Tag: van der Fluit

52W Mark IV – Week 2: Card V2 Jan Dirksz van der Fluit

Jan Dirksz van der Fluit (1848-1935)

Jan Dirksz van der Fluit was born in Oude Niedorp, Noord Holland, Netherlands on September 14, 1846 to Dirk Pietersz van der Fluit and Aaltje Klaasse Stroet.

While I have a significant amount of information and source material for Jan, the one great mystery is whether the man seen in the image above is, in fact, Jan Dirksz van der Fluit. In an email, the person who provided it to me questioned whether he had correctly identified Jan as the person in the photo. He indicated that it is possible that the man is actually Jan’s brother-in-law, Klaas Dekker (1832 – 1912). Klaas was married to Jan’s sister Geertje (1841-1928). My correspondent did not indicate where he acquired the image. So this card is either Jan van der Fluit or Klaas Dekker.

The other mystery about Jan is how he spent his life between the day he was born and his first marriage to his first wife, Bregtje (also “Brechtje” or “Brigetta”) Tak, who he married on April 9, 1880. That’s a 33 year gap in time for which I have no information. At most, at the time of his marriage to Bregtje, Jan had been a farmer and a labourer, most likely in Oude Niedorp or Niuewe Niedorp.

[Update February 20, 2025: Today I found a Bevolkingsregister for Oude Niedorp for 1860-1885, with an entry for Jan’s mother, Aaltje Stroet and all her children. This was after Jan’s father had died. It indicates that up to age 15, Jan was most likely living with his mother in ‘t Veld. From age 15 to 18, Jan lived in Heerhugowaard. I will have to look for a Bevolkingsregister for Heerhugowaard to see if I can learn more. In February 1865, Jan moved back home with his mother and siblings in ‘t Veld.]

Bregtje was born in Oude Niedorp in May 20, 1855. She was 24 when she married Jan, who was 33 at the time. Jan and Bregtje had three children: Dirk, Geertruida, and Petrus. It was not a long marriage, as Bregtje died on December 8, 1884, nine days after Petrus was born. Given the close connection in time, it may be that it had been a difficult childbirth that ultimately resulted in Bregtje’s demise.

Jan married for a second time nine months later, to Maartje Veldman (1862-1904), in Barsingerhorn, Noord Holland on August 19, 1885. Maartje was 22 when she married Jan, who was then 38. I am descended from Maartje, who is Card V3 – so more on her next week. Jan’s marriage to Maartje lasted almost 20 years, ending when Maartje passed away.

Heldersche en Nieuwedieper Courant, September 9, 1885, page 4.
“Engaged and Married: Jan van der Fluit, widower of Brechtje Tak, 38 years old, and Maartje Veldman, never married, 22 years old.

Jan and Maartje had seven children together, although the first two did not survive infancy. Their fourth child was my great grandfather, Johannis Albertus van der Fluit. Jan outlived Johannis by three years. Maartje passed away on August 5, 1904, exactly one month after the birth of her youngest child, Brigettha.

Jan married for a third time, to Aagje Rood in Oude Niedorp on January 24, 1907. Aagje was born on December 20, 1863, in Heerhugowaard, Noord Holland, making her 43 when she married Jan. Aagje was a widow at the time she married Jan, having been previously married to Arie Pater. I have not done much research into Arie, but would not be surprised if he is somehow related to me given that my father’s maternal line is Pater. However, to date I have yet to find any connection between Arie and my Paters. Unlike Jan’s previous wives, Aagje outlived Jan – by two and a half months. She died on May 4, 1935.

Bevolkingsregister for Oude Niedorp for 1931 to 1938

At the time of his second marriage, Jan was a merchant and shopkeeper. I know he was involved in that line of work until at least 1894, but I do not know the extent or details of that occupation. By 1904, he had returned to work as a labourer, which he apparently did until a year before he died. Since he died in 1935, that would mean he was still working when he was 87. The Bevolkingsregister (population register) for Oude Niedorp for 1910 to 1930 shows that he was a labourer during that entire time. The Oude Niedorp Bevolkingsregister for 1931 to 1938 indicated that he was still a labourer, at least until June 1934 when he moved to Westerblokker, which is about 16 kilometers from Oude Niedorp.

