Chapter 1

HISTORY OF THE BROUWER NAME

The Name

Brouwer is the Dutch word for “brewer.”  It seems likely, that at the time when last names were chosen, they were a family of brewers.  This may give the impression of drinking and rough living, but in early times beer was part of daily life.  It was used at mealtimes and when company was present.  Throughout the Middle Ages beer was the main beverage.  Only in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds was beer replaced by tea and coffee.  A brewer was an honourable occupation, and almost every city had a few brewers.  In Holland, many cities have street names such as “Brouwerstraat” or “Brouwersgracht,” “Brouwerssingel,” etc.  For this reason it is not likely that all Brouwers originated from the same family, but the name Brouwer most likely started in several places.

How Names Were Developed

In Holland many people didn’t have a surname in early times.  In 1812 it became law that everyone had to have a surname.  However, royalty and the rich often had surnames before it became mandatory.  Before then people used their father’s name as a second name to distinguish them.  For example, the Brouwer sons would have been called Henk Albertz, Derk Albertz, Wim Albertz and Gerard Albertz.  The “z” stood for “zoon” (son).  Although written as “Albertz,” it would have been pronounced “Albertzoon.”  If there was more than one Henk Albertz in a certain village, then a nickname was often added, and these nicknames often became the surnames that were adopted in 1812. 

Many of the names indicated a person’s occupation, such as “Smit” (blacksmith), “Timmerman” (carpenter), etc.  Many Dutch names indicate where the people originated.  In the west most names start with “De” “Van” “Vande” or “Vander.”  In Friesland almost all surnames end with an “a,” such as Postma, Attema, Vellenga, etc.  Names starting with “ten” or “ter,” or ending with “ing” or “ink”  usually came from the eastern part of Holland.

When it became law to have a surname, some kept the names they had already been using, and others changed their father’s name slightly, thus names like Jansens, Martins, and Alberts came into use.  Yet others took a new surname altogether.

While tracing the DeJong family genealogy, it was discovered when and how the name “DeJong” developed.  The first person was called Huig, and named Huig Janz, after his father.  This was in the early 1500s.  His son became Jan Huigenz, but there was already another Jan Huigenz in the village.  So to keep them apart, this one was called de Jonge Jan Huigenz.  “DeJong” is the Dutch word for young.  From 1556 on all the members of that family used the name DeJong.    When working on Oma Brouwer’s genealogy, it was discovered that there are at least two cases of a family branch where they had a surname and changed it in 1812.  The Brouwer surname was in use already at least one hundred years before it became law.

A Brief History of Holland

The law about taking surnames was imposed by the French, who were hated in Holland at that time.  Holland was ruled by the French from 1795 until 1813.  First the French made Holland a republic and called it the Bataafse Republic.  The appointed leader was a Dutch nobleman who was very pro-French.  However, he did not obey all the commands from France satisfactorily and he was dismissed.  Napoleon then made Holland a kingdom in 1800 and made his older brother Louis Napoleon the King.  Louis Napoleon was a good king and all his decisions were based on what was good for Holland and its people, rather than on the interests of France and his brother Napoleon.  Soon friction between the two brothers erupted.  Louis Napoleon was in a difficult position because the Dutch didn’t like him because he was French and the brother of the hated Napoleon,  and the French didn’t like him because he was too pro-Dutch.    However, in the ten years that he ruled he did a lot of good for Holland.  In 1810 Napoleon dethroned his brother and made Holland a province of France, which it remained until 1813 when Napoleon was defeated.  It was in these last three years that the surname law came into effect. 

Since many people expected that the end of French rule was imminent and assumed that all the laws imposed during that time would go with the French, some chose very silly surnames as a way to show their contempt for the French.  People chose names like “naaktgeboren” (born naked) and “suikerbuik” (sugar belly), etc.  However the law stayed in effect and their descendants had to live with the names that had been chosen.

