Groningen City, the capitol of Groningen Province, is an important commercial center. The city was controlled by the French from 1795 to 1814 and by the Germans during World War II, when it suffered heavy damage. Groningen has a university that was founded in 1614. Groningen is a shopping and commercial center with a considerable trade in cereals, oilseed, lumber and cattle. Its industries include sugar refining, book printing, tobacco processing, and the manufacture of clothing, furniture, hosiery, machinery, and bicycles.
The Ryskamp Ancestral Locations are in the northern part of Groningen Province as shown on the following map. Click on a village to go to a description of it.
Hendriks Freeks Ryskamp (4th-great-grandfather, 1755) was born here. Hendrik Jacobs Bolthuis (4th-great-grandfather, 1763) was christened here. He is an ancestor of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857).
Today, Bedum is a very attractive town with canals and two churches. One church may be modern but the other church dates from 1050 AD with additions being built during medieval times. The bell tower is the oldest section of this church.
In Arnhem, there is a very nice National Heritage Museum. It is an open air museum with buildings and costumed villagers demonstrating skills at various workshops. At the museum at stop 57 there is a cottage of a laborer for the village of Bedum from second half of the 19th century. Our ancestors were here in the second half of the 18th century. The cottage had a small area for keeping cattle. The cottage is of the �krimpen� architectural style. There is also a tollbooth for the road between Bedum and the city of Groningen.
Cornelius Pieters Kloppinga (4th-great-grandfather, 1756) was christened here. He died here in 1827. His daughter, Hilje Cornelius Kloppinga (3rd-great-grandmother, 1787) was born here. His wife, Boukje Hylkes (1757) was christened here and died here in 1830.
Ezinge is a small town.
Ancestors of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857) lived here. Pieter Liendeers (5th-great-grandfather, 1732) died here in 1776. His son, Tonnis Pieters (1767), was christened here.
Hellum is a village surrounded by other adjacent villages. The church dates from 1100 AD.
Kornelius Ryskamp (great-grandfather, 1855), the father of Henry C Ryskamp, was born here. When he was born, they were living at house number 25 in Huizinge (Middelstum 235434). We don�t know what house that is today. An older gentleman in the village told us that the house numbers were changed in the 1960s. He told us many of the houses in the village existed in the mid-19th century. Kornelius emigrated to the United States in 1881. His grandfather, Kornelius Hendriks Ryskamp (3rd-great-grandfather, 1799) was born here too.
Huizinge is a very small village with a 13th century church. There is a school with 1877 written over the entrance. The village is in a quiet farmland setting. Middelstum, the nearby town, can be seen behind fields to the west. Middelstum is very close and it makes sense that the villagers in Huizinge would have traveled there often.
Jan Derks Karsies (2nd-great-grandfather, 1819) was born here. His mother, Klaaske Hendriks Bulthuis (1795), and her parents, Hendrik Jacobs Bolthuis (1763) and Weike Nannings Kits (1764), died here in 1823, 1827, and 1828 respectively.
Kantens is a village that has its own church and a windmill.
Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857) was born here and her father, Jan Derks Karsies (1819) died here in 1865. One of the Ryskamp ancestors, Giertje Wierks Bakker (4th-great-grandfather, 1758) was born here and married Hendriks Freeks Ryskamp (1755) in 1779 here.
Today, Loppersum is one of the largest towns that our ancestors lived in. It has a windmill with 1849 written over the entrance and a 13th century church. The town contains typical brick buildings. It is difficult to distinguish old from new construction.
Kornelius Ryskamp (great-grandfather, 1855) and Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857) were married here in 1881. Four ancestors of Kornelius Ryskamp (great-grandfather, 1855) died here, Hendriks Freeks Ryskamp (4th-great-grandfather, 1755) in 1828, Kornelius Hendriks Ryskamp (3rd-great-grandfather, 1799) in 1867, Giertje Wierks Bakker (4th-great-grandmother, 1758) in 1814 and Freeka Alberts (4th-great-grandmother, 1749) in 1814. In addition, the grandmother of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857), Klaaske Hendriks Bulthuis (1795), was christened here in 1795.
Middelstum is a small town with a 15th century church and a windmill with 1855 written over the entrance.
Edna Ryskamp wrote the following about Middelstum, �On [my] trip to Holland in 2001, there was a very special feeling for me, especially in Middelstum. I realized that this was likely the very church where my grandfather, Kornelius Ryskamp, and grandmother, Jantje Karsies Ryskamp, were married in 1881. Soon after their marriage they came to the United States of America. Dad always said his parents came over to America on their honeymoon and never returned to the Netherlands.�
The mother of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857), Tr�ntje Tonnis Leenhuis (1827), was born here. She later emigrated to Michigan.
An ancestor of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857), Freerks Geerts Wiegman (4th-great-grandfather, 1775), was born here.
Four ancestors of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857) were born here. Harmannus Tonnis Leenhuis (3rd-great-grandfather, 1805), his wife, Hilje Freerks Wiegman (3rd-great-grandmother, 1806), his mother, Anna Harmannas Folkersma (4th-great-grandmother, 1784), and his grandfather, Harmannas Jakobus Folkersma (5th-great-grandfather, 1739).
