|
Hello,
My name is Heidi Timmerman. I married into the Timmerman clan that emigrated from Horn, Limburg Province, NL. I have traced 10 generations of Timmermans going back to Jacques Timmerman from Limburg province in the Netherlands.
Limburg is a small province in the southeastern tip of the modern-day Netherlands. The outline of Dutch Limburg is very similar in shape to the Korean peninsula in Asia, with a broad northern section, a narrow middle section, and a rounded southern section. Major cities include Roermond and Maasricht. Horn is a very small town (present day population estimate=300-400 people) on the west side of the Maas river, across from Roermond. The Maas River flows through the entire province.
Limburg is very strong in its identity as a separate entity rather than part of Holland. (Holland is only a region of the Netherlands; that is another story) Limburg's modern citizens are "an obstinate people who don't even feel Dutch". They did not have to deal with the construction of dikes and windmills as their Dutch brothers to the west did. Limburg and its neighboring province, North Brabant, is split between modern day Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The branch of Timmermans I have researched migrated from one "tri-state" area to another: from this region they came to the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. Another famous river, the Mississippi, cuts through the heart of the region to which the immigrants went to. (Coincidence?)
The language of Limburg is very complicated. It is so different from standard Dutch that it warrants its own branch. In Belgium, only a few miles to the south of Maasricht, lies the city of Liege in French-speaking Wallonia. The author does not know exactly the reason for the patriarch's French first name, but suspects the close interregional associations to have created a multicultural atmosphere in Limburg. There is also some speculation if Jacques was known by another first name (perhaps Jacobus?).
After doing my research, I am not surprised to see that the region has an "identity crisis" as previously mentioned.
Here are a couple links describing the Limburgian dialects:
http://taal.phileon.nl/kaart/hoppenbrouwers.php#ffm
http://taal.phileon.nl/kaart/limburg.php
http://taal.phileon.nl/kaart/noordlimburg.php
http://www.fahnenversand.de/fotw/flags/nl-li-hl.html
And a site detailing the township of Haelen, of which Horn is a part:
http://www.fahnenversand.de/fotw/flags/nl-li-hl.html
Here is a link in Limburgian Dutch describing the origins of the Timmerman(s) clan. It describes how the Timmermans associated with this genealogy have migrated from several small towns in Northern Limburg over the centuries.
http://home.hccnet.nl/p.timmermans/
(note: when members of this family emigrated to the US, the "s" was dropped)
(Note: all the above will have to be cut/pasted into your browser window. They are not "hyperlinked")
Thank you for your interest! I will be happy to answer any questions.
|
