Brolsma Newsletter

no. 2, March 1998

April 1997 the first Brolsma Newletter was published. The intention was to report new Information, facts and figures as a supplement to the book "Brolsma 1620-1997".

The book was issued a few months before in 1996. The present Newletter again will bring you news that was not published before in the book.

To facilitate the communication between the Brolsmas, a list of e-mail adresses is included in Newsletter 2. Additions to the list are welcome!

Let me start with some good news: my daughter Karlien finished her studies and got a degree in regional geography on October 17, 1997. Her report describes "The port of Genoa in the wind of change". Karlien speaks fluently Italian. She spend half a year at the University of Genoa in Italy to do her research and write the report. Now she works with P&O Nedlloyd.

Another graduate is Arjen, the youngest son of Albert (# 187 in the book). He attended courses to become a teacher in art and spatial design at the Arts School in Arnhem. Shortly after that, on the 8th of July 1997 to be exact, Arjen married Karina Trude Appelo. The couple lives in Arnhem now.

More good news: there will be a biography concerning the writer Reinder Brolsma. Doeke Sijens, head of the Central Library in Groningen, will be the biographer. He spoke already to several relatives and will welcome any additional information on Reinder. In case you know anything, his adress is: Fongersplaats 166, 9725 LK Groningen, The Netherlands.

Broedertrouw

Doeke Sijens sent me a copy of a Dutch publication called "The movement of Broedertrouw in Het Bildt (1889-1892)". The name Broedertrouw could be translated as "brotherly faith". It gives some interesting and new facts about the emigration of Jacob (42) and Hessel Brolsma (43).

I mentioned in the introduction of chapter 8 of the book a unsuccesful strike of farm hands in 1890. The early socialist movement Broedertrouw organised the strike. One of the meeting points of Broedertrouw was the barber shop of Jacob at the Oude Bildtdijk. For that reason, the farmers did no longer want to visit the barber shop annex bar after the strike. They were the most well to do part of his clients!

Hessel, at that point of time a job-less teacher, had to appear in court at the end of 1890. He was accused of having threatened a strike-breaker. In fact it was his brother Jacob, who commited this "crime". Nevertheless Hessel was sentenced to three weeks in prison. Thanks to the fiery pleas of the socialist leader and later member of parliament Pieter Jelles Troelstra, the sentence was changed into eight days in prison. Troelstra mentioned the riots in Het Bildt and his involvement in several court cases in his memories, but he did not mention the name of Hessel Brolsma in particular.

Not surprisingly Hessel emigrated the next year to the United States. In view of his sentence, he had no chance to become teacher any more. He settled in Sherburn, Minnesota. Page 64 of the book shows a picture made in 1910, shortly before the departure of Jacob and Hessel to the U.S. The date may be correct, but it was not Jacob Sr. (42) who was to emigrate. It was his 19 year old son Jacob Jr. (67), who made the crossing in 1911 together with of his uncle and sponsor Hessel. Jacob Sr. would follow them in 1916 accompanied by his wife and daughters. Hessel had no children, but many descendants of Jacob Sr. still live in Sherburn.

New family name

In 1894 Antje, the sister of Jacob Sr. and Hessel, also moved to the United States. There she married Gauke Kooistra, born September 15, 1863, who had left St. Jacobiparochie two years before.

Obviously the name Gauke Kooistra could not be pronounced is the U.S. The Kooistra-family therefore adopted the familyname Colby, Gauke became Henry and Antje Anna. The couple eventually had four children by the names of Will, Mary, Grace and Gertrude. Anna probably died young.

Speed-skating

As far as I know, there was never a Brolsma who completed the famous 200 km Eleven Cities Skating Tour in Friesland. The best speed-skaters are probably Bart and Meggy, both children of Pieter and April (155). Last season Meggy obtained the trainers license A of the Royal Netherlands Speed Skating Union. Now she trains on the ice-rink of her home-town Haarlem.

Lost and found

In the previous Newletter, I reported some "lost" Brolsmas. One of them was Abraham, born December 15, 1865 and son of Klaas Gerrits Brolsma (27). The census of 1900 and 1920 show that Abraham and his wife Jennie, born October 1863, and daughter Nellie, born April 20, 1898, lived in Paterson. Paterson is in the Passaic County in the state of New Jersey, about 20 miles north of New York. Nellie died 1965 in New Jersey. Probably she was not married and had no children. It is often difficult to obtain data from the United States. Most states keep their registers closed for 50 years.

E-mail

The possibilities of electronic mail, e-mail in short, are almost unlimited. It enables you to visit your relatives at the other side of the ocean in a quick and cheap way!

If you'd like to make your e-mail address known so that others may contact you, see the contact information page.

For sale

The book "Brolsma 1620-1996" is still for sale. The best way is to send a $ 55,- money order for book and postage to: J.U. Brolsma, Roodenburgerstraat 58, 2313 HL The Netherlands. The book will be sent by sea mail. It will take about 6 weeks to reach you.

Jolke Brolsma