Miramichi 2008 - K(C)amerman(s)-Homepage

Jacob initially went to Zeeuws Flaanderen, Axel and Sas van Gent, south of the Schelde river. When his wife Anna Meulema
died he moved to Middelburg, just 12 miles away from his brother Joost and his father Theunis in Vlissingen.
Jacob then married Wilhelmina Eijke and they had four children, Cornelis, Wilhelmina, Suzanna and Jacob, of whom Cornelis
and Jacob survived. Jacob died at age 61 or 62, presumably after a life of hard handwork, and suffering the tragedies of their
children dying before reaching the adulthood. Not only that, many women died in childbirth, including his first wife Anna.
I don’t think that any of my ancestors had the opportunity to visit with family (family reunion), sit in a lown chair, have a glass
of wine and relax, laugh, sing, etc. and I can only say a toast to them, their hard work, perseverance and family values they
have passed on.
It was only some years ago that my wife Mary bought me the “Ancestry” program and I became infected with the genealogy
virus. I called my aunt “Freida” in New Zealand, got some information, looked on the computer and eventually contacted Age,
who opened the whole Kamermans world for me. Three years ago we visited Age, Tanny, Rosemarie and Han, and I
reconnected with my roots in The Netherlands, Amsterdam, Middelburg and Vlissingen, and now consistently develop new
insights about the passions and motivations of my ancestors, which undoubtedly have helped me to make the choices and
decisions I make today.
May parents Jan Karel and Fokje Marie, were both teachers,
studied under Maria Montessori in Amsterdam prior to the World
War II. My mother taught for several years at a Jewish School and
as a result from WW II and the Holocaust only two of over 200
students survived. My mother never spoke much about this time
but never returned to teaching. Also during the war her only sister
Anna died of tuberculosis while working as a nurse in the T.B.
Hospital. This made the emigration from Bartele and Marias’s
daughter Fokje and the 3 grandchildren more saddening.
My parents, Fokje Maria Eelkema and Jan Karel Kamermans, they
married in Amsterdam June 6, 1945, not long after the Liberation of
The Netherlands
Jan Karel was more involved in the Youth Groups in The
Netherlands and his passions as a naturalist. These groups
became a breeding ground for politically active youth, and during
the war, Jan and his brother Eduard were involved in the
resistance movement and fortunately were never found out. The
autobiography of Ger Harmsen, a strong political activist of the
social democratic party, gives reference to my father, and he was
Poem by Edgar Guest, 1920
a frequent visitor at their home.
Copyright 1976, Published by Leon Jouna,
In Hamilton, Ontario, my father again became involved in hiking,
Reporter/ Leon, Iowa, USA 50144
camping, and the hiking trail system in America -The Appalachian
Trail.
Jan and Ray Louves spearheaded the move to building a trail system in Ontario, Canada. The Bruce Trail a 300 mile hiking
trail along the Niagara Escarpment in Southern Ontario. Jan and my mother divorced when Mary Anne was barely 2 years old.
My mother then raised 5 children as a single parent. Not an easy task when the 4 oldest are boys.
My wife Mary and I have 5 children and 4 grandchildren, and I have two children and two grandchildren from a previous
marriage. Mary and I met 37 years ago and we have had an interesting life together, to say the least. At age 38 I returned to
school and eventually attained my degree as MD, while Mary also returned to school and is now a nurse with a Bachelor of
Science degree. We now live in Carlsbad, New Mexico, but still retain close ties to Canada.
Salina Cheyenne is our oldest daughter, married to Michael McGlue, has two boys, Dillon Patrick and Ronan Tomas. Mike
and Cheyenne live in Denver, Colorado, and Cheyenne is involved in disaster management, having been an EIYT for many
years, both paid and volunteer.
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