On the 5th of May 1747, Jan Wobbes, son of Wobbe Popkes and Aaltje Cornelis, was baptized in Midwolde.
Up until then, there was hardly any trace of his parents in the Groningen Archives, and the same was true for Jan, until at some point his baptismal date was found in the baptismal register of the municipality of Leek and Midwolde.
Further information about Jan was not found, until after much searching and piecing together, a marriage was found in Niekerk for a Jan Wobbes from Leek. Please note, he was born in Midwolde, which belongs to the municipality of Leek. Jan married on the 12th of May 1776 to a Geeske Jacobs from Pieterburen.
Geeske was baptized on the 7th of November 1751 in Pieterburen and was the daughter of Jacob Hindricks and Hiltje Lamberts, also found as Hiltje Alberts. The latter is likely correct based on further name references.
From the marriage of Jan and Geeske, a total of 8 children were born, most of them in Niekerk, but also in Zuidhorn:
Children:
Wobbe * 1776
Jacob * 1778
Hiltje * 1781
Albert * 1783
Jacob * 1785
Albert * 1787
Jacob * 1792
Egbert * 1797
Considering the ages of Jan and Geeske, this could indeed be our Jan, but direct evidence to that effect has not been found. However, then the death of Jan Wobbes was discovered. His date of death is 10th of January 1811 in DOEZUM!!
In the death certificate it is written that Jan passed away in very impoverished circumstances as a “Diaconie Person.” This means that Jan, through no fault of his own, could no longer support his family. He was likely already seriously ill. He leaves behind a wife and 5 children, “poor and needy.” We can never be certain, but it certainly seems likely to be true. Shortly after Jan’s death, the family had to choose a surname, and it must have been Geeske, Jan’s wife, who chose the name SMITTER. This was probably derived from her husband’s profession, namely Blacksmith.
This last part was a guess by Paul Snip, and I believe he is correct. The name Smitter in the province of Groningen must be one family, as evidenced by the places of birth, marriage, and death, all in and around Niekerk, where everything began for the family. Geeske passed away on 16-04-1823 in Oldekerk as Geeske Smitter.
Wobbe Jans, Albert Jans, and Egbert Jans were further bearers of this family name. As far as is known, this Smitter family in the Netherlands has died out. The descendants of Egbert Jans Smitter still continue to live in the USA.
By Andries de Leeuw and Paul Snip.
