Between 1865-1868, Jacob Kuyper published a series of atlases with municipal maps. These show the location of all the hamlets, villages, and larger towns in the municipality, as well as the main roads and railroads. The Kuyper maps are often available at the websites of archives or via Wikimedia Commons.
This week we are looking at a map of Aalten in 1867. Interestingly, the map does not include Bredevoort in the colored outline of the municipality, even though Bredevoort had been part of the municipality of Aalten since 1818. There is a dotted line on the printed map, but whoever colored the outline chose to follow the inner line separating Aalten from the former municipality of Bredevoort. On th buttom of the map, the municipality borders Prussia.
Map of Aalten, 1867. Credits: Jacob Kuyper, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Aalten consisted of the village and several surrounding hamlets: Dale, Barlo, Lintelo, Haart, Heurne, and IJzerlo. These hamlets did not have centers but were subdivisions of the municipality that included different farms. Several of the larger farms are indicated on the map, including “Het Slaa” south of Aalten, where my Hoitink ancestors lived for several generations.
Aalten borders Prussia on the south, indicated with the + signs and the yellow/pink border. That same border is also indicated on a western part of Aalten, but that was next to the Dutch municipality of Dinxperlo rather than Prussia, and should have been marked with the dashed line, colored yellow/blue, that is used to show borders between municipalities. Aalten bordered the municipalities of Dinxperlo, Wisch, Lichtenvoorde, and Winterswijk.
This map was created in 1867, during a peak in emigration from Aalten and the surrounding area. Most of these emigrants ended up in Chautauqua county, New York or Sheboygan county, Wisconsin in the United States.
About Yvette Hoitink
Er mist een e in On th buttom of the map,
Yvette, thank you so much for Map of Aalten. My Deunk direct ancestors lived in Barlo. Your map seemed to show them very close to border. Best Wishes, Steve
HI Yvette,
Thank you for the map. My mother grew up in Aalten with an aunt, and uncle Josef, and Anna Blomestath. She always had great stories about her years in Aalten.
My husband and I, on a visit to the Netherlands, spend an day there, and found the house where my mother grew up, and the church that they attended, We also visited the old cemetery where her family was buried. Thanks again Yvette, it brings up many nice memories of that day.