Jan Willem Wieberdink was born in Aalten on 4 September 1834 as a son of Garrit Jan Wieberdink and Janna Geertruid Heinen. On 2 September 1864, he married Johanna Hendrika Jentink on her 24th birthday. She was born in Aalten as wel, on 2 September 1840 and was a daughter of Arend Jan Jentink and Geziena Fukkink.

Living in Aalten

While living in Aalten, the couple had the following children, all born in Aalten:

1. Janna Gezina, born 29 June 1865
2. Arend Jan, born 18 May 1867
3. Gerrit Jan, born 20 March 1870
4. Gesina Geertruida, born about 1872/1873, died 11 January 1876 at the age of 3
5. Gesina Geertruida, born 26 January 1876

Emigration

On 15 July 1879, the family emigrated with the remaining four children from their farm in the hamlet of Lintelo near Aalten. As reason for emigration it was listed 'improvement of fate'. Their destination was listed as North-America.

Gerrit Jan, who was 9 at the time of the emigration, used to reminisce about their voyage. The family crossed the ocean as steerage (below deck) passengers to save money. Conditions on board were poor. Unfortunately, if the people on the upper decks were vomiting across the railing, it would come down on them. The sailors played with the young children. Also, their mother used to comb their hair with a fine comb to get the lice out of their hair. The children then stomped on them to kill them. Food was scarce and fought over. The Dutch families were used to praying before eating but when their eyes were closed, other people would try to grab their food. Each family was given a ration and there was a schedule so the women could prepare their food in turns.

Gerrit Jan Wieberdink and his wife Hendrika Winkelhorst

Living in Wisconsin

At the end of their journey, the family settled in the Town of Holland, Oostburg, WI with just $18 and bought a cow. Unfortunately, the living conditions in the new country weren't that favorable either. At the age of 47, Johanna Hendrika died from consumption (tuberculosis) on 3 November 1887. She is burried in Union Cemetery.

Jan Willem was remarried to Dela Huinink (Delia Huenink), who was born in Aalten on 29 August 1835 as the daughter of Jan Berend Huinink and Berendina Heesen. She had emigrated in 1869, together with her extended family. See the article about her brother Derk Willem Huinink for more information. A picture of Jan Willem Wieberdink and Delia Huenink still exists. Jan Willem died on 1 March 1907.

Jan Willem Wieberdink and his second wife Delia Huenink

Last week, my friend Mary Risseeuw from Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and I gave a presentation at the International Congress for genealogical and heraldic Sciences in Maastricht. The title was "We're all fresh and healthy. Emigration from the Netherlands to the United States in the 19th century. The slides are now available online.

I've just added a Dutch genealogy store to the site. In this store, visitors can buy books, DVDs and prints about Dutch genealogy, history and culture. I've selected publications that I think would benefit somebody researching his Dutch roots. The store is powered by Amazon. This website receives a commission for all sales, enabling this website to remain free.

Many Dutch family names have prefixes like 'de' or 'van'. They have a special role in the Dutch family name which you have to be aware of when researching names with prefixes.

Personal information cards were used from 1938 to keep track of who lived where. It is a part of the population registration.

Personal index cards are a great source of information for recent research because they cover the period from 1938 onwards. Copies of personal index cards of deceased people can be ordered for a fee.

The province of Limburg is situated in the south-east of the Netherlands. The province borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, Belgium and Noord-Brabant to the east and Noord-Brabant to the north.

The capital city of Limburg is Maastricht. Other larger towns are:

• Heerlen
• Sittard
• Venlo
• Geleen

Adriaen van der Donck has been described as one of the first true Americans: a man with more loyalty for his new country than his old. After obtaining a law degree, he left for the New Netherlands in 1641 to help establish law and order in the colony. At this time, the colony was under the leadership of the Dutch West Indies Company who appointed a governor to enforce their will.

Adriaen van der Donck wanted the colonists to have the same rights as citizens of other Dutch towns, a viewpoint that often sent him on a collision course with Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of the New Netherlands. To convince the Dutch government, he wrote a vivid account of the New Netherlands that speaks of his love for his new home.

After World War II was over, many people wanted to start a new life across the ocean. Five years of war had destroyed the Dutch economy, and it would take years to recover. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, many Dutch people emigrated to Australia, Canada and the United States.