Austin William Thompson Photographs

Continuing the stash of photographs found by my mother in a box owned by my father's grandmother, Orpha (Vandermade) Thompson...

These are photographs of my great-grandfather Austin William Thompson.

Austin William Thompson holding
son Clark Minard Thompson,
with niece Marva B. Bee

Austin William Thompson (left) with friends

Aafae (Orpha) Vandermade and
Austin William Thompson

Austin William Thompson

Austin William Thompson

Paul Thompson Photographs

Continuing the stash of photographs found by my mother in a box owned by my father's grandmother, Orpha (Vandermade) Thompson...

These pictures are of the immigrant Thompson ancestor Paul Thompson (who might have originally had the surname Truittson). The baby in one picture is his grandson Clifford T. Bee, and it is likely the same baby in both pictures. This dates the photographs to 1910.

Paul Thompson with grandson
Clifford T. Bee (undated)

Paul Thompson with unknown baby
(probably Clifford T. Bee)

Vandermade-Kuijper Photographs

My mother recently found a large stash of photographs in a box owned by my father's grandmother, Orpha (Vandermade) Thompson. The pictures below are mostly of "Grandmother Vandermade" - Orpha's grandmother - but her husband is in one of them too. Her name was Aaltje Kuiper (09 Feb 1837 - 27 Mar 1923) which Americanized to Orpha Cooper. She was born in Wieringen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands and died in Muskegon, Muskegon, Michigan. Her husband was William Vandermade, Sr. (21 Jan 1834 - 01 Nov 1903). He was born in Goedereede, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands and died in Mooreland Township, Muskegon, Michigan.

Unfortunately all of the pictures are undated, but the picture of the two of them probably dates to at least the 1880s.

Aaltje Kuijper (undated)

Aaltje Kuijper, daughter Matilda (Mattie) Vandermade,
and grandson Cash Verner Slaghuis (undated)

Aaltje Kuijper (undated)

William Vandermade, Sr. and Aaltje Kuijper (undated)

New Books - Pegoda, Thompson

I have mostly finished two new genealogy books.

The first is a book called "The Pegoda Family in America" and it documents the first three generations of descendants of John Pegoda, Sr. who immigrated from Ruda, Prussia to Walker County, Texas.  The book is largely complete and is awaiting input, corrections, and additions from other Pegoda researchers I have reached out to.

The second is a book called "The Descendants of Paul Thompson" and it documents the first three generations of descendants of Paul Thompson (an immigrant from Sweden) of Muskegon, Michigan.  It also is largely complete and is awaiting input, corrections, and additions from a few Thompson researchers I have reached out to.

The books are being published electronically and can be downloaded as PDF files from the front page of my genealogy website:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nivek/

If you are a descendant of either of these immigrants, please have a look at the books and provide corrections and additions. It is my hope that these will be the most complete and accurate genealogies of descendants possible.

- Kevin

Paul Thompson Family Photograph

This is another photocopy of a photograph of the Paul Thompson family from circa 1904.

Back row: Emma Julia Christina, Austin William, Esther Lauretta,
 and Edith Paulina Thompson
Front row: Paul Thompson, Alice Maria Thompson, Emma Christina Friedberg 

Epps Island 5th Grade Photograph

I think 5th grade was one of the most memorable years. I don't know if it was just something about that age, or the group of kids, or what. But, I think a lot of it was the teacher - Mrs. Liles. I know for sure myself and several others have very fond memories of her class. Below is our class photograph.

Epps Island Elementary School, 5th Grade class, 1982-83
Houston, Texas

Epps Island 4th Grade Photograph

The 4th Grade class of 1981-82 at Epps Island Elementary School in Houston, Texas. I am the front row, 3rd child from the right.

Epps Island Elementary School, 4th Grade class, 1981-82
Houston, Texas

Epps Island 3rd Grade Photograph

The 3rd Grade class of 1980-81 at Epps Island Elementary School in Houston, Texas. I am in the 2nd row from the bottom on the far right.

Epps Island Elementary School, 3rd Grade class, 1980-81
Houston, Texas, 12 Feb 1981

Epps Island 2nd Grade Photograph

The 2nd Grade class of 1979-80 at Epps Island Elementary School in Houston, Texas. I am standing in the middle row, 2nd from the right.

