Excerpts from
The start for this genealogy has been given by my father already before 1940, and he would have appreciated very much, if he could have seen the complete results. I informed him regularly of my progress, but he has not seen the finished book. He passed away in 1991 at an age of 87.
In the beginning I had some problem to get hold on the matter. But many people showed me the way to find the information, and in which archives I had to search. At the end I can conclude that I passed many, many days in the archives of The Hague, Delft and other towns and I am sure much more information is still hidden in the old archive-registers. But as there are more interesting things in the world besides genealogy, I stopped at the point, where I thought the genealogy was rather complete.
In 1973 father Jan became a friend of the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie. In the next year he wrote a letter to the Bureau with the request to trace the origin of Teunis van Dijk. The Bureau complied with this request and not without results. Though the christening of Teunis is not registered in the church-books, they traced his father with the help of a supposed brother named Adam: their father was Jacob Adamsz van Dijk. Because the Bureau had made an opening, they advised my father to continue the investigation himself. Now, he felt too old to do so, so it stuck at that point again, though one generation further back. Interesting is to notice the Mr. Huisingh had found that a certain Adam Jacobsz van Dijk had given his children largely the same names as the Teunis who he had found, but he had drawn no conclusions.
About that time, I myself came under the spell of local history. I read everything that came my way; I went to lectures, took courses in old-writing (gothic writing) and visited the local archives of De Lier. The older it was, the better. There were several registers dating back to the 1600's and I took to typing over these registers and to publicize them. While doing so, I encountered regularly the names of Cornelis Adamsz van Dijk, Jan Adamsz van Dijk and others, who lived in De Lier in the first half of the 17th century. Peculiar! The oldest known forefather (whom the Bureau had found) was names Jacob Adamsz van Dijk, though he lived a century later. I started feverishly to look for a link. But when both Adams began to mill through my thoughts late at night, I left the Adams where they were and turned back to my local history. They were not worth sleepness nights.
Some years later, in 1984, I became ill for a long time. Yet, when I picked myself up again, I began, to pass the time, to note down systematically all data about Van Dijk, and really, at a certain moment it turned out that the above mentioned Jacob Adamsz van Dijk from Monster was a great-grandchild of Adam of 1600 in De Lier. And so it happened! Ten years of research made the genealogy trees of many Van Dijk families in The Westland grow together. Though not without following fruitless sidetracks. The most obvious sidetrack was a certain Adam van Dijk who lived in Poeldijk near Monster around 1600. As the name of Adam is rather rare in Holland, I supposed that both families were related to each other. There were however distinctions. The Monster family was roman catholic and the De Lier family protestant. So short after the Reformation however, that fact was not so strange. The difference in prosperity was more meaningful. The Adam at Monster was a big farmer; the other was a fruit-grower with only about one acre of land. At last came the decisive proof that both Adams were not related: the children of the Adam in De Lier had the family-name Van Dijk, but derived it from their mother's. Their father, Adam Cornelisz, had no family name yet.
In the first phase of the investigation I have sought for all descendants of the Teunis van Dijk who was already known since fifty years and who married in 1737. This took me around six years and produced around 300 addresses of present families, of which the father or mother is called Van Dijk. From 1811 on we have the Civil Registration which registrates birth, marriages and death. Aside from this C.R. we have the Register of Population from 1850 on, which records all movements of each person. With the help of these two systems, each person can be traced back to 1811. We can assume with rather certainty that all descendants of the above mentioned Teunis are included in this book. With two exceptions: a certain Teunis van Dijk left in 1855 to Dordrecht as a shipsmate and was not found again. His possible descendants have escaped our attention. The second exception are the still living Van Dijks who wanted no contact and wished to stay 'nameless'. I respected their wish and have not tried through means of their brothers or sisters to complete my information. It was especially difficult to contact a part of the US-relatives. I don't think they wanted to stay anonymous, but just did not care to answer my letters. And I did not want to phone them as that was too costly. So, a number of persons are only known by their name (and sometimes their birth date), but no husband of wife and children are known.
