On July 19, 1883, Grietje Snip is born as the first child of Willemke Wiegers Snip. At that time, Willemke is unmarried and lives as a housekeeper with Jan Sybes Siebenga and his wife Pieterke de Kleine in Sebaldeburen. The father of Grietje is unknown. Could it perhaps be Jan, the employer of Willemke? Willemke, as an unmarried housekeeper with the Siebenga family, has 3 more children after Grietje (Hendrikje (+1887), Hendrikje, and Wieger), and no more children are born during the marriage between Jan and Pieterke. Does Jan ignore Pieterke? But then, shortly after Pieterke suddenly has another child on April 1, 1890 (a child recognized by Jan!), they divorce. This daughter is given the names Iemkje Elizabeth, names that strangely do not appear in either Jan or Pieterke’s family. According to stories within the Siebenga family, this daughter is said to be a child of a certain Jan Lameris (both first names do occur in his family).
After the divorce, Jan marries Willemke, but in this marriage, Willemke’s children are not acknowledged by Jan and thus remain Snip. Could this possibly be part of an agreement with Pieterke, or is he not the father after all? Together, Jan and Willemke have 5 more children: Auke, Houktje, Ide (died 1907), Wiebe, and Johannes, all carrying the surname Siebenga.
In 1909, Grietje, Hendrikje, and Wieger decide on their own, as they are then of legal age, to officially adopt their stepfather’s surname. This is allowed by royal decree in August 1909. Thus, Grietje Snip becomes Grietje Siebenga. Shortly thereafter, the entire family emigrates to the USA. Grietje’s sister Hendrikje, meanwhile, has married (January 29, 1910) Gaele Couperus. They depart earlier and arrive at Ellis Island on February 17, 1910; Jan and Willemke, along with the other children, arrive on March 15, 1910 (Rijndam).
The Siebenga family moved to live in Riley, Illinois. According to the US census of April 25, 1910, Grietje is 24 years old and she is already being called Grace. On January 28, 1911, a Grietje Siebenga from Morego, Illinois, marries William Weidenaar from Belgrade, Montana. Grietje is listed as 25 years old on the marriage license, and William is 24.
According to the birth records, Grietje (Grace) should actually be 28 years old. Are both the age from the census and the marriage certificate written incorrectly, or is there more to it? Is this really the correct Grietje Siebenga? It seems to me that it is, since Morengo is close to Riley, and it’s possible that the slightly older Grietje intentionally gave a younger age, as she was indeed much older than William.
How did William and Grietje (Grace) meet then? According to the US census, William was still living in Gallatin, Montana, on April 2, 1910. Did he travel, did they meet somewhere along the way in this relatively short time, and did they fall in love? We will probably never know.
After their marriage, William and Grace (Siebenga) Weidenaar lived in Montana, where William was from. Their children (born in Montana) seem to be named after family members: Minnie (born November 1912, named after Grietje’s mother Willemke/Wilhelmina), Bertha (born October 1912, named after William’s mother), John (born November 1913, named after William’s father), Hattie (born February 1915, named after Grietje’s sister Hindrikje), and Lucy (born March 1917, named after one of William’s sisters). It’s still unclear who Lena Helmina (born May 1918) is named after. According to Minnesota’s death certificate, Lena was born in 1917, but this seems incorrect, especially since William’s Draft Registration Card (June 25, 1917) lists only 5 children.
In Minnie’s obituary, it is mentioned that the family moved to Parkersburg, Iowa when she was 6 years old. Anna (born December 1919) is also born here. Grietje’s mother Willemke and stepfather Jan also live in this state in 1920, and her sister Hindrikje gets married on June 3, 1920, in Parkersburg, Iowa, to Jan Kuperus. It seems that Grietje and William wanted to live closer to Grietje’s family, so they might have easily attended Hindrikje’s wedding. Son Elkie (born December 1921) is also born in Iowa (Jefferson).
In 1922, Grietje’s mother Willemke passes away. After this (in 1923, Minnie is then 12), the family moves to Minnesota. Their daughter Grace is born here (in Steele, Oct 1923), and also daughter Jennie Joann (in Milica, Feb 1926). Hindrikje had already moved with her family to Minnesota (Mille Lacs). Also, (step)father Jan Siebenga also lives in Mille Lacs, until he passes away in 1933.
On Feb 8, 1957, William, who was living in Princeton at the time, has a car accident on Highway 169 near Milo (Mille Lacs), close to the residence (Pease) of Hindrikje, and he loses his life in this accident.
A little over a year later, on June 30, 1958, Grietje (Grace) dies in the Princeton Community Hospital. According to the “Certificate of Death,” Grietje’s mother’s surname is not known to the family. However, her correct date of birth is stated (July 19, 1883, making her 4 years older than William), as well as her country of birth, Holland (thus the Netherlands).
For me, it is now completely clear: Grace Weidenaar is indeed Grietje Snip, and her mother was Willemke Wiegers (Wilhelmina) Snip.
Paul Snip 14-02-2017
