Dutch genealogy

Comment

Comment by Lisa T on November 7, 2012 at 6:54pm

Hello Everyone! My Grandmother is a WWII war bride from Amsterdam.  My Grandfather was a Canadian Soldier, they married near the end of the war and she came over to Toronto.  I'm researching the Hoogland, van der Mee, and Bijlsma lines.

My grandmother is now 87, and she has asked me to find out what I can about her grandmother.  She died and for some reason (perhaps it was normal then) the children, except for the oldest daughter, were taken out of the fathers care and they were all sent to a Catholic Orphanage.  I have not been able to find anything about the death of their mother, she doesn't seem to be anywhere online and would love any suggestions.  My Nanny really wants to know what happened to her grandmother, how she died and exactly when.  The children were never told.  They all had contact with their father while in the orphanage, but he wouldn't talk about it with them.

My GG Grandmothers info is as follows...

Aafke Bijlsma b. 28 Jan 1871 in Grouw, Friesland d. unknown

Her parents were...

Jacobus Tjittes Bijlsma b. abt 1842

Aafke Jelgers Bijlsma b. 13 Jan 1841 Grouw, Idaarderadeel

(They were cousins)

Her Husband was...

Johannes van der Mee b. 2 Nov 1870, Leiderdorp d. 3 Feb 1932

They had 5 children, my Great Grandmother was born Nov 30th,1900 in Leiden.

Where should I look first considering I do not speak Dutch?  Any suggestions would be great.  I would love to figure this out for her.

Thanks,

Lisa

Comment by Cathy Roylance on October 9, 2012 at 3:44pm

My Dutch Line came to the USA very early in 1600, Settled in Kingston New York and surrounding Areas, Most have been researched except for my Direct Line, which I have a few problems with at the moment, My Ancestors are from a town Named after them in the Netherlands though the spelling is much different, they are the Van Wagenens (VanWagenen).

Comment by L Hendrickson on August 14, 2012 at 6:41pm

I'm happy to have found this site through a comment left on my blog, Branch and Leaf. I look forward to learning from the rest of you.

Comment by Henk van Kampen on July 25, 2012 at 12:04pm

I don't think this was common. Holland was neutral before, during and after WW I, and most people did not expect (or prepare for) a German occupation.

Comment by Kathleen Marie Cullen Todora on May 28, 2012 at 1:12pm

Hello, my maternal grandmother's family has been traced to William Kaese, married to Elizabeth Wycoff. Their son Adam Kase/Case married Elizabeth Gietsworth/Deats, and his son Adam Jr married Elizabeth Opdycke, whose parents were George Opdycke Sr and Sarah Sophia Baker.   One of our findings shows a John Case from Holland, married to a Mariah Cox (my fourth great grandmother. Seems our ancestors may have immigrated to NY, then to NJ and then to PA. Would really like to find out more about who they were and where they came from. Thanks for help from anyone...Kathleen

 

Comment by James P. LaLone on May 9, 2012 at 10:02am

Jane, besides the links Henk lists above, you might look at the links on Cyndi's List if you haven's already - http://www.cyndislist.com/netherlands/

Comment by Taco Goulooze on May 9, 2012 at 1:34am

Jane, it's well worth it, since there are a lot of 17th century Dutch documents available online, it's just that they are scattered all over the World Wide Web. If you have a general area you need to look at, let me know, and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction.

Comment by Jane Jones on May 9, 2012 at 12:56am

I'm new to this website as far as actively participating in it and I had written a comment and it went into cyberspace so I'm trying again. I apologize if I came off sounding that my Dutch ancestors are not important to me to research them in earlier records. I have done lots of research in the 1600's over the last 40 years when I started researching. My question was that I am used to researching other countries like the British Isles for these early ancestors of mine and was getting nowhere with my Dutch lines. I have been to Holland twice (I really love that country) and so my question was really, where to begin. Dutch research is something I couldn't figure out. I was hoping that maybe someone in this group could get me started in the right direction. The comment by Fred is very informative so that's what I will work on next. The only reward I expect from all this is the knowledge that I know and am grateful for those ancestors who risked so much to bring me to this point in my life. I appreciate them, love them. and will enjoy the search to know more about them. Thank you for your comment and especially you, Fred. It really helped to put my Dutch ancestors in perspective. A possibility to find them and add more to their families and ancestry has given me hope..

Comment by James P. LaLone on May 8, 2012 at 11:43am

Jane, I don't understand your question. Why wouldn't it be worthwhile?  From your statement it sounds like you expect some sort of reward. Did you not enjoy  researching your other lines? As one person wrote on their webpage, "If your not enjoying doing your genealogy, you're doing it wrong"

Comment by Fred Bergman on May 8, 2012 at 11:35am

Yes it is worth that, see here: http://www.geni.com/projects/New-Amsterdam/5346

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