The Genealogical History of the Family
Dorgelo
Original
Dutch Authors: Alex.
Dorgelo,
Drawn by Engbert Dorgelo (1938)
Chapter II - From Middle Ages To Church Reformation
Chapter lll. The Roman - Catholic Branch
Chapter lV. The Evangelic Branch
Chapter V. The Dorgelo’s in The Netherlands
a. Branch to Grafhorst - Kampen
b. Branch at Dalfsen, Borne and Zwolle
e. Branch via Raalte to Dedemsvaart.
f. Branch via Raalte to Haaksbergen
Preface
The following on-line text is a translation into
English, by the undersigned, of the existing Dutch text ‘De Genealogische
Geschiedenis van de Familie Dorgelo’. I received this manuscript from my
brother in
It is hoped that this translated text may be
useful to those namesakes in other parts of the world who no longer speak
Dutch. They may wish to add their names and those of their offspring to the
‘Register of the Families Dorgelo’ which is appended to this manuscript. In
that way the work of the original authors will bear fruit for generations to
come.
In order to facilitate the understanding of
feudal terminology used in the text, a short overview of old feudal terms
follows (copied from Webster’s New World Dictionary). Feud (fief): (‘payment’
in form of) heritable land ‘held’ from a lord in return for service; Feudalism:
a medieval system in which land, worked by serfs ‘attached’ to it, was held by
feudal tenants (or vassals) in exchange for military duty given to their feudal
lord; Serf: a person in feudal servitude, a slave bound to his master’s estate
and transferred with it to a new owner; Lord: a person with great power, owner
and head of the feudal estate (consisting of several farms); Fealty:
duty, loyalty owed by the vassal to his lord.
[Occassional clarifications in the text by me
appear in square-angled brackets].
Hans Dorgelo, MD, FRCP, Tsawwassen, B.C.,
Introduction
The family name Dorgelo is not very prevalent in
the
It is quite clear from the number of Dorgelo’s
per province that [the province of] Overijssel, with168 namesakes, is the area
with the largest concentration followed by Drenthe and
It should then cause no surprise that, before
the Second World War [1939-’45], Alexander Dorgelo [of
Since 1952 he had been in touch with Alexander
Dorgelo, architect at Bussum. This namesake continued the work in a systematic
way for over 20 years on the basis of the findings noted above as well as those
obtained from his late father, Rev. Herman Dorgelo and his uncle, Prof. Hendrik
Dorgelo. Finally, he put together the genealogical register and family
tree which are attached hereto.
A few years before his death in 1963 I received,
from my uncle at
In the succeeding paragraphs we have first tried
to clarify the meaning of the family-name Dorgelo [in chapter one]. Since the
oldest written sources concern the German Dorgelo’s we paid special attention,
in chapter lI, to the von Dorgelo family belonging to the landed Nobility
[‘landed’ implies: owning land] from the 14th century til the Reformation. The
latter caused a split resulting in a noble (titled) [having a title] branch
remaining Roman Catholic and a. civil [untitled] Protestant branch. Both of
these are described in separate chapters [III and IV]. Lastly, chapter V
contains a detailed explanation of the genealogy of the Dorgelo’s in the
Netherlands in which one can discern seven branches on the basis of (former)
points of concentration in [the Dutch province] Overijsel.
At this point I would very much like to thank
all namesakes and relatives who made the printing and the publication possible
through their interest and financial contributions. In particular a word of
thanks to Alexander Dorgelo in Gouda who was so generous to take care of the
printing of the [Dutch] text. In this way you, the reader, have in front of you
a product to which many namesakes have contributed.
Oestgeest
[Holland], June 1973
Dr. J.D. Dorgelo
The Family
name Dorgelo
When one tries to clarify the origin and the
meaning of the family name Dorgelo one is justified to connect the name
‘Dorgelo’ with the many place names, in the eastern Netherlands and
N.W.Germany, that end with -lo, -loo, or -loh. Toponymically, these endings
mean ‘wood’ [or clearing in the woods, ‘glade’].
Slicher van Bath[1] has explained that a
place-name ending with -lo originated in the earliest settlement periods,
dating back to before the year 600. Villages and hamlets with these names can
be found in early settlement areas that show a good number of archeological
discoveries. These regions consist of higher, diluvial sandy soils intersected
by little rivers and creeks, as is the case in [the province of] Drenthe, the
area of Twenthe, the
As will be shown below, the family name Dorgelo
- in the past also spelled as Dorgeloe and Doringelo - is derived from the
place name with the present spelling of Dorrieloh. A further description of
this village is certainly in order here.[2] The village Dorrieloh is
about 5km [3M] southwest of the parish Varrel in the
Dorrieloh belongs to the rural municipality of
the same name which also includes the villages of Brummerloh and Renzel. The
municipality totals an area of
According to German sources,[3] Dorrieloh was the seat of
the noble family which derived its name from the village name and of which,
since 1381, many family members appear in the archives. The name of the village
is supposedly derived from the first name Dorrie and consequently meaning:
‘wood-crop’ of Dorrie. Today the family name, spelled as Dorgerloh, appears
frequently in the
The name spelled as ‘Dorgelo’ is not only known
in The Netherlands but also in the
[In times past, the German preposition ‘Von’
(‘Von’ meaning: ‘from’), or ‘Van’ in Dutch, was used to indicate the exclusive
social position of noble families in those days, i.e. living in castles or
large farmsteads – and owning all the surrounding land ‘worked by serf-farmers
attached to it and transferred with it to a new owner’. No wonder that the
farmers near Dorrieloh used to refer to such a person as ‘my Lord Von
Dorrieloh’, meaning: ‘of the castle Dorrieloh’.]
