RESEARCH INTO MY FAMILY HISTORY.
I have restarted the research into my family history after about 25 years, after a visit of family
from the US in August 2010. They would like to know more about the family, particularly those
in Europe.
The current time with internet now offers many more possibilities for genealogy research than
25 years ago. Good software does the rest, and before you know it you're back to about your
ears in your family's past.
The results are summarised in this website.
ORIGIN.
During the progress of making the family tree, the origin of my ancestors becomes clear.
From my father's side they come from the province of Groningen in the Netherlands and are all
Roman Catholic. They remain there until about 1900.
In 1893 my great-uncle (Bernardus Wilhelmus Alma) emigrated to the United States. His cousin
Tjaart Alma (1856-1883) leaves in 1882 for Australia where he dies a year later. My grandfather
(Johannes Josephus Alma) settled in Deventer in 1903, where he started in the
Lange Bisschopstraat 50 as a retailer in fancy articles, toys and household items.
His bride (Elisabeth Hermine Rühmkorf) comes from Papenburg in Germany, just across the
border with Groningen. Most of her ancesters are Protestant.
Johannes Josephus Alma (1874-1952), Elisabeth Hermine Ruhmkorf (1878-1949).
BOT, BOS, SUREN, BIJL, BLOEMSMA, FLIERL.
The research is not limited to the Alma family.
Of some related (by marriage) families in the U.S. Dutch ancesters are searched for as well. This
mainly concerns the Bot, Bos and Suren families from Groningen and the Bijl, Bloemsma and
Flierl families from Friesland.
NAVIGATION
The tabs in the navigation bar lead to pages with some history and background of the areas
where my ancestors come from or emigrated to in the 19th century.
The 'reports' tab leads to the page with information about family members and their
relationships.
SOURCES.
During the investigation many sources are consulted. Some sources are so obvious that they
are not listed. Examples are www.wiewaswie.nl, www.allegroningers.nl, www.allefriezen.nl
and other websites of provincial archives.
These websites are easy accessible for anyone who can read Dutch.
There was also extensive use of part of the website of the Library of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, especially when searching marital attachments or
other documents that have not been published on the Internet (yet) by the Dutch archives
Also this source is not always listed separately.
On this and other pages are a few words in blue color and are underlined in blue. These are
direct links to external websites.
One left click leads directly to the relevant website.
The other sources are indicated by an italic letter '(s)' from 'source'. The source appears as a
pop-up image, each time the mouse hovers over this ‘(s)’.
The most consulted source is the history and the genealogy of the Boelens family by Drs.
J.M.B. Boelens and O.J. Nienhuis.
These two great books are an absolute must for people who do research into a Roman Catholic
family in Groningen.
Hover the mouse over the map below for an overview.