Holland, in comparison with other European countries like Germany or England, is relatively young.  The Romans occupied parts of it at the time that Jesus lived on earth.  Nothing is known about the country before the time of the Romans.  For centuries after that several tribes lived in small countries that today make up Holland.  The Friesian tribe lived in the North and along the western coast of Holland. Later the Saxons came from Germany and lived in the eastern part of Holland, the Frankens moved north and lived in the south of Holland, the Batavieren and some smaller tribes lived in the western part of Holland.     Although there was some intermarriage among these tribes, these divisions remained largely in place throughout the Middle Ages, except in the West where they intermingled.  The Frankens later became known as “Brabanders.”  The Friesens remained the most independent, maintaining their own language and flag right to this day.  The Brouwers, Ottens and Pennings are likely all from Saxon background.  There are also quite a few French names in Holland.  Most of these are descendants of the Huguenots who fled to Holland during the Reformation.  In some coastal cities there are also families whose ancestors had come from Norway.  Holland was often very welcoming of refugees which is why there were so many Jews living there before World War II. 

From 700 to 1400, when the country started to develop, the common people were little more than slaves.  In this time the big swamps in the west were changed to useable land.  Dikes were built and canals dug.  In the eastern part of the country the virgin woods were cut down.  The land was owned by Earls who lived in castles and who ruled all the people living on their land.  They had to do his work and serve in his army.  The Earls, in turn, were ruled by Marquis’.  Holland at that time was divided into seven duchies.  The three most important duchies were Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland.  Holland and Gelderland were ruled by a Duke, while Utrecht was ruled by a Bishop.   Frequent quarrels and wars broke out between these duchies.  Being a high-church dignitary didn’t make the Bishop any less warlike than the neighbouring Dukes.  Ruling over all was an Emperor, usually from an outside country.  First these were the Romans.  From around 800-1000, Holland was ruled by the French.  Charlemagne also ruled over Holland.  He was called Charles the Great, “Karel de Grote”.  He brought Christianity to Holland through missionaries and also through his army.  At various times, Holland was also under German, Austrian, Spanish and French rule.

Some documents that were discovered in a palace in Austria recently give some interesting glimpses into life in Holland in the mid 1500s.  The Emperor of Austria, Maximilian I, who ruled from 1477-1519, and who ruled over Austria, Germany, Vlanderen (Belgium) and Holland, sent a delegation to an area of south Holland called the Krimpenerwaard in 1515 to find out how the people were living there and how many were left after the Duke of Gelderland and his army had burned down the area and massacred the people three years earlier.  The report states that in Stolwijk (the village where Cor DeJong grew up) only 3 of the 125 houses were rebuilt.  In Berkenwoude only 2 of 50 remained, and in Lekkerkerk 13 of 180 houses had escaped the fire.  The people lived in small huts made of willow branches and sod.  The report stated that the people grew grain and hennep, hunted and fished.  While living conditions and political restrictions had eased by the 1700s when our genealogy begins, life was still difficult for many Dutch people.

Chapter 2

THE BROUWER & WIELHEEZEN GENEALOGY

Genealogy of Albert Brouwer

This information about Opa’s genealogy has been taken from the genealogy prepared by Mr. Rien Hupkes. 

The first Brouwer listed is:

A. HARMAN Brouwer (1708 – 1780)

He was a farmer but also a mayor of three small villages, Kerspel, Ellecom and De Steeg.  These were neighbouring villages to Rheden, where the later Brouwers came from.  He married Helena Evers.  Their birth, death dates or how many children they had are unknown, except that on February 7, 1751 a son Hendrik was born.

B. HENDRIK Brouwer (1751 – 1819)

Hendrik, born on February 7, 1751, was Opa’s great grandfather.  He married on November 16, 1788 at the age of 37 years to Geertruy Kraayenbrink.  It is not known if they had children but she must have died young, because seven years after his first marriage, he married for the second time.  On November 1, 1795 he married Wilhelmina Brus.  This was shortly after the French revolution, and it is believed to also be the day the French invaded Holland.  They were 44 and 40 years old, so not a very young couple anymore.  Wilhelmina’s birthday is not known, but she was baptized on May 20, 1755 as the daughter of Willem Brussum and Trynken Aalberts, who were married on March 19, 1752 in Dinxperlo.  Trynken was born March 20, 1735, daughter of Neelis Aalberts, so she married one day after her 17th birthday.  Exactly how many children Hendrik and Wilhelmina had is uncertain, but about 7 ½ years after their marriage a son, Jan, was born on April 22, 1804.  He was Opa’s grandfather.

