Occupation: Great uncle Jan was a pastor in the Gereformeerde Kerken. He became a candidate in 1930, and served in Reeuwijk from 1950 -1966 and Gouda.
Was an assistant to an "Opothacary" (Veterinarian)
Occupation: Jacob married Trijntje Westra from Almelo and started farming near the town of Nyverdal. Although initially he lacked working capital, he reached his goal through hard work and shrewd management. After seven years he leased a large farm near Hellendoorn and became a well-to-do farmer.
Note: Jacob was in the Dutch underground during the Second World War. He was one of 70 men shot by the Germans toward the end of the war. He had been arrested earlier because he was caught with a radio transmitter. When a high ranking German official was killed by the underground these men were brought out and shot by the Nazis in retaliation.
Opa was a strong man who worked very hard to make a life for his family. He also had a wry sense of humor that came out sometimes with us grandkids.
BIOGRAPHY: The following family history was written by my grandfather, Willem Kapteyn, in Almelo, Overijssel, The Netherlands on 6 December, 1947, and translated from the Dutch by my father, Pieter Nicolaas Kapteyn, on 7 April, 1998.
(The words of Pieter Nicolaas) "Now begins the history of our family as dad Willem Kapteyn wrote it in the fall of 1947. He writes:"
"During the late 1920's I became engaged to Hiltje Voetberg, daughter of Jacob Sjoerd Voetberg, a farmer near Albergen, originally from Dokkum in Friesland. In the fall of 1928 we were able to rent a farm near Almelo effective 1 May 1929. We were married on 24 May, three weeks later. We lived on this farm for 7-1/2 years and made a decent living in spite of the depression of the 1930's. During this time four children were born to us; Pieter Nicolaas, Jacob Sjoerd, Adriaan, and Cornelia Evertje.
A new house was built for us in 1937 on "De Leemslage", since our former place was being sold, making it necessary for us to move. Along with the house we rented about 40 acres of land. While our new house was under construction we rented a duplex in town. Disaster struck after we had lived there a few weeks. Jaap and Adri were playing near the back door and accidentally knocked over a burning kerosene burner. Both of them caught fire and were severely burned. It happened at ten O'clock in the morning, and the same day little Jaap passed away at nine thirty PM in the hospital. Adri was also in a bad way and spent the next 3 months in the hospital with severe burns on the head. This loss was very devastating to the entire family, to say the least. Yet we were able to bear it and abide in the love of the Lord and submit to his will. We were thankful that at least Adri's life was spared. On November 4, 1936 our little Jaap was buried in Almelo, being 4 years and 9 months old. The previous June 27 of the same year mother Voetberg had passed away suddenly as a result of a heart attack, so that 1936 was a year of great sorrow for our family.
In May of 1937 we were able to move into our new home on "De Leemslage" where we enjoyed several peaceful years. Farming was good and we prospered.
25 February, 1938 was a happy day when we were blessed with the birth ofa son whom we named after his deceased brother - Jacob Sjoerd. Two years later we had another boy and named him Klaas, born on 2 February 1940. Worthy of mention is the fact that on my wife's birthday on the 18th of the same month there was a fire at 10:30 PM in the barn which fortunately we were able to extinguish because everything was soaked with snow and melted snow. No damage to the livestock.
On 10 May of the year 1940 the war began for our country because of the German invasion. Five long years we endured German occupation and ever increasing oppression. Many rules and regulations as well as limitation were forced on the farming community concerning the food supply. Although the farmer was in a favorable position since he was able to grow his own food and thus escaped suffering from hunger. Our family benefited as well and we were able to help many during those years who were less fortunate. During those years we cleared an additional 25 acres to increase production. The war years were a time of great danger and tension because of people who chose to go "underground" to escape being recruited be the German authorities to work in war production. It was forbidden to posses radios, but we still had two, and we also harbored young men who for one reason or another had to go into hiding. Several times our premises were searched by German Police, but nothing was ever found. One time, in November of 1944 I was taken into custody, but was let go for lack of evidence. Scary, but it ended well.