Six ancestors of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857) died here: Harmannus Tonnis Leenhuis (3rd-great-grandfather, 1805) in 1853, Tonnis Pieters (4th-great-grandfather, 1767) in 1836, Anna Harmannas Folkersma (4th-great-grandmother, 1784) in 1825, Harmannas Jakobus Folkersma (5th-great-grandfather, 1739) in 1822, Meike Roelfs (5th-great-grandmother, 1746) in 1828 and Freerks Geerts Wiegman (4th-great-grandfather, 1775) in 1856.
Slochteren is a town with a church and clock tower. The clock tower was built in the 13th century. Fraeylemaborg, an attractive castle and grounds built in the 17th century, is a highlight for a visit. It existed when our ancestors lived here.
Four ancestors of Kornelius Ryskamp (great-grandfather, 1855) lived here. Jacob Wolters (4th-great-grandfather, 1748) was born here. Jacob�s father, Wolter Jacobs, died here in 1765, and Hilje Cornelius Kloppinga (1787) died here in 1830.
Stedum is a town with an old church.
The grandfather of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857), Derk Jans Karsies (1794), died here in 1872.
�t Zandt is a village with an old 13th century church and another small church.
Kornelius Ryskamp�s (great-grandfather, 1855) mother, Tr�ntje Willems Wisman (2nd-great-grandmother, 1826), was born here. All of Kornelius�s three younger brothers were born here (Film 557950). Tr�ntje and her family later emigrated to Michigan.
This small village is between Huizinge and Loppersum. We didn�t visit it.
The father of Kornelius Ryskamp (great-grandfather, 1855), Hendrik Kornelius Ryskamp (1829) was born here. Hendrik�s mother, Jobtje Jacob Meijer (1789), was born here also. Her father, Jacob Wolters (1748), died here in 1793. Her mother, Freeka Alberts (1749) was christened here.
Westerwijtwerd is a small picturesque farming village very close to Huizinge and Middelstum. There are canals, a windmill, and a 13th century church.
An ancestor of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857), Weike Nannings Kits (4th-great-grandmother, 1764), was born here.
Winsum is a town with an old church, many canals, and a windmill. The canals and streets made this town very picturesque. In the Netherlands, unlike England, the churches were locked. The church in Winsum was the only one open for viewing. A Dutchman gave a tour of the building. An interesting part of the tour was a table that had a bullet hole from one of Napoleon�s soldiers.
A grandfather of Jantje Karsies (great-grandmother, 1857), Derk Jans Karsies (1794), was born here. His father, Jan Derks Karsies (1766), was christened here and died here in 1808. Jan Derks Karsies� wife, Diewerke Bruins (1766), died here in 1809.
At the National Heritage Museum in Arnhem there is a laborer�s cottage from the second half of the 19th century at stop 63.
Bedum, Groningen. Map
The tower on this church was built in 1050AD.
19th century house from Bedum at National Heritage Museum.
Ezinge, Groningen. Map
Hellum, Groningen. Map
This Hellum church was first built in 1100.
Hellum church photo taken in 1993.
The church was being repaired in 2001.
Huizinge, Groningen. Map
The church in Huizinge dates from the 13th century.
View of Huizinge with farmland in foreground.
House existing in 19th century.
House existing in 19th century.
House in Huizinge.
Kantens, Groningen. Map
Loppersum, Groningen. Map
Cycling is common in the Netherlands today.
Middelstum, Groningen. Map
15th century church in Middelstum.
15th century church in Middelstum.
Noordbroek, Groningen. Map
School in Noordbroek.
Scheemda, Groningen. Map
Scheemda.
Schildwolde, Groningen. Map
Schildwolde.
Slochteren, Groningen. Map
The clock tower was built in the 13th century.
Fraeylemaborg Castle was built in the 17th century.
House across from Fraeylemaborg Castle.
House across from Fraeylemaborg Castle.
Stedum, Groningen. Map
�t Zandt, Groningen. Map
This church was built in the 13th century.
Westeremden, Groningen. Map
Westerwijtwerd, Groningen. Map
This church was built in the 13th century.
This church was built in the 13th century.
This church was built in the 13th century.
This church was built in the 13th century.
Winsum, Groningen. Map
Table with bullet hole from a soldier of Napoleon.
Zandeweer, Groningen. Map
Cottage from Zandeweer at the National Heritage Museum in Arnhem.
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Older church.
Older church.
Older church.
Newer church.
Newer church.
Canal in Bedum.
Ezinge church.
Ezinge church.
Ezinge street scene.
Hellum church door.
Kornelius Ryskamp.
Huizinge church.
Huizinge church.
School built in 1877.
House in Huizinge.
Church in Kantens.
Windmill in Kantens.
Houses in Kantens.
Jantje Karsies.
Windmill built in 1849.
Church built in 13th century.
Houses in Loppersum.
Windmill built in 1855.
Windmill built in 1855.
House in Middelstum.
House in Noordbroek.
House in Noordbroek.
Bell tower in Scheemda.
Scheemda.
Scheemda.
Scheemda.
Church in Schildwolde.
Church in Slochteren.
Fraeylemaborg Castle.
Fraeylemaborg Castle.
Fraeylemaborg Castle.
Fraeylemaborg Castle.
Church in Stedum.
Street in Stedum.
Hendrik Kornelius Ryskamp.
Canal in Westerwijtwerd.
Windmill in Westerwijtwerd.
Street in Westerwijtwerd.
Church in Winsum.
Interior of church.
Pulpit in church.
Canal in Winsum.
Windmill in Winsum.
Winsum.
Street scene in Winsum.
Street scene in Winsum.
Bell tower in Zandeweer.
Windmill built in 1818.