Dirk's first wife Geertje died of unknown causes
Farmer
Marriage Notes for Clasina Gijsbertha Kapteyn and Hendrik Albertus VAN MILLENGEN
The marriage ended in divorce 21 feb 1930 in Amsterdam
He was a "Veehouder" (stock breeder) 1908
Johannes was a painter
BIOGRAPHY: Cornelius was born in Zwammerdam and moved with his family to Alsmeer when he was 6 years old. They came from Antwerp, Belgium to New York in August, 1890, and emmigrated to Byron Center, Michigan, where Cornelius became known as "The celery king". He was the ninth of 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls.
The next series of paragraphs is from a 1937 story in the "Grand Rapids Herald" day and month unknown, although it must have been around December of that year judging by the stories surrounding this one.
It reads:
C. T. Kapteyn, a retired celery grower living about three miles south of Byron Center, lays claim to being the first celery grower in this section of the state and is often referred to as the "Celery King".
He was born February 14, 1856, to (1)*Dick Kapteyn and (2)*wife, who were truck farmers living near (3)*Swammerdam, Holland. He was the ninth child in a family of ten children, five girls and five boys. When he was at the age of six years, his parents moved to Alsmeer, near Amsterdam, where they made their home for many years. Mr. Kapteyn was married to (4)*Alice Kluitenberg of Echter, (5)*Vriesland, in the early spring of 1885, and ten children, five girls and five boys came to bless their home.
Margaret, Elizabeth, and (6)*Dick were born in the Netherlands, but Cora was born in Grand Rapids, about two months after her parents arrived in this country.
Mr. Kapteyn, with his family, came across the Atlantic Ocean from Antwerp to New York in August 1890.
He recalls that the water was rather rough during the voyage, which took ten days. They came by train to Grand Rapids, where they lived until the following spring, when they moved to Byron Center. Here, Mr. Kapteyn rented a house for about two months while he built his house south of Byron Center in Byron Township.
Incidentally, people told him that he would starve to death trying to make a living on that wet muckland which the high land farmers had considered worthless, but the "Celery King" has proved to them that this land was far more valuable that the surrounding high land.
The Ross road was not built until after Mr. Kapteyn moved to this place. He lived in the house now occupied by Paul Velthouse, for five or six years, then moved to his present home where, with the exception of one year spent in Hudsonville in 1900 and 1901, he has since resided.
He and his family attended church in Fisher station at first, driving there with horse and buggy, but later he and William Afman were instrumental in getting several families interested in organizing the Christian Reformed church at Byron Center.
The following charter members, Mr. & Mrs. Peter Honderd, Mr. & Mrs. Albert Meidema, Mr. & Mrs. P. Wierenga, Harm Beute, Mr. & Mrs. Potter, Mr. & Mrs. Otto Brand, Mr. & Mrs. Ate DeVries, Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Timmer, Mr. & Mrs. Gerrit Van Tuin, Mr. & Mrs. J. Withal, Mrs. John Osinga, Mr. & Mrs. William Afman, and Mr. & Mrs. Kapteyn, rented the Adventist church at 75 cents per week and organized their church September 2, 1902. The Reverend F. Droste was the first pastor to minister to this little flock, which has grown to be a very large congregation and now occupies a fine large church building in Byron Center.
Mrs. Kapteyn passed away December 27, 1903, leaving four-day-old Alice and nine other children besides her husband.
Mr. Kapteyn was united in marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth (Cook) Slater, March 11, 1909.
They have a beautiful home where family gatherings are often held and when the children and grandchildren all come home even his large, roomy house is filled to capacity.
Mr. Kapteyn has eight living children: Mrs. Margaret Daniels of Waterbury, Connecticut, Mrs. Elizabeth Hoogsteen of Grand Rapids, Mrs. Lemina Brinks of Pekin, Illinois, Mrs. Alice Kramer of Kellogsville, (7)*Dick of Dorr, (8)*Morris of Grand Rapids, John of Kalamazoo, and Simon of Byron Center. Harry, a World War veteran, passed away in Boston, Massachusetts, of "flu", when about to sail to France, and Mrs. Cora van den Heuvel of Byron Center passed away June 16, 1930.
Mr. Kapteyn is quite active and enjoys excellent health.
He and Mrs. Kapteyn enjoy taking short trips during the summer months, but he says he enjoys his home too much to go very far away.
1 Dirk Kapteyn
2 Lijsje Roest
3 Zwammerdam
4 Aaltje
5 Friesland
6 Dirk
7 Dirk
8 Maurits
8 Maurits
309. Albertus Philippus KAPTEYN
Occupation: Albertus was an engineer