Journey to His Past

The platter above is one of my favorite family treasures.  It belonged to Kirk's Grandma LeynDyke.  I don't know a lot about it, but I love the colors and the trim design.  The blue and white reminds me of Delft china, which is Dutch.  This isn't Delft, it is Royal Sometuke Nippon.



The back markings are Royal Sometuke Nippon.  This backstamp identifies it as one that was made for the Japanese Domestic Market starting in 1906.  Nellie LeynDyke was born in 1896, married in 1917, and died in 1984.

I don't know when Kirk's grandmother bought/received this but I know it has graced many Thanksgiving tables in our house for years.  I guess I better put this on my to do list to learn more about.

This first piece of information that I look for when researching an ancestor is the census data.  I am in the process of making tables for each ancestor's census data to see where any gaps may be.  I have not been able to locate Nellie VanOeveren in the 1910 Census.  I believe she was living at home, age 14, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I have tried looking for parents and siblings without finding them.  Where are you hiding, Nellie?  I think my trouble with finding the family may lie in the spelling of the last name.  If I have to go page by page to find them, I will.

FACT	DATE	PLACE OF RESIDENCE	ENUMERATION DISTRICT/PAGE ID./DWELLING
Birth	1896	Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States
Census	1900	Grand Rapids Township, Kent, Michigan, United States	62/24/516
Census	1910
Census	1920	Flint Ward 6, Genesee, Michigan, United States with Peter LeynDyke	55/6A/100
Census	1930	Flint, Genesee, Michigan, United States with Peter LeynDyke	25-44/27B/639
Census	1940	Flint Ward 6, Genesee, Michigan, United States with Peter LeynDyke	85-110/1A/Line 33
Death	1994	Bradenton, Manatee, Florida, United States

Kirk's great grandfather, Abraham VanOeveren was born 147 years ago today (20 June 1865) in Sint Philipsland, Zeeland, Netherlands to Abraham van Oeveren and Neeltje de Bruin.  He came to the United States as a young boy and lived in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan the rest of his life.

He married Janna 'Jennie' Kosten on 23 July 1885, in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.  They were the parents of eight children; six who lived to adulthood (Ada, Nellie, Jeannie, Abraham, Jr. 'Bud', Lois, and Edward Russell 'Russ'.

Abraham VanOeveren died 22 October 1943 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.  He is buried at Fairplains Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.

Can you imagine being named the same name as your two deceased siblings?  Nellie VanOeveren was the third 'Nellie' in her family.  It's common for Dutch families to use the name again after someone dies.

Nellie VanOeveren was the fourth of eight children born to Abraham VanOeveren and Janna 'Jennie' Kosten VanOeveren.  She was born on 11 June 1896 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.  Her siblings were:

• Nellie (1886-)
• Nellie (1888-1889)
• Ada (1890-
• Jeannie (1902-)
• Abraham Jr. 'Bud' (1905-1987)
• Lois (1911-1999)
• Edward Russell 'Russ' (1915-1999)

Nellie lived in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan until her marriage.  Nellie VanOeveren married Peter LeynDyke on 1 January 1917 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.  Pete and Nellie lived in Flint, Genessee, Michigan until they retired to Florida. 



Nellie died 31 May 1994 in Bradenton, Manatee, Florida at the age of 97 years.  She is buried in Manasota Memorial Park, Bradenton, Florida.

Kirk's paternal grandparents, Peter LeynDyke and Nellie VanOeveren were married New Year's Day, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.  They were married an amazing 74 years.