Surname Saturday: WIERINGA

The WIERINGA family is one of the lines of my maternal step-grandfather. I have never thought about my mother's step-father as being a step-ancestor. He raised my mother, tried unsuccessfully to adopt her (her biological father wouldn't sign over his parental rights, although he didn't participate much in my mother's life), gave her away at her wedding, and included her equally in his will with his two biological children. My grandfather had six grandchildren (including my brother, who was named for him) and 12 great-grandchildren, only one of all those being his biological offspring between step families and adoptees. Yet just as he was always my mother's Dad, he was always Grandpa and Great-grandpa DeVRIES to all of us. To honor him and to bless my uncle, aunt, and cousins, I have researched his ancestry. After all, the DeVRIES family history directly impacted my own, and it's likely I would not exist if Grandpa hadn't married my grandmother and raised my mother.

Stories and History:

WIERINGA is a Frisian surname that means "the household of Wier," and originates out of the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Friesland's language and culture is more closely related to that of the English, as they both had the same Anglo-Saxon ancestors. In Europe, the Frisian ethnic group primarily lives in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the Netherlands and also in the region of Ostfriesland and district of Nordfriesland in Germany.

(The letter "C" differentiates between my biological family tree and my step-family tree. I have used the letter "B" to mark my paternal grandmother's adoptive family tree.)

Ahnentafel #200C - Lubbart WIERINGA (dates unknown)

Ahnentafel #100C - Wobbe Lubbartus WIERINGA (dates unknown) - his wife, or at least the mother of his five known children, was Catarina (or Katrina) Onnes VAN POST (dates unknown)

Ahnentafel #50 - Hendrik WIERINGA (b. 1815) - he was probably born in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands. In 1858, he married Korneliske SIEGERS (b. 1827) in Oldehove, Groningen, the Netherlands. They had at least two daughters.

Ahnentafel #25 - Adriaantje WIERINGA (1861 - 1925) - her name is also spelled "Adriaantze" and "Adriana." Born in Oldehove, Groningen, the Netherland, she first married a shoemaker and barber, Binne Jarigs DeVRIES (1856 - 1896) in 1886 in the municipality of Kollumerland, Friesland, the Netherlands. At that time, her residence was in Noord Drachten, Smallingerland, Friesland. They had three children before Binne died. Adriaantje apparently ended up in an arranged marriage with John HOOGSTRA (b. 1858), who had emigrated to the United States in 1890. He was widowed as well. It is likely they knew each other before he left the Netherlands, or that Adriaantje had contacts with the Dutch immigrant community in Western Michigan, who may have helped arrange the marriage. At any rate, Adriaantje arrived at Ellis Island on the Spaarndam with her three young children on 29 March 1897. Ten days later, she married John in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, with her ten-year-old son, George, as one of the witnesses. She and John had three more children. After his death, she married another widower, Teunis NIEMEYER (b. c. 1865) in 1915 in Grand Rapids. Adriaantje died in East Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.

Ahenentafel #12C - Jarig Binne Egbert DeVRIES (1887 - 1959) - born in the city of Drachten in Smallingerland, Friesland, the Netherlands 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. He married Johanna "Josephine" BOS / BUSH (1885 - 1946) in 1911 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. They had four sons and one daughter. My mother remembers George pretty well, as he lived with her family in Grand Rapids in his elder years, and died in their home.

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

Ahnentafel #3 - my mother (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself

More About the WIERINGA Family:

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

2. Some WIERINGA obituaries

3. Posts about WIERINGA ancestors and relatives on this blog

The WIERINGA Immigration Trail:

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

Adrian DeVRIES Birth Certificate

The image below is a photocopy of the birth certificate of my maternal (step) grandfather, Adrian DeVRIES, and comes from a collection of documents from my maternal grandparents' estate, known hereafter as the DeVries-Hoekstra Collection:

Birth Certificate of Adrian DeVries, 1916

SOURCE: Michigan. Kent County. County Clerk's Office, Grand Rapids. Adrian DeVries birth certificate.