Figure
1 - Map of NorthWest Germany (Town of
[1] B.
Slicher van Bath, Nederzettingen in Graafschap Zutphen, in: Herschreven
Historie pg 121, 130, 131.
[2] Data provided by the
municipal authorities of Dorrieloh.
[3] C.H.
Nieberding, Oldenburgisch – Munsterliche Geschlechtsbeschreibung
[4] Gustav Nutzhorn gives a
detailed description of the Von Dorgelo’s in his article “ Zur Geschichte der Familie von Dorgelo” [About the History
of the Family von Dorgelo] in: Oldenburgische Familienkunde vol.11, nr.2, June 1969. There are also commentaries on this in the same
journal, vol. 12, nr.4, Dec.1970 and vol.13, nr.2, April ‘71.
Chapter II -
From Middle Ages To Church Reformation
As far as is known, Dethard von Doringelo (1381) is the first member of the noble family,
referred to in the previous chapter, which is mentioned in the written records.
In 1391 Otto von Doringelo was Sheriff of Vorden. It
is possible that he was a brother of Dethard. In 1393 Otto is mentioned as
Sheriff in the service of the governments of Munsterland, Cloppenburg and
Friesoyte.[1] In this function he built a castle on a small island in the Lethe, the
river between Munsterland and Oldenburg. The von Dorgelo’s lived in this castle
until about 1600.
Several members of the branch Von
Dorgelo-on-the-Lethe became, through marriage, occupants and/or owners of other
properties, as in the district of Furstenau (part of the former principality of
A Sheriff was a civil servant who represented
the feudal lord in a certain section of his territory. He was mainly
responsible for collecting taxes and services due the lord and for
administering justice in the [lord’s] district.
In 1461 there is, once again, an Otto von
Dorgelo, Sheriff of Cloppenburg and owner of Lethe,
possibly a son of Johan. Otto was at the same time the feudal tenant of both
farms in the
With the grace of God, We Hinrich, Bishop of
Minden, notify, make known and publicly announce in this letter, for us and our
successors, that we with hand and mouth, which God on High has granted us,
lease herewith through the power of this letter to Otto von Dorringelo the
Sattlehof at Dorringelo together with everything that belongs to the farmstead,
as is given in lease by us into the straight heriditairy line of lease and we
grant and will that he with his inheritance will be a merciful gentleman to the
court, always when and where such is necessary and is requested by us, and have
caused our legal seal to be hung onto this letter until further notice hereof --
Given after God’s birth thousand four hundred and seventy fourth year on Monday
morning April 25 (the day is unclear, J.D.D.).
A feudal tenant or vassal did not pay any rent
for the feudal estate. He did, however, have to swear allegiance [‘fealty’] to
the feudal lord and was obliged to serve as soldier in any war. Originally, the
lease would revert to the feudal lord when the feudal tenant died. In later
times such a lease would be inherited, in the male line, and slowly become the
property of the feudal tenant. He would often not manage the
feudal estate himself but assign that to someone else, a farmer, who
would be obliged to deliver part of the proceeds to him in the form of rent. It
is important to understand that the name Sattelhof [literally translated:
farmstead with saddled horses – note other reference in Chapter 4], common in many villages
during the Middle Ages, stands for a privileged farm which had the
characteristic of being ‘noble’ or ‘free’ property The difference from
regular farms was a public, judicial matter in that an ordinairy farm had to
pay taxes, not the Sattelhof. The German name Sattelhof is likely derived from the
fact that, in earlier times, these farms were obliged to provide the feudal
lord with saddled horses and riders. The feudal tenant at a Sattelhof was also
obliged to collect, for the lord, the rent from the serf-farmers who lived in
farms belonging to the Sattlehof.
