TerMaat Family Portrait Early 1900s

Here is a family portrait of the TerMaat family, taken around 1908-9. I hope I have these correct (left to right): Lizzie, Chris, Henry (my grandfather), Papa John Henry, Mary, Anna, Mama Hattie, George, and Jennie. Click to enlarge.

Four Generations

I scanned this photo to share with Dad as he remembers it fondly. The young man is his Uncle Chris (Christian), his son John on his lap, with his grandfather, Jan Hendrik on the right and great grandfather, Christiaan on the left.

We couldn't quite replicate the four generations in the photo below (unless you count T Rex) but its a nice photo of TerMaat men and its interesting how Dad now looks like his great grandfather.

Four Seasons

These are all mystery photos. Presumably they feature Dutch immigrants, perhaps some of them are TerMaat-Dykstra cousins and the locations are either in Central Wisconsin or they were mailed to relatives there by friends and family elsewhere.

The fade-to-white of this photograph probably makes it seem even chillier!

Spring is for baseball. I like their "uniforms."

Barefeet and wildflowers says summer to me.

Harvest time. Remember you can click on the pictures to see an enlarged version.

Dykstra Children

Here are the little Dykstras, Winnie, Ralph, Bertha and John probably around 1905-6.

Back to the Old Country

I understand that Great Grandpa Dykstra (far right) went back to the Netherlands once and I assume this photo was taken shipboard.

Immigration Day

My great grandparents Kornelis Jan and Grietje Dijkstra.

These photos were taken in Gronigen, perhaps for their passports? They departed for New York on April 1, 1899 from Rotterdam and arrived on April 19. Maybe the ship looked like this. And check out these photos of life on board ship.

Grandma Grietje was not just looking after 4 year old Betje and 2 year old Jan but was pregnant with Ralph, born that August. I think about Joan and Pete herding three little ones on a plane to Florida. Imagine a two week boat trip followed by a train trip to Chicago!

The Farm

I've been familiar with this photo of great uncle Ralph Dykstra with Grandma and Grandpa TerMaat on the farm in central Wisconsin for a long time, in fact a copy is sitting on a bookshelf in my living room, but I noticed that the photo below contains the same three tiny figures... with cows and horses! (If you squint, you'll notice the horses are visible in the far left background of the first picture as well). I'm going to assume that these photos were taken prior to 1916, else they would have included little Hattie. Remember you can click on the photo to see a larger version.

And here is Grandpa TerMaat with the two horses. I find myself wondering what their names were...

Hattie and Kitten

I spent a good deal of my time back east scanning old family photos which will appear here in due time. This picture of Hattie with kitten is my favorite so far. Hattie was born in 1916, so that gives you some idea of the age of the photo. Most of the photos in the family collection of this vintage are either formal studio portraits or families posed in front of their new barns and such (we'll get to those later), so these are really the first candids, the first photos taken by a family member or friend experimenting with a new toy and not by a professional. Judging by the format (and rate of deterioration) the murky photo of Grandma and Grandpa TerMaat was taken at the same time. Very Walker Evans, no?

This little exercise in photographic excavation is reminding me of a novel I read recently (twice, in fact), W.G. Sebald's Austerlitz. The book concerns a man trying to unearth the fragments of an identity lost when he became a part of the Kindertransport, often using fuzzy images which are reproduced in the book. Not a book for everyone (Sebald's one of those European writers who disdains paragraphs), but for you more literary types, I recommend it.

Dykstra Uncles

Brothers John and Ralph Dykstra who married sisters Anna and Nellie Holstein in 1918.

Movie Recommendation

Yesterday I went to see the movie Sweet Land about immigrants in Minnesota in 1920. For those who enjoy family/Midwest history, who like a nice gentle love story...with political overtones, I highly recommend it! More info at the Sweet Land - Official Movie Website (for those of you at work, the trailer starts playing automatically).

George Ter Maat and Gertrude Loomans, married 1924 --(my great uncle)