Person:Gaele Kamminga (1)

Gaele Kamminga was a son of Simon Ymkes Kamminga (b.Harlingen 03.01.1817), cooper by profession, and Lolkje Gaeles Bouma. Gaele Kamminga was born in Harlingen in district A, No. 152 (now Zoutsloot 45).[1] second house on the left is supposed to be the Birth house of Gaele and Ymke (John) Kamminga:

Gaele was named after his maternal grandfather In 1848 they lived on Zoutsloot 100/102.

The Harlingen Population 1851-1860, Section C, page 160 shows that in that period they lived on the Noorderhaven (C-162).

The Census 1860-1880, Part K, page 6, shows that in 1860, son Ymke was sailor by profession. son Gaele was 16 then, no occupation mentioned. I cannot find data in the Census of both sons Ymke and Gaele Kamminga The latest data about them are from the Population 1860-1880.

In the Register of the School of Mathematics and Maritime Engineering 1842-1910, in the years 1856-1874, their names were not found.

On the website of the [WWW.CBG.NL] (Central Bureau for Genealogy) in The Hague is more interesting information about Gaele Kamminga.

He occurs in the General Police Journal, 1865, page 100. He was 20 years old, last seen on board of the Dutch ship Caspar de Robles, skipper TW van Slooten, and was wanted by the police because he had deserted the ship during the voyage.

General Police Journal, 1865, pg. 84, No 119: Gaele Kamminga, Harlingen born October 31, 1844.

General Police Journal, 1865, page 100, No 168: Kamminga, G., 20 years old, inexperienced sailor, born and residing in Harlingen, 1.4 meter long, round forehead, hair blond, eyebrows light blonde, blue eyes, nose and mouth normal, chin round, healthy color. Last seen on board of the Dutch ship Caspar de Robles, skipper van Slooten. These 15 persons in various judgments of the tribunal-court to Rotterdam, from January 24 this year, in respect of deserting the ship during the journey, up to 3 months imprisonment. The prosecutor in Rotterdam invites exploration, retention planning and sending him back.

General Police Journal, 1877, page 91: G. Kamminga, page 100, No 165-168. (refer to previous paragraph).

It appears that Gaele deserted in 1864 from the two-masted schooner Caspar di Robles,[2] built in 1851 in Harlingen, skipper T. van Slooten, owner Sailmakers & Co. in Harlingen. The ship sailed between Amsterdam and Suriname (Nickerie) back and forth cargoing food, sugar and rum and took this cargo to the Netherlands, and Porto Cabello, Laguayra, and in 1867 from Maracaibo to Hamburg.

Around 1880 Gaele shows up again in Guam, where he married and got children.

Questions to be answered

1. Where was Gaele in the period 1864 - 1880?

2. Did he desert in Suriname, or in another port (Gibraltar, Triëst)

3. Was he joined by his brother Ymke on his journey

4. Is John Kamminga the same person as Ymke Kamminga