Dear James, I enjoy the wonderful pictures on your blog. To introduce myself, I am Tal van Dijk. My late maternal grandmother's surname by birth was Schaap. Full name: Mart Schaap. I know that we - you and I - are related. Our common ancestors are Cornelis Jansz Schaap and his wife Maamke Ages Boot. They lived on the Dutch island of Terschelling. That's the island of my mother's roots and also yours. But obviously you already know all of this of course. Anyway, it would be wonderful to be in touch. I keep following your blog. It's wonderful. Makes me want to visit the USA again to see your part of the country.
Tal, Thanks so much for contacting me. I met your mother once, I believe, when we were in Holland. Someone in our family told me about a woman in Harlingen who was our only Dutch relative (my paternal grandparents left the Netherlands in 1868). I looked her up in the "senior housing" I knew she was in and found her, knocked on her door. When she came to the door, I tried to fake knowing Dutch to tell her who I was. She turned around, went back into her apartment and grabbed I book I wrote off her shelf, came back to the door, pointed at it to tell me she knew who I was. Terrific memory! I've been to Holland three times, Terschelling twice. So glad you have taken the time to write!!!
Wonderful to read your reply! I am sure though that you are mistaken about the woman in the senior housing. But it's a common mistake. The name Mart or Martje Schaap pops up quite a lot in our family tree. The Martje Schaap that you refer to, is Mart Keilman-Schaap. She passed away in 1994. She was a cousin of my grandmother, Mart Groendijk-Schaap. I recall visiting Mart in Harlingen in the senior housing several times with my mother. I also remember a dinner in a Harlingen restaurant in honor of Mart's 80th birthday, with a lot of members of the Schaap family who I met there that evening for the first time.
It's great to hear from you! Maybe it's better to keep in touch through another channel, instead of commenting here on your post. My email is talvandijk@gmail.com .
3 comments:
Dear James, I enjoy the wonderful pictures on your blog. To introduce myself, I am Tal van Dijk. My late maternal grandmother's surname by birth was Schaap. Full name: Mart Schaap. I know that we - you and I - are related. Our common ancestors are Cornelis Jansz Schaap and his wife Maamke Ages Boot. They lived on the Dutch island of Terschelling. That's the island of my mother's roots and also yours. But obviously you already know all of this of course. Anyway, it would be wonderful to be in touch. I keep following your blog. It's wonderful. Makes me want to visit the USA again to see your part of the country.
Tal, Thanks so much for contacting me. I met your mother once, I believe, when we were in Holland. Someone in our family told me about a woman in Harlingen who was our only Dutch relative (my paternal grandparents left the Netherlands in 1868). I looked her up in the "senior housing" I knew she was in and found her, knocked on her door. When she came to the door, I tried to fake knowing Dutch to tell her who I was. She turned around, went back into her apartment and grabbed I book I wrote off her shelf, came back to the door, pointed at it to tell me she knew who I was. Terrific memory! I've been to Holland three times, Terschelling twice. So glad you have taken the time to write!!!
Wonderful to read your reply! I am sure though that you are mistaken about the woman in the senior housing. But it's a common mistake. The name Mart or Martje Schaap pops up quite a lot in our family tree. The Martje Schaap that you refer to, is Mart Keilman-Schaap. She passed away in 1994. She was a cousin of my grandmother, Mart Groendijk-Schaap. I recall visiting Mart in Harlingen in the senior housing several times with my mother. I also remember a dinner in a Harlingen restaurant in honor of Mart's 80th birthday, with a lot of members of the Schaap family who I met there that evening for the first time.
It's great to hear from you! Maybe it's better to keep in touch through another channel, instead of commenting here on your post. My email is talvandijk@gmail.com .
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