SURHISTORY

Sources: Civil registration Texel, "Werkers uit Goeree-Overflakkee en hun nakomelingen in de Eierlandse polder Staat van landverhuizers provincie Noord-Holland, "Dutch Immigrants in US Ship Passenger Manifests, 1820-1880".

The new polder Eierland on Texel, in the province of Noord-Holland, attracted a lot of agrarian workers from the island Goeree, but also from other regions. The reclamation of this new polder was completed in 1836.

Aleman	Pieter Aleman married in 1842 with Jannetje den Bleijker. The couple had five children. When the last son was born, Pieter Aleman was already dead. So, Jannetje den Bleijker decided to give the baby his father's first name. Jannetje moved to the Haarlemmermeer and remarried with Theunis Roest. A few years later she returned to the island of Texel. Although she was not married anymore, she gave birth to another daughter. Her youngest child Maartje den Bleijker was born without any obstetric assistance at all. The lack of a midwife was so unusual, that it was written down on the birth certificate. But not a word about the father of the child. In 1867 Jannetje went with five of her children to the US. The family arrived 11-6-1867 with the bark "Arnold Boninger of Prussia" in the port of New York from Rotterdam. They settled down in Michigan. The illegitimate child Maartje den Bleijker changed her name to Martha Aleman and married the widower Leonard Somers (in Dutch: Van Zomeren)
Den Bleijker	Three brothers of the Den Bleijker-family from Ouddorp moved to the new polder Eierland on the island Texel. The youngest one, Paulus, (1804-1872) who married four times, was the most successful. He lived in the farm "Padang" in the polder Eierland, but was also involved in the reclamation of the polder De Eendracht. In 1850, at the age of 46, he left Texel and went on board the "Catherine" as a cabin passenger, with his second wife Neeltje Dogger, four children and two maid-servants. In Kalamazoo (MI) Paulus bought a farm, where several Netherlanders settled. An interesting chapter of the book "Netherlanders in America", Henry S. Lucas, 1955 is called "Paulus den Bleyker, first capitalist in the settlement". His eldest brother, Jan, married in Ouddorp to with Maartje Leenderts Bakker. They moved to Texel, where they lived in at least three farms, before they left in 1852 with their three youngest children and settled down in Lodi, New Jersey. Later his two sons: - Leendert den Bleijker, * 1821 Ouddorp, x 8-5-1845 Texel with Maartje Verduin - Jan den Bleijker, * 1823 Ouddorp, x 18-4-1844 Texel with Maartje Jans Buis followed him and their families finally settled in Lodi, Bergen, New Jersey.
De Block	In the spring of 1866 a group of 12 members of the De Block-family left Texel. Daniel, the eldest person, was born in Stellendam. With his wife Johanna Moulard and their children they moved first from Stellendam to the new reclamation Eierland, like many others. Their son Philippus was married and had already four children. They traveled with the Norwegian bark "Anna" and arrived 30-5-1866 in New York. Daniel and his wife Johanna settled down in Paterson, New Jersey.
Breen	Krijn Breen was born 6-11-1833 in Ouddorp, as a son of Paul Breen and Nellie van der Sluis. With his parents he moved at an early age to the new reclamation Eierland. He married with Nellie Visser, a girl from the nearby Frisian island Vlieland. In 1867 they emigrated, with their four children, and settled down in Fillmore, Allegan in Michigan
Hoek	Jan Hoek left the island in 1850 with his wife and seven children. He was hired by Paulus Jansz den Bleijker to follow him to Michigan in America. They traveled with the "Catharine". His wife was called Martje Hameetman Hoek (on the passengers list).
Ihrman	Krijn was born in Ouddorp 27-8-1820 as son of Pieter Ihrman and Tona Aleman. His wife Martijntje den Bleijker also came from Ouddorp. She was a daughter of Maarten Jansz den Bleijker and Baaltje van Dam. Krijn, his wife Martijntje and their five children left Texel in February 1866.