Certificate as to Birth

STATE OF MICHIGAN } ss.
County of Kent }

I, LEWIS J. DONOVAN, Clerk of the Circuit Court for the said County of Kent, do hereby certify that upon careful examination of the original records on file in the office of the Clerk of said County and Court, I find the following record as to the birth of Adrian DeVries
Date of Birth June 10, 1916
Sex Male; Color White; Legitimate
Birthplace Grand Rapids, Mich.

PARENTS

Name of Father George E. B. DeVries Residence 1022 Caulfield Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Name of Mother Josephine Bush Residence 1022 Caulfield Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Birthplace of Father Netherlands Eu Occupation Machine Hand
Birthplace of Mother Michigan

All of which appears as of record dated June 30, 1916 and the same being the whole of such original record of said birth as
Recorded in Liber 20 of RECORD OF BIRTH on page 523

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal, at the City of Grand Rapids, in said County, this 10th day of November A. D. 1941

LEWIS J. DONOVAN, Clerk
Geo. Gruenbauer [signed] Deputy

My grandfather was actually named for his paternal grandmother, Adriaantje "Adriana" (WIERINGA) DeVRIES HOOGSTRA NIEMEYER. His parents followed the Dutch naming pattern of naming the first son after the paternal grandfather (Ben was named for Binnes DeVRIES) and the second son after the maternal grandfather (Millard--"Mel"--was named for Mille BOS). By the time Adrian came along, they probably despaired of ever having any daughters! Rather than following the pattern religiously and naming their third son Jarig--or George--Jr., they decided to name him after George's mother. Two years later, their only daughter, Catherine Josephine, was named for her maternal grandmother, Trienjte ZIGTERMAN BOS BARSEMA and her mother. Their last child, Calvin, was named for the then-current president, Calvin Coolidge. Coincidentally, Adrian "Ed" DeVries, my maternal grandfather, shared the same birth date (but not birth year!) as his son-in-law, my father.

On this document, my great-grandparents' anglicized names are given. From other earlier documents and indexes I've examined, I know that my great-grandfather was first named Jarig Egbert Binnes DeVRIES in the Netherlands, which was changed to George Edward Benjamin DeVRIES; while my great-grandmother, the daughter of Dutch immigrants, was originally named Johanna BOS. My great-grandparents owned a lot with two homes on it, a big one out front (1022 Caulfield Avenue), and a little one in the back (1024). The family generally lived in the larger house and rented out the smaller one, but on occasion, the situation was reversed, as in this particular case. You will notice, however, that my great-grandparents gave their address on my grandfather's birth record as 1022 Caulfield, even though at the time they were living in the little house. My uncle recently did some extensive research on the history of these houses in both Grand Rapids city directories and Kent County land records. I will be sharing those records and past and present photos of these two homes, as well as other ancestral Grand Rapids homes of the DeVries and Hoekstra families, in the future.

George is listed as a machine hand on this record. He worked for several Grand Rapids furniture factories for most of his life, including the John Widdicomb Company. Grand Rapids was once considered the furniture capital of the world, utilizing the rich natural resources in the area for this purpose, especially the great quantities of pine. Whenever I look for relatives or ancestors in federal censuses or city directories in Grand Rapids, many--like George DeVries--appear as furniture factory employees.

Birth certificates at that time and place were not created and made available to parents at the time of their children's births, as they are now. The births were recorded in large books, called libers, in the county clerk's office. This particular document is a certified copy of the record that appears in the birth liber; in other words, the deputy clerk carefully copied the information from the birth liber onto certificate paper, then sealed and signed the document attesting to its accurate reproduction. The date of the certificate, 10 November 1941, suggests that my grandfather obtained it perhaps to show proof of citizenship and age for his future enlistment with the Army (26 March 1942 was his enlistment date, according to his military record). Although the attack of Pearl Harbor was less than a month away at the time this document was certified, many young men had seen the writing on the wall as the war escalated in Europe and had begun to enlist.

Although Ed traveled extensively around the country and--during World War Two--the world, he lived his whole life in Grand Rapids, passing away there this last January.