Towards the end of the 15th century there was
yet again a Doringelo, Herbert von Doringelo, son of Otto, who was Sheriff at
Cloppenburg. His name appears repeatedly in the archives of
The estate Brettberg arose from two farms, Brettberg
and Steengraven. The castle Brettberg was most likely built around 1400 by
Hermann von Elmendorpe. The owner of the farm, Gotteke von Brettberge, was his
tenant. His son Wille von Elmendorpe was still tenant of the castle at Vechta
in 1446. Wille’s son Hermann had six sons. One of them,
who also carried the name Wille, acquired
the castle Brettberg after the death of his
parents in 1479. However, by 1490 Wille died and his wife died in 1528. She had
three daughters. One of them, Elske, married Otto von Doringelo, son of the
Sheriff of Cloppenburg and owner of the estate Lethe. Otto obtained possession
of Brettberg because his brother-in-law, Dietrich von Dinklage, who was married
to the oldest daughter Von Elmendorpe, had left no children when he died in
1511. It was through Otto, and in particular through his son Johann von
Dorgelo, that still more serf farms were acquired. Johann took a strong and
tough stand in regards to the serf farmers, in accord with the customs of that
time. He ordered the serf farmer Cord Stegemann, who had resisted him, to be
locked up in the dog kennel until he promised to behave better. Johann was
married to Anna von Weddesche from the Bomhof estate near Langforden, region
Vechta. In 1531 Johan sold the estate Bomhof to his brother-in-law Andreas
Quernheim for 1,000 gold guilders. When Von Quernheim was unable to pay in
cash, he assigned the tithes to his brother-in-law Johann at Aschen and
Ossenbeck in the earldom of Diepholz. Johann had two brothers, Wulfert and
Otto. Through marriage Wulfert obtained the estate Welpe.. After him there were
four more generations among who a Diederich (1554). This branch expired in 1666
with a Wulfert when several of his children had died at young age. One son,
Johann Wolfgang, had a church function at Osnabruck. In 1621 Wulfert’s brother,
Johann Otto, was the canon in the same town.[4]
After the death of his father Otto von Dorgelo
of Brettberg, Johann succeeded him as feudal tenant of the Sattlehof at
Dorrieloh, including all of its belongings.This is evident from the original
lease letter of 1536 drawn up by Franciscus, curator at Munster and Osnabruck
and administrator of Minden. This letter is also present in the house-archives
of the earlier mentioned farm in Dorrieloh.
In 1542 Johann concluded a marriage agreement
with Korff, called Schmissing von Tatenhausen, for his under-aged son Otto von
Dorgelo and Else Korff. On October 8, 1542 he made his last testament and died
soon after. He was solemnly buried at Lohne. He was survived by his son and a
daughter who remained a spinster. He also had two children out of wedlock. In
his testament he requested his wife, Anna von Weddesche, to look after these
children. After Johann’s death, his widow Anna managed the estate Brettberg for
her underage children. In 1543 Bishop Franz of Munster granted her, “as a very
respectful favor” the chapel, called ‘Kluse’ and consecrated to the holy Anna,
with surrounding property at Sudlohne. This chapel was famous for its miracle
spring water which is said to have caused miraculous healing of eye conditions
since the Middle Ages. Anna’s son Otto took possession of the estate in 1551.
She herself moved in to a castle at Vechta together with her daughter.
In the same year Otto married his fiancee Elske
von Korff-Schmissing at the Tatenhausen estate. Initially he lived his life in
a squandering fashion. He had 14 servants. This he could not keep up for long.
Thereupon he started to keep accurate records of income and expenses. Otto died
in 1584. Some 20 carriages followed him to his last resting place. In the
church of Lohne he received a tombstone. According to some sources - quoted in
the family book of the Gellhaus family who are the present owners of Brettberg
- Otto sold the family-estate ‘Engelken Sadelhof’ at Dorrieloh to Christof von
Brambardt in 1580. However, this must have occurred earlier because of
statements noted in an original lease-document found in the earlier mentioned
family-archives at Dorrieloh. In that document a certain Herman acknowledges,
in the name of the bishop of Minden, that the late Johann von Dorgelo had on
loan an estate at Dorrieloh which had been in the possessin of the late
Christoph von Brambardt. After the death of the last named, this reverted back
to the bishop who, in turn, passed it on to his son Johann von Brambardt in the
form of a tenant’s lease. In the former burnt-out church at Varrel there used
to be a tombstone which mentioned the death of Christoffer Brambardt on Sunday
January 12, 1578 at noon. Therefore, our conclusion must be that Otto von
Dorgelo sold the family-estate at Dorrieloh in or before 1578, probably because
of want of money.
In chapter III we will return to the remaining
history of the Von Dorgelo branch which remained Roman-Catholic. The Evangelic
[Protestant] branch [see chapter IV], from which the Dutch Dorgelo’s descend,
originated most likely from this family-estate in Dorrieloh as well. One can
assume that this estate, until it was sold to the family Von Brambardt, was
occupied by family members of the feudal tenants Von Dorgelo, e.g. by
Diederich, who is named in 1554 as nephew of the last tenant Otto.[5]
Already in 1528 did the county Diepholz, in
which Dorrieloh is situated, become Protestant. After the sale of the family
estate, before 1578, the Evangelic family Dorgelo had to seek a safe haven
elsewhere. They found such a haven at a farm on the Weserdyk in the hamlet of
Dreye, municipality Kirchweyhe, south of Bremen.
