Pieter ten Bruggencate (1902-1942)

Pieter ten Bruggencate (dutch link) was born 29 Mar 1902 in Broek op Langedijk, North Holland, 5th child of Albertus ten Bruggencate and Maartje Bak. He is my 3rd cousin once removed.

Pieter was in Langsa, Sumatra in 1927, when he married Pietje de Vries by proxy in Wonseradeel, Friesland.⁽¹⁾ While the entry of this marriage is in the allefriezen.nl database, the marriage certificate seems to be missing from the films on familysearch. There is another problem as well, he is listed as being 38 years old! His parents however, are listed correctly. So I really would like to see the certificate. It is possible that the error arose because the man who was standing in for him (as he was not himself there) was 38 yrs old.

It is unclear, why Pieter went to Sumatra. He had registered for the draft in 1922, but did not have to serve, because a brother had already served.⁽²⁾ His father’s family card lists him as “professionally removed to East India,” but does not state what his profession is.⁽³⁾ What is clear is that WWII and the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies catches them on Sumatra. Pietje died 23 Mar 1945 in the civilian prison camp Belawan Estate near Medan.⁽⁴⁾ This camp was from Jul 1943- Oct 1944 a camp for men, and from Oct 1944 – May 1945 a camp for women.⁽⁵⁾ It is unclear where and when Pieter died; various websites (which do not list any sources) have his date of death as 9 Jul 1941 and 19 Jul 1942. As the Japanese invasion in WWII did not reach Sumatra until after Jan 1942, he would have died either before or shortly after the invasion. He was not interned in a camp, otherwise he would be listed in the War graves listing.

Pieter and Pietje had five children born in Langsa. They were between 17 and 6 yrs old when Pietje died. It is unclear where they were during this time, but it does seem likely they had been send to the Netherlands at some point. If so, they should be in the civil registrations, but the newer ones have been taken off-line because of the new privacy laws in Europe.

Certainly an interesting story, albeit with lots of questions still.

(1) Marriage Pieter ten Bruggencate and Pietje de Vries, 10 Aug 1927, Wonseradeel, 1827 #82.
(2) Noord-Hollands Archief, Alphabetical registers of draftees. Broek op Langedijk, Arch. #23, Reg.# 376, 1922. Pieter ten Bruggencate. Image online here.
(3) Family Card of Albertus ten Bruggencate. Regionaal Archief Alkmaar.
(4) Stichting Oorlogsgraven (War Graves), Pietje ten Bruggencate-de Vries
(5) An interesting site is East Indies Camp Archives. There is an English interface, however a lot of information seems to be only available in Dutch.

Allan ten Bruggencate says:

November 29, 2019 at 9:43 pm

Hi Afina! Pieter ten Bruggencate was my grandfather – my father was his eldest son (which would make us fourth cousins, once removed, I think!) The death notice for my grandmother stated that his date of death was 9 July 1941, but it also said that he was 41 – which doesn’t align with your birth date for him. At the time of his death, he was managing the Ford factory at Langsa. I understand the death was from natural causes (the suggestion that I heard was that it had something to do with a blood clot). He was buried in the town. About 30 years ago, some of my family visited and were shown the grave site by a former employee of his, but this was before the time of GPS, and the spot has since been lost.
My understanding is that he died before the Japanese invasion in Sumatra (or at least before it reached Langsa). My family in Broek op Langedijk has far more detail.
My grandmother and the four younger children were interned in a “family camp”, whereas my father was sent to a men’s camp (at the age of 13). I believe that my father and his siblings were repatriated by the Red Cross in ’46 or ’47. All of the siblings, apart from my father, who died in 2011, are still living in the Netherlands. Hope this helps!

Afina says:

December 1, 2019 at 9:44 pm

Hi Allen,
Nice to hear from you. We are indeed 4th cousins once removed. Thanks for the tidbits about their time in Langsa and the camps. I have had contact with various members of your extended family, among them your eldest brother Pieter in 2008, but they told me not much about that.
The birthday of your grandfather is 29 Mar 1902. See his birth certificate at FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-ZLGQ-B), so I cannot explain the death date that you quote.
I am at the moment not so into the genealogy anymore, am trying to write up my direct lines.
But thanks for contacting me from Australia,
and greetings and best wishes from New Jersey

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