52 Ancestors #12: Louisa Kense

Louisa Kense is my 4th great grandmother on my mother’s paternal line.   She was the mother of Jacobus Dierx who was the father of Abraham who was the father of Peter, father to Arthur Derks.

Slaap kindje slaap 

Daar buiten loop teen schaap 

Een schaap met witte voetjes 

Dat loopt zo zacht en zo zoetje 

Slaap kindje slaap 

Daar buiten loop een schaap. 

This is a traditional Dutch lullaby that was likely sung by Louisa’s parents to her when she was a baby and young toddler growing up in Aardenburg, Zeeland in the Netherlands.  Her parents were Aarnout Kense and Cathrijna Brain.  Louisa was born July 23, 1755 with a midwife aiding in the delivery.  The midwife gave Louisa to her grandmother to be swaddled and then she symbolically laid her in the hands of her father.  the birth of a new baby was an occasional to be celebrated.  The outside door to the home was decorated with a special emblem which notified the neighbors that they had been blessed with a daughter.  The family celebrated with a special cake, kindermaalstuk, honoring her birth.  Aarnout wore a paternity cap from the time she was born until her baptism on July 27, 1755. Louisa was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church.

Aarnout  helped Cathrijna with chores and the baby so that she could rest and get much needed sleep.  Louisa and her siblings; Katharina, Jacobus and Kornelis received much love and affection from their parents.  Dutch parents were openly affectionate with their children.  Their homes were a haven for the family – where it centered itself on the child, and family life centered itself on the home.   

Unfortunately, this love and affection would be short lived.  Louisa's parents passed away by the time she was seven years old.  Her mother died in 1761 and her father passed away in 1762.   In the middle of the 18th century the water logged province of Zeeland was plagued with illness and death due to the poor water conditions.  Zeeland was low lying and technically under sea level.   It was damp and there was much stagnant water.   It was hard to find clean drinking water and many succumbed to malaria.   It is likely that one if not both of her parents died due to this illness.  Small pox was also a leading cause of death during this time period but was more common among children.

Louisa and her siblings would have been orphaned.  Her oldest brother, Jacobus, was only 10 years old.  It is likely that the children would have been assigned a weeskamer, or orphan chamber after the death of their mother.  A weekskamer is the governmental body that was responsible for ensuring a guardian was appointed and assisted with the administration of the estate.  The guardian's responsibility was was to create an inventory of what was left behind to determine what inheritance the children were entitled to.  It is likely that their grandparents would have been deemed guardians.  

52 Ancestors: #1 - Peter Derks

I have decided to accept the challenge thrown out there for 2014 by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small.  She had a great idea to have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  I am hoping that accepting this challenge will get me back in my blogging mode.  So here goes my first week.

My first ancestor is Peter Derks.  He was my great grandfather.

Peter Derks was born in Groede, Oostburg, Zeeland, Netherlands on January 13, 1881.  He was the son of Abraham Dierx and Jozina Johanna Bulting.  I was told he was one of 21 children (3 sets of twins) but I have yet to be able to prove that -- I do know of 10 siblings most of which stayed in Holland.

When Peter was 24 he married Sarah Vergouwe, daughter of Pieter Vergouwe and Catharina van Bortel.  They were married on January 26, 1904 in Zuidzande, Oostburg, Zeeland, Netherlands.  Soon after they were married they had their first child; Abram.

On June 13, 1905 Peter, his wife and 8 month old son arrived in America coming through Ellis Island.  They left Rotterdam; Peter with $14.00 and Sarah with $10.00.  They were headed to Penfield, NY to stay with Sarah's uncle, J. van Bortel.  This uncle also paid for their fare for their trip.

Once they arrived in America they found their way to their destination and lived in the City of Rochester. Peter worked for many years as a private gardener.  Between 1920 and 1925 they moved to Williamson, NY where Peter took up farming.  Peter and Sarah had 10 children, one of them being my grandfather Arthur Derks.

Peter died in 1960 and is buried in a cemetery on Lake Road in Williamson, New York.   From writing this I realize I know the basics about my great grandfather but I need to fill in and find a lot of missing pieces to his story.


 
 

Saturday NIght Genealogy Fun - Your Maternal Grandfather's Paternal Line

The Challenge:

Find a living male person in your database from your maternal grandfather's patrilineal line who could take a Y-DNA test by answering the following questions.

The Questions:

1.  What was your mother's father's name?  My mother's father was Arthur Derks (1913-1999), born in Rochester, NY.  He was one of ten children; he had 5 brothers and 4 sisters.  He had 3 sons and 2 daughters.

2.  What is your mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's...back to the most distant male ancestor in the line? 

• Arthur Derks' father was Peter Derks (1881-1960), born in Groede, Zeeland, Netherlands.  He came to the US in 1905.
• Peter Derks' father was Abraham Dierx (1834-1907), born and died in the Netherlands.
• Abraham Dierx's father was Jacobus Dierx (1782- ?), born and died in the Netherlands.
• Jacobus Dierx's father was Jan Dierx (1740-1818), born and died in the Netherlands.
• Jan Dierx's father is believed to be Klaas Dierx from the Netherlands.

3.  Can you identify male sibling(s) of your mother's father, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)?  If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line.  If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further.

My mother's father had 4 brothers.

• Abram Derks (1904-1985) He had two sons and one daughter.
• Peter Derks (1910-1985) He had one son and one daughter.
• Milton Derks (1914-1977).  He had one son.
• Eugene Derks (born after 1920 - still living).  He had three sons and one daughter.

All of the sons would be candidates for a Y-DNA test.  I am sure that many of these individuals have also had children that could be candidates.  I need to do more hunting to find out the specifics on each of their descendants.  I am looking forward to the 1940 census for some additional information and it gives me an incentive to have some conversations with aging Derks relatives to gather any and all information that they may have.

I haven't done a great deal of research on Y-DNA testing, and I'm not sure of the specifics on candidates.  Wouldn't my mother's brothers be candidates?  If anyone knows I'd love to have the answer.

This challenge can be found at: http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-your.html