Find My Dead

Genealogy of Sharon & Scotty

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

The Jan Burggraaf Family – Just the Facts!

Jan Burggraaf was born 9 May 1858 in Pella, Marion County, Iowa, and was the youngest son of Willem Burggraaf and Seigje Stek.1 He used the Americanized version of his first name and the alternate spelling of Burgraff later in life. Everyone is listed on the family tree with the original spellings given to him by his parents. All of John’s children used the Burgraff spelling by the time of their deaths.

His federal census records were fairly easy to locate and they show a clear migratory path from Iowa, to Minnesota, to Washington, but the family also resided for a short time in South Dakota. In addition, the federal and state census records combine to name all 15 of his children.

I’m going to deal with John first with a couple of family group sheets and then with a timeline based on records. The family group sheets can be accessed by clicking on the highlighted name of the wife below. Sources for individuals will be handled in separate posts.

Jan (John) Burggraaf (1858 Iowa – 1921Washington),
married his second cousin Elizabeth (Lizzie) Burgraff 11 Dec 1879 Marion Co., Iowa,2
Elizabeth Burggraaf (11 Sep 1860 Iowa – 5 Dec 1892 Iowa).

Children of John and Elizabeth:
Pieter Burggraaf (1880 Iowa – 1956 Washington),
William Burggraaf (1883 Iowa – 1940 Minnesota),
Albert Burggraaf (1885 Iowa – c.1892 Iowa),
Arrie Burggraaf (1886 Iowa – 1893 South Dakota),
Sadie Burggraaf (1887 Iowa – 1899 Minnesota),

Married his housekeeper Maria (Mary) Kortlever 12 Aug 1893 Lyon Co., Iowa,3
Maria (Mary) Kortlever (1874 Netherlands – 1926 Washington)

Children of John and Mary:
Maaike (Maggie) Burgraff (1892 Iowa – 1967 Washington),
Elizabeth Burgraff (1895 Minnesota – 1976 Washington),
John Burgraff Jr. (1896 Minnesota – 1983 Michigan),
Janry (Jane/Jennie) Burgraff (1899 Minnesota – 1969 Canada),
Hugo Burgraff (1901 Minnesota – 1969 Washington),
Albert Burgraff (1902 Minnesota – 1995 Washington),
Arie (Ike) Burgraff (1908 Washington – 1939 Oregon),
Bastjaan (Bert) (1909 Washington – 1938 Washington),
Marion Burgraff (1910 Washington – 2007 Washington),
Sadie C. Burgraff (1912 Washington – 2010 Washington).

I will place the full timeline with sources in the next post.


1. Whatcom County, Washington, death certificate no. 85 (14 May 1921), John Burgraff; Washington State Vital Records, Olympia, Washington.
2. Iowa, Marion County Clerk of the District Court, marriage certificate (short form), Marriage No. 160 (11 Dec 1879), John Burgraff-Elizabeth Burgraff.
3. Iowa District Court, Clerk’s Certificate as to Marriage Record, Rock Rapids (12 Aug 1893), John Burgraff-Mary Kortlever; Lyon County District Court, Rock Rapids, Lyon, Iowa.

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

Arie Isaac (Ike) Burgraff – Just the Facts

Ike 1927

One of the first things I did when I started this line was order the death certificate for Ike.1 It provided the documentation I needed for his familial ties, but it also led to some questions. More on that later.

I did the standard tracing of him through his 1910, 1920, and 1930 census records.2,3,4 I also located him on the Oregon Death Index. 5

He was born 22 October 1908 to Jan (John) Burggraaf and Maria (Mary) Kortlever in Lynden, Whatcom County Washington. Ancestry has the Washington Births, 1907-1919,6 database available and this provides more documentation of his actual birth date and his mother’s name of Maria Kortlever.

Ike married Dorothy Josephine Johnson on 3 August 1927 in Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington.7 Her mother, Lucy Jane Wilson Johnson was one of the witnesses.

He was buried in Monumenta Cemetery in Lynden, Whatcom County, Washington, where he shares a tombstone with his brother Bert.

Having the facts is always nice, but it isn’t the only thing this is about. Getting to know something about an ancestor makes all of this more meaningful. Collecting information is helpful, but hearing family stories and myths makes that ancestor come alive. While I have begun writing the family story, it is much too large to share in this forum. This forum will have parts of the story and things that lead me in certain directions for research. It will also detail portions of the search to find the story. The next couple of posts will provide the facts for Ike’s parents and grandparents. Families are often so intertwined that to understand the story, you have to know who the family is. It’s that old adage “You need a scorecard to keep the players straight.”

1. Oregon State Health Division Center for Health Statistics, death certificate #340 (28 Apr 1939), Arie Burgraff; Oregon State Health Division, Portland, Oregon.
2. 1910 U.S. census, Whatcom County, Washington, population schedule, Lynden, enumeration district (ED) 351, p. 9A, dwelling 181, family 181, Arie Burgraff; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Jun 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1674.
3. 1920 U.S. census, Whatcom, Washington, population schedule, Lynden, enumeration district (ED) 258, sheet 341, p. 21A, dwelling 28, family 28, Arie Burgraff; digital images, Ancestry (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 22 Jun 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 1944.
4. 1930 U.S. census, Jackson County, Oregon, population schedule, Jacksonville, enumeration district (ED) 31, sheet 4A, p. 7, dwelling 89, family 91, Arie Burgraff; digital images, Ancestry (www. Ancestry.com : accessed 1 Jul 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T626, roll 1944.
5. State of Oregon, “Oregon Death Index, 1903-1998,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 Jul 2009), Arie Burgraff, Certificate 340; Oregon Death Index, 1903-98.
6. Washington State Department of Health, “Washington Births, 1907-1919,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 Jan 2010), Burgraff, 22 Oct 1908.
7. Whatcom County, Washington, Marriage Licenses, 3 Aug 1927, Arie Burgraff-Dorothy Johnson, 1927; Whatcom County Marriage Records, Bellingham.

Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel

The Burgraff/Kortlever/Stek/Bel Page

The first page is up. The pedigree chart reflects where I am as of today in my research. What it does not show is all the work within the individual families and that will be coming in future posts. I’ll try to let everyone know where I’m at and what I have. Feel free to contact me and ask questions either through the contact me or by clicking on contacts below. As I add information the pedigree chart will be updated.