The term Spoorwegen means Railways. The first railway in the Netherlands began in 1839, and ran between Amsterdam and Haarlem. In the rest of the 19th century, a multitude of railway companies developed a railway network that spanned the entire country. The train quickly replaced the Trekschuit (pulled barge) as the most popular form of long-distance transportation.
Train wreck, 1912. Image credits: Spaarnestad Photo
About Yvette HoitinkYvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.
Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands who helps people find their Dutch ancestors. She is certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee.
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My maternal family name is Verspoor. A cousin said this means an ancestor lived near a railway station. I said, I don’t think so, the name Verspoor was used in the mid 1700’s before there were any railroads. Any ideas on its origin?
Hi Judd,
Verspoor is very probably a so-called toponymical surname, derived from a geographical name of a place, location, and a shortening/acronym of “Van der Spoor”, meaning Of the Track/Path/Road, or, much less likely, Of the Trace or Of the Spur.
In 1947 and 2007 there were only 169 and 213 persons in the Netherlands with the surname Verspoor, concentrated (still) in the province Zeeland, esp. on the island Schouwen-Duivenland, and in the province Zuid-Holland, esp. in Rotterdam.
In which area/place were your most ancient known maternal ancestors with the surname Verspoor living?
Hi Peter,
I did find that out later from another source. My Verspoor ancestors came mainly from Bruinisse which is on the island Schouwen-Duivenland.. Three families immigrated to Long Island, New York in 1852. Later one of them moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
My surname is also Verspoor and two years ago I ran across this document which places the earliest reference to the Verspoor name as 1302 in West Flanders in reference to someone whom fought in the Battle of the Golden Spurs. You can download the pdf with the information here: https://docplayer.nl/15961175-J-m-g-leune-kwartierstaat-van-johannes-marinus-gommert-leune.html