The contact with Dreye from Dorrieloh arose most
likely through mediation by the family Von Weyhe. Already before 1575, they
were in possession of a second Sattlehof in Dorrieloh (presently house number
19). In 1575 Count Otto of Hoya made out a ‘freedom-letter’ [a certificate of
release] regarding this estate in favor of the family Von Weyhe.[6] The estate of this
family, first mentioned in 1189, was situated in the present municipality of
Kirchweyhe. It seems rational to assume that the Protestant official Johann
Dorgelohe at Dreye, first mentioned in 1585, hailed from the Sattlehof nr.20 at
Dorrieloh (at present occupied by the farmer’s family Goteker). The former
Director of the National Archives at Bremen, Mr. Fr. Pruser, is also of the opinion
that it is justified to make a genealogical connection, in the manner referred
to above, between the Roman-Catholic branch of the Von Dorgelo’s and the
Evangelical [Protestant] branch.
[1] Nieberding ll, pg. 879
[2] R. von Bruch, Die Rittersitze des Furstentums
Osnabruck, Osnabruck 1930, p.347,351,352 and 361
[3] Copied from: Nieberding ll , pg.298 and on.
[4] M. von Spiessen, Genealogische Sammlung, Bd.10, Staatsarchief Munster. Diederich is also
mentioned by Nutzhorn (see
note 4) as member of the branch Von Doreelo at Welpe.
[5] See footnote [8] on
previous page
[6] Landschaftliche
Matrikular-Akten Hoya
Chapter
lll. The Roman - Catholic Branch
[Roman: Western Catholic
Church as distinguished from Eastern or
Greek-Catholic Church]
After the death of Otto von Dorgelo in 1584, the
Brettberg castle came into the possession of his widow until her son Rotger
took control of it in 1599. His mother moved into a private home (Witwensitz)
in Vechta. She died in 1605 and was buried next to her husband under the same
tombstone below the lime tree at the church cemetery in Lohne. She had three
daughters and seven sons[1] of whom three sons and one daughter died at a young age. The oldest son
Johann studied theology and received a canon’s annuity from the joint church
wealth at Osnabruck. In 1594 he renounced his heritage in favor of his youngest
brother Rotger, then married Mette Nagel von Konigsbruck in 1595 and died on
May 1, 1597. His young widow had a tombstone made for him at the church in
Vechta which is still there today.
In 1583, the second son, Otto, traveled on horse
to Rome to finish his studies. In 1584 he became canon at the St Johannes
Parish in Osnabruck and, later, at Wildeshausen. Thereafter he became dean of
the cathedral in Osnabruck and Munster. He received a large income which he
used for charitable purposes, his family and the church in Lohne. In 1624, one
year before he died, he had an epitaph installed at the cathedral in Munster
(See figure 1) for 550 rixdollar [rix
means realm or state]. This beautiful sculptured memorial is now located in the
western transept of the St Paul’s cathedral at Munster, against the first
pillar of the mid-nave on the right. It was somewhat damaged on its left side
during the Second World War. Previously it had been assumed that the epitaph
had been made by the sculptor Gerhard Groninger. It appeared later that it had
been made by Melichior Kribbe of Munster.
The third son, Heinrich,
a scholar as well, became canon
of the Stephanus- and Wilhads Parish at Bremen. The youngest
and fourth son, Rotger, married in 1598 Catharina von Monnich of the estate
Eikhof. He took possession of the Brettberg estate in 1599. His wife brought
along 3000 Taler and a trousseau as dowry. In 1599 Andreas von Quernheim
bequeathed him the estate Bomhof. Rotger died in 1613. His widow had a monument
erected for him in the choir section of the Lohner church. She died in
At that time some 35 serf farms and 8 tithes
belonged to the estate Brettberg while 23 serfs and 3 tithes belonged to
Bomhof. [A tithe was one tenth of the annual produce of one’s land]. As well,
Johann owned the farmstead and the windmill at Vechta and woods near
Norddollen. From the tithes and from the serf farms he received a year’s income
of 144 malter rye [1 malter equals roughly
The housekeeping was carried out by six male and
seven female servants as well as a home teacher. Provisions for [times of]
fasting over a period of one year consisted of
In 1640 Johann married a woman of the middle
class who was the daughter of the mayor Johann von Dissen. She died in 1676 and
her husband on November 25 of the same year. They had three children: 1.