Dad Voetberg passed away in October of 1941. He suffered a stroke and died within two days without regaining consciousness. He was 71.
3 children were born to us during the 5 war years: Irene Tjiske on 5 August 1941, Hendrik Cornelis on 22 February 1943, and Emma Theodora on 22 September, 1944.
The 31st of October 1944 once again brought great sorrow in our family because on that day we lost our Adrie at the age of 11 years and 11 months. He had been sick for a day and at first it did not look that serious. But the following morning he took a turn for the worse. The doctor diagnosed cerebral hemorrhage and he passed away that same day at 6:30 PM after having been in a coma all day. It was hard to suddenly have to give up a child, but the Lord who gives strength also helped us through this and we believe that he now rejoices before God's throne. His body was buried in the municipal cemetery at Almelo next to his brother Jaap on 4 November, 1944.
In the meantime the war still dragged on and claimed many victims among the population because of the German terror. The famine became severe in our country, especially in the west. Daily an almost un-ending stream of people entered Overijssel to try and get food from the farms, ours included. People came on foot with landcars from as far away as Utrecht and even Gouda, and we gave what we had. This gave us much satisfaction and we were thankful to be able to do it.
1945 came and became one of the darkest years in the history of our family.
In the early part of February came the news that brother Jacob had been arrested by the Germans. A secret radio transmitter had been found on his farm; during the war years a punishable offense that was not taken lightly be the Germans. Initially, he was incarcerated in the prison at Almelo for a few weeks, but then we lost all traces of his whereabouts. On 22 March our sister Juliana passed away suddenly at the age of 35 as a result of a goiter. She had been ill for several weeks. She was married to Hein Noppers and lived in with Dad and Mom Kapteyn. She left her husband and 2 small children, a 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. Great was our sorrow at this sudden loss. The next month, the beginning of April, finally brought us liberation from the German oppression. We experienced 4 anxious days on the front line under artillery and machine gun fire. The Germans forced us to leave our home but we found shelter on a farm farther back from the line. We were allowed to take along the bare essentials and spent a week at the farm. Our house was saved intact as through a miracle, since we found in excess of 50 grenade craters in the fields around our house. The cattlebarn sustained 2 direct hits and 2 of our milk cows were severely wounded and had to be put out of their misery. 6 of dad's cows were killed outright.
In the meantime we were still anxiously awaiting news from brother Jacob. It came on 8 May and it was not good. We learned that already on 8 March he had been executed near Apeldoorn. His body was found in a mass grave. For me this was hard to bear for a long time; he was like a twin brother to me and we had learned much of each other through all manner of circumstances in our life. But the works of the Lord are Majesty and glory. Dad also was despondent about this heavy blow, but he was not to survive it for very long. On 31 May he was struck by a Canadian military vehicle and was taken home with a concussion. At first he was semi-conscious, but he soon slipped into a coma and the doctor diagnosed a skull fracture that afternoon. He did not offer any hope, and after 6 days he passed away quietly without regaining consciousness. He was 71. The funeral took place on 11 June at Almelo. this was the end of a life that knew many sorrows, difficulties, and disappointments, but at the same time, a living testimony to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and shield. A life that was constantly guided by a child-like faith. Hence we may be certain that his passing was exchanging his earthly house for a heavenly one; a desire for which he had uttered many times during his life, to be loosed and to be with Christ.
Jacob's widow, Trijntje, left their farm and moved to Hellendoorn with her 4 daughters, the oldest 3 being triplets. Sister Antje and her husband Nico Van Harten took over the farm. Brother-in-law Hein Noppers continued working Dad's farm after his death. Dad and I had leased the entire farm, 125 acres, together. At first my share was 40 acres and later, when Hein took over, 65 acres.
That same summer of 1945 saw a beginning of problems with the owner of the farm, Mr. Ledeboer, an Almelo banker. The lease term expired on 1 may 1946, and Ledeboer announced he would not renew the lease for Hein. In addition, he objected to my plowing up additional pasture during the war years. Even though I was aware of his feelings, I wished to operate according to my own insight since Ledeboer did not know anything about farming. After 1 May 1946, he wanted to reduce my share to 30 acres. I objected strongly but to no avail. He agreed only to rent 50 acres for one year, until 1 May 1947. Mr. Ledeboer was known as a person who was at odds with everybody, especially in matters of money. It was grievous to us, especially since during the 30 year period we improved the farm tremendously so that it's value more than doubled. In 1917 the operation would only support 20 milk cows, but this had risen to 45 in 1945. And now we were being pushed in a corner. Renting another farm was out of the question since the demand far exceeded the supply.
During this period, spring 1946 we began receiving packages with clothing from America. Clothing was real scarce, and so this was extremely welcome. They were sent to us by my wife's cousins, married offspring of an aunt and uncle (uncle Wiebe and tante Chris Voetberg) who lived around Grand Rapids, Michigan. Especially cousin Grace, the eldest daughter, married to John Wagenveld who lived near Holland, Michigan went out of her way to supply our needs.
Even though prior to this we had had no contact with these folks, now began a regular correspondence. We told them our difficulties, and cousin Grace promptly wrote back and proposed we move to the States since there was plenty of land for sale or for rent and work was also plentiful. From that day our thoughts began to move in the direction of immigrating to America. (May 1946) After obtaining information from the appropriate bureau, we applied for a visa at the American Consulate, although a definite decision had not yet been made. The Consulate required sponsorship by relatives as a condition for granting a visa.
Our relatives were willing to sponsor us, but there were many formalities, a lot of red tape, and much correspondence. It must be said that our cousins left no stone unturned to facilitate our move.
Mother Kapteyn, who since the previous May (1946) had lived in Almelo with sister Eef and Hein Noppers, became ill and passed away on 4 March, 1947 at the age of 71. She was the last one of our parents, and was buried at Almelo. For her a transition to glory where there is no more suffering.
In the meantime efforts continued toward our emigration and the final decision was made. Because of insufficient assets on the part of our cousins a third sponsor had to be found, mainly because of the size of our family of seven children. A Mr. Apsey, owner of a large dairy farm operated by another cousin, Henry Voetberg, was persuaded to fulfill this role. Cousin Henry especially was instrumental in bringing this about on our behalf.
In July we received the good news from the American Consulate at Rotterdam.
Medical exams were done on August 20, and the next day we booked passage with the Holland-America line. Departure was set for January 20, 1948. Our farm was liquidated during the summer of 1947, and all legalities concluded by November 1, so we had ample time to prepare for our departure. We are thankful to God and trust he will direct our path in our new Homeland."
Almelo, December 6, 1947.
