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This book is written in the hope that it may help us as the family van Wynen or van Wijnen to preserve some of our history, especially the recent past and present. Our Uncle Jan van Wynen in Utah, United States of America has been very instrumental in tracing the names of our ancestors through his work with the Mormon Church and I thank him very much for the work he has done. My hope is that you will enjoy reading this book and adding to, or correcting any mistakes that may have been made.
John (Jan) Jacobus van Wynen
In the year of our Lord 2006
Where it all began……!
The history of the van Wynen family begins in the Netherlands. The earliest ancestor with the name van Wijnen that as far as I have been able to find recorded is a Harmen van Wijnen born about 1595 and married to Goerke Hendriks. Where they were born is not known but it is assumed that they were born in Leiden, South Holland. The next one in line was Dirk Harmensz van Wijnen, born about 1618 in Leiden, South Holland and married to Maria Pijnappels born about 26th June, 1614 in S’Hertogenbosch, North Braband, South Holland. Maria Pijnappels ancestors can be traced back a bit further than the van Wijnen’s going back to a Boudewijn Pijnappels born in approximately 1480
This book is a record of the genealogy of Adriana (Sjaan), Hendrik, John (Jan) Jacobus and Elizabeth Catharina Jaapje Jacomina van Wynen and family, descendants of Harmen van Wijnen:
Great Opa Hendrik van Wynen born 28th October 1852 in Lekkerkerk, Netherlands
Opa Jan van Wijnen born 2nd June 1876 iin Lekkerk, Netherlands and died as result of accident on 4th May 1926. He married Oma Jacoba de Bruin on 18th September 1904 in Schiedam, Netherlands. She died of cancer on 24th August 1930 in Schiedam, Netherlands.
Hendrik van Wijnen (or Henk as he was always known) was born in a small village called Hillegersberg, now a suburb of Rotterdam in South Holland on the 25th day of September 1907, to Jan van Wijnen and Jacoba de Bruin. He was the third eldest of fourteen, but the oldest son. Two of the children had died at a very young age, one as an infant (a girl) and the other (a boy) from burns, at approximately 2 years of age. Jan van Wijnen worked as a farm hand where Hendrik (Henk) or Dad as he will be from now on, helped with milking, stacking hay etc.
When Dad was twelve years old the family moved to Schiedam where his father found work in a factory where he could earn more. Dad also went to work in a factory where ships were built. At the age of fifteen he went to work on tugboats until about the age of eighteen.
On 4th May 1926 Dad’s father had a fall from his bicycle right in the path of a truck carrying a hay machine on the way to Maasluis. The wheels of the truck drove over the arms and bottom half of his body. He was carried into the police station where he was attended to by a doctor Elsevier but died soon after, leaving a large family and expectant wife behind.
After this Henk had to work to support the family. The two oldest girls had married, so that still left him with 12 children and the mother to support. He had one job where he had to carry heavy 80 kilo sacks of peas on his back. Then about four years later his mother died. She had been very ill with cancer. Then one day while Henk was carrying her to her bed she died in his arms. At that time there were still six children left in the home that he had to care for. They were placed in an orphanage where he visited them regularly.The day Jan died, his wife Jacoba was at home and had just bathed her youngest child also called Jan. He was about two years old at the time. She had just stood him on a stoofje (a little stool that has holes in it and inside was filled with hot coals. It is used for warmth) to dry him off when there was a nock on the door, the child thinking it was his father jumped off the Stoofje excitedly, as he was very fond of his father, but doing so he knocked the stoofje, overturning it and he fell on i
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