Friedrich who became the first heir; 2. Johann Rotger whose inheritance was
bought off for 4,700 Reichstaler. Through marriage, at about 1678, he became
lord of the estate Hoven near Wardenburg (he is well known in Germany for his
knight sagas); 3. Sabina who received a dowry of 2,500 Reichstaler and 1/3 of
the silver. She married Borchard von Wrede on Sorpe. In 1668 Friedrich married
Maria Catharina von Voss zu Enniger, the daughter of his father’s sister. On
May 1, 1671 his parents conveyed the estate to him but continued living at
Brettberg. He himself took over a debt of 9.200 Reichstaler while his wife
brought with her 4,950 Taler as dowry. In 1680 he had the chapel ‘the Kluse’
restored which had been ruined in the war. And in 1689 he rebuilt the farmstead
at Vechta which had been destroyed by fire 5 years earlier. In 1698 he had a
new pulpit built in Munster for 165 Reichstaler. This he donated to the
monastic church in Vechta. Friedrich’s wife died on May 5, 1699. His cook,
Margret Knost, bore him a daughter on April 10, 1700. On July 1 he married her
in all quietness at Steinfeld (south of Lohne). She died in 1732. He took his
daughter, at age 9, to a convent in Osnabruck where she became a nun. It is
possible that from Friederich’s second marriage one or more sons were born who
remained in Steinfield and who were the ancestors of the Dorgelo’s (without
‘von’) still living there today - like the shoe store owner Dorgelo.
Because Friederich von Dorgelo couldn’t get
along well with his daughter-in-law and her mother, he turned all his
possessions over to his son Franz Anton von Dorgelo on May 1, 1706 and moved to
the farmstead at Vechta. Friedrich made his Last Will on June 2, 1718. He died
two years later on April 18, 1720 and was solemnly buried at Lohne. In the
entrance hall of the Catholic Church at Lohne one can still find two large tomb
stones. One of these has a cross; the coat of arms of Dorgelo and Enniger; and
the dates of birth, marriage and death of Friederich and his first wife. The
second stone carries the portraits of the married couple with four coats of
arms among which Dorgelo.
Friederich had ten children from his first
marriage of who four died at a young age. His youngest son Franz Anton von
Dorgelo married Margrethe Esther von Ledebur in 1706, following which his
father turned his possessions over to him together with a debt of 15,124
Reichstaler. Franz Anton’s wife died in 1726. On June 12, 1731 he married his cousin
Catharina von Elmendorf of the estate Fuchtel. In 1742 he passed his
possessions over to his son. He died in 1754. He had four children by his first
wife; seven other children had died at a young age.
In 1742 Franz Anton’s son Andreas Anton
Diederick took over the possessions together with 22,355 Reichstaler in debts.
On April 14, 1746 he married Henriette Charlotte von Scheele of the house
Hudenbeck. He died on Juli 12, 1760 and his wife on October 1, 1765. They had
two children. Their daughter died at a young age. The son, Anton Heinrich
Bernhard, married Ernestine Alexandrine von Haen of the estate Opherdicke, on
July 4, 1771. He took over the possessions together with a debt of 22,372
Reichstaler and he died from tuberculosis on July 16, 1776. With him this
generation became extinct.
After this, disputes over inheritance followed
while debts increased and assets decreased. In
This Roman Catholic branch of the family Dorgelo
has a side-branch which is noteworthy in connection with tangible memorabilia
left behind in Germany. This side-branch begins with the earlier mentioned
Johann Rotger von Dorgelo, brother of Friederich, Lord of Brettberg from 1671-
Although it appears that distant relatives are
still alive, this side arm of the Roman Catholic branch seems to have died out
in 1855.[2] In the National Museum at Oldenburg there is a monumental stove
and some other inventory pieces which formerly belonged to the family Von
Dorgelo but were bought by the family Addicks in1908.
As to the Family Coat of Arms of those Dorgelo
families who remained Roman Catholic through the Middle Ages and after the16th
century, one finds varying executions thereof in different sources. [In the
design] there is, however, always evidence of two ripped-out, and truncated
tree stumps in black (with visible roots), each with two (or three) cut-off
branches on opposite sides. On the basis of my observations from various
depictions I prefer [the design of] four times two branches. According to the
description in the ‘Stammbuch’ [book of genealogical registry] of Dorothea von
Dorgelo[3] the shield is made of gold (yellow) covered by a pot- or tub-shaped
helmet of light blue and white, with a helmet cloth and a wreath of black and
gold. On the helmet one finds again two truncated branches (as described but
without roots) which slope outwards [in a V-shape]. According to the above
mentioned ‘Stammbuch’, the Coat of Arms is of early or old-Gothic style (13th
to 14th century).
[1] According to Von Spiessen: fifteen children
[2] Genealogical data of family Von Dorgelo, Hoven,
obtained from church archives, Wardenburg
[3] Quoted by M. von Spiessen, Wappenbuch des
Westfalischen Adels [register of coats of arms of the
nobility in Westfalen], part ll, table 100, Gorlitz 1901-1903, State Archives
Munster
Chapter
lV. The Evangelic Branch
[Evangelic: “According to the Gospels”. This is
the Protestant Branch].
It was mentioned earlier that the family name
Dorgeloh still appears quite regularly in the county of Hoye, south of Bremen.
We also observed how, in all likelihood, a Dorgelo from the hamlet Dorrieloh
departed in1578 to the region south of Bremen, namely the present municipality
of Kirchweyhe [‘kirch’ means church]. Since it is known with certainty that the
Dutch Dorgelo’s descent directly from this Dorgelo of Dreye (municipality
Kirchweyhe) we shall describe this latter municipality in more detail, in order
to investigate the afore-mentioned genealogical connection.
