On January 8, 2012, I received this beautiful photo of a truck full of peat from Jane Cathy Snip (*19-10-1973) living in Canada. I was unaware of who the people in this photo were, but after some effort, I discovered that it must be Popke, the eldest son of Klaas Snip and Janke van der Velde. So, this Popke turns out to have not only been a skipper but also, together with his son/sons, had a transport company. They also transported peat by road. According to the inscription on the truck, the location of their establishment was: Stadskanaal. Presumably, this Popke is on the right in the photo and his son Frebus is on the left.
Background Information
Klaas Snip (* 07-11-1848 in Tolbert), the father of the aforementioned Popke, comes from a family of 5 children. Klaas has 3 brothers and 1 sister. Their parents were Jan Snip and Janke Klazens Westerhof. An earlier born first son, also named Klaas, dies at a very young age.
All sons were laborers by profession, just like father Jan. Sons Jannes and Siete continue to live in Tolbert and the surrounding area for the rest of their lives, but Klaas, also initially a laborer, seeks adventure a number of years after his marriage in 1878 to Janke van der Velde in Leek, and leaves Tolbert.
On December 4, 1880, Klaas rents a covered, stationary “roefschuit” (a type of Dutch barge) named “Jonge Geertje,” weighing 17 tons, from Andries Lykeles Hoekstra, a shipbuilder in Harkema Opeinde. And so, Klaas becomes an inland skipper.
The family has 8 sons, one of whom died at a very young age. The rest, except for Jannes who died in 1917 from the Spanish Flu and who only worked as a skipper’s mate, pursued the profession of (inland) skipper. Their base was in East Groningen, and they ended up in places like Hoogezand and Stadskanaal.
The children of Klaas and Janke are:
| Popke | * 25-12-1878 in Tolbert |
| IJpe | * 24-05-1880 in Tolbert |
| Jan | * 22-08-1882 in Tolbert + 10-03-1884 in Leeuwarden |
| Jan | * 07-03-1885 in Leeuwarden |
| Jannes | * 19-12-1887 in Martenshoek (Hoogezand) |
| Siete | * 03-04-1890 in Hoogkerk |
| Klaas | * 18-12-1895 in Hoogezand |
| Taeke | * 27-05-1896 in Sappemeer |
In the year 1892, things were not going well for Klaas and his family. His ship was leaking, there was no income, and he also had a debt of 120 guilders.
Thanks to the above-mentioned articles in the “Nieuwsblad van het Noorden,” it seems that a new start can be made. Apparently, he can buy a ship because in 1933, after his passing, his ship, the “Goede Verwachting” (Good Expectations) is sold. All the children, including the oldest son Popke, go on to work in inland shipping, often as skippers, with varying degrees of success.
Text by Andries de Leeuw and Paul Snip.