Epps Island Elementary School, 2nd Grade class, 1979-80
Houston, Texas, 25 Feb 1980

Epps Island 1st Grade Photograph

The 1978-79 1st Grade class at Epps Island Elementary School in Houston, Texas. I am in the middle row, 2nd from the left.

Epps Island Elementary School, 1st Grade class, 1978-79
Houston, Texas, 16 Feb 1979

Epps Island Kindergarten Photograph

This photograph is of the 1977-78 Kindergarten class at Epps Island Elementary School in Houston, Texas. I am in the back row on the far left.

Epps Island Elementary School, Kindergarten Class, 1977-78
Houston, Texas, 21 Feb 1978

Clark Thompson Photograph

This is a photograph of my grandfather, Clark Minard Thompson, taken in 1932, probably for his graduation from Bentley College of Accounting in Boston, Massachusetts.

Clark Minard Thompson, 1932

Paul Thompson Children Photograph

This is a photocopy of a photograph of the children of Paul Thompson, the immigrant ancestor for my Thompson ancestry in America. The photograph was taken in 1898.

Children of Paul Thompson, 1898
Esther Lauretta, Emma Julia, Alice Maria,
Edith Paulina, and Austin William Thompson

Clark Thompson - 1940 US Census

As successful as it was, I am glad to be done going page by page in the 1940 United States census. My last find includes my grandparents Clark Minard Thompson and Evelyn Thorst Erickson. They are in lines 1 and 2 of the image below (Hartford County, Connecticut enumeration district 2-23, page 61B). The process of finding this record was interesting.

I have a 1940 selective service registration card for my grandfather. Using Google maps, I mapped his 1940 home address and found the nearest cross streets. I then used the "find enumeration district by intersection" feature in the 1940 census at ancestry.com. This led me to the right enumeration district that had some 20 odd pages. Of course, near the end of the pages, there they were. The internet is an amazing tool...

1940 United States Census
Hartford County, Connecticut, ED 2-23, page 61B

Austin Thompson - 1940 US Census

Page by page searching is working remarkably well in the 1940 United States census. I have also found my great-grandparents Austin William Thompson and Orpha Vandermade. They are in lines 75 and 76 of the image below (Muskegon County, Michigan enumeration district 61-40, page 10B).

1940 United States Census
Muskegon County, Michigan, ED 61-40, page 10B

Oak Forest Elementary 1st Grade Class

This is a photograph for the 1st grade class in 1951-52 at Oak Forest Elementary School in Houston, Texas. My father is in the 2nd row from the bottom, 2nd from the left.

Oak Forest Elementary, 1st Grade class, 1951-52
Houston, Texas, 1951

Garden Oaks Kindergarten Class

This is a photograph for the Kindergarten class in 1950-51 at Garden Oaks Elementary School in Houston, Texas. My father is in the top row, 2nd from the left.

Garden Oaks Elementary, Kindergarten Class, 1950-51
Houston, Texas, 1950

New Research - Kuijper (again)

Thanks to a kind, distant half-cousin (of some order) named Christa in Germany who contacted me recently, I have been able to add and extend the Kuijper part of the family tree again. From this research another signature has appeared: my 4th great-grandfather Daniel Kuijper, Sr. He is the immigrant ancestor for the Kuijper line. His signature was found on the birth certificate for his daughter Aaltje.

Signature of Daniel Kuijper, Sr., 1837

This birth certificate was a key find. The line up through Aaltje to Daniel and beyond was missing Aaltje's birth certificate to firmly confirm the line. Aaltje was born in Wieringen, Noord-Holland. Birth certificates for 3 additional siblings have also been found (Dirk, Eva Wilhelmina, and Daniel, Jr.). Two younger siblings are indicated in the immigration record but are yet to be confirmed with birth certificates (Meetje and Grietje). Dirk also immigrated but he is listed after his father and siblings as a separate family. Dirk died on 23 April 1896 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Daniel, Sr. was baptized on 31 May 1801 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

Daniel's father Dirk was baptized on 20 Oct 1773 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

Dirk's mother Grietje Smient was baptized on 30 Nov 1738 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. She died on 29 Jul 1808 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. Grietje married Jan Kuijper on 12 Aug 1770 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (or possibly 28 Jul 1770, I can't read the Dutch to determine which date is the marriage date). Grietje's parents were Dirk Smient and Aafje Bruijn. She had at least 3 siblings (Cornelis, Antje, and a younger sister Grietje who died very young).

