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Perhaps the title is a little melodramatic, but there are
a few events in our family history that if the event hadn't happened,
many of us wouldn't be here. Sometimes it was an unexpected death,
sometimes an unexpected child, and sometimes the opening of new
polder or the lure of an exciting city.
Here are a few to ponder upon.
- On the Tanis side, Cornelis' first wife Caatje unexpectedly
died shortly after having her 6th child, probably due to childbirth
complications. Sad as her death is, our whole Tanis line is dependent
on this unexpected death. After Caatje died on May 1, 1801, Cornelis
was courting Geertruda van der Sluis who shortly became pregnant.
Cornelis and Geertruda were then married on October 19, 1801,
5 1/2 months after Caatje's death and on April 27, 1802, six
months after their marriage, our Dirk Cornelis Tanis was born.
Without Dirk, there would be no Martha Tanis, and without the
unfortunate death, a new beau for Cornelis, and the pregnancy,
there would be no Dirk.
- Later, Dirk's son, Aart Tanis, married Dirkje Aletta Blaak on April 19, 1855 shortly after she became pregnant. Their daughter, Kornelia, was born 5 months later on September 26, 1855. While the marriage might have happened anyway, it was Aart's unfortunate early death at age 34 in 1866 in Haarlemmermeer that set off a chain of events affecting his daughter Martha. Dirkje then married Jacob Rietkerk and had 9 more children for a total of 16 in the household. As the new Rietkerk family grew, Martha, one of the older Tanis girls chose to move out and live with cousins back in Texel. Through a first cousin, thought to be Bertha Dros, she was introduced to her future spouse Adrianus van der Kloot. If Aart hadn't died, Martha may not have left Haarlemmermeer to live in Texel. And if she hadn't been in Texel, she wouldn't have been introduced to Adrianus.
- The completion of the Eijerland polder in the 1830s appears
to have caused a migration of people from the Overflakkee area
including the van der Kloots and Tanis families. Without the
decision to move to the new polder, Adrianus and Martha may have
never connected.
- Matthijs married Trijntje on November 15, 1851 shortly after
she became pregnant. Adrianus was born five months later on April
16, 1852.
- The decision by Marinus van der Kloot to leave Holland and
explore his future in Chicago set off a whole chain of events.
This one decision would affect all Vanderkloots from his line
and most of the Matthijs' line. The effect of the move to Chicago
changed all their lives including the introduction of their offspring
to spouses from around the world.
The results of the opening new polders, emerging cities, unexpected
deaths, young love, and life's big decisions are us. We are not
only the result of some good luck but also the results of some
very real events and decisions that took place long ago.
Initial Web Publication Date: 07/27/2001
Intermediate Additions:
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