Category Archives: THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID

These are posts related to any interesting activities in which our ancestors were involved.

Letters to the Netherlands: The waves rise mountain high …

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Laura

My great-great grandfather arrived in America from the Netherlands in 1889 with his wife and three children, including my great-grandfather. In his letters from Iowa to family and friends back in the Netherlands, he seemed uncertain whether he would be able … Continue reading →

Posted in CLOUD OF WITNESSES ... COMMUNION OF SAINTS, IOWA (ALL), IOWA (Sioux County), Kreykes, Letters to the Netherlands, NETHERLANDS, Smalbrugge, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Decoration Day in Iowa

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Laura

This photograph of my grandparents says on the back that it was taken in 1929 on Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day. I believe my grandmother may have been wearing a red poppy on her dress. In later years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Clausen, IOWA (ALL), IOWA (Central), IOWA (Sioux County), Kreykes, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Kreykes hardware store … through all the circling years …

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Laura

On my recent trip to my mother’s hometown in Iowa, I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic for my childhood summer visits there. As I looked through the colorful photos I was taking last week of the Dutch dancers, … Continue reading →

Posted in IOWA (ALL), IOWA (Sioux County), Kreykes, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

(Relatively) Wordless Wednesday

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Laura

Pipe organ (“pijp orgel” in Dutch) built by H. Vander Maten and sons in Sioux County, Iowa 1900 – 1903

Posted in IOWA (Sioux County), NETHERLANDS, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID, Vander Maaten | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Haugianerne in my home

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Laura

So I finally got this framed print hanging on the wall in my living room. It’s called Haugianerne, or The Haugeans. The original was painted by Norwegian artist Adolph Tidemand in 1852 and illustrates an 18th to 19th century spiritual revival movement in the Church … Continue reading →

Posted in CLOUD OF WITNESSES ... COMMUNION OF SAINTS, IOWA (Central), Malum, NORWAY, RESEARCH PROCESS, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Letters to the Netherlands: All is well with us in America

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Laura

One of the more wonderful discoveries in my family history research has been a collection of turn-of-the-century letters written by my maternal great-great grandfather from Iowa to some of his family and friends who remained in the Netherlands. His letters are … Continue reading →

Posted in CLOUD OF WITNESSES ... COMMUNION OF SAINTS, IOWA (ALL), IOWA (Sioux County), Kreykes, Letters to the Netherlands, NETHERLANDS, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ancestors making music

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Laura

I’d preceded my visit to Sioux County, Iowa, with a few phone calls to locals in hopes of finding a handmade pipe organ said to have been built by a Vander Maten ancestor who immigrated from the Netherlands. Armed with … Continue reading →

Posted in IOWA (ALL), IOWA (Sioux County), NETHERLANDS, THINGS OUR ANCESTORS DID, Vander Maaten | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments