Dirk Winkel Lived in Beautiful Veessen

Dirk Winkel was born and raised in the charming riverside town of Veessen, Netherlands. At age 37 he emigrated to Iowa, USA.

Veessen is located in the Dutch province of Gelderland, on the banks of the River Ijssel, a branch of the Rhine. Veessen is a village of perhaps 700 people. Its outskirts contain several campgrounds and many dairy farms.

Dirk, his wife Dirkje, and their three children, ages 3 years, 1 ½ years, and almost 3 months, sailed from Rotterdam to New York in 1886. They settled in Sioux Center, Iowa, where Dirk lived for the remainder of his life. Dirk Winkel died at the age of 95, in 1944.





Dirk Winkel the great-great grandfather of Elizabeth K:
Elizabeth – Gail – Rosella – Dirk “Dick” Winkel (1886-1974) – Dirk Winkel (1848-1944)





For further information: 

Information about Veessen: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veessen&prev=search 

Information about Gelderland: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=nl&u=https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelderland&usg=ALkJrhgnEynCqW4oDadlZFZJsb-y6TgTjQ 

Picture: IJssel river overlooking Veessen. “This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.” https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20150716_IJssel_zicht_op_Veessen_en_Kozakkenveer.jpg#mw-jump-to-license 

Zwaantje Pieters and the Ancient Village of Warfhuizen

Zwaantje Pieters lived in Warfhuizen, a village at the northern tip of The Netherlands. A village has existed on this site for at least 700 years. 

Warfhuizen contains a small cluster of buildings surrounded by fields and farmhouses. The current population is approximately 200 people. The former church building still contains a 13th-century church bell, which would have dictated the daily schedule during Zwaantje’s time.

Zwaantje Pieters was born circa 1755. She died at the age of 84, having lived almost her entire life in one tiny village.

The picture is a 1781 depiction of the Lulemaborg, a building that stood in Warfhuizen while Zwaantje was alive.

Zwaantje Pieters is Elizabeth’s 5th-great-grandmother:

Elizabeth – Gail – Rosella Winkel (1918-1988) –  Hiske "Hattie" Cleveringa (1889 - 1951) –  Klaas Cleveringa (1847 - 1895) –  Roelf Klaasen Cleveringa (1818 - 1852) –  Klaaske Roelfs Torrenga (1791 - 1867) –  Zwaantje Pieters (1755 - 1839)

Further Information:

Warfhuizen information: https://www.demarne.nl/de_dorpen/warfhuizen/warfhuizen/ and https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfhuizen and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfhuizen 

Fields, farmhouses: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Warfhuizen,+Netherlands/@53.3401298,6.4047322,3636m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x47c9c9aeb84d5dcf:0x674efb08539fe023!8m2!3d53.3424905!4d6.4255934 

Picture: Borg Lulema in Warfhuizen. Uitsnede uit de kaart van Theodorus Beckeringh uit 1781. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or less. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain". This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beckeringh_-_Borg_Lulema,_Warfhuizen.jpg

Angeline F. Cruikshank Kerr in Her Husband's Will

“I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Angeline F. Kerr one thousand dollars…to be paid her as soon after my decease as convenient."

“Also I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Angeline F. Kerr my mansion house and lot in which I now reside situate in the Borough of Blairsville for her own use and occupancy and also all my goods and chattels consisting of beds furniture etc during her natural life or so long as she remains my widow which ever may first occur and at her death or marriage my property and goods and chattels to go or revert to my estate for the benefit of my heirs hereinafter named”

When her husband John Kerr died in 1880, Angeline F. (Cruikshank) Kerr, pictured here, received $1,000 from his estate, equal to about $24,000 in 2015 dollars.

She was also left the use of her home and furniture during her lifetime—unless she remarried. Women in the 19^th-century typically had little control of property.

Angeline Cruikshank Kerr is the 3rd-great-grandmother of Elizabeth K. (Elizabeth – Kenneth – Kenneth – Charles Marchen Kerr (1884-1961) – Milton C. Kerr (1856-1926) – Angeline F. Cruikshank (1821-1904))

Note: The Kerrs owned property on the east side of Walnut Street in Blairsville, Pennsylvania, in the area of what is today Charley Park. Their “mansion house,” which was on the 5th lot above North Street, is probably still standing. Many old houses are visible there using Google Maps Street View.

Further information:

Quotes from the Will of John F. Kerr, 1879. Indiana County   Pennsylvania, Index of Wills 1803-1900, page5-003. Shared by user “Amanda May” on ancestry.com.

More information regarding women and property rights: https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awlaw3/property_law.html

Relative monetary value calculated at http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/compare/

Joseph Sherer, Delegate to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention

Joseph Sherer was born in Ireland. His family emigrated to America when he was about 3 years old. Joseph was educated and wealthy.

Joseph was chosen by popular vote to be a member of the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, he took sick at the convention and passed away within a few months. He did, however, survive long enough to see Pennsylvania’s new constitution ratified.

The image is a page of Pennsylvania’s 1776 constitution.

Joseph Sherer is the 6th-great grandfather of Elizabeth K. 
(Elizabeth – Kenneth – LaMila – Lawrence Hoffmaster – Olive Mayberry – Hannah Kiddoo – Mary Sherer – Richard Sherer – Joseph Sherer)







Links for more information:

Joseph’s vital and family information: https://familysearch.org/tree/person/LZFC-D74/details

Joseph’s background, attended convention: https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-904-61960-217-81/dist.jpg?ctx=ArtCtxPublic 

Joseph’s background; Chosen by vote to attend convention, took ill, died: http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/dauphin/bios/runk/sherer-joseph.txt 

Convention included Benjamin Franklin, ratification date: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Constitution_of_1776 


Picture of the Pennsylvania constitution: http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/documents/images/pa_constitution_76_p1_1.jpg 

Dirk Winkel's Immigration

Dirk and his family took passage on the WA Scholten, a steamship launched in 1874. The WA Scholten traveled a regular route from Rotterdam, Netherlands to New York, USA. Dirk’s family paid for third-class, or steerage, tickets.

The Winkels sailed in June 1886. The following year, the WA Scholten encountered heavy fog one evening and collided with another steamer. The WA Scholten received an eight-foot hole and sank quickly. Two-thirds of her passengers perished.


Dirk (AKA Dick) Winkel is the father of Rosella (Winkel) Erickson.

Further Reading:

Passenger list: Ancestry.com, New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Year: 1886; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 495; Line: 22; List Number: 679

Information about the WA Scholten: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.A._Scholten_(schip,_1874)&prev=search

Information about the WA Scholten, especially its fate: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=nl&u=http://www.marhisdata.nl/main.php%3Fto_page%3Dschip%26id%3D8382&usg=ALkJrhj-oGGubyNWnHOdnz-IwteP8OOkaw

Picture: the W. A. Scholten, 1874, Description: Nederlands: Nederlandsch Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Mij. Stoomschip W.A. Scholten en P. Caland, affiche uit 1874 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reclame_Nederlandsch_Amerikaansche_Stoomvaart_Mij_Stoomschip,_1874.jpg