"Niekerk Oldekerk Faan 1832", 18x18 inches, Wool, 2024
My mom was big into genealogy, and when she started to deteriorate during chemo, I felt compelled to finish her work before she passed. She recorded both sides of my tree back to the generations that came to America from the 1850's to the 1900's. That's where she hit a brick wall. None of the people who emigrated from the Netherlands wanted to talk about "the old country" so no one knew where anyone came from. I didn't even know what my last name meant. So I dug into the internet.
Luckily, the Netherlands has all their genealogical records listed for free online. I was quickly able to piece together most parts of my family tree back to the 1500's.
One quarter of my family tree
I noticed that a large percentage of my father's father's tree came from one tiny area. The villages of Niekerk, Oldekerk, and Faan are sat one on top of the other. The people that lived there are highlighted in purple in the image above.
I also noticed that the very first person in my tree who used my surname came from that area. Before Napoleon, only the landed gentry held surnames in the Netherlands.
The villages have a historical society. When I emailed them asking if they had any information pertaining to my family, Jan Coenraads answered, excited to help. He found out that, yes, there was still an Ouwinga living in Niekerk, but they were a very cranky old man. He also found out that the very first Ouwinga owned a giant farm called the Torringaheerd.
Torringaherd, Niekerk. Photo taken in 1910. The farmhouse burned down in 1975.
Jan also clued me in as to the meaning of my surname. It means "the boat captain's family."
And as I was already planning a trip to go visit the area, he let me know that he had a bed and breakfast for 25 euro a night.
The land where Torringaheerd stood. All that remains is the horse stables (left)
While there, he let me know he had been doing research. He found out that his house was part of the Torringaheerd. I was sleeping on my ancestor's land.
He gave me a map from 1832 with parcel outlines, and I recreated it the using a SK840 knitting machine.
I plan on returning to the area to continue my research.