These first Brouwers didn’t live in Lathum, but in Rheden which lies on the north side of the Yssel river.  Jan was the first Brouwer who moved to Lathum, at the address Bandijk 13.  This is not the farm where Opa was born, but two houses farther from Lathum, in the direction of Giesbeck and Doesburg.

C.    JAN Brouwer (1804 – 1879)

Jan Brouwer was born on April 22, 1804, born and baptized in Rheden.  He married Aaltje Wouters from Rheden, daughter of Arend Wouters and Aaltje Derksen.  Jan and Aaltje moved to Lathum, Bandijk 13.  They had 4 children.  Jan Brouwer died on June 8, 1879, aged 75.  Aaltje Wouters died on November 10, 1869, aged 64.  Their children were:

C1   Antje Brouwer – born February 7, 1842.  She died on November 17, 1919 at the age of 77.  On February 28, 1878 she married Aalbert Reewinkel.  They had 2 daughters.  A lot of information about the Brouwers was obtained through this family.

C2   Hendriena Brouwer – born August 12, 1844.  She likely died very young, no exact dates for her year of birth or death are known.

C3   Jan Brouwer – born September 1, 1847.  He died in March 1935 at 88 years of age.  He married Johanna Smeenk.  They had 4 children.  The oldest son Albert later became farmer in his father’s place.  This was the same time that Opa was farming, two farms closer to Lathum, so there were two farmers named Albert Brouwer and they were almost neighbours.  To avoid confusion this Albert was called “Kleine Albert” or “Little Albert” and Opa was called “Grote Albert” or “Big Albert.”

C4   DERK Brouwer  – born September 3, 1852.  Derk Brouwer was Opa’s father.  He died in May 1900 at the age of 47.  At the age of 28 he married Jantje Wielheezen, born on February 14, 1854 in Kerkstraat 9, Lathum.  She was the daughter of Willem Wielheezen and Jantje Harbers.  They had 8 children.

D.    DERK BROUWER – Born September 3, 1852.  Married Jantje Wielheezen on September 16, 1880.  They had eight children:

D1   Jan Willem – born October 11, 1880.  He died at the end of the war.  Jan Willem never married and lived most of his life with Opa.  The last years of his life Jan Willem lived in a mental institution.  Near the end of the war in 1944, with the battle around Arnhem, the patients were transported to Ermelo and no contact was possible.  When the war ended the family learned that he had died about five weeks before the end of the war.  The severe shortage of food was likely the cause of his death.

 D2   Jantje – born November 2, 1883.  She died on February 10, 1889 at five years of age.  The cause of her death is not known.

D3   Hendrik – born June 10, 1885.  His date of death is unknown.  His first wife died young, leaving a baby boy that also died young, shortly after his second marriage.  His second wife was Mina Hendriks.  They had 3 children, Hennie, who later married Gert Heytink; Maria who married — Vande Wetering, and Gerrit.  Hendrik lived in Westervoort, which was not very far away.  Because of his second wife there was no contact with the rest of the family, except at the end of the war.  When they had to leave their farm, they lived for a short time at Opa and Oma’s farm.

D4   ALBERT  (‘Grote Albert’ — our ‘Opa’) – born February 7, 1887, died October 6, 1977, age 90.

D5   Jan – born March 13, 1889.  He married Gerritje Smeenk on May 22, 1913.  They had 1 daughter Hendrika Johanna.  She married Hendrik Broekman.  Jan died August 1, 1971, age 83.  Tante Gerritje died on August 17, 1963 at the age of 64.

D6   Derk – born March 17, 1891.  He died December 12, 1967 at the age of 76.  He married Elisabeth Maria Bleumink (tante Lies).  Lies died on June 11, 1964 at the age of 64.  They had 3 children, Johanna who married D.H. Jolink, Derk, who married L.D. Jolink, and Jantje who married H. Derksen.  Derk lived in Wynbergen, fairly close to Germany.  It was about a 1 ½ hour trip by bicycle from where Opa lived.

D7   Maria Berendina – born January 22, 1893.  She married Johan Van Dijk, in 1924, about a year before Opa married.  Oom Johan was born on July 20, 1895.  Tante Marie died on January 14, 1972 at age 78.  She had Alzheimer’s disease for many years.  Oom Johan died on October 10, 1979 at the age of 84. 