The church-village of Kirchweyhe is situated
about
The earlier mentioned relationship of the
old-noble family Von Weyhe with the second farmstead at Dorrieloh, in the
county of Diepholz (a distance of about 50km in southern direction) was not the
only one. There was also, in the second half of the 16th century, a Tonjes von
Weyhe, who was Sheriff for the county Diepholz. Close connections have existed
for a long time between Weyhe and Bremen. In the Middele Ages, the
archbishopric [diocese] Bremen at Weyhe owned a free ‘Sattelhof’ [a farmstead
with saddled horses] with a ‘Meier’ as trustee. This Meier was in the first
place the official representing the vassal [feudal tenant] who often did not
administer his fief [heritable land held from a lord] himself. The Meier
collected the lease in cash from the serf farmers in the name of the vassal.
Later he would become more of a leaseholder of the Meierhof while the feudal
tenant took on the function of owner. It would appear from various sources
during the 14th century that the church of Bremen had many possessions in
Weyhe. As well, in that era a fair number of citizens of Bremen came from the
county Hoye, thus from Weye and surroundings. This region, however, has also
had many connections with The Netherlands. In the 12th century many Dutchmen
settled in this entire area of low lying marshlands. Centuries later these
connections with Holland were still not broken. According to written sources,
many day-laborers of this area took time to study in the Netherlands during the
17th century. Also, in that as well as the following centuries, many ‘Holland
travelers’ went to work, as day-laborers, in our prosperous country.
After this short historic sketch of the present
municipality of Kirchweyhe, we shall now go back to the genealogy of the family
Dorgelo. It is to be noted, however, that an on the spot search presented large
problems because of the destruction of church archives in 1776, due to a fire
in the presbytery during a church service. The old church books were totally
lost as well as many houses, including the home that was formerly occupied by a
Dorgeloh. Luckily, some other archive materials were saved which can tell us
more about the Dorgeloh’s at Weyhe.
The register of succession of
Johann Dorgelohe, of Dreye, is mentioned in the
genealogical register of 1585 as one of three Vollmeiers. His farm, like those
of the other two Vollmeiers, was the property of the dome-cathedral at Bremen.
He had in use 7 plots of arable land and 14 parcels of pasture and payed a rent
of 21/2 Bremer Mark; 9 bushels of
oats; 6 bushels of barley and provide ‘hand and carriage services’ as well. On
top of that he had to pay to the district office at Syke
The Evangelical family Dorgelohe, in the
municipality of Kirchweyhe, expanded during the next decades. From the 17th
century we know: a clergyman Dargeloh at Kirchweyhe (deceased in 1637) - the
name now and then entered differently; and a Hinrich Dorgeloh (also
written as Dargeloh), named in a witness declaration during a process at Syke
in 1652 as a cattle trader. He distilled brandy at age 57. During his youth he
had worked in Bremen for 17 years and by 1652 had been an inhabitant of Weye,
also for 17 years. This Hinrich would have been a son of Johann. He is also
named in the so called “Lagerbuch” [book] of 1659 as “Brinck-sitzer” in
Kirchweyhe, meaning: occupant of a house on the village green [Brinck].
In
In 1628 our family name occurs for the first
time in the archives of the free town Bremen [‘free’: no road-tolls exacted].
On July
From all this one can conclude that Hinrich and
Luder, resp. from Kirchweyhe and Dreye, moved to Bremen during the Thirty Year
War (1618-1648) when the Danish king was embroiled in battles with the German
Emperor and the Catholic monarchs (there had been a Danish occupation in the
countship Hoya since 1623 and a few years later the Swedish troops arrived).
These circumstances could have promoted the migration to Bremen.
Luder Dorgeloh of Dreye is
also most likely a son of Johann Dorgelohe, farmer at Dreye. His youngest son
Dierich is without doubt the same person as Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen,
schoolmaster at Ancum, municipality of Dalfsen in [the Dutch province of]
Overijsel, who was a member of the Protestant church of Dalfsen in 1679. The
reasons for his emigration [to Holland] are unknown. It is likely that the
relative prosperity in The Netherlands played a roll. Bremen, being a
Hanze-city [a free town, no tolls exacted] had many trade connections with such
Hanze-towns as Deventer and Zwolle in Holland. The language would not have
caused difficulties since the dialect in Overijssel had much in common with the
German dialect around Bremen.
[1] These as well as the data that follow have been
obtained from: W. Schacht, Heimatbuch der Gemeinte Kirchweyhe, 1961 (‘Homeland’
book of the municipality of Kirchweyhe).
[2] The registers of possessions and incomes of the
chapter cathedral in Bremen were largely destroyed during air attacks in the
Second World War. The remaining archives, now in custody of the Lower Saxon
State Archives at Stade, do show however two tenant farms at Dreye but make no
mention of the feudal tenants themselves
[3] Respectively. nr. 8 and 9 in: Regesten der
Pergament- und Papierurkunden im Stadt-archiv Diepholz. (It concerns here two
notarial title deeds).
