Wilhelmina Meyer
By Bentheimers International Society
A portion of General Major von Le Coq‘s Grafschaft Bentheim map (1805) depicting Veldhausen. Wilhelmina Meyer was born near here in 1799.
Wilhelmina Meyer (Meijer) was born on April 12, 1799 in Teich (near Veldhausen) and was baptized on April 14 in Veldhausen. Her parents were Herbert Meijer and Johanna Lens, and her father was a Schuster, a shoemaker in Veldhausen.
Wilhelmina Meyer marries Hendrik Jan Walkotte
Wilhelmina Meyer married Hendrik Jan Walkotte in Veldhausen on July 6, 1819. Together they had nine children:
1. Hendrik—born in 1819 in Veldhausen, died in 1881 in Gölenkamp;
2. Harmen—born in 1821 in Tinholt;
3. Albert—born in 1823;
4. Hindrik Jan—born in 1827 in Tinholt;
5. Jan Harm—born in 1832 in Uelsen;
6. Aleida—born 1834 in Uelsen;
7. Adolf—born 1836 in Hilten;
8. Jan—born in 1839 in Hilten; and
9. Gerrit Jan—born 1842 in Hilten.
Leaving the County for Michigan
On December 16, 1847, Wilhelmina Meyer Walkotte and her family (except for her eldest sons, Hendrik and Harmen) left Uelsen for Rotterdam. On March 5, 1848, they left port aboard the three–mast sailing ship the F.J. Wichelhausen.
Not all of the emigrating family members arrived in New York, however. Wilhelmina’s husband Hendrik Jan died aboard the ship on May 5, and her youngest son Gerrit Jan died two days later. They were both buried at sea.
After living in Middletown, New Jersey for a few years, Wilhelmina, four of her sons, and her daughter moved on to Drenthe, Michigan, settling there in 1853. There she passed away on January 1, 1882, but not before being reunited with her son Harm and his family, who emigrated in 1881.
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