Surname Saturday: BRINKMAN

Intro
BRINKMAN is a Dutch topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow in low-lying marshland, according to the Dictionary of American Family Names. Friesche Naamlijst says it can also be a location name, for the village of Brink in East Friesland, which is in present-day Germany. It is one of my maternal step-grandfather's lines.


Stories and History:
I have not done much research on this line; consequently, I do not have very much information to share at this time, other than that this family is first found in Kollumerland, Friesland, the Netherlands in the late 1700s/early 1800s.

(I use the letter "C" to differentiate between my biological family tree and my step-family tree. Similarly, I use the letter "B" to mark my paternal grandmother's adoptive family tree.)

Ahnentafel #98C - Binne BRINKMAN (dates unknown) - little is known about this ancestor at this time, other than his name.

Ahnentafel #49C - Bontje Binnes BRINKMAN (c. 1823 - 1869) - probably born in Kollumerland, she married Jarig Egberts De VRIES (1813 - 1869) in that municipality. Their son, Binne, was born in Kollumerzwaag, Kollumerland in 1856. Bontje died exactly two months before her husband did. Their son (and any other children they may have had) was orphaned at a young age.

Ahnentafel #24C - Binne Jarigs De VRIES (1856 - 1896) - born in Kollumerzwaag, he was a shoemaker, who moved to the municipality of Smallingerland in Friesland. He died young (age 39), leaving a widow and three small children, who moved to the United States probably in an arranged marriage situation.

Ahenentafel #12C - Jarig Binne Egbert DeVRIES (1887 - 1959) - born in the city of Drachten in Smallingerland, he immigrated with his mother and two younger siblings to the United States, the only group of my ancestors to pass through Ellis Island. His name was anglicized to George Benjamin Edward DeVRIES. My mother remembers him pretty well, as he lived with her family shortly before he died.

Ahnentafel #6C - Adrian "Ed" DeVRIES (1916 - 2007) - my beloved grandfather, greatly missed

Ahnentafel #3 - my mother (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself


More About the BRINKMAN Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): BRINKMAN ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about BRINKMAN ancestors and relatives on this blog


My BRINKMAN Immigration Trail:

Kollumerland, Friesland, the Netherlands > Smallingerland, Friesland, the Netherlands > Kent Co., MI > AK > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA