All documents and files on these pages are ©
Copyright 1995, 1996
John H. Somsen Jr.
Problems or comments? Please contact somsen@crocker.com
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:08:59 GMT
X-Sender: fsomsen@mail.telepac.pt
To: ness@crocker.com
From: Oscar Somsen
Subject: Re: Family tree
Dear Sir,
I'm not sure how exactly you contacted me, and where you found my name. I have done my Ph.D. at the Free University Amsterdam, and am currently working as a postdoc at the University of the Philippines. My e-mail is forwarded to me here.
Certainly, I know professor Somsen from the chemistry department. However, I always presumed were weren't related. Only recently I found out there is only a (relatively) small number of Somsens, which are all supposed to be related. I would certainly be interested to find out what is my relation with prof. Somsen.
Are you working together of separately from the Somsens in the Netherlands that are also working on our family tree? My family has been registered by them. If you want I can supply you with the registration numbers, but I think it would be confusing to send you information separately.
Thank you for your e-mail. I will certainly try to take a look at your www file.
Yours Sincerely
Oscar Somsen
Bente Aminhan and
Hedda Bagatnan were born on 15 August 1995. They were healthy,
weighed just under five pounds, and spent five days in the
hospital for observation. One month later, they have grown about
one kilogram. They drink well, cry whenever appropriate and
occasionally reward our efforts with a smile. As to their names.
Bente from Benedictus (Blessed) and Hedda from Hadewig
(Warrieress) are European, and "Aminhan" and
"Bagatnan" are old Philippino words for
"North" and "South"
******************************************************************
* Oscar Somsen *
* National Institute of Physics *
* University of the Philippines phone: 9205301 loc. 6312 or 6431
*
* 1101 Diliman, Quezon City fax: +63-2-9241266 or 996868 *
* Philippines e-mail: oscar@nip.upd.edu.ph *
******************************************************************
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:09:34 GMT
X-Sender: fsomsen@mail.telepac.pt
To: ness@crocker.com
From: "Han Somsen"
Subject: Re: Family tree
Dear Frederico,
Thanks for your message re family tree. I would be most interested to see the outcome of your research and am happy to assist in as far as I can. I shall forward your mail to my brother Frederik in Leiden, who, if I am not mistaken, some years ago undertook a similar exercise for my mother's family but may also have more data about the Somsens.
Warm regards,
Han Somsen.
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:09:56 GMT
X-Sender: fsomsen@mail.telepac.pt
To: ness@crocker.com
From: "Han Somsen"
Subject: Re: Family tree
Dear Frederico,
I just read your e-mail for the second time, this time more carefully. I think it may be relevant for your to know that I have only moved to England 10 years ago and that therefore the English part of the Somsens in so far as I am responsible for them is very small. I have two children Hannah Marije, born in Borgo S. Lorenzo on 29 April 1992 and Charlotte Margareta Eva, born in Coventry on 25 June 1995. I have heard of more Somsens in Britain, but never had the details. I phoned my parents about your research and they tell me that they have already been contacted. My partner's name is Annemarie Sprokkereef.
Warm regards,
Han Somsen
Han.
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:12:48 GMT
X-Sender: fsomsen@mail.telepac.pt
To: ness@crocker.com
From: "op Somsen"
Subject: RE: Family tree
Dear Fred,
You found my WWW page earlier than I did myself. Even my picture was in it! Indeed it seems that you (and many others) work on the genealogy of what is also my family. I have looked at the genealogy pages and I have made a complete print out of it and I will give this to one of my sisters. I expect that they will be interested in contributing to this genealogy. They own an old "family tree" that they inherited from my aunt. I found my grandfather in your list (7th generation number 26, Frederik Hendrik Somsen). His branch is for the most part an Aalten branch, since we lived till about 1970 in Aalten. My sisters (if they are interested) will be able to add a great number of members of this branch. Since they have no access to the internet I may assist them. Best Wishes from Amsterdam Riek
Abcoude, 14-januari, 1996, The Netherlands
Dear Frederico and John Howard,
I am sending this email to both Frederico and John Howard Somsen after receiving an e-mail from Frederico, who informed me that you are working on a Somsen genealogy on the Internet.I have been doing a little reseach in the past few days and I talked to my sisters (Harmien and Ada) about it, and my conclusion is that we will be able to provide a considerable contribution to your genealogy. (1) My sister Ada has two family trees from different sources of Dutch Somsen branches, one from our own family branch and one from the Eibergen branch. (2) Moreover I have an address of a Dutch Somsen who is presently very active in collecting information on Somsens in the Netherlands. Finally, since I myself am primarily interested in the regional geography and history of Aalten, where I lived for 20 years, I have some information from books on the history of Aalten on (3) the farm "Somsenhuis" , on (4) emigrants who left Aalten in the late 19th century and on (5) names and addresses of local (amateur) archivists who live in Aalten and whom you can ask for information. You can address all these people in English.
