Geeszijn Jans (1764-)

Geeszijn Jans was baptized 25 Mar 1764, youngest child of Jan Geerts Luirts (dutch link) and Hindrikje Hindriks. She was a half-sister of my 5th great-grandmother, the first child of Jan Geerts Luirts and his first wife Geessien Geerts.

Jan married Geessien in 1737 (as Jan Luirts and Geesien Geerts) in Nieuwe Pekela, both are from Nieuwe Pekela. They have two children baptized (father is listed as Jan Geerts, mother Geesje Geerts). The reason I think this is the same couple, is that Jan calls his first daughter Rebecca, which is is his mother’s name. Geessien is buried in 1742 as the “wife of Jan Geert Luirts,” and a child in 1743 as “child of Jan Geert Luirts.”⁽¹⁾

Jan married Hindrikje in 1746 (as Jan Geert Luirts), he is from Nieuwe Pekela, she from Veendam. There is no marriage contract for this couple, at least not in allegroningers.nl, or any of the other Groningen sources (and there are many). Jan has 8 more children, and he is listed variously as Jan Geerts, Jan Luirts, and Jan Geert Luirts. The names of these children weakly support the hypothesis that Jan is the son of Luirt Lauwerens and Rebecca Antonies: there is an Antonie (his mother’s father). But we don’t know the names of Hindrikje’s parents, so it is hard to say.

Jan’s sister (bapt. as Margrieta, daughter of  Luirt Lauwerens and Rebecca Lauwerens in 1715) does have a son Laurens (no Luirt), but does not have a daughter Rebecca. Jan’s brother Antoni (bapt. as Antinius, son of Luirt Lauwerens and Rebecca Lauwerens in 1718) does have a Rebecca, but no Luirt.

The baptismal books of Nieuwe Pekela do not start until 1704, and Jan was probably born just before that. In addition there is a gap from 1719-1726, but that would be too late for Jan. They married rather late in those days.

This family points out the limits of relying too heavily on patronymics: Jan is variously listed as Jan Luirts, Jan Geerts, Jan Geert Luirts, Jan Geerts Luirts; his mother is Rebecca Antonies or Rebecca Lauwerens. You could be listed with your father’s name as patronymic, or your husband’s patronymic, or maybe even your wife’s patronymic, I can think of no other way Jan could have been Jan Geerts. And unfortunately this family never made a marriage contract to clarify family relations.

(1) Otto de Boer, compiler, Diaconierekeningen Nieuwe Pekela 1739-1811 (Wassenaar: n.pub., 2010). Online at http://members.home.nl/dickkuil/Diakonierekeningen%20Nieuwe%20Pekela%201739-1799.pdf. (in Dutch)