BIOGRAPHY: The following histories were told to Bryan William Kapteyn on April 25, 1998 by his father and mother in their home in Carson City, Michigan
The Story of Willem Kapteyn (born September 6, 1903) after the family moved from the Netherlands to the USA as told to this writer by his father, Pieter Nicolaas Kapteyn (Born April 21, 1930)
On January 20, 1948, the family of nine boarded the Holland-America Line ship, the SS Veendam in the Dutch port of Rotterdam. When they set sail, Pieter was 17 years, 8 months, and 30 days old. According to Pieter Nicolaas, this was the last immigrant transport voyage for the SS Veendam; after this voyage she was scrapped out. The voyage was supposed to last8 to 10 days, but took a total of 2 weeks instead. There was a bad storm encountered after they left the Rotterdam port that lasted about 10 days. Many people were seasick, but Pieter only reported feeling a little nauseous. It probably affected the older people more that the younger ones. After they had been at sea for awhile the weather calmed down, the children and adults started feeling better, and the voyage became quite enjoyable. They were lodged in the 2nd class section of the ship, but my father reports that it was still quite a pleasant accommodation. He remembers rooming with the children of another family that was coming across, and they had a lot of fun. The staterooms were comfortable, (dad seems to think they were 3 decks down) and the dining room was very good. The SS Veendam on this voyage did not disembark its passengers at Ellis Island, but rather went to Hoboken, New Jersey, on the other side of New York Harbor. They must have gone by the Statue of Liberty, but dad reports that he doesn't remember seeing it; probably the ship passed it at night. When the family disembarked in Hoboken, they boarded a New York Central train the same day, and headed for Grand Rapids, Michigan. The train stopped in Jackson, Michigan, and they changed to another train, which took the family to Union station in Grand Rapids, which is no longer there. Ralph and Minke (Minnie) Brink (Nee Voetberg) picked them up, the son-in-law and daughter of Wiebe Voetberg and Chrisje Liestra. After they arrived in Grand Rapids, the family went to the large dairy operation run by cousin Hank Voetberg in the 7000 block of Kalamazoo Avenue SE, near Cutlerville, Michigan. This farm was quite large; about 500 acres. They milked about 80 head of Holstein cows. Mr. John Apsey, who was one of the gracious benefactors of our family in that he was one of our family's sponsors, owned the farm. Some time later cousin Hank Voetberg bought the farm from Mr. Apsey. Here it was that grandfather Willem Kapteyn worked for about 2 years, and my father Pieter Nicolaas worked for about 3 months. After that first 3 months, Pieter found a job at the Keeler Brass Company,a large supplier of furniture hardware in Grand Rapids. They were located on Godfrey Avenue on the southwest side of Grand Rapids. Father Pieter worked there about 3 years, after which he was drafted into the United States Army in 1951. He was in the service 2 years, and when he got out he went into the construction business which was to be his life long career.
This picture was taken about 1965 in the basement family room of our home on Trinity St. in Cutlerville, Michigan. I used to play with my miniture army on that rug. (Hours of fun!)Notitie bij multimedia-object:
Fred and I would always put lots of minnows in this pond. Opa didn't like it, but we did it anyway
DEATH: My oma died about 7:30 PM this evening of Thursday, 12 February, 1998. I went to visit her this evening, and I walked into her room 5 minutes after she passed away. I regret that I could not say goodbye to her while she was still alive. I think I was one of her favorite grandsons; I mowed her yard when I was growing up, made swords with Opa's fence building sticks, (Opa didn't like that) I filled her rain barrel with minnows,(Opa didn't like that, either). I will miss her, but treasure the memories.
We had a lot of fun with Peggy. We used to go into the barns at night, turn off the lights, and turn them back on. The rats would scamper around while we would try to kill them with nail embedded sticks. Peggy got a lot more rats than we did!Notitie bij multimedia-object:Notitie bij multimedia-object:
Sumpel farm, rented by Opa and Oma 1 may 1929, and they were married on 24 may, 1929, and they lived here for 7.5 years
BURIAL: Little Jaap is buried in the municipal cemetary in Almelo, Overijssel, The Netherlands.
I would have liked to have known uncle Jaap. He has that mischevious twinkle in his eye that tells me he would have had the Kapteyn sense of humor. I of course never knew him, but still feel a strange sense of loss.
BURIAL: Adri was buried next to his brother Jaap exactly 8 years to the day after Jaap died.
543. Juliana Louise Emma Maria Wilhelmina KAPTEYN
Personal: Great tante Jul was sickly for quite a bit of her adult life. After she had her chidren, her un-married sister Evertje helped take care of the children. After her death from a gouter in 1945 Evertje took care of the children full time. As often happens, the daily contact with her sister's widower Hein Noppers brought them quite close, and they (Evertje and Hein) eventually married in 1953.
BIOGRAPHY: Great Uncle Hugo was a Nazi sympathizer during the war, along with a couple of his sons. After the war he was ostracized for quite awhile.
Willem (Pete) emigrated to Chicago circa 1927. According to Uncle Pete He came because there was a lot of friction between the brothers.