The story of one vagrant is even more harrowing than that of the other. Their descendants have often put a lot of work into sifting through their lives. The Prison Museum hopes to do justice to this with a small exhibition.
With their mouths open, the descendants of the Veenhuizer vagrants listen to narrator Nelle Raaphorst. She tells the story of Pytsje Deinum from Workum. A young Frisian woman, who is only very lucky in her life. After less than a year of marriage, her first husband dies. Her second husband meets the same fate, as do several sons. Wandering and begging, with young children in her wake, she travels through Friesland. Until she is sent by the well-to-do bourgeoisie, as they say, to Veenhuizen. In the unfree colony, the vagrants, beggars and orphans have to work hard and there are strict rules. The audience no doubt thinks about the lives of their ancestors.
A small exhibition opened in the Prison Museum on Friday highlighting some of the stories of settlers. They have often been sorted out by their descendants. Those present responded to the Prison Museum’s call to submit their own photo and story. Curator Alina Dijk is still surprised about the enormous number of stories that came in. The interest in the opening also shows that the subject is alive. “I should be happy if five people respond, I thought at the time. And now the room is full!” She would have preferred more space for the exhibition, she admits: “In the near future we will publish even more stories on the website of the Prison Museum.”
Be helps orphans
The wall accommodates a small number of stories. Like that of Jan and Agnes Nibbering. The granddaughter of ‘grandmother’ Agnes, Agnes de Vries from Groningen, made an extensive book about her life story with her brother Joris Jan de Vries and his daughter Iris from Alkmaar, which begins with the unfortunate fate of Agnes’ father Jan. He loses his wife no less than three times and lives in such abject poverty that he begs for work. That is not allowed and so he has to go to Veenhuizen.
That is a big drama for his minor daughters Lucia and Agnes. In the time of Jan Nibbering no orphans have been taken care of in Veenhuizen for forty years. The girls have to go to the Catholic orphanage in Steenwijkerwold. When Agnes is of age she may serve with her cousin Jan de Vries. He managed to escape poverty and become a pharmacist with a large family. When his wife dies in childbirth, Agnes, who grew up in the orphanage, knows what to do. She marries her cousin and takes care of his children. Together they get nine more.
Close circle
“All the stories of people here have the same tragedy,” says Joris Jan de Vries. “The three generations before us lost their mother when they were very young. We are closing the circle.” Harry Berg from Assen is quite disappointed that the story of his great-great-grandfather Frederik Berg has no place on the wall. “I’ve been researching family history since I was 20. I have a lot complete, but my great-grandfather was always missing from his wife’s family photo. No one knew where he had gone.”
Berg, who is familiar with Veenhuizen and Frederiksoord as a nature guide, discovered that his great-great-grandfather from Sappemeer became beggars and was arrested no less than five times from Utrecht to be sent to Veenhuizen. “I can still see him coming in when he discovered it,” says wife Willy. “I didn’t believe it at first!” Frederik’s son is looking for higher things. He emigrates to South Africa and even ends up in government circles.
Similarities
More often, the stories of great-great-grandfathers bear similarities to the lives of their descendants. Georg Ros, ancestor of Clemens from Groningen, ended up in Veenhuizen as an orphan after his parents died in the Ommerschans penal colony. Georg Ros was a good student and was allowed to attend the agricultural school of the Society of Benevolence. His great-grandchild became a surveyor and even used a measuring instrument from his great-grandfather.
Johannes Laurens Rodenhuis from Nijeveen was named after his grandfather. And grandfather also got the name of his grandfather: Johannes Laurens Geerlings. His great-grandfather – who ended up in Veenhuizen five times, met his wife there and had children there – learned a trade thanks to the government: he became a shoemaker. His great-grandchild was director of a sheltered employment facility during his working life. “It is beautiful on the one hand, these stories,” he reflects. “But also sad. Fortunately, we are on the right track.”
Rodenhuis thinks it is important that the exhibition pays attention to the stories. “It was never discussed in the family. And when it did, it was with great shame.”