In the Netherlands, photography took off much later than in countries like the US or the UK. As a result, many of us only have family photographs going back to the early 1900s. So I was wondering, what is your earliest photograph? Please leave a link in the comments or post the image to the comments on this article on Facebook.
Great-great-great-grandparents
The earliest photograph I have of any of my ancestors is a picture of Arend Kastein (1817-1903) and Dora Buitink (1824-1899). Arend was a police constable in Dinxperlo, Amsterdam and Winterswijk. We see him in his uniform, so the picture must have been taken before his retirement in from the police force in 1882. Arend and Dora are my great-great-great-grandparents.
Arend Kastein and Dora Buitink
Great-great-grandparents
Hendrik Hoitink and Johanna Piek
Hendrik Hoitink and Johanna Piek were my paternal great-great-grandparents. He was a factory worker in Aalten and Winterswijk.
Gerrit Jan van Nijkerken and Willemina Berendina Kastein
Gerrit Jan van Nijkerken (1855-1924) and Willemina Berendina Kastein (1856-1916, daughter of Arend Kastein and Dora Buitink shown above) lived in Winterswijk, where he worked as a bricklayer.
Cornelis Flooren
Catharina van der Zanden
Cornelis Flooren (1846-1918) and Catharina van der Zanden (1851-1930) were the paternal grandparents of my maternal grandmother. They lived in Noord-Brabant, in the area around Breda. Cornelis was a gardener.
Adrianus Luijten and Maria Gommeren
This photo shows my great-great-grandmother in the strict female line Maria Gommeren (1864-1918) with her second husband Adrianus Luijten (1875-1928). Her first husband, Cornelis Trouw, was the father of my great-grandmother Adriana Trouw. He died in 1897 and it is unlikely that he ever had his picture taken. This picture appears in a private publication, the original photo has unfortunately been lost since then.
Great-grandparents
My great-grandparents are the first generation for whom I have a picture for all of my ancestors. For three of them (Petrus Marijnissen, Cornelia Francisca van den Heuvel and Adrianus Trouw), these are the only pictures I have of them.
What is your earliest photograph?
What is the earliest photograph you have for your Dutch ancestors? Please share a link in the comments or share them on our Facebook page.
About Yvette Hoitink
A collection of my earliest family photo’s can be found in this album: http://www.fasol.nl/fotoarchief/
What a great collection! I wish my family had been rich enough to afford more photos 🙂
These are five of the adult children of Arend Freers (1819-1897) and Geertruid Huinink (1821-1902) who emigrated from Winterswijk to Muscatine, Iowa. The picture is circa 1900, in Muscatine.
http://i.imgur.com/qGSvy0G.jpg
Wonderful photo! Do you know who’s who? These people are in my database too and I would love to “give them a face” 🙂
I can name the women. The two men are both labeled “Will Freers” but there was never a time when the family had two adult Williams, so one of them is a mistake and I don’t know which one. Left to right the women are Mary Freers (Erkson) Lyda Freers (Casson) and Kate Freers (Reesink).
There are a few Freers siblings missing, including my own ancestor Henry Barney Freers. I wonder who took the picture! I also don’t know who the child is near Kate.
My grandmother remembered visiting Lyda and her English husband in Chicago as a very young child. Lyda is sometimes spelled Lida or Lydia.
It’s not just my Dutch lines that have few old photos; most of my non-Dutch maternal lines do not have many old photos, with a couple of exceptions dating to about 1910. I am lucky with one of my mother’s lines, which has photos going quite far back into the 19th century. As for my Dutch ancestors, I have photos of a few old photos, but I have no idea when the pictures were taken. At most, I have to guess based upon their date of birth and how old they look in the photo.
The first of these is of my great great grandmother, Antje Woltering (my grandmother’s paternal grandmother), who lived 1853 to 1935. Given her appearance in this photo, it must have been taken in the late 1920s or early 1930s.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151812019920308&l=bd69bb3caa
The next is my great great grandmother, Christina Ran (my grandmother’s maternal grandmother), who lived 1858 to 1924, which means this photo was taken sometime before 1924. While she was born in Den Helder, both her parents were born on Texel and have deep roots there going back centuries.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151812019985308&l=e6fdd833ef
Last is my great grandmother, Elizabeth Bakker (1888 – 1976). I never met her, but as a child I remember her always sending us letters and gifts (especially around Sinter Klaas time). I suspect this photo may be older than the other two I posted, as Elizabeth looks to be rather young here. I wouldn’t be surprised if it dates to the 1910s.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151812019990308&l=f069bf356b
This page from my blog shows the earliest photo I have of some of my Dutch ancestors: http://wisteria-dawn.blogspot.com/p/my-dutch-heritage.html
Other photos of Dutch ancestors on my blog can be found by searching using the key word “Netherlands”
http://generationtapestry.blogspot.com/p/media.html Pictured here is a man I have been told is IJje HUlshoff, though I haven’t had it corroborated by a second source. If it is so, it is the earliest I have besides his sister, Trijntje.
http://www.ecal.nu/archieven?mivast=26&mizig=110&miadt=26&miaet=1&micode=1116&minr=6541822&miview=ldt
Ik weet niet of je deze foto van jouw familie kent Yvette?
Hi Elma,
Nee, deze foto kende ik nog niet, bedankt! Dat is een broer van mijn favoriete voorouder Arend.
Er staan meer foto’s van dit stel (huis, kinderen) op de site. Geplaatst t.g.v. het 100-jarig bestaan van de zondagsschool in Silvolde. Kwam ze bij toeval tegen omdat ik zocht op “Lammers”.