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I found information on the siblings and parents of Trientje Waldecker, my great grandmother. Olive Musser gave me the necessary clues to find them in ancestry.com, and Cindy Peterson, who married into the Walkins clan, gave me information she had gathered from databases in the Netherlands. Following is a table showing my findings.
| Name | Born | Immigrated | Died | Spouse | Relation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindrik | 1854 in Beerta, Netherlands | 10 Jul 1856 in Beerta, Netherlands | Brother | |||
| Karssien | 1856 in Beerta, Netherlands | Ijktje Groote on 23 May 1889 in Muntendam, Netherlands | Brother | |||
| Henry | Nov 1858 in the Netherlands | 1892 | 27 Sept 1927 in Forest County, WI | Never married | Brother | |
| Okko | 1861 in Beerta, Netherlands | 1892 | 16 Feb 1911 in Murray County, MN | Sebina Moerke on Feb 19, 1892 in Finsterwolde, Netherlands | Brother | |
| Lamko | 4 May 1864 in Beerta, Netherlands | 1899 | 16 Aug 1927 in Goodwin, SD (near Watertown) | Gielje Okkens or Oaakens on 21 May 1891 in Winschoten, Netherlands | Brother | Lived near Hettinger,ND in the early 1920’s |
| Lamke | 1867 in the Netherlands | 16 Mar 1872 | Sister | died at age five, when Trientje was 2 | ||
| Trientje (Kate) | 22 May 1870 in the Netherlands | 5 May 1892 | 11 Aug 1928 in Lemmon, SD | Tom (Thije) Waldecker in 1892 | Self | died of dropsy |
| Hilko | 6 Aug 1874 in Beerta, Netherlands | 1893 | 10 June 1942 in Morris, WI | Sjobbejein Okkens on 24 Jan 1899; and then to Mary Caltenbach 29 Jan 1919 in Gettysburg, Potter County, SD (just South of Selby) | Brother | Lamko and Hilko married sisters |
| Trientje (the mother) aka Kate | 1829 in Stapelmoor, Germany | 1893 | 5 Nov 1910 in Murray County, MN | Ockko Waalkens on 5 June 1852 in Beerta, Netherlands | Mother | In 1900, the mother of 7, with 6 living |
| Ockko | 1829 in Finsterwolde, Netherlands | 14 Jul 1878 in Beerta, Netherlands | Trientje Graalman on 5 June 1852 in Beerta, Netherlands | Father |
The last name was spelled “Waalkens,” or “Waalkins.” Trientje Waalkens’ mother was born in Stapelmoor, Germany around 1829. This is about 7 miles south of Bunde. Her name was Trientje Graalman. She died in Minnesota on Nov 5, 1910. Trientje Waalkens’ father was born in the Netherlands and his name was Ockko. He died in the Netherlands on July 14, 1878.
There is a mystery surrounding the note in the 1900 Census that Trientje Graalman Waalkens was the mother of 7 and that 6 were then living. According to my count she was the mother of 8 and 6 were then living. Hindrik and Lamke had both died in early childhood. I don’t have the date of death of Karssien, but I have a record of a child born to him in 1901 in the Netherlands. So in any case, there were six still living in 1900. These would be: Henry, Karssien, Okko, Lamko, Trientje and Hilko.
According to information supplied by Olive, the Waalkens family came from Gelderland, Netherlands. However, it seems that they moved to Gronigen, Netherlands. Gelderland is an area and is about 75 miles south and east of Gronigen. There is a lot of information indicating they lived in Beerta, Netherlands. I found that Gronigen is not only a city, but also a division of the Netherlands. The cities mentioned above in the chart–like Beerta, Nieuw-Beerta (#2 on map below), Finsterwolde, and Winschoten, are within Gronigen. Notice in the map below how close these cities are to each other, and to Bunde, Germany (#1). Trientje Graalman was born in Stapelmoor, Germany (#3 on the map), which is about 4 miles south of Bunde.
I found a passenger list in which Hilko arrived from Gronigen on Jan 13, 1893. He was heading to Freeport, IL. At the time of the 1900 census Trientje’s mother was living near Freeport, IL, with one of her sons–Henry. She was 70 and a widow. Here is a map showing its relationship to Aplington, IA, and Ellsworth, MN.
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Andrea remembered that the story Dad told about Tom pulling someone’s beard also involved one of Trientje’s brothers. Dad, do you know which one it was?
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I didn’t know what dropsy was. Here is a definition I found on the internet.
Definition of Dropsy
Dropsy: An old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water.
In years gone by, a person might have been said to have dropsy. Today one would be more descriptive and specify the cause. Thus, the person might have edema due to congestive heart failure.
Edema is often more prominent in the lower legs and feet toward the end of the day as a result of pooling of fluid from the upright position usually maintained during the day. Upon awakening from sleeping, people can have swelling around the eyes referred to as periorbital edema.
The Middle English dropesie came through the Old French hydropsie from the Greek hydrops which in turn came from the Greek hydor meaning water.
Awesome!
Wow! What a find!
Your amazing at finding such findings, Daddy!
I am updating the information on the Walkins based on information I received from Cindy Peterson, who married into the Walkins clan.
I added a map showing the relationship between Beerta, Netherlands, and Bunde, Germany. They are 7 miles apart as the crow files.
Amazingly awesome!