After this part of the genealogy was completed, I worked for some years on the period 1600-1800, for which I depended on the Public Record Office in The Hague. I concentrated on the descendants of oldest known forefather, of which only one son is known, Adam Cornelisz, or rather: Adam, son of Cornelis, because Cornelisz was not his family-name, but means: son of Cornelis. This Adam married in 1589 Trijntje Jacobsdr (daughter of Jacob) van Dijk. They had together ten known children who reached adulthood. The descendants of the five sons remained in general in The Westland. Yet many of them disappeared without leaving a trace, as a result of the poor administration at the time. As infant mortality was high, many of the children whose christening date and names are known will have died young. When the parents were too poor to pay the costs, burials often were not even registered. But some others who reached adulthood, couldn't be traced either, like Gillis and Jacob Albrechtsons van Dijk. They appear in 1670 and turn up later in The Hague-archives, but any further sign of them is lacking. Neither do we know if they married and had children.
I finish the report by remarking that it is clear that the research, though extensive, could have been even more elaborate. Especially the notarial archives of Delft and The Hague may contain more information. Where there is an index or register in these archives, that is to say that all names have been put in alphabetical order, it is easy to find persons. However, great parts of these archives have not been worked out or 'indexed', and that holds true for the archives of the Westland-villages as well.
Several side lines from this early period are followed up to around 1800, and, with the help of the modern archives, the descendants of these very far relatives could have been traced up till present times. However, this would mean again many, many years of research, and I just had not the heart for it. But if you have become curious about who are your far cousins, you are welcome in the archives....
Aside from the two big families who moved to the USA, a number of families emigrated to Australia, South-Africa and Canada after 1945.
Nearly every village in our region knew around 1600 already its own van Dijk family, who were not related. That's why it was quite a job the keep them apart. Our forefathers already bore the name van Dijk before 1500. They belonged to the lower nobility. That meant that they had several privileges, like the right to hunt in the nearby dunes. That explains why the van Dijk's had their own coat of arms. These nobleman could not be judged by a lower court, but they were judged by the bailiff and his (noble)men, their own class. Dirck Thonisz van Dijck states already around 1550 that his grandfather had the blue serpent in his coat of arms. It is not yet explained why a great part of our family changed its name to Van Adrichem around 1600. Though our family-name is lent from these early van Dijk's, they are not our forefathers in direct male lineage. The van Dijk name came into the family when a girl from that early van Dijk family married in 1589 with the already mentioned Adam van Dijk. The ten children of this couple all named themselves van Dijk.
The most characteristic name in the family was in the 17th century: Adam, a relatively rare name. Only one in every 500 men bore that name. On the other hand, every sixth man was called Jan/Johan (John). Other characteristic van Dijk names were Jan, Jacob and Cornelis. As a result of the rare name 'Adam', many early relatives are easy to recognize, especially when Adam appears in combination with Jacob or Cornelis. For example Adam Jacobsz van Dijk (Adam, son of Jacob) or Cornelis Adamsz van Dijk. Though we have to be careful, as we saw in the case of the Monster originated Adam van Dijk (no kin).
By scrutinizing the baptism registers of South Holland, I found another Adam van Dijk. Between 1736 and 1752 a certain Adam van Dijk and Maria Everts Rave had four children baptized in four different churches. They were once described as 'beggars' and once as 'passing travelers'. I found no connection with our family.
Around 1700 the name of Teunis (Antony) came definitely in the family and Adam disappears slowly. Jacob Adamsz van Dijk married in 1691 Teuntje Teunisdochter Groenewegen. Their son Teunis called one of his children Gerrit (Gerard), who, in his turn, named two of his children Hendrik (Henry) and Teunis. These three names Teunis, Hendrik and Gerrit can be considered characteristic for our family after 1700. In one 'branch', the oldest son was alternately named Teunis and Gerrit from 1700 up till now. Older members of the present generation are often named Gerrit, Hendrik and Teunis. Modern name-giving will make them to disappear in the future.
