Ancestral Towns
One of the reasons for this trip was to visit some of the
towns that our ancestors had come from. In all of these towns we visited,
the only old building left that we could easily find was the church.
Most of these dated from the 1600's and we were not able to get inside.
The graveyards had stones which dated from the early 1900's,
so we didn't expect to find any record of our ancestors there.
But it gave a real feeling of "connection" to be in the area and see
the old churches where our ancestors probably worshipped. It also gave
us some connection with the names of the towns we had seen only in genealogy
records before.
The first town we visited was the town on Langerak, with a church from the 1600's.
We next drove to Noordeloos, where we talked to a couple of local women and found out that there are about 200 people who still worship at the church, which dates back to 1613. We also found a gravestone of an Arie Vink who was born in 1813. This is the same name as one of my ancestors who was born 120 years earlier.
We stopped only long enough in the village of Hoornaar to take a picture of its church.
Finally, before returning to our motel, we stopped in the town of St. Maartensdijk, where Elizabeth saw this church.
The first town we visited was the town on Langerak, with a church from the 1600's.
The next town was Goudriaan with a church of similar vintage
and style.
We next drove to Noordeloos, where we talked to a couple of local women and found out that there are about 200 people who still worship at the church, which dates back to 1613. We also found a gravestone of an Arie Vink who was born in 1813. This is the same name as one of my ancestors who was born 120 years earlier.
We stopped only long enough in the village of Hoornaar to take a picture of its church.
The next day, after a visit to Dordrecht, we went to some
of Elizabeth's ancestral towns. The first was the town of Strijen where we
found the local church.
According to stories Elizabeth had heard as a child, her grandmother had once fallen into a canal in Strijen. We found such a canal right in the town.
According to stories Elizabeth had heard as a child, her grandmother had once fallen into a canal in Strijen. We found such a canal right in the town.
Next we drove to the town of Numansdorp where Elizabeth
found the local church.
Finally, before returning to our motel, we stopped in the town of St. Maartensdijk, where Elizabeth saw this church.
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