Jan’s bidprentje

However, I doubt that was so. It seems unlikely that he would still be working as a labourer in his mid-80s. The bidprentje (prayer card or in memoriam card) given out when he died. It indicated that in his last years “his legs could barely carry him”, yet he was still able to “shuffle” or “trudge” to church every day before dawn. His death registration also clearly indicated he was no longer working at the time he died.

Jan’s work was not limited to being a labourer during this period. In 1907, he was also working as a milkman; in July 1917 he was once again doing some form of work as a merchant.

On June 6, 1934, Jan and Aagje moved to Westerblokker. I still have to find the Bevolkingsregister for Westerblokker from that time. It’s on my to-do list; however, it is not yet available to the public because it includes a time period that is restricted under privacy laws. Jan died seven months later, on February 22, 1935. His bidprentje says that he passed away in “Bethlehem” house. Bethlehem was a monastery, which must have had some sort of palliative or care home. Jan was buried in Westerblokker.

UPDATE!

February 15, 2025: Late last week I was able to verify that yes, indeed, this is a photo of Jan Dirksz van der Fluit! Not only that, but it resulted in finding a photo of his wife Maartje Veldman!

Jan Dirksz van der Fluit!!

52W Mark IV – Week 1 (Part Two): Card V1 Johannes van der Fluit and Teetje Pater

Theresia “Teetje” Pater (1894 – 1947)
Johannis Albertus van der Fluit (1894 – 1932)

Johannis Albertus van der Fluit (1894-1932) and Theresia “Teetje” Pater (1894-1947) were my father’s paternal grandparents. Teetje was two months older than Johannis. She was born on February 15 and he was born on April 14. My father never met either of them as they both died before he was born.

Johannis was born in ‘t Veld, North Holland. He was an agricultural worker most of his short life. Teetje was born in Waarland, North Holland, the same village where my father was born. Johannis and Teetje were third cousins. They were both direct descendants of Cornelis Klaasz de Groot and Geertje Jans de Wit, their great great grandparents and my Gx5 grandparents. Teetje is descended from their eldest son, Jan, while Johannis is descended from their youngest daughter, Elisabeth. This makes me my own sixth cousin!

The Netherlands used to have mandatory military service, although in practice most conscripts never really served; rather, it was more like a reserve militia or national guard. Johannis was conscripted in January 1914, when he was 19 years old. Johannis was assigned to the 21st Infantry Regiment based out of Den Helder. On my understanding of the militia register, Johannis remained enlisted until he died in 1932, at age 37. The militia register also shows that Johannis was 171 cm (5’6″), which today seems rather short for a Dutch man. He would certainly have been dwarfed by my father, my brothers, and me!

Johannis and Teetje’s engagement and marriage. Heldersche Courant August 8, 1917 page 4

Johannis and Teetje married in Harenkarspel, North Holland, on July 20, 1917. The witnesses were Jacob Smit, “brievengaarder” (an official charged with receiving or issuing mail at a location where there was no post office; their home served as an auxiliary post office), age 31, and Simon Brommer, [occupation illegible], age 61, both resident in Harenkarspel.

Marriage registration for Johannis and Teetje. The signatures on the left are Johannis, Teetje, Jan van der Fluit (Johannis’s father), and Jan Pater (Teetje’s mother). I’m uncertain about the one on the bottom, “T. Bleeker”, because Teetje’s mother was named Adriana. Adriana was still alive at the time and Teetje did not have any immediate family whose initial was “T”.

The Oude Niedorp Bevolkingsregister (“population register”) for 1910-1930 shows that in 1917 Johannis was working there as a hired worker. Johannis and Teetje relocated to Harenkarspel on November 13, 1919. According to the Harenkarspel Bevolkingsregister for 1920-1939, Johannis was a labourer in the employ of others when he moved into the gemeentje (municipality), but later became a self-employed farmer.

Apparently, Johannis sustained some sort of head injury after an accidental blow to the head. My belief is that this occurred sometime in or after 1930, when Johannis and Teetje’s youngest child, Anny, was born. My records also show that Johannis was still working as of 1930. In fact, the Bevolkingsregister for Harenkarspel shows that Johannis had lived there until January 19, 1932, when he relocated to Heiloo, where he died eight days later, on January 27, 1932. This timeline suggests that Johannis’s head injury may have occurred shortly before he was placed in the sanitorium.

Since Johannis died so young, I do not know many people who knew him. He died when my grandfather, Adrianus “Arie” van der Fluit (1923-2002) was eight years old. I only heard passing mentions of Johannis a long time ago, most likely second-hand because I don’t recall my grandfather ever talking to me about his father.

After his injury, Johannis began to exhibit strange behavior and suffered from delusions, which were very unsettling to him. Most likely he had developed a mental disorder. One account I heard was that during a delusional episode it took my grandfather’s two older brothers and some neighbours to restrain Johannis.

At some point in time, Johannis was placed in a sanitorium, where he continued to suffer from delerium. It is most likely the sanitorium was in Heiloo, the town where Johannis died. I know that Heiloo had a sanitorium at the time.

Sometime shortly before his death, Johannis experienced a period of rational thought. Teetje was summoned to see him, which occurred close to the time Johannis died. Teetje was 37 when she was widowed and was left to raise eight children on her own, the youngest of whom was one year old at the time.

Sometime after Johannis died, Teetje’s younger brother Johannes “Jan” Pater (1900 – 1948) moved in with Teetje and her children. Jan, who had a hunched back, had never married. Presumably he moved in with Teetje to help her after Johannis died.

Teetje died on May 27, 1947, after a long illness. She was buried at St. Wulfram’s Roman Catholic Church in Waarland, which I believe is the same place where Johannis was buried. Anny, their youngest child, was 17 when Teetje passed away.

Bidprentjes (prayer cards) for Johannis and Teetje.

52W Mark III – Week 40: Least

I’m at least a week behind in the 52 Ancestors Challenge, but as Amy just reminded me less than ten minutes ago, there is no behind, only progress!

Many countries have an honours system to recognize the contributions of its citizens. According to a 2004 memo to the Select Committee on Public Administration of the UK House of Commons, with the exception of Switzerland and Ireland, every western state has instituted some system by which worthy individuals can be recognized. The United States has the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The British have their knighthoods. In Canada, we have the Order of Canada, which even at the highest rank does not denote a knighthood, unlike the on again off again highest rank of the Order of Australia, although it’s been “off again” since 1986. Even our provinces have these honour systems – in British Columbia we have the Order of British Columbia.

Inaugural Order of BC recipient Bryan Adams.

[Interlude while I look for the autograph I have of Bryan Adams. I cherish it not because of the signature, but because of the person who gave it to me. Adams was one of the recipients of the Order of British Columbia the first year it was awarded. I was working in the B.C. Parliament Buildings at the time. The office I shared with three other interns was right next door to the committee room where they bestowed the medals. We had a window looking into that room, but they made us close the blinds. One of the dearest members of the legislature’s dining room staff, who was attending to the coffee and treats for the ceremony, asked Adams for an autograph for each of the four of us, without our knowledge. Later she presented them to us, saying ” you nice boys might be fans so I thought you might like these.“]

However, since this week’s prompt is “Least”, I’m going to look at the lowest ranks of these honours. While I have extended family who hold the lowest rank of the Order of Canada, I’m going to look at a very distant cousin of mine who has received a similar honour in the Netherlands.

While the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy (like Canada), there isn’t really much of a nobility and things like knighthoods are fairly understated. Titles, prefixes, or post-nominals are not used in the Netherlands in relation to civilian honours, so those who have been bestowed with a Dutch civil honour do not have any indication of their appointment in their names, regardless of the level or degree. Even Members of the Order of Canada (the lowest of three levels) are entitled to use “CM” after their names!

Nicolaas Johannes van der Fluit (1932 – 2009), a very distant cousin of mine (third cousin once removed, to be precise) was named a member of the Orde van Oranje-Nassau (Order of Orange-Nassau) in 2009. According to the familiebericht (family notice) of Nicolaas’s death, he was a “Drager van de zilveren medaille verbonden aan de Orde van Oranje-Nassau Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau” (Bearer of the silver medal of the Order of Orange-Nassau and (Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau).

The Order of Orange Nassau is the lowest order of chivalry in the Netherlands, granted to individuals who have made a special contribution to society. Apparently about 4500 people are appointed to the various levels every year. Nicolaas’s appointment was in recognition of his contributions to the field of sports, community welfare, and housing and culture.