The above-mentioned names hold good for our own family. Another 'branch', which I didn't investigate later than 1850, counted between 1650 and 1850 seven generations called Arie (Adrian). Maybe, the present members of that branch are mainly called Arie. But I had not the courage to add another few years to my research, but if anyone feels like doing so..., he or she is welcome.
What did the village look like? Possibly, the houses still were wooden, thatched houses. In autumn and winter the roads were practically impassable. Only in the 19th century was the road graveled. To be able to attend church or to go the market at Delft, a small footpath on the roadside was yearly sanded. For the rest, one probably moved rarely outside the farmyard in the cold and wet season. Farms outside the village were virtually isolated in winter, except when there was ice. A very good connection was formed by the market boats. From all villages there were several departures daily to the neighboring towns. For De Lier the connection to Delft must have been a lifeline in winter.
Death is quite another problem. Burial was not a church ceremony, but yet people were buried within the church, if their relatives had enough money for it. Those who were too poor were buried in the graveyard outside the church. It was not the minister who kept the register of the burials, but the church warden, or in his place the verger. Deaths of the poor were not registered, but even those who paid often were not mentioned: we may find such registrations as: in 1650 there were twenty burials = so many guilders. So without any names. Marriages regularly were registered, but often couples married in the town or village from where the bride originated. And that is just what we are looking for: so you have to skim through the registers of all the neighboring villages.
I made a count of the number of children per family, or rather, the number of children of one man with one wife, or in case of remarrying, with more wives.
| Marriage between | Number of marriages | Total number of children | Number of children per family | Died before age of 20 |
| 1800-1899 | 22 | 167 | 7.6 | 48 = 29% |
| 1900-1924 | 22 | 128 | 5.8 | 20 = 15.5% |
| 1925-1949 | 40 | 155 | 3.9 | 3 = 0.2% |
| 1950-1976 | 64 | 172 | 2.7 | - |
When we analyze the number of newborns per place, De Lier stands out at once. Of the precise number of 250 children born before 1811, 98 children or 39 percent were born in De Lier, though De Lier in those times only counted around 500 inhabitants, whereas the whole Westland counted 7,500.
| Number of children before 1811 | Percentage | |
| De Lier | 98 | 39 |
| Monster | 42 | 17 |
| Honselersdijk | 22 | 9 |
| s-Gravenzande | 20 | 8 |
| Maasland | 20 | 8 |
| Naasdijk | 14 | 5.5 |
| Naaldwijk | 2 | 1 |
| elsewhere | 32 | 13 (espec. Delft) |
We should not forget that the children were not always baptized in their own villages. Maasdijk and Honselersdijk had no parish of their own and children were baptized in 's-Gravenzande and Naaldwijk.
From the above list, it is clear that De Lier is the 'cradle' of the Van Dijk family. Between 1811 and 1900 the center moves some kilometers to Maasland and Maasdijk. For that period we find the following numbers:
| Number of children between 1811 and 1900 | Percentage | |
| Maasland | 51 | 40.4 |
| De Lier | 32 | 25.4 |
| Naaldwijk | 20 | 15.9 |
| Maasdijk | 5 | 4.0 |
| elsewhere | 18 | 14.3 |
For the period before 1811 all side lines are included; for the period of 1811-1900, only you and my direct ancestors are included. This second list emphasizes again our Westland origin. After 1900 a spreading to the neighboring cities of Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague takes place.
Twins are not frequent in our family. I found only nine, about 1.5%. In 1980 the whole of the Netherlands counted 1.1% twins. I found six (in Dutch) so-called 'double-marriages' and even two 'triple-marriages'. This means that two brothers and one sister Van Dijk married with two sisters and a brother of another family (Van Duyn). Probably these families matched very well with the Van Dijk's.
Further, it is remarkable that six partners also were named Van Dijk. This number is only surpassed by partners called De Bruyn/Bruin. Then follow the names of Van der Lugt and Van der Hoeven with six marriages, Poot and Huisman with five, Van den Akker, Quak and Meyer/Meier with four. We found 600 marriages of which both partners are known. That means that one in every 100 Van Dijk's married someone who was also named Van Dijk. Now, Van Dijk is one of the most frequent names in South Holland, but Van der Lugt and Van der Hoeven are not, while other frequent names rarely figure as partners. Examples are: Bakker (none), Van den Berg (3), Jansen (1), De Jong (2), Van Leeuwen (none) and De Vries (1).