ad (1). My aunt Grada who was the daugther of Frederik Hendrik (number 26, generation 7) maintained a family tree of the Somsen family. This family tree went also back to Geert Somsen and has been updated untill the seventies. My sister Ada inherited it. She will make a copy of this (handwritten) document and she will send this to John Howard. She also has a copy of a family tree of another Somsen branch from Eibergen. She will send you a copy of this as well.
ad(2) Only a few weeks ago we have been asked for our birth dates etc. by a Dutch Somsen (most likely from the Eibergen branch). His name and address are: D.J Somsen, Monteverdilaan 175, 8031 DL Zwolle, The Netherlands, telephone number: ..31384542360. I do not know him, but my sister Harmien told me that he is actively working on a family tree. My sister will send him a copy of the print that I made of your Internet genealogy.
ad (3) Since I am interested in the history of Aalten, I have some books on this history which have been written by local archivists. Two of the are interesting for you. One book records the history of the old (roman) church in Aalten: The Sint Helenakerk. In this book a chapter has been written on emigrants who departed from Aalten to the United States (Baldwin). The writer of this chapter is an (amateur) archivist who is very well known in Aalten, because he has contributed to many books about the history of Aalten. You can write to him (in English) and ask for information. His name and address are: E.M. Smilda Ludgerstraat 59, 7121 EH Aalten, The Netherlands, phone:..31543473251. This chapter is interesting, because it contains lists of leaving emigrants and dates of leaving in the 19th century. This chapter has a photograph of (presumably) John Howards great-grandfather John Somsen from 1929 in Barldwin Wisconsin with a big beard and hat.In this chapter also a story about Hendrik-Jan Somsen , his wife Johanna Berendina Rensink is told who left Alten 25 juli 1851 to Sheboygan. His daugther Olive has written a biography about her farhter who worked on the construction of rail ways. I have not found any reference in your Internet family tree about these Somsens. You may obtain more information on them from the above mentioned Mr. Smilda. There is a note which refers to the family archive of Mr. Th.D.F. Somsen, Hindenhoek 11, 8172 AC Vaassen, The Netherlands, phone: ..31578572867 . (I do not know anything about these Somsens, I found the address in a phonebook).I can send you a copy of this chapter, but it has been written in Dutch and I presume that no traces of this beautiful language have survived in your family. This book is available in the bookshops of Aalten.
ad (4) I have another book about the hamlet Yzerlo, in which a most interesting chapter about the origins of the Yzerlo farms. One of these is the Somsenhuis. The chapter has been written by the archivist of Aalten mr.R. Wartena, Peperstraat 8, 7121 CT Aalten, The Netherlands, phone: ..31543471339. The book has a photograph of the old farm Somsenhuis taken shortly after world war II and shortly before the farm burned down.About the Somsenhuis, Wartena writes the following: "Geert Sums gave his name permanently to the house where he lived in. In 1633 he paid 3 dollars churchrent for the land. He owned the house (he rented the land from the church). In 1647 the house was owned by Herman Somps. We do not know the name of the farm before 1633. In the century before the resident of the house was Lubbert Alberts, probably a younger son of the Aalbertshuis (another farm). In 1609 the family Grievinkhof rented the land from the church. This family also had the farm Klein Rengerdinck."
In your genealogy you mention the name of Boeiink. I speculate that a daugther of the Sums or Somps family may have inherited the house, and hence that Geert Somsen in fact took the name of his family. If you wish, I can also send you a copy of this chapter (which is also in Dutch).
This is what I have to contribute. I wish you success with this work.
Best wishes greetings from Riek Somsen.
From: rjzignego@mmm.com
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 11:19:05 -0500
Dear John,
I'm so excited. I just wish my dad were alive to enjoy this. When
he was still well he was thinking of getting a computer. I'm sure
if he had lived he would be glued to his keyboard night and day
corresponding with family. He had begun a rather extensive family
history, and, I believe, all that info has been shared with Derk
and Theo. I was busy raising 2 boys at that time and didn't
really get involved or appreciate all he had learned. Now I'm so
sorry about that.
This morning I got your message, one from Derk and one from Fred and Ana. I can hardly sit still to compose this -- it's all so exciting.
I'll fill you in on a little about my family for now. My dad died in 1982, but my mother still lives in her home in Woodville and is doing very well. She told me your mother and Aunt Jean had visited her in the last few years. There were 5 kids in our family: Cindy, Bill, Paula, Jan and Mary (in that order). Jan died 8 years ago from cancer. He was married and had 3 children. His widow is remarried, living in Seattle and is definitely planning to attend the reunion with their children.
My brother Bill lives in Woodville with my mother. Paula is married, has 3 daughters and lives near Lake Minnetonka, MN as does my sister Mary who is married with no children.
My husband Ron and I have been married almost 30 years and have 2 sons. Jason is 25 and has been married 1 year. He lives near St. Paul, MN. Darin is 23 and lives in Minneapolis, MN. Ron works for 3M in St. Paul in the COSD (Commercial Office Supply Division -- Post-Its, Scotch tape, etc.). He is the EDI manager. I am a learning disabilities teacher in one of our elementary schools here in River Falls. (River Falls, by the way, is about 25 miles SW of Woodville & Baldwin and about 25 miles SE of St. Paul, MN.
