Meerdink, Garrit Hendrik

One of the many emigrants from Winterswijk was Garrit Hendrik MEERDINK. He emigrated when he was still a bachelor and settled in the United States. Here he was first married to Janna Hendrika NIJENHUIS and later to Janna Berendina LENSINK. … [Read more...]

Kastein; Roelof, Willem and Theodora

Several members of the Kastein family emigrated from the Dutch/German border towns of Dinxperlo and Süderwick to the United States. They ended up in Alto,WI. … [Read more...]

The passengers

The passengers of the Phoenix consisted almost exclusively of Dutch emigrants. Most of them came from Afgescheiden (seceder) backgrounds, following in the footsteps of Van Raalte. They came mostly from the eastern part of the Netherlands. … [Read more...]

Winterswijk Dutch reformed emigrants

Most of the people who emigrated from Winterswijk in the middle of the nineteenth century belonged to the Dutch Reformed religion. This religion kept records of it's members. The records also contain a list of people who emigrated to America. Please keep in mind only part of the emigrants were officially unregistered. … [Read more...]

Farm names

In the days before the Civil Registration forced everyone to stick to a surname, people in the eastern part of the Netherlands were named after the farm they lived at. You can still see that in the surnames today: Derk te Kolste, Piet te Lintum, Gerrit Jan Hoitink, etc. Since the surname might change every time a person moved, this sometimes offers difficulties in tracing your ancestors. There are some strategies to help you solve those name puzzles. … [Read more...]