Chapter V.
The Dorgelo’s in The Netherlands
The first Dorgelo in Holland, who appeared in
the members’ list of the Dutch Protestant Church at Dalfsen in 1679, was Dirck
Durgerlo of Bremen (I)* [*-see bottom of page]. He became
the ancestor of the Dutch Dorgelo’s and. was teacher at Ancum where he married
Lysabeth Wechmans.[1] It is noteworthy that
already in 1617 Rudolphus Dorgeloo[2] was mentioned as the third preacher of the Dutch Protestant church of
Waverveen in [the province of] Utrecht. It was his first position. In 1620 he
left for Broek in Waterland, having been called there twice[3]. He died in 1626[4]. According to the registers of marriage and baptism of both parishes,
as far as available, it is not apparent that this preacher was married or had
any descendants. His complete name was Rudolphus Johannis Dorgeloo[5]. It is possible that he also came from Bremen after he had received his
education there. A kinship with the preacher Dargeloh at Kirchweyhe, who died
in 1637, is not excluded. Nevertheless, one can assume that the Dorgelo’s who
now live in The Netherlands are descendants of Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen, at
Ancum.
At the present time, there is a village school
in the hamlet Ancum, N.W. of Dalfsen. In the 17th century this certainly would
have been a so called one-man’s school. One may assume that Dirck, youngest son
of Luder Dorgelohe and baptized on February 7, 1644 at Bremen, received his
education as teacher there. For this purpose the Latin school, established at
Bremen in 1528, provided an excellent opportunity. Later, in 1584, it was
provided with a so-called ‘classis publica’, or Paedagogeum. In 1610, this
expanded into a Gymnasium Illustrate (a university with four faculties). By the
time Bremen had become Protestant, around 1580, many Protestant students
studied there, including some from Holland. Unfortunately, the lists of
students at the Latin school and Paedagogeum of the 17th century did not
survive 17).
The number of children of Dirck D. cannot be
accurately derived from the church registers at Dalfsen, which begin in 1679.
Neither is there mention of his marriage. The book of church members of 1703
mentions that the following were admitted: on 8-1-1703 Jan Berent Dorgelo (II,
1 *), “son of Derck of Bremen” (born +/- 1682 ?); on 28-9-1703 Willem Hendrik
D. (II, 2 ) (born +/- 1684 ?). Books of baptism at Dalfsen - Ancum name also
Gerrit D., 15-8 -1686, (II, 3), “(Derks), son of Dirck Durgelo, teacher at
Ancum, and Lysabeth Wechmans”; 14/18-8-1689 Elizabeth D. (II, 4) “daughter of
Derck of Bremen and Lysabeth Wegmans, teacher and his wife at Ancum”.
*) numbers between brackets ( ) refer to the
section “Family Register” at the end of this document
In the next chapters, starting with this second
generation, we will deal with the most important data for each branch.
References to the family register will appear between ( ) [see final section].
The data are primarily derived from the retro-acts of the civil registers
(registers of baptisms, marriages, burials) of local parishes for the period up
to 1811 and, after 1811, from the proper municipalities’ own civil
registration. Now and then there are gaps. Nevertheless the research was
reasonably simple because our family always carried a last name in contrast to
most families before 1811 who knew only first names and the name of fathers.
a.
Branch to Grafhorst - Kampen
Jan Berent Dorgelo (II, 1) [Dirck Durgelo’s
oldest son] married Peternella Reynts Snelle in Dalfsen, at about 1715. From
this marriage came four sons and five daughters (III, 1-9) who were baptized in
the years 1716 to 1730. Of these, two sons died at a very young age (III, 2+7).
Reynier (III, 3), the oldest [of the surviving] sons, was baptized 6-8-1719 and
settled at Grafhorst in 1742 as a servant for Klaas Visscher, cattle breeder[6]. In 1742 he was accepted, under the name “Reinhard Durillo (from
Grafhorst)”, as member of the Dutch Protestant church at IJsselmuiden, to which
church region Grafhorst belonged. In 1748, Reynier’s younger brother Jannes
(III, 8) followed him to Grafhorst. When he was 20 years old he was accepted as
member of the same church in IJsselmuiden. In 1759 both brothers married the
two sisters Meulenhof from Zwolle, who were maidservants at the country home
Den Ruytenberg at Dalfsen. From the marriage of Jannes, who remained at
Dalfsen, only 1 daughter was born who died at two months.
Reynier D. (III, 3) is the ancestor of the
Dorgelo branch in Grafhorst - Kampen. From his marriage there were two sons and
one daughter (IV, 1-3). In 1784 Reynier’s oldest son Jan. D. (IV, 1), ‘landman
below Kampen’, married Aaltje Hendriks from the Seadike near Mastenbroek.
