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Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

The Children of Willem & Sygje

This is what little I know about the four older children of Willem Burggraaf and Sygje Stek. Youngest son Jan will be addressed in his own series of posts.

Jantje Burggraaf is the oldest daughter of Willem and Sygje and was named for Willem’s mother Jantje Van Stenis. Jantje was born 17 July 1850 in Pella, and Christened in the First Reformed Church 26 March 1859.1 She married Jan Van Ginkel (Dec 1846-15 Feb 1920) on 5 April 1872 in Marion County, Iowa.2 Jantje and Jan had six children:
William Van Ginkel,
Heintje Van Ginkel m. Henry Elings,
Aaltje Van Ginkel m. Fred Orville DeFord,
Albert Van Ginkel,
Dirk Van Ginkel,
Sygje Van Ginkel m. John Revisor Cross Jr.

Based on the 1900 census3 on which Jan lists himself as a widower, Jantje died between 4 January 1891 and 1896. The 4 January date is based on the baptism record of daughter Sygje.4 If she was not alive at the baptism it would have been noted at that time. I believe that she was probably deceased prior to 1896 because I have not found her on the 1895 Iowa State Census, but the rest of Van Ginkel family is in Mahaska County on that census.5 I have found no death or cemetery record for Jantje.

Albert Burggraaf was the oldest son of Willem and Sygje and was named for Sygje’s father Albert Stek. Albert was born 8 August 1853 in Pella, and baptized 26 March 1859.6 Albert married Gertie De Penning on 3 August 1871 in Marion County7 and they had 11 children:
Nellie Burggraaf m. Everett Plate,
Sallie Burggraaf m. Gerrit Plate,
Leonard Burggraaf,
Minnie Burggraaf m. Cary Edward Smith
Katie Burggraaf m. James R. Kisor
William Burggraaf m. Cora Addie Smith
Jennie Burggraaf m. John Elmer McMahan
John Burggraaf m. Anna M. Jones
Walter A. Burggraaf m. Leola Patton
Martha A. Burggraaf
Andrew Lewis Burggraaf m. Elsie Collins

Albert died 14 May 1928 in Mahaska County and is buried in Union Mills Cemetery.

Goverdina Burggraaf was born 27 March 1855 in Pella and baptized 26 March 1859 in the First Reformed Church of Pella8. I don’t know who Goverdina was named for – if anyone. It was a popular name at this time and usually becomes Diana/Dina/Deena on census records. Deena married Dries (Charles) Van Hulzen (possibly Van Houlzen) (5 Dec 1841-26 Jul 1905) on 15 January 1872.9 After this date the only documentation I have found is the 1880 census10 where they are next to Willem and Sygje. Deena and Dries had eight known children:
Charles,
Jane m. Johannes Hosting,
Jacobus m. Neeltjen Jacobs Klein,
Willemine (Minnie) m. John Van de Kamp,
Hendrika,
Wiiliam m. Nellie Groenenboom,
Margaret m. William Rozenberg,
John F.

According to Sygje’s 1900 census records Goverdina is deceased prior to 1900.

Annetje Burggraaf was born 19 April 1857 in Pella and like her older siblings was baptized 26 March 1859.11 Anna married her cousin Arie Burggraaf on 4 October 1886 in Sioux County -this date is from an unsourced family group sheet. Anna appears on the available census records through 1930 and Sygje was staying with Anna when she passed away. Anna and Arie had three children:
Peter Burggraaf
Sadie Burggraaf m. Hans Kiel,
Jennie Burggraaf m. Alfred P. Beckman

She and her husband Arie died in Sioux County, Iowa.


1, First Reformed Church (Pella, Iowa, USA), “Communicants and Baptisms 1857-1975,” Baptism Jantje Burggraaf 26 Mar 1859; FHL microfilm 0,985,401
2. “Iowa Marriages, 1851-1900,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 Jan 2010), Jantje Burggraaf to Jan Van Ginkel, 5 Apr 1872.
3. 1900 U.S. census, Polk, Iowa population schedule, Des Moines, enumeration district (ED) 94, p. 8B, dwelling 161, family 164, J. J. VanGinkel, age 54; digital images, Ancestry (htp://www.ancestry.com: accessed 11 Jul 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 454
4. First Reformed Church (Pella, Iowa, USA), “Communicants and Baptisms 1857-1975,” Baptism Sygje Burggraaf 4Jan 1891; FHL microfilm 0,985,401.
5. State Historical Society of Iowa, “Iowa State Census, 1895,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 Feb 2010), John Vanginkle.
6. First Reformed Church (Pella, Iowa, USA), “Communicants and Baptisms 1857-1975,” Baptism Albert Burggraaf 26 Mar 1859; FHL microfilm 0,985,401.
7. “Iowa Marriages, 1851-1900,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 Feb 2010), Albert Burggraaf to Gertie De Penning, 3 Aug 1871.
8. First Reformed Church (Pella, Iowa, USA), “Communicants and Baptisms 1857-1975,” Baptism Goverdina Burggraaf 26 Mar 1859; FHL microfilm 0,985,401.
9. “Iowa Marriages, 1851-1900,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 Feb 2010), Goverdina Burggraaf to Dries Van Hulzen, 15 Jan 1872.
10. 1880 U.S. census, Marion County, Iowa population schedule, Lake Prairie Twp., enumeration district (ED) 120, p. 524, dwelling 72, family 72, Deena Van Houlzen; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 17 Feb 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 354.
11. First Reformed Church (Pella, Iowa, USA), “Communicants and Baptisms 1857-1975,” Baptism Annetye Burggraaf; FHL microfilm 0,985,401.

