Berend Schuurman (1891-1980)

Berend Schuurman was born 19 Feb 1891 in Ambt Ommen, The Netherlands. He was the son of Tone Schuurman and Berendina Schutte, and had at least three other siblings who married in Ambt Ommen, and two siblings who died young. For some reason Ommen births do not show up in the database of the Historic Center Overijssel, so I can’t check births.

Berend is the husband of my grandaunt Geertje de Haan (dutch link), sister of my grandfather. They married in 1919. Their daughter Diny (Berendina, named after her father’s mother) was born in 1921, and they had a stillborn child in 1923 and 1926.

Ommen used to be composed of two separate parts: City of Ommen and the surrounding country side, Ambt Ommen. These were separate municipalities until 1923, when they were combined. This happened with lots of places in Overijssel, i.e. Almelo, Hardenberg, Zwolle, where the surrounding area was independent of the city. This made it very hard for the city to expand, and gave the count, or whoever owned the country side a stranglehold over the city, resulting in strained relations between city and landowner.

While Berend was born in Ommen, Geertje had moved there with her parents in 1907. Her father was working in the peat industry in Pekela, but the industry was there was dying, and Overijssel offered new opportunities, as new fields of peat were found there. He also rented a farm in Ommen. Berend’s father was a also farmer. They lived in Ommen all their married life, and when my grandparents retired, they moved to Ommen as well. My mother and Diny were not only cousins, but also good friends, she came to my wedding.

I fondly remember visiting with them: they still had a gleaming (copper) working hand pump in the kitchen (there was also running water, so they probably did not use it much, but I remember it working), and they had a to me very large garden, with lots of berry bushes. For some reason I remember especially the gooseberries.

I end with the only picture I have of them, possibly taken at an anniversary, either 50 or 60 yr. Berend died inn 1980, Geertje survived him by only a year.