Citizen archivists is a term coined by David S. Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States, to call a new breed of users of archives. Visitors who not only come to take information, but bring it as well. Visitors who help to create access to archives by contributing in the form of comments, transcripts or tags. The benefits to the archives are clear, but why would visitors even bother? Let's take me as an example. Whenever I find a Dutch immigrant on Ancestry with a hopelessly mangled name, I … [Read more...]
Clymer, NY
9 June 2005 by 14 Comments
Clymer is a predominantly Dutch village in the western part of New York State. Because it was relatively close to New York City, it became a popular destination for Dutch emigrants in the nineteenth century. Most of the early settlers came from the eastern part of Gelderland. … [Read more...]
Einink, Jan Willem and Gesina Johanna te Brinke
8 June 2005 by 1 Comment
Jan Willem Einink and Gesina Johanna te Brinke were born in Winterswijk. Together with their family, they emigrated to the United States. At the end of his life, Jan Willem Einink wrote an autobiography that gives us a unique view of his life and his struggles with the church, which led him to secede on more than one occasion. This article is largely written based on the information from his autobiography. … [Read more...]
Warnshuis, Jan Hendrik and Johanna Konings
27 May 2005 by 1 Comment
Jan Hendrik Warnshuis, brother of Hendrik Jan Warnshuis, was not at all like that brother. He was an upright, God-fearing, conservative leader in the church in Clymer. I have also concluded that he didn't have much of a sense of humor. He was Dominie Dunnewold's right-hand man and was a leader in keeping order among the congregation. He made home visitations with the dominie and, on occasion, substituted in the pulpit for him. Sometimes he read a sermon, sometimes he preached one of his own. It … [Read more...]
Wanderlust
25 May 2005 by Leave a Comment
Whenever I research emigrant families, I'm amazed by the distances that they travelled. People who previously probably hadn't even left their province yet, ended up circumventing half the globe. Sometimes it didn't stop there, and after a few years they packed up and moved again. … [Read more...]
Frank Schruis
16 May 2005 by 2 Comments
Today I found out that Frank Schruis passed away last Thursday. As I'm writing this article, he will be burried in Clymer, NY. Frank Schruis was a well-known genealogist whom I met in 1997 when I visited Clymer. … [Read more...]
Kolstee, Garrit Hendrik and Engelina Nijenhuis
16 May 2005 by 1 Comment
Gerrit Hendrik te Kolstee emigrated from Winterswijk to the United States in 1848 together with his wife and three children. During his trip, he kept a diary that still exists today. The family settled in Clymer, NY. … [Read more...]