The average age of marriage in our family was rather normal. Of the 24 men who married between 1600 and 1800 of which dates of birth and marriage are known, the average was 29.6 years; the 39 women were 26.5 years. When we subtract the two men and one woman who married around their 50th year, the averages are 27.8 and 25.9 years. Dr. D.J. Noordam calculated in the village of Maasland in the same period 28.9 and 26.4 years. So between 'Van Dijk' and Maasland there is little difference.
Separation occurred seldom in those times. In our family I found none. But then, separation was granted only on some grounds. No doubt, there must have been cases that man and wife left each other, but these 'separations' are not registered.
The average age at death of the 49 men who died between 1811 and 1990, was 73, and for the 43 women 71 years. Four women died at an age between 24 and 31, which could mean that they died in childbirth. Only one man died at the same age. When we leave out these four women, the average age of death rises to above 75 years. The average age of men and women in the Netherlands is about 73 and 80 years at the moment.
The Protestant rebels, named geuzent, and the Spaniards ransacked the region in the years of 1572 and 1573. In July 1572, the village church burned down, reputedly by lightning. It is known however that the 'geuzen' pillaged several churches in the region, and is seems not impossible that they put the church in De Lier on fire. Later Protestant population may have suppressed this knowledge, and have sought for a divine cause. Until now, I have not found yet any mention of the fire in a contemporary source. The exact date and the cause pop up only 100 years after.
In 1573/74, when the Spaniards were in command of the region, many people from De Lier fled to the walled town of Delft, where the commander of the rebels, the Prince of Orange, resided. Whether our forefather Cornelis Adamsz was amongst them, is not known. After the Spanish troops were gone in 1574, Protestantism could be freely professed. In the long run, only a few families remained Roman Catholic. Until about 1900, only some 50 Catholics lived in De Lier. Our forefathers, however, became Protestants.
A second drastic religious schism , now in the Reformed Church, occurred in the 19th century. In 1834 the 'Af scheiding' (Christian Reformed Church) came about under the leadership of a certain minister De Cock in the province of Groningen, followed the third schism, the so-called 'Doleantie' under the leadership of Abram Kuyper. Some of our forefathers choose in an early stage the side of the 'Af scheiding' (secession) . In 1839, Teunis van Dijk, who lived in the village of Maasdijk near De Lier, but which resorted to the parish of 's-Gravenzande, wrote to the consistory that he wanted his name erased as a member, as he was going to join the Secessionists. Unfortunately, his letter has not been kept in the church archives. But the notes of the consistory do hold the reaction of the members. Is says in short, that as it is known that Teunis van Dijk shows signs of insanity for some time already, his request will not be followed up.
Another Teunis van Dijk joined the Separatist church of De Lier around 1845. The very second child that was baptized in that congregation was Teunis' son Philippus. However, some years later he moved to Maasland, and joined the old Reformed Church again. All in all, a rather big percentage of our family belongs to the Gereformeerde Kerk (Christian Reformed Church), which was formed when the two secession churches merged in 1896.
The relation of members of the family to the church have not been object of study. Therefore, all notes of the consistories should be read. I did read the oldest notes of the De Lier consistory until 1700. I found that our forefathers seemed to have a drinking problem. Now, let it be clear that they were not the only ones, because drinking was a big problem in former ages. However, the Van Dijk's are named fairly often and were regularly withheld from the Lord's Supper.
Jan Adamsz van Dijk had a problem of quite a different sort in l665. During a violent storm, parts of the old church were blown off and damaged his house. He asked the parish council, which was in charge of the state of repair of the church and the tower, for reimbursement of the damages. But the council rejected the request because 'is was God that made the storm which caused the damages, so the council cannot be held responsible.'
