Tag: brandstoffenhandelaar

52W Mark IV – Week 15: Card K2 Nicolaas “Klaas” Komen

Nicolaas “Klaas” Komen (1852 – 1929)

Nicolaas “Klaas” Komen, my Gx2 Grandfather, was born on May 17, 1852 in Heerhugowaard, Noord Holland. He was the eldest of two sons born to Cornelis Komen and Maartje Meetes.

Like most young men of his time, Klaas began his adult life by fulfilling his mandatory military service. In practice, most conscripts never really served in active duty; rather, their service was more like a reserve militia or national guard.

Klaas’s true adult life story began in Zuid-Scharwoude, in the gemeente (municipality) of Langedijk, where he worked as a labourer and began a family of his own. On May 19, 1878, Klaas married Antje “Anna” Woltering, who was born and lived in that town. Over the years, Klaas and Anna had ten children, all but two who lived to adulthood.

Notice of Klaas and Anna’s marriage in the Heldersche en Nieuwedieper Courant, June 16, 1878, page 3

From 1878 until 1900, the family lived in Zuid-Scharwoude. During this period, Klaas continued working as a labourer. In March 1900, Klaas and his family moved to the adjacent town of Noord-Scharwoude, which was also part of Langedijk. It was there that Klaas transitioned into work farming.

Around 1914, in his early 60s, Klaas embarked on a new occupational path as a “brandstoffenhandelaar” (“fuel dealer” or “fuel merchant”), operating out of Zuid-Scharwoude. It was a profession he carried out for many years, possibly even until his death in 1929. However, work as a brandstoffenhandelaar was not his sole occupation, as records show that he continued to work as a labourer, horticulturalist, and farmer at various times in the 1920s.

An extract from Klaas’s death registration, noting his occupation as a brandstoffenhandelaar.

I had been intrigued by his role as a brandstoffenhandelaar ever since I first learned of it, first because of the mouthful of a compound noun that it is, and then by the questions I had about it. Needless to say, the direct translation of the word into English doesn’t mean or tell much. In fact, it took me a while to learn that much, since I discovered the term long before Google and the word wasn’t in any of my Dutch-English dictionaries, although I was able to break down the component parts.

I found this photo in the collection of Regionaal Archief Alkmaar. It was the warehouse of Dirk Veer, a brandstoffenhandelaar in Alkmaar, which is only a couple kilometers from Zuid-Scharwoude. The image was taken in 1925, so it’s possible Klaas might have known of this place.

It is a common term still in use today, especially in the petroleum industry. However, it could have meant many different things in the early decades of the twentieth century. I have no idea what kind of fuel Klaas worked with, whether he was the vendor or if he worked for someone else, and where he carried out that work. It could have been that he transported fuel, such as coal, oil, or peat, by cart, wagon, or truck. I also do not know who his customers might have been, that is, commercial or domestic.

Klaas passed away in Zuid-Scharwoude on February 28, 1929, at the age of 76. Anna survived him by another six years.

52W Mark II – Week 13: Light a Candle

Hard to believe that we’re now a quarter of the way through this year’s 52 Ancestors Challenge! I feel like I’m still at the starting gate.

This week’s theme is “Light a Candle”. Amy says, “Candles are often lit in remembrance, in prayer, or when the power goes out for 5 days because of an ice storm. Be creative with this prompt!” So I’ll be creative!

All candles need fuel for the fire, which in their case is the wax. Thinking of fuel reminded made me think of an occupation of one of my ancestors, which has intrigued me many, many years: “brandstoffenhandelaar”. It’s Dutch for “fuel merchant” or “fuel dealer”. My great great grandfather, Nicolaas “Klaas” Komen was a brandstoffenhandelaar in Zuid-Scharwoude, Noord Holland, starting sometime around 1920 up to when he died in 1929.

From the civil register of deaths for Zuid-Scharwoude for Klaas Komen (1852 – 1929), noting his occupation as a brandstoffenhandelaar.

Back in the days before Babelfish or Google Translate, and when my Dutch was still at its most rudimentary as I struggled to teach it to myself, I would often puzzle over what it meant or what the job actually involved. I couldn’t find it in any of the Dutch-English dictionaries I had. However, I knew it was a compound noun. By breaking it down to its component parts I was able to determine that it had something to do with fire and trading or mercantile.

Many years later, I learned that it meant “fuel merchant”, but what exactly did it mean? It’s a term you can find in common use today, especially in the petroleum industry. However, its current use could not possibly mean what Klaas had likely been doing in the 1920s.

Years ago, I trick I figured out for translating unusual or difficult to understand words is to use Google Image Search. Like they say, a picture says a thousand words. I did this for the term “brandstoffenhandelaar“. Not only did that search show the modern usage of the word, but it also showed century-old photos of people with carts or wagons transporting various kinds of fuels, such as coal, oil, and peat. It struck me that those images likely depicted Klaas’s occupation, particularly given that he was a labourer for most of his life. Operating a cart or wagon would be quite consistent with the other work he performed and his station in life.

One of my Google Image Search results for brandstoffenhandelaar resulted in this photo in the collection of Regionaal Archief Alkmaar (Alkmaar Regional Archive). This was the warehouse of Dirk Veer, a brandstoffenhandelaar in Alkmaar, which is only a couple kilometers from Zuid-Scharwoude. The image was taken in 1925, so it’s possible Klaas might have known of this place.

In recent years, I discovered the Dutch Genealogy group on Facebook. I posted a query asking whether my understanding of brandstoffenhandelaar was correct, or whether it was more nuanced. The responses led me to believe that I was more or less correct. Several of the responses confirmed that back in Klaas’s day, a brandstoffenhandelaar might be someone transporting fuel by cart, wagon, or small truck, most likely coal, peat, or heating oil.

On occasion, I’ll try to find out what it was that Klaas actually did as a brandstoffenhandelaar. In preparing this post, I thought I’d give Delpher a try. Delpher is a fantastic resource, where you can find historical newspapers, magazines, books, and other publications. The only down-side to Delpher is that the site is only in Dutch, with no English interface. Even if it had one, the search results would be documents that are only in Dutch, so some knowledge of the language is necessary. I get a great language lesson every time I use it!

My goal with Delpher was to see if Klaas had placed any ads or notices for his services in the local paper. Delpher has great advanced search features, but I was still stymied in my search. In addition to being a surname, “komen” is also the verb “to come” in Dutch. On top of that, searching for an exact phrase using variations of Klaas’s first name (Nicolaas, Klaas, Nic) with his surname produces a lot of items about Sinterklaas coming to town. Even expressly excluding “sint” or “sinter” from the search didn’t filter them all out.

Hier komt Sint!

Despite the quirks of my search terms, I never found anything for Klaas or his work in the papers I searched. Nevertheless, my curiosity remains fueled.