Dirk Smient and Aafje Bruijn, my 7th great-grandparents, were married on 12 Nov 1734 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. Dirk's father was named Jacob; Aafje's father was named Cornelis. This 277 year-old document is shown below.

Marriage of Dirk Smient and Aafje Bruin, 12 Nov 1734,
Twisk, North Holland, Netherlands

New Research - Kuijper

My 3rd great-grandmother's married name in America was Orpha Vandermade. Her death certificate states her father's name as Daniel Kuiper, and her first name is spelled Aafae in some census records. Somehow a while back I figured out that Cooper is an Americanization of Kuiper, and I located Daniel in the census records with a wife named Mary. A researcher in Muskegon also identified an immigration record for me. A Daniel Kuiper had immigrated in 1855 with a wife named Mary Post and several children, one named Antje.  All three were almost the perfect ages for the people I had pieced together from census and death records. At this point, the research went cold since I could not locate Daniel and Mary's marriage nor Aafae's birth record on genlias.nl. I believe the research is correct, but the link between Aafae and this specific Daniel Kuiper is weaker than I would like.

Today I made significant progress in this area. I was able to locate Daniel and Mary's marriage record on genlias.nl. Daniel Kuijper (note the spelling difference) and Mietje Poth (not Post) were married 04 Apr 1824 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. But, birth records are not available yet on genlias.nl for Twisk (and probably neighboring areas as well). So, I have not located any birth records or other evidence of children of Daniel and Mietje.

But, the marriage record contains the names of parents for Daniel and Mietje. So, I have been able to trace back 2-3 additional generations for each of these ancestors and also construct parts of the families from marriage and death records. All of this will be more complete when the Noord-Holland birth records become more complete online.

So, for now, here is what I have learned.

- Daniel Kuijper was born in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

- Daniel's parents were Dirk Kuijper, Sr. and Aafje Leeuwrik.

- Dirk Kuiper, Sr. was born about 1773 and died on 27 Jun 1825 in Twisk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

- Dirk's parents were Jan Kuijper and Grietje Smient. They had at least 3 children (Dirk, Jr.; Daniel; and Jacob)
- Mietje Poth was born in Medemblik, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

- Mietje's parents were Volkert Poth and Eva Wilhelmina van Schaeck.

- Eva was born about 1778 and died on 13 Jul 1814 in Medemblik, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. I believe Eva died during childbirth since her last child died at 0 years and shares her date of death (and her name).

- Volkert and Eva had at least 3 children (Bernardus, Mietje, and Eva)

- Eva's parents were Hendrik van Schaeck and Albertina Maria Bolk.

- Hendrik was born about 1735 and died on 04 Jun 1813 in Enkhuizen, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

- Hendrik and Albertina had at least 4 children (Eva Wilhelmina, Andreas Nikolass, Ida Geertruid, and Dirk Hendrik)

- Hendrik's parents were Andries and Catharina van Schaeck.

New Research - van der Klok (Part 2)

The neatest part about the recent van der Klok research is the images of original documents from the Netherlands. One of them, the birth certificate of my 3rd great-grandmother Stijntje van Zanten, contains the signature of her father. This is the first signature I have found for an ancestor outside the United States.

Signature of Derk Hendriks van Zanten

Below at left is the original document (Stijntje's birth certificate), and to the right the birth certificate of her husband Tiete van der Klok. I found all of these documents on a website Thea pointed me to for Groningen, Netherlands: http://www.allegroningers.nl

Birth certificate of Stijntje van Zanten

Birth certificate of Tiete van der Klok

I was also able to locate Tiete and Stijntje's marriage license (below). They are the immigrant ancestors for the van der Klok line. It is interesting that almost all of Tiete's siblings remained in the Netherlands.

Marriage license for Tiete van der Klok and Stijntje van Zanten

I can't read them, but they are neat to find nevertheless!