Family Tree of DeGraaff generation 9
Descendants of Jacob de Graaff
Latest update performed on December 20, 2020.
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9.3. Jan de Graaff, son of Jan de Graaff, was born on October 24, 1851 in Alkmaar, Noord-Holland prov., The Netherlands. He was a carpenter.
Jan married Maartje Veth, daughter of Pieter Veth and Aaltje de Vos, on August 13, 1876 in Alkmaar. Maartje was born on May 3, 1854 in De Rijp, Noord-Holland prov. She had 3 brothers and 4 sisters. She was a house maid.
The couple raised the following children:
10.1. [M] (i) Jan de Graaff was born in September 28, 1876 in Alkmaar.
Jan married Christina Huts, daughter of Lucas Huts and Catharina van de Peppel, on November 8, 1906 in Alkmaar. Christina was born in 1882 in Arnhem, Gelderland prov.
10.2. [F] (ii) Aaltje de Graaff was born on September 14, 1878 in Alkmaar.
Aaltje married Albert Hofstee, son of Albert Hendrikus Hofstee and Elisabeth Correll, on September 7, 1904 in Alkmaar. Albert was born on September 16, 1876 in Alkmaar.
10.3. [M] (iii) Pieter de Graaff was born on February 26, 1881 in Alkmaar.
Pieter married Maria Piket, daughter of Johan Piket and Grietje Kuit, on August 25, 1910 in Alkmaar. Maria was born on June 11, 1882 in Alkmaar.
10.4. [M] (iv) Hendrik Jacob de Graaff was born on July 18, 1883 in Alkmaar.
Hendrik married Femmetje Bood, daughter of Jan Bood and Aaltje Bood, on April 30, 1914 in Alkmaar. Femmetje was born in 1888 in Oude Niedorp, Noord-Holland prov.
10.5. [M] (v) Cornelis de Graaff was born on September 18, 1886 in Alkmaar.
Cornelis married Dina Bakker, daughter of Nicolaas Bakker and Johanna Alkemade, in 1915 in Alkmaar. Dina was born on March 28, 1896 in Heiloo, Noord-Holland prov.
10.6. [M] (vi) Bernardus de Graaff was born on August 21, 1894 in Alkmaar.
Bernardus married Tonia Hendrikse, daughter of Adriaan Anthonij Hendrikse and Adriana Blaas, on November 9, 1921 in Alkmaar. Tonia was born in 1892 in Goes, Zeeland prov..
Family Tree of DeGraaff generation 9
9.4. Hendrik Jacob de Graaff, son of Jan de Graaff, was born on October 1, 1853 in Alkmaar. Hendrik Jacob was a man of some wealth as he owned his own house. He started out as a ‘shop keeper’, but later had a job as tabaco leave carver.
Hendrik Jacob married Antje (Anna) Prins, daughter of Cornelis Prins and Elizabeth Volkers, on February 1, 1877 in Oudorp. Antje was born on December 5, 1854 in Oudorp. She was the 4th child and had 4 brothers and 3 sisters. Anna DeGraaff, as she was called after emigrating to the USA, passed away on April 23, 1949 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. She was survived by her 86 year old sister Trijntje Romijn – Prins.
The couple raised the following children:
10.7. [F] (i) Johanna Elisabeth (Ann) de Graaff was born on February 14, 1878 in Alkmaar.
Johanna married Paulus Zee.
10.8. [F] (ii) Cornelis de Graaff was born on May 23, 1880 in Alkmaar.
10.9. [M] (iii) Jan (John) de Graaff was born on April 9, 1882 in Alkmaar.
10.10. [F] (iv) Elizabeth de Graaff was born on March 14, 1884 in Alkmaar. She passed away on Saturday June 8, 1969 in Grand Rapids, KentCo., Michigan and was buried on Tuesday June 11 at the Rosedale Memorial Park.
