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Our family's origins are in Friesland, the rural farming province of northern Holland, where my siblings and I were born. This genealogy spans 14 generations, dating back to c1600 - the listing centers on my parents, Hendrik Ritsma and Jitske van Assen (Henry and Joyce), but you can expand from there. The "cast of characters" is accurate and up to date, to the best of my knowledge, but if you know of an error or omission, please let me know. I'd like to offer a special "bedankt" to those of you who have helped me create the family's history that I present here. For the extended "stamboom" of my mother's family, van Assen, which I have included in the GenoPro presentation, I extend a special bedankt en groeten to Jan van Assen, of Berlikum, Friesland! Allow me introduce you to Hendrik & Jitske's children, my siblings, in chronological order: Martje (Marilyn), Willem (Bill), Sietske (Susan), Pietje (Pat), Gooitsen (George), Ridzert (Rich), Hendrika (Rita) and myself, Anton (Tony :) While browsing through the old names, especially pre-1800, you will notice that the surnames seem to be all different, from generation to generation. The reason for this is the old tradition of the son/daughter taking, as a last name, the first name of the father. This was a fairly common naming convention throughout Europe. So, Ritsert Wytses' son is named Tjeerd Ridserts, and his son is named Ridzert Tjeerds. Ridzert Tjeerds' sons and daughters are finally given the surname, Ritsma (ie: Wopke Ritserts Ritsma). What I'm still unclear about is the connection of our "strain" of the Ritsma name to the other Ritsma families that are found in other regions of Holland. The name Ritsma / Ritsema seems to be a derivative of the name Ridsert or Ridsaert. These were not uncommon names, so I guess it would follow that the name Ritsma might have wide usage, without any real connecting bloodline. In other words, I don't think we're related to the Dutch skater, Rintje Ritsma, the Olympic medalist :) Pictures! I am also including pics in the genealogy files; I have included the most current photos of the immediate family that I have. There are also some photos of our extended Dutch family - to those of you who have sent me photos to include here, ik zeggen, Bedankt!. I haven't scanned much beyond the 1960's photos yet, so some dutch family photos may not be current. If you have a newer photo that you'd like to see here, please feel free to send it to me. Thanks! For a photographic history of our branch of the Ritsma tree, please visit the Photo Gallery. The earliest photos are of my father's grandparents (Ridsert Ritsma & Ymkje Everts Sikma and Anne Martens Klok & Antje Hendriks Posthuma), then progressing through our time in Murmerwoude (all of us born in the same house - the one Heit built with his father, "pake" Willem Ridserts Ritsma, then on to Ridderkerk, where we awaited our immigration to the United States in 1957, up to (for now) the 1960s. There are also some recent vacation photos and others as well. Thanks for visiting, and Enjoy! |
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Ritsma Genealogy |
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