Another occupation was the skipper on a sand boat, which transported sand from the dunes to the greengrowers. Some became carpenters and mill makers and one even became a flour miller.
Apart from this last one, there certainly were no rich 'branches'. Only the last few generations show some more prosperity. In that respect is our family a reflection of Dutch society. Apart from the market gardener, we were landless (though some amongst them rented their market garden and even their house). That's why it is so difficult to find information about the family. Poor people don't go to the notary to make up their last will, and heritages were too small to draw up an official division, in which all heirs are named with their rightful share. No, our forefathers have always been 'small people'. No doubt, some of their have vanished without leaving a trace, especially those who were not married and those who settled outside The Westland. A search in neighboring archives will probably produce some lost relations.
II. Adam Cornelisz
We have no hard proof that number two, Adam Cornelisz, is a son of number I, but it seems very likely,
as there are strong indications that the assumption is right. Among other things, he sold the grounds
which were owned some time before by number I. His profession was 'fruit grower' . His marriage to
Trijntje Jacobsdr van Dijk on April 16, 1589 is entered in the Protestant church book of De Lier. He
was buried in the choir of the church on July 15, 1622; his wife on March 18, 1629.
This couple had ten children who reached adulthood: five boys and five girls, though we don't know the
order of age within the family. Let us continue with our direct ancestor Adam Jacobsz van Dijk.
III. Jacob Adamsz van Dijk
He died relatively young around January 1637. He must have moved to Honselersdijk, a small village
under the resort of the church of Naaldwijk. We know some children who are baptized there; some others
are known because they are mentioned in some notary acts with their mother Stijntje Aalbrechtsdr.
IV. Adam Jacobsz van Dijk
The oldest son of number III was baptized in Naaldwijk on September 9, 1621 and named Adam. So in full
his name was:
Adam Jacobsz van Dijk. He returned to De Lier of his fathers in 1654. He was elected as deacon twice
and six times as an elder, so he must have been a respected man, though he is mentioned once as a
'laborer'. He was buried in De Lier at an age of 66 in 1688; his wife Maartje Cornelisdr died some
years later in 1691. In view of his frequent eldership, he must have been a pious man. The names of his
children reflect his piety. The oldest son, who was born in Honselersdijk, was named Isaac, the third
one Abraham and the fifth Jacob. He himself was baptized Adam, so he had a fine biblical foursome. The
second son was named Cornelis after his father-in-law.
V. Jacob Adamsz van Dijk
We skip the first four sons and follow again our own ancestor Jacob (Jack), the fifth son and the fifth
generation. Again we have to do without the baptism registration, which hampers our argument, but I think
I found enough information to prove that number V was a son of number IV. Originally he lived in Rijswijk
near The Hague where he lived on a farm. Later he moved to the nearby village of Monster and is called
(he too) a market gardener. When his wife died, he turned out to have three cows and hay in the haystack.
So he was a market gardener and small farmer at the same time, with a debt of nearly 600 guilders, at that
time more than two yearly salaries. Some year later, another person appeared to rent the garden, about
whom we have no information whatsoever, except that he had some children baptized from his second wife.
He disappeared into oblivion.
VI. Teunis Jacobsz van Dijk
This Teunis is the one where fifty years ago the search stopped. He too was a market gardener at Monster
and married Heyltje van Ooyen or van Nooye. This couple
had nine children baptized. Not much is known about him. Probably he lived in poor circumstances, because
no last will is known, and two of his sons signed with a cross, as they couldn't write.
With Teunis, we finish the first part of the genealogy. I traced the descendants of numbers I to VI as late as the year of 1800, but not much later. There is no doubt that people with the name of Van Dijk live in Holland who descend from them, but I haven't located them. I go on with number VII, our own forefather.
VII. Gerrit Teunisz van Dijk
The second part begins with this Gerrit van Dijk. I traced back all descendants of this, our ancestor.
He moved from Monster to Maasdijk and became a market-gardener there. He bought and sold parcels of gardens,
the last one to his son Teunis. From this Gerrit, the tree splits into two branches. He had two sons,
Hendrik (Henry) and Teunis (Antony).