Elizabeth married Gerrit VandenHeuvel, son of Gerrit Jan van den Heuvel and Egbertje Fikse, on February 4, 1929 in Grand Rapids. Gerrit was born on January 3, 1873 in Kamperveen, Overijssel prov. He was married before and emigrated with his first wife to the USA in 1911. It seems his first wife Grietje Jans van Ittersum passed away during or shortly after a stillbirth on March or April 26, 1923 in Hollendale, Freeborn Co., Minnesota. Gerrit presumably passed away in June 1958 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.
10.11. [F] (v) Gezina Maria de Graaff was born on June 18, 1887 in Alkmaar.
Gezina married Pieter Zee.
10.12. [M] (vi) Hendrik (Henry) Jacob de Graaff was born on September 15, 1891 in Alkmaar.
10.13. [M] (vii) Pieter de Graaff was born on July 20 or 29, 1894 in Alkmaar.
10.14. [M] (viii) Jacob de Graaff was born on April 30, 1897 in Alkmaar.
The City Census of Alkmaar shows Hendrik Jacob de Graaff and Antje Prins living with their children at Tuinstraat nr 6, in Alkmaar. This was the 7th address on the census, so they moved house quite often. It was common practice that the city clerk would strike out information which was no longer valid because of members moving out or changing addresses.
Census of the City of Alkmaar, 1860 – 1890, page 100
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In 1916, at the age of 62 Hendrik Jacob and his wife Antje (Anna),shown on the picture below, together with their oldest daughter Elizabeth and son Pieter, were the last members of the family to emigrate to the United States of America.
Hendrik Jacob DeGraaff and his wife Anna (Antje Prins)
They arrived on May 24, 1916 in the Port of New York on the twin screw steamer Nieuw Amsterdam and were ‘discharged to son H.J. DeGraaff’ from Ellis Island after passing a mandatory senility test for immigrants over the age of 60. From New York they traveled to their son Henri Jacob who lived on 649 Villa Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Twin Screw Steamer Nieuw Amsterdam, Holland America Line
Hendrik Jacob de Graaff enjoyed life and being of some wealth already in Holland he could afford and appreciate good cigars and beer or jenever (Dutch Gin). From his death certificate it looks as if he enjoyed those pleasures a little bit too much. He passed away of arteriosclerosis in combination with angina pectoris on April 23, 1918 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, less then two years after his arrival in the USA. He was buried on April 27, 1918 at the Washington Park Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.
Death certificate of Hendrik Jacob DeGraaff
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This and the imminent fact that her children were going their own way and most of them moving to other states must have been a tremendous burden on the widow Anna DeGraaff, who did not speak a word of English. Lucky for her the Dutch community was very close, social and supportive.
The census of 1930 for Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan uncovers a slight mistery. It shows Anna DeGraaff on two lists.
On the first document of April 2, 1930 Anna DeGraaff is listes as Anna P., living under the same roof with her son Jacob (Jack) and his wife Ella. Her record shows two obscurities because the immigration date is off by one year (1915 instead of 1916) and the ‘Speak English’ box is marked ‘Yes’, while all relatives, who met Anna DeGraaff and remember her, say that she did not speak a word of English.
1930 Census (April 2) Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan
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On the second document of April 15, 1930 Anna DeGraaff is listed as Anna Degraaff, a widow and a lodger, renting room & boarding under the roof of another widow from Dutch origin. This record seems to contain no mistakes.
1930 Census (April 15) Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan
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Both census documents seem to deal with the same Anna DeGraaff and the lists do not exclude each other. One can assume for example that during the census taking on April 2, Jack was at work and his mother Anna was visiting or briefly staying over at her son’s house. There may have been some miscommunication between Jack’s wife Ella and the census-taker, resulting in the accidental registration of Anna P. (Antje Prins) as a permanent resident. Also there is an error in the line for Jacob (Jack) DeGraff as he immigrated not in 1913 but in 1912.
Living relatives in The Netherlands today: If there are siblings living in The Netherlands today, then they must be related to Hendrik Jacob’s brother, Jan de Graaff, who had five sons as you can see on the top of this page.
Family Tree of DeGraaff generation 9
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