When I began to research this honour I was confused by the designation in Nicolaas’s familiebericht. The silver medal (along with gold and bronze) was only an honourary designation. Holders of the medal were affiliated with, but not actual members of, the Order of Orange-Nassau. “Ridder” was separate from the honorary levels and was the lowest rank of the order, just above gold, silver, and bronze.

However, in 1996, the order was reformed and the various levels were replaced with six grades. Gold, silver, and bronze were replaced with by the “Member” class (“Lid”, in Dutch), which is currently the sixth and lowest level of the Order. The Member designation is no longer an affiliate level, so those holding the designation are actually members of the order. Ridder remains the fifth level of the order.

Based upon the familiebericht, it appeared to me that Nicolaas might have been originally named to the silver level, but was elevated to ridder at some later time.

My father’s uncle, Jan Meester (1925 – 2012) was also part of the Order of Orange Nassau. What little information I have about his appointment is that he had received a “Medal of Honor, attached to the Order of Orange Nassau in Silver”. This suggests his appointment was prior to 1996; however, as with Nicolaas’s familiebericht, that could be misleading. I also do not know the activities Jan had performed that garnered him the honour.

For Nicolaas, I resolved the matter when I found the notice of his appointment in the Staatscourant, the official publication of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 1814. It is the equivalent of the Canada Gazette. (I have not yet found a copy of the Staatscourant with Jan’s appointment.)

The October 9, 2009 edition (#15208) states:

Bij Koninklijk besluit van 29 september 2009, no. 09.002791, is benoemd tot Lid in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau: N.J. van der Fluit, wonende te Zuid-Scharwoude (gem. Langedijk).

In English: By Royal decree of September 29, 2009, No. 09.002791 is named as a Member of the Order of Orange-Nassau: N.J. van der Fluit, residing in Zuid-Scharwoude (in the municipality of Langedijk).

Thus Nicolaas was appointed to the order after it was reformed in 1996 and at the lowest level of the order, Lid (Member). Nevertheless, I would imagine it was an incredible honour to receive. I wonder if a nice lady obtained his autograph for anyone.

52W Mark III – Week 36: We Don’t Talk About It

With the prompt of “We Don’t Talk About It” for this week’s  52 Ancestors Challenge, the expectation was likely that participants would write about the bad secrets. However, not all secrets are bad!

Adrianus Joseph “Arie” van der Fluit (1923 – 2002) and Christina (“Tiny”) Komen (1923 – 2000) on their wedding day.

My father and his siblings organized a surprise party to celebrate my paternal grandparents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Adrianus (“Arie”) van der Fluit and Christina (“Tiny”, rhymes with “genie”) Komen were married on November 7, 1948, in Langedijk, Noord Holland, Netherlands at St. Jan de Doper Katholieke Kerk (St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church).

Kerk van Sint-Joannes de Doper, Noord-Scharwoude, Noord Holland, Netherlands, where my grandparents were married.

All my father’s siblings lived in Lethbridge, like my grandparents, so all the family living there were in attendance. My parents and siblings were living in northern British Columbia at the time, so my folks left my brothers and sisters with some family friends. In addition to all their children and most of their grandchildren, several family members also came over from the Netherlands to join in the festivities.

My grandparents, all their children and spouses, and about half their grandchildren (my four younger siblings did not attend). Several more grandchildren were born years after this celebration.

I had already left home and was living in Vancouver, so I flew to Alberta. I had lived in Vancouver long enough to have gotten used to the very mild winters there, forgetting that it was real winter elsewhere. So I boarded my flight wearing only a light jacket, only to be greeted by -11°C weather.

Two of my father’s cousins who made the trip from the Netherlands to celebrate my grandparents’ 40th wedding anniversary. That’s my noggin in the lower right.

My grandparents took out a “thank you” notice in the Lethbridge Herald on November 22, 1986:

“We would like to send a very special thank you to your children and their spouses for the care and love they gave us on the day of our 40th anniversary and for the fine days that followed. For keeping secret the very big surprise that was in store for us. Also a big thank you to our grandchildren, relatives and friends for the cards, gifts and flowers and for the way they made our day so very special.”

Speaking of surprises, I was surprised to discover that I had written about this before, for last year’s 52 Ancestors Challenge! Upon making that discovery, I thought I might scrub this and choose a new topic. However, I changed my mind because (a) I’m feeling lazy (b) I have too many other things to do and (c) I had chosen several different photos than before. But let’s not talk about it, okay?