We are definitely planning to attend the reunion next August. My cousin Sally (Betty Somsen Rasmussen's daughter) and her husband David will travel with us. My sister Paula is also planning to attend with her family. We are really looking forward to this event.
Let me know how I can help fill you in on our part of the family. No, I did not really know about the other branch. Years ago I ran across a Somsen attorney firm in New Ulm, MN and did see the Somsen Hall at Winona State University in MN but did not follow up. I'm assuming that's part of the other branch.
Will close for now. Again, I'm so excited about all this -- I can hardly wait to turn on the computer each day.
Cindy
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 18:14:19 -0600
From: Douglas VanDamme
Dear Jack,
We just spoke with Don and Irene Somsen that
submitted the complete history of the Jan Hendrick Somsen family.
We appreciate all the immense amount of work you have done to get
this home page up and running on the WWW. Hats off to you!!! We
would like to let you know more information about this side of
the Somsen family. My wife Carol Jean (Wernlund) VanDamme is a
descendant of this branch of the family. Her Grandmother Hermina
Hendrika (Minnie) daughter of Jan Hendrik and Janna Hendrika
Somsen married Willem Wernlund in Baldwin, WI. To this marriage
was born a family of boys and girls one of which was John H.
Wernlund who married Arlene (TeBeest) Wernlund and my wife Carol
is the youngest of the family of Russell, Glen, Paul, Lois and
Carol. Carol married me, Douglas Michael VanDamme, on May 29,
1976. We live on the home farm which was homesteaded by the
Wernlund clan 130 years ago. Our address is as follows: Douglas
M. and Carol J. VanDamme
2239 County Road "E"
Baldwin, WI. 54002 (USA)
(715) 684-2690
E-mail: dougvand@win.bright.net
We have sent information of the newest newsletter to all other members of the family of this generation either by E-mail, snail mail or word of mouth and so hopefully you will have much more inforation about this side of the family. Don and Irene were very interested at the fact we have E-mail because they do not and they may well use me as a go between for messages. If you want to use this mode of communication for me to get messages to Don and Irene please don't hesitate to use it. I check my mail 3 to 4 times a day so it shouldn't take long to get a message to them.
Hope to see you in Aalten, Netherlands in August 1997
DougVanDamme
From: bhunse@barint.on.ca (Brenda Hunse)
Subject: Somsen Family
Dear John,
Hello, I guess I'm the next person in a long line of Somsen's to contact you. My name is Thomas Henry Hunse (Tom), I was born on Dec. 4 1963, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. I am 1/2 Somsen. My mother Is Johanna
Hendrika Somsen. She married my father-Teunis Hunse in St. Catharines on May 30, 1953. Mom was born in Aalten on Dec 29, 1929. She emmigrated to Canada in 1952.
Her father was also born in Aalten. His name was Frederick Hendrik Somsen. He was born on September 28,1899, and died on Dec 29, 1954. He was a blacksmith. He married Cornelia Johanna Zeiler, who was born on May 6, 1902, and died August 26, 1986 in Aalten.
Opa had five brothers and sisters, Gerhardus, Grada Elyda Johanna, Derk, Harminus and Hendrick.
Opa had three children My mother, Johanna Hendrika, Frederik Hendrik who was born on August 23 1927, and Johannes Born on October 7 1933.
You have had communication with a first cousin of mine-Han Somsen, he lives in England. His father is my mother's brother Johannes (Oom Hans) Han has one brother and one sister-Frederik, and Margot.
I hope that this information is helpful. I have seen the web page, I am very impressed, you have done a tremendous amount of work. I have been trying to get a genealogy together for the Hunse family, and know how difficult a task this is. I was lucky that my father's aunt had done most of the leg work. I would like to find more of the extended family though. Up till now I have only done our direct line.
I am using a program called Family Tree Maker, I think it is an excelent program. It's well organized, easy to use and reasonably fast. It utilized a Gedcom file. I wonder if the program you use also utilizes this type of file, and if so can I get a copy of it? I would appreciate is very much. I might be able to add some information to it. My mother has a great memory, and we have a ton of pictures.
By the way, I was married to Brenda Lyn Christopher on July 25, 1987, she was born on July 8 1963 in Toronto, Ontario. On June 9, 1996 we had our first child-Joanna Margaret.
I have more information on my sister's spouses and their kids as well if you want it. Pleas e-mail me back I look forward to hearing from you. Hope to see you some time.
Yours truely Tom Hunse
From: bhunse@barint.on.ca (Brenda Hunse)
Dear John,
I don't know if my father has sent you his address yet it is:
thunse@freenet.npiec.on.ca
Have a good trip to Key West, I hope it's not too hot for you down there!
Bye for now,
Love Tom