Kooiman	The sailor Marinus Kooiman was born 18-4-1830 in Melissant, as a son of Abraham Kooijman and Cornelia Visbeen. He married in 1857 Maria Jakoba de Jong from Lexmond. They emigrated together with their two young children and her mother and stepfather in March 1867 to Grand Haven, Michigan.
Pippeling (1)	Pieter Pippeling, a workman born in Ouddorp, married 28-2-1861 Texel with Mijntje Sluisman. Five years later they traveled on board of the "Duisburg of Prussia" from Rotterdam to New York, with their three children. According to the Census of 1870 they lived in Paterson, NJ.
Pippeling (2)	In October 1873 Cornelis Hoogheid emigrated with his wife Grietje Pippeling and their seven children. Grietje Pippeling was born in Ouddorp, and moved as a child to Texel with her parents Gerrit Pippeling and Neeltje Kloosterman. The Hoogheid-Pippeling family lived in 1880 in New Jersey.
Van Prooyen	Jacob van Prooyen was born Sommelsdijk 18-2-1837, as son of Anthony van Prooyen and Pieternella van der Meijde. He married Texel 6-3-1862 with Cornelia Stark, Two children were born before the family moved to the Haarlemmermeer, another new polder in the province Noord-Holland. They emigrated to the US in 1888. Cornelia died 30-11-1927 in Chicago, Illinois. According to the 1900 Census she was not able to speak English.
Tanis	A few Tanis households moved in the 19th century to the new polder Eierland on Texel. Dirk Cornelis Tanis (1802-1888) was one of them. He brought some rootstocks of madder from Ouddorp to Texel, where he was farmer on the farm "Siberië", later renamed "Bland and Berg". Dirk grew the madder, and owned three horses, three cows and fifty sheep. In 1847 he bought the farm "Vredelust" in De Koog (Texel), where his son Cornelis Tanis lived until 1854, when Cornelis and his wife Hermann Maria Jansen went to the Haarlemmermeer with their four children. Dirk Tanis stayed on "Bland and Berg" till 1866, when they moved to a house. His wife, Cornelia Nieman, died in 1873. Their son Dirk Dirksz Tanis married in 1876 with Antje Klaas Mantje and emigrated with his wife and their six children in 1889 to the United States.
Verduin	Klaasje Verduin was born in Ouddorp around 1829. With her parents, Klaas Verduin and Jannetje Kloosterman, she moved to Texel. In 1850 Klaasje married Cornelis Wentink, also from Ouddorp. Her husband died and she emigrated in 1866 to the US with her four children.
Van der Vliet	Job van der Vliet and Klaasje Aams married 1-5-1823 in Ouddorp. Like many others they moved around 1835 to Texel. Job died in 1839. His wife stayed behind with at least three sons: Adrianus, Pieter and Willem. Willem van der Vliet was born in 1829 in Ouddorp. He married in 1855 with Cornelia Veen and they had many children. Several of them died early. So they emigrated only with three children and settled down in Roseland, Chicago.
Zeedijk	Cornelis Zeedijk, son of Kommert Zeedijk and Katelijntje van Putten, was born about 1806 in Den Bommel. He married on the island Texel in 1837 with the 18 year old Dirkje van Es, from Stellendam. In 1872 the family emigrated with the ship "Batavia". On board were Cornelis, his second wife (1869) Cornelia Margaretha Lammers, his nine children by his first wife and the two young children by his second wife. The son-in-law Daniel Buis and his wife Maria Cornelisse Zeedijk and their two children, left Texel also in 1872 according to the "Staat van landverhuizers".

Thank you Miriam Klaassen for sharing this information! Clickhere to visit her website.

a FEW SURNAME HISTORIES

The new polder Eierland on Texel, in the province of Noord-Holland, attracted a lot of agrarian workers from the island Goeree, but also from other regions. The reclamation of this new polder was completed in 1836.