Consanguineous Marriage in Heerde

After I posted my last blog entry, I resumed my research by verifying information I already had, in particular, for my van Apeldoorn in-laws. My grand-aunt Johanna Moll (1886-1927) was married to Adrianus Gijsbertus van Apeldoorn (1885-1962). Adrianus was the step-son for Johanna's aunt, Geertje Moll (1853-1935). At that time, the van Apeldoorn's were best known as the owners of a soap factory in Heerde which manufactured soap under the brand name "De Klok".

My research turned up a gravestone for Gerrit Jan van Apeldoorn (1878-1933) and Hendrina Hendrika Willmina van Apeldoorn - van Apeldoorn (1879-1967). Could these two be related, I wondered? The answer turned out to be yes. But the subsequent research turned up quite a number of other cases of cousins marrying in that family.

In this drop chart, the individuals marked in red are my ancestors. Blue indicates other blood relatives. And the yellow indicates descendants of Andries Lamberts van Apeldoorn. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that there are so many inter-relationships. Heerde is a fairly isolated village, bounded to the north-east by the Veluwe, and to the east by the River IJssel.

Here's a summary of the cosanguineous marriages among the van Apeldoorn's. Note that some couples are related in two ways. Almost all lived in Heerde.

1st cousins:

• Klaas van Apeldoorn (1790-1823) and Aleida van Apeldoorn (1789-1867)
• Gerrit Jan van Apeldoorn (1878-1933) and Hendrina Hendrika Willemina van Apeldoorn (1879-1967)

1st cousins, once removed:

• Willem van Apeldoorn (1782-1840) and Elsjen van Apeldoorn (1773-1808)
• Johannes Lambertus van Apeldoorn (1781-1815) and Adriana Antonia Hafkamp (1783-1870)

2nd cousins:

• Berend Boeve (1780-1853) and Johanna Aleijda van Apeldoorn (1778-1848)
• Johanna Lambarta van Apeldoorn (1816-1848) and Lammert van Apeldoorn (1817-1861)

2nd cousins, once removed:

• Johanna Lambarta van Apeldoorn (1816-1848) and Lammert van Apeldoorn (1817-1861)
• Gerhardus van Apeldoorn (1813-1887) and Willempje van Apeldoorn (1808-1865)
• Lambert van Apeldoorn (1813-1883) and Maasina Boeve (1809-1892)
• Evert Jan van Apeldoorn (1815-1883) and Geertje Boeve (1815-1877)

3rd cousins:

• Gerhardus van Apeldoorn (1813-1887) and Willempje van Apeldoorn (1808-1865)
• Lambert van Apeldoorn (1813-1883) and Maasina Boeve (1809-1892)
• Evert Jan van Apeldoorn (1815-1883) and Geertje Boeve (1815-1877)
• Adrianus van Apeldoorn (1845-1934) and Hendrika Willemina van Apeldoorn (1849-1910)

3rd cousins, once removed:

• Adrianus van Apeldoorn (1845-1934), Hendrika Willemina van Apeldoorn (1849-1910)

This research was assisted greatly by the existence of a number of on-line genealogies for the van Apeldoorn family. However, it is my policy to verify all the facts by downloading and checking the relevant civil and church records. Listed at the top of this chart, most on-line genealogies consider Joanna van Marle as a sibling of Berent van Marle. If this were true, there would be even more cases of cousins marrying. However, this fact cannot be easily verified since there's no baptism record for Joanna in the Heerde church book.

This diversion into the van Apeldoorn family was quite the adventure. I think I now need to take a short break from genealogy to catch my breath.

Hans