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel, General Genealogical Posts

Dutch Naming System

It is important to understand the Dutch naming system since it frequently provides clues about other generations. The Dutch followed a basic pattern of naming their children for relatives. Generally it went in this order:

First son – maternal grandfather
Second son – paternal grandfather
First daughter – paternal grandmother
Second daughter – maternal grandmother
Note – if one of the grandparents is deceased then that name is often used first.

The next children are usually named for brothers and sisters of the parents. There is not a specific order that I have seen.

Not every family followed this practice! It is not unusual to find siblings that take different naming paths with one brother following the tradition, and one brother not. The naming pattern simply becomes another tool for you to use in researching.

Recycling names is the hardest thing to get a grip on. When a child died then the next child of that gender would often receive that name – especially if it was the name of the grandparent. When researching on Genlias I once ran into a family that had five children named Jan, four that died in infancy and one that reached maturity. Also a little unusual to us is the naming of a child from a second marriage for a deceased first spouse.

Female names are frequently the same as male names with only the suffix difference of ina, the, pje, je, or simply an “a.” The male Cornelis becomes the female Cornelia or Neeltje, Hendrik becomes Hendrika or Hendrikje, Jan become Jantje.

When you begin your research, you may need to do additional research to find the other versions of your ancestor’s name. Sygje Stek is listed on her tombstone as Sallie. Sygje is how it appears on her birth registration signed by her father, but I have seen it spelled in several different ways both in Dutch and in English.

Dutch to English

Easy to see:
Jan = John, Pieter = Peter, Matthijs/Thijs = Matthew, Dirk = Richard,
Hendrik = Henry, Maartje/Marie/Rie = Mary, Sienje = Cynthia.

Some are not so easy to see:
Teunis = Anthony, Tryjntje = Katherine/Katie, Sygje = Sadie/Sallie,
Klaas = Nicholas.

There are a lot of sites available online if you are interested in finding out more about Dutch naming practices or a particular name.

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

The Stek Family

Before I move on I want to talk a little about Sygje and her family. I found it fascinating that this tiny little woman would come to America all by herself. I spoke to a woman who specializes in Dutch history and research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City about Sygje. She told me that Dutch women were notoriously independent, and in fact, many of the Puritans that had fled England found these women to be too independent. While they shared a religion they certainly did not share the same cultural norms. Dutch women experienced a large amount of freedom and equality in their history and the English were not interested in having their women influenced by this. The English moved on to America with the Great Migration in the 17th and 18th century.

Sygje was born on 7 March 1820 and I have attached a copy of her birth registration. She is the oldest child of Aalbert Stek (abt 1793 – 26 December 1829) and Anneke (Anna) Van Blokland (abt 1783 – 13 December 1842) and was quickly joined by brother’s Ruth, Jan, Kornelis, and Pieter, and then sisters Kornelia and Aafje.

After Aalbert’s death in 1829,1 Anna married Teunis Sprong. Sygje would have been 11 at the time of their 5 March 1831 marriage.2 Her mother Anna died in 1841,3 and I can theorize that she may have taken care of her younger siblings until they were old enough to care for themselves or married. Sygje left with the first wave of immigrants in 1847 at the age of 27. Did she leave because she had no future at home after her siblings grew up? Had she already met Willem Burgraff who came from Schoonrewoerd, a village only a few miles from her home? Whatever the reasons, I believe that Sygje made the trip alone. I find no evidence of a close relation with her even though I have looked for aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins; but I find no relationships that I can pin down.

Sygje’s younger brother Jan Stek apparently makes the trip in 1870.4 He appears in several documents that discuss the later group of immigrants to Pella. Based on records from the Netherlands, it appears the Jan returned to his home country prior to 1880.

I have not yet been able to determine all of the siblings of Sygje’s parents. As Genlias loads older records I hope to someday be able to determine all of the family members and cousins to see if any of them immigrated.


1. Genlias database, Genlias (http://www.genlias.nl/en: accessed 9 Jul 2009), Aalbert Stek, death 26 Dec 1829, age 36, parents Jan Stek and Sijke Romijn; Civil Register – Nationaal Archief (Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland).
2. Genlias database, Genlias (http://www.genlias.nl/en: accessed 9 Jul 2009), Marriage – Anna van Blokland and Teunis Sprong 5 Mar 1831; Civil Register – Nationaal Archief (Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland).
3. Genlias database, Genlias (http://www.genlias.nl/en: accessed 10 Feb 1842), Death, Anneke van Blokland, 27 Dec 1841, Kedichem; Genlias database, Genlias (http://www.genlias.nl/en: accessed 9 Jul 2009), Marriage – Anna van Blokland and Teunis Sprong 5 Mar 1831; Civil Register – Nationaal Archief (Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland).
4. Gale Research, “Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s,” database, Ancestry (http:www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Feb 2010), Jan Stek, 1870, Pella Iowa.