They were not only relatives, but also neighbours and friends. In the house next to Opa’s, three elderly people, a brother and two sisters,  were living.  When the brother died, the two sisters couldn’t handle the farm anymore and offered the farm to Tante Marie and Oom Johan, with the condition that they would take care of them until their death.  That was when Tante Marie married and Opa lost his housekeeper.  Tante Marie and Oom Johan had 4 children.

D7a Everet Jan – He married Greet Siebelink at the time that Opa emigrated and he took over Opa’s farm, where they are still living.

D7b Jantje – She was the same age as Jantje Brouwer (Aunt Jenny).  Her date of birth was February 25, 1927.  She married Gerrit Maandag.

D7c  Johanna – She was the same age as Geertje Brouwer (Aunt Trudy) and they were always very good friends.  She married Harm Rutgers, about the same time as her brother Everet was married, and they moved in with her parents.

D7d Maria Berendina – She was the same age as Gerard Brouwer (Uncle Gerald). She married Gerrit Siebelink. 

D8      Godefriedus (Frits) – born 1897.  He died on June 18, 1981 at the age of 84.  He married Anna Augustas Bleumink, (tante Anna). She was a sister of tante Lies.  Tante Anna died on April 20, 1993 at the age of 88.  Oom Frits also lived in Wynbergen, very close to Oom Derk.  They were all farmers.  They had three sons, Derk, Bernhard, who married W. Dierssen, and Frits, who died young.

The Wielheezen Family

A JANTJE Wielheezen

Jantje was Opa’s mother.  The Wielheezen family had also come from Rheden before settling in Lathum.  The first Wielheezen we know of is Godefriedus Wielheezen.  He married Maria de Roos.  Daughter of Hendrik de Roos and Geertruida van Zadelhoff.  They had 7 children:

A1 Geurt, born December 23, 1794

A2 Hendrik, born January 12, 1797

A3 Everhardus, born January 12, 1799

A4 Geertruida, born November 23, 1801

A5 Willem, born September 18, 1802

A6 Gozyna, born February 8, 1804

A7 Jantjen, born May 31, 1809

The son Willem moved to Lathum to become a farmhand for Berend Harbers.  However, he soon married the farmer’s daughter Jantjen and later he farmed there himself, on Kerkstraat 19, Lathum.  Willem Wielheezen, born on September 18, 1802 married Jantjen Harbers, born September 21, 180-(?) daughter of Berend Harbers and Luitje Wolters.  Those were Opa’s grandparents, his mother’s parents.  They had nine children:

A5a    name unknown, born February 19, 1839.

A5b Berend, born February 6, 1840.

A5c    Maria Geertruida, born February 8, 1842.  She married Gerrit Pennekamp.

A5d Godefriedus, born March 14, 1844.  He married Koosje van Zadelhoff.

A5e Luitje, born August 13, 1846. She married Derk Heydeman.

A5f Willemiena, born February 12, 1849.

A5g Hendrik, born ?.  He married Hendrika Antonia Reewinkel.

A5h Jantjen, born February 14, 1854. She married Derk Brouwer.

A5i Berendina, born March 24, 1859. 

Jantjen Wielheezen married Derk Brouwer on September 16, 1880.  They were 26 and 28 years old, respectively.  These are Opa’s parents.

There is no record of a brewer in this family.  They were all farmers, in mixed farming, crops and livestock.  Only Berend Harbers grew mainly tobacco.  There are still Wielheezens, Pennekemps, Van Zadelhoffs and Reewinkels living in and around Lathum.  These are all distant relatives of Opa’s.  There are hardly any Brouwers left in Lathum since all his four brothers moved away.

It seemed unusual that both the Brouwer  and Wielheezen family came from Rheden and moved at the same time to Lathum on the other side of the river.  Upon investigation, however, it was discovered that they didn’t move, but the landscape changed drastically.  In a very big storm around 1800 the dikes broke and the river Yssel flooded a large area, including Rheden.a town with two small hamlets, Lathum and Bahr.  The Brouwers and Wielheezens lived in the hamlet of Bahr, which was almost completely destroyed by the flood.  When the water subsided, the river changed its course and now separated the small part of Bahr that remained as well as the hamlet of Lathum.  All of this land, which included the land the Brouwers lived on, was renamed Lathum.   Later on the Brouwers farmed a field south of Lathum, which was called “het broek.”  This field was part of the original river bed.