Person:Hendrik Duwel (2)

Hendrik Duwel was born as Johann Henrich Düvel in Stapelage, Lippe, Prussia on 11 June 1811. In the Dutch records, his birth place is sometimes registered as Billingerheide, Prussia and at other times as August, Prussia. Neither place exists in Germany. After extensive research, I have finally determined that both places are consistent with Stapelage, Lippe, Prussia. Two kilometers to the north of Stapelage lies a place called Billinghausen and about 8 km south of Stapelage lies a place called Augustdorf. In addition, names of places around Stapelage, such as Pivitsheide, Heidenoldendorf, etc. indicate that there are a lot of heather ("heide") fields around Stapelage. Combined with the fact that the birth date for Johann Henrich in Stapelage is identical to the birth date for records on Hendrik in the Netherlands, the mysterious location of "Billingerheide" and "August" appears to have been solved.

We don't know much about Hendrik's early years. He appears to have been the second child and only son of Jürgen (or Johann) Henrich Düwel and Anna Maria Ilsebein Leising and grew up in a family of (at least) 6 children. At some point between 1819 and 1824, the family appears to have moved 8 km south from Stapelage to the relatively new settlement of Augustdorf, Lippe, Prussia, which was only founded in 1775. In Augustdorf, his last three siblings are born in the 1820's.

It is not known when he emigrated to the Netherlands, but it must have been sometime before 1842 as Hendrik's first daughter was born in Katwijk-aan-zee, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands on 11 July 1843. At that time, Hendrik was a "polder labourer". Johann Henrich appears to have been part of a long tradition of (e)migrant workers from Lippe to the Netherlands. There is no evidence that he was joined by members of his family.

Upon arrival in the Netherlands, Johann Henrich seems to have adapted his name to the Dutch language. "Johann Henrich" became "Hendrik" or, in some instances, "Johan Gerrit Christoffel" and his last name, "Düvel", became Duwel. The major change is the dropping of the umlaut on the "u", as his family name was spelt variously as "Düvel" or "Düwel" in the Prussian records.

Sometime after settling in Katwijk-aan-zee, he met Sophia Wilhelmina van Doorn, a daughter of Belgian immigrants who was born in Buiksloot, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands in 10 May 1824. Their first three children, Maria Wilhelmina, Bernardus and Carolina Wilhelmina, were born out of wedlock. Soon after the still-birth of Carolina Wilhelmina, however, Hendrik married Sophia Wilhelmina on 13 June 1847 in Winkel, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands. Over the next 18 years, the couple had a further 9 children. Of the 12 children, only 4 appear to have survived into adulthood.

Hendrik and his family moved extensively throughout North- and South- Holland during his life. After Katwijk-aan-zee (1843), we see them appear in Barsingerhorn, Noord-Holland (1845); Winkel, Noord-Holland (1847); Delft, Zuid-Holland (1849); Sloten, Noord-Holland (1851); Heemstede, Noord-Holland (1853, 1855). The family finally appears to settle in Haarlemmermeer, Noord-Holland from 1857 onwards. This migrant lifestyle is probably related to Hendrik's employment as a "polder labourer" or "earth labourer" during the period up to the late 1850's. Presumably Hendrik moved around from one land reclamation or polder maintenance project to another. However, by 1860, Hendrik has become a shopkeeper. It is unlikely that this change of profession was inspired by the prospect of higher income. Instead, at age 49, Hendrik was probably unable to keep up with the physical demands of working in the polders.

After giving birth to the last of her 12 children, Sophia Wilhelmina passes away at the age of 42 on 2 October 1866, leaving Hendrik a widower at age 54. After four years, aged 59, he remarries Burgje Noordijk, aged 57, on 29 September 1871. It is not clear whether Burgje survived Hendrik or not. But if she did, he spent another 17 years with her until he passed away, aged 75, on 17 april 1888, less than 6 months after having seen the last of his surviving children, Franciscus Bernardus, my great-great-grandfather, and get married. Hendrik was survived by 3 of his children and 8 grandchildren.