors of mine, a Verhoef family in the Lopikerwaard in The Netherlands, in the 1995 edition. This is a translation of the interesting paragraph in the article:

Reijnier Verhoef was baptized in Polsbroek in August 1680 and buried in Gouda in June 1741. He married his 1st wife, Willemijntje Saarse Bouwman, in October 1708 in Moordrecht. Willemijntje was born in Lopik, had 4 children and died in Gouderak in august 1719. Reijnier remarried his 2nd wife Murrigje Willems Kroon in November 1720.

The author of the article was T.F. Verhoef. I assumed that - since the author had the same surname as the people in the article, and he had published in such a well-known magazine - he must be an expert, so I assumed that everything he wrote was right.

That's why my ancestor Willemijntje Bouwman remained a brick wall for years.

Recently, I read DutchGen's tip "A couple usually married in the bride’s home town". I hadn't noticed that in my own research, but I remembered it when, later on, I noticed my Bouwman brick wall again. Since Reijnier Verhoef and Willemijntje Bouman married in Moordrecht, could Willemijntje have originated from Moordrecht instead of Lopik?

Research in Moordrecht's records knocked down this brick wall.

Willemijntje was baptized in Moordrecht on May 1, 1688.  Her parents were Saers Franke and Afie Willems. Willemijntje had 11 siblings. Her grandparents were Vranck Saersen and Appolonia (Pleuntie). Her great-grandfather may have been Saers Pietersz Cos, who was buried on 14-9-1653 in Waddinxveen and married to Barbara Cornelis. Saers Pietersz Cos was a son of Pieter Jansz Cos and Aechgen Saers.

Tombstone Tuesday - Pieter de Jong & Willempje Cornelia Zijderveld

My grandparents Pieter [Piet] de Jong (1892-1973) and Willempje Cornelia [Willie] Zijderveld (1892-1976) are buried in the cemetery of 's-Gravendeel on the Hoeksche Waard island: 

My grandparent's tombstone

My grandfather was born in Sprang-Capelle and at the age of 7 he lost his father, leaving the widow and children in very poor circumstances. My grandmother was born in Dordrecht as an only daughter with several brothers and was a bit spoiled.

Barent & Lucas Coeymans, 17th century miller & sawyer

Barent Pieteres Koijemans/Coeymans first arrived in 1639 from Utrecht, The Netherlands, with his brother Lucas. First, Barent became an apprentice at a mill owned by the Van Rensselaer family. Later,  "Barent The Miller" purchased a tract of land that was given his name: Coeymans is a town in Albany County, New York, USA.
Barent married a daughter of Andries de Vos. His children were Andreas, Samuel, Pieter, Adriaentje, Jannetie and Geertie. Barent's daughter Adriaentje was born on October 19, 1672. His son Pieter married Elizabeth Greveraad on October 5, 1713. Barent died in 1710.

While Barent became known as "Barent The Miller", his brother Lucas Pieterse Coeymans became known as "De Houtsager", i.e. "The Sawyer". In 1675 Lucas bought a saw mill called "The Proesten Mill" on the east bank of the Hudson. Lucas married, too, and had a daughter Jannetje, baptised on October 19, 1684. 

Sources: OpenLibrary.org, Wikipedia.org and rootsweb.ancestry.com. 

Treasure Chest Thursday - My Grandparent's 1917 Marriage Certificate

Recently I received a little "treasure chest" from my uncle Cees de Jong. Among many other papers pertaining my grandparents, it contained my grandparent's marriage certificate:

My grandparent's marriage certificate

Pieter de Jong

My grandfather, Pieter de Jong (1892-1973) married my grandmother Willempje Cornelia Zijderveld (1892-1976) on March 29, 1917 in Dordrecht, South Holland, The Netherlands. They had 10 children and a miscarriage from 10 pregnancies in the period 1917-1935.
The 1930s were a time of unemployment and poverty, so my grandparents moved around 1930 from Capelle, North-Brabant, to Mookhoek, South-Holland, in search of employment. There, my grandfather started working as a hind on a farm and acquired a certificate for properly milking cows. After the war my grandfather found employment in building construction.

My Little Treasure Chest