Week 37 - closest to your birthday
Week 37: Closest to Your Birthday
This week's prompt is to write about a a relative who most closely matches my birthdate.
My two direct ancestors Jan Blomberg and Reinier Scherius are my closest relatives who match my birthdate, followed by my great great uncle, Gerrit Nicolaas Bronke and another great great uncle, Cornelis Wit.
The one I've not written about or researched before is Cornelis Wit, brother of my great great grandmother Aafje Bronke-Wit, so he is the choice for this post.
Except, in the family tree handed down to me, his birthdate is shown as 13th June! So what is the story here? His geboorte akte shows 12th June is indeed his birthdate, but the record is dated 13th June.
I love reading these Dutch records*. They are so descriptive. His father, Gerrit Wit, chirurgijn en vroedmeester - surgeon and midwife - arrived at twelve noon, at the Town Hall in Zaandijk, accompanied by his two witnesses to register the birth of his son, Cornelis, born at nine the previous morning. I wondered if he was the midwife to his wife Maartje Stolp and so delivered his son?
I have already written about Gerrit Wit in my post for week 36 - about his occupation of chirurgijn and apotheker. The sad story is that Cornelis never knew his father because Gerrit died almost four months later on 3 October 1827.
Cornelis Wit married Johanna Petri on 29 November 1857 in Zaandijk. Johanna was born in Wormerveer on 10 September 1831 and the huwelijks akte states her occupation was a domestic servant. Cornelis was a bread baker.
Cornelis took after his father in that he also died too soon, thirty six years old, on 8 October 1863 in Aalsmeer. However, no occupation was recorded for him in his death record, but his wife Johanna had a career change. Her occupation is now stated as vroedvrouw - midwife!
Just over a month later on 18 November 1863, their daughter Cornelia Johanna de Wit was born. Note the name change to "de Wit". The little girl didn't last long either, passing away on 16 December 1863, only four weeks old, and now her surname is recorded again as Wit.
My heart went out to Johanna, who within two months had been widowed and then lost her baby as well. I wonder what happened to her, did she marry again, did she continue working as a vroedvrouw? I am intrigued and have to resist the temptation to find answers.
* The records referred to were accessed at Open Archieven:
Marriage Cornelis Wit and Johanna Petri
Birth of Cornelis Wit
Birth of Johanna Petri
Birth of Cornelia Johanna Wit
Death of Cornelis Wit
Death of Cornelia Johanna Wit
This week's prompt is to write about a a relative who most closely matches my birthdate.
My two direct ancestors Jan Blomberg and Reinier Scherius are my closest relatives who match my birthdate, followed by my great great uncle, Gerrit Nicolaas Bronke and another great great uncle, Cornelis Wit.
The one I've not written about or researched before is Cornelis Wit, brother of my great great grandmother Aafje Bronke-Wit, so he is the choice for this post.
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| Cornelis Wit's birth record, 12 June 1827. Note the flourishing signature of his father Gerrit Wit. |
Except, in the family tree handed down to me, his birthdate is shown as 13th June! So what is the story here? His geboorte akte shows 12th June is indeed his birthdate, but the record is dated 13th June.
I love reading these Dutch records*. They are so descriptive. His father, Gerrit Wit, chirurgijn en vroedmeester - surgeon and midwife - arrived at twelve noon, at the Town Hall in Zaandijk, accompanied by his two witnesses to register the birth of his son, Cornelis, born at nine the previous morning. I wondered if he was the midwife to his wife Maartje Stolp and so delivered his son?
I have already written about Gerrit Wit in my post for week 36 - about his occupation of chirurgijn and apotheker. The sad story is that Cornelis never knew his father because Gerrit died almost four months later on 3 October 1827.
Cornelis Wit married Johanna Petri on 29 November 1857 in Zaandijk. Johanna was born in Wormerveer on 10 September 1831 and the huwelijks akte states her occupation was a domestic servant. Cornelis was a bread baker.
Cornelis took after his father in that he also died too soon, thirty six years old, on 8 October 1863 in Aalsmeer. However, no occupation was recorded for him in his death record, but his wife Johanna had a career change. Her occupation is now stated as vroedvrouw - midwife!
Just over a month later on 18 November 1863, their daughter Cornelia Johanna de Wit was born. Note the name change to "de Wit". The little girl didn't last long either, passing away on 16 December 1863, only four weeks old, and now her surname is recorded again as Wit.
My heart went out to Johanna, who within two months had been widowed and then lost her baby as well. I wonder what happened to her, did she marry again, did she continue working as a vroedvrouw? I am intrigued and have to resist the temptation to find answers.
* The records referred to were accessed at Open Archieven:
Marriage Cornelis Wit and Johanna Petri
Birth of Cornelis Wit
Birth of Johanna Petri
Birth of Cornelia Johanna Wit
Death of Cornelis Wit
Death of Cornelia Johanna Wit
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