Before 1805 both had been members of the Dutch Protestant church at Kampen. Of
Reynier’s youngest son Peter (IV. 3) nothing is known apart from the date of
his baptism. This branch survived through Jan D. (IV,1) from whose marriage at
Grafhorst eight children were baptized (V, 1 - 8), among whom 5 daughters. Of
the three sons one died at a very early age. Of the first- born son, again a
Peter (V, 1), only the birth date is known. Jan D’s youngest son Reinier (V, 6)
was a day-laborer at Grafhorst. In 1819 he married Aaltje Beunink who died at
Kampen in 1828. Two years later Reinier married Albertje Kanis, widow of
Hendrik Engeltjes. As far as is known, there were no children from Reinier’s
first marriage. From his second marriage three children were born in Kampen
(VI, 1-3), two daughters and one son: Hendrik Jan (VI, 2) who was a rope maker.
Around 1860 he married Wilhelmina Tennekes. From this marriage came ten
children (VII, 1-10) of who three died at young age. Of the remaining seven
there were two daughters. It is known that of the five sons Reinier (VII, 1);
Johan Matthijs (VII, 2); Hendrik Jan (VII, 6) and the youngest son, Hendrikus
(VII, 10) of Krommenie, were all sigar makers. The fifth son, Willem Jan (VII,
7), was a sexton [caretaker of the church] at Kampen. In 1889
Johannes Matthijs married Annegien Brouwer. From
this marriage there were 10 children (VIII, 2a-j) of whom four died at a
very young age. Under the remaining six children there was only one son,
Hendrik Jan (VIII, 2j). He lives in Kampen [at the time of
researching this branch] and was a cigar maker, like his father. From his
marriage with Gerrigje van Enk (1932) there are 8 children of who one daughter
died at a very young age. Five children remain in Kampen, among whom Johannes
Matthijs (IX, 2a), metal worker; Jan (IX, 2b), mat-plaiter (both unmarried);
and Wolter (IX, 2c), carpenter, who married W.A.van der Werf. From this
marriage there are 3 sons (X, 2a - c). The fourth son, Hendrik Jan (IX, 2d),
became music teacher and lives in Wapenveld. From his marriage with Barta Reuyl
there are 2 daughters (X, 2d-e).
Hendrik Jan’s (VI, 2) third son (VII, 6), who
was named after his father, married Jantje Martinus in 1896. From this marriage
12 children were born (VIII, 6a - l). Of these one son died when still a baby.
Among the remaining children there were 5 sons, the oldest of whom, Abraham
(VIII, 6b), was cigar maker and married H.J.Gosselink. Their son Theodorus (IX,
6b) became cement-plaiter. From his marriage with Willy Vinke came 3 children
amongst whom 2 sons: Abraham (X, 6a) and Johannes (X, 6c).
Hendrik Jan’s (VII, 6) son Reinier (VIII, 6h), a
tailor, has kept the name of the ancestor (III, 3) of the branch in Kampen. He
married Aleida Gottmerand and has 6 children, among whom 3 sons. The oldest son
is Hendrik Jan Harmen (IX,
The youngest son of Hendrik Jan (VII, 6) is
Wilhelmus Johannes (VIII, 6i), representative at Veenendaal. There are three
children from his marriage with Aaltje van Veenendaal, among who a son Hendrik
Jan Maarten (IX, 6j). From his marriage with Alide de Wit there is also a son,
Remco Peter (X, 6i)
The fourth son of Hendrik Jan (VI, 2) was Willem
Jan (VII, 7) who was a cigar maker as well as sexton at Kampen. There are three
children (VIII, 0a - 0c) from his first marriage with Stijntje van Ogtrop. Of
these two died at a very early age. From his second marriage, with Maria van
Doorn (1905), Willem Jan had five children, among whom three sons (VIII, 0; 1a;
1b). The oldest son Hendrik Jan (VIII, 0) is teacher at Zaandam. He married
Christina Veldhuis in 1933. From this marriage there are three children, among
whom two sons (IX, 0b1+ 0c1) both of who are representatives, respectively at
Arnhem and Zaandam. Willem Jan’s second son, Jacob Herman (VIII, 1a), moved to
Zaandam as well. He is a typographer. From his marriage with Dirkje van der
Weerd there are five children (IX, 1a-e). The oldest son Willem Jan (IX, 1a)
settled in Udenhout as metal worker. He has three children from his marriage
with Truus Willems among whom one son Jack Herman (X, 1b). Jacob Herman’s
youngest son, Jack Herman (IX, 1e), works as distiller in Zaandam. Lastly,
Willem Jan’s third son (VIII, 1b), of the same name as his father, also works
as typographer, but in Kampen. He married Elsje Voerman and has three sons (IX,
b.
Branch at Dalfsen, Borne and Zwolle
Willem Hendrik Dorgelo (II, 2), Dirck Durgelo’s
second son, born around 1684 at Ancum, was the ancestor of a [second] branch
whose members remained predominantly in the present municipality of Dalfsen.
Around 1719, he married Derckien Gerryds and lived in the parish of Dalfsen. He
must have died before 1745. There were six children from his marriage (III, 10
- 15), of whom two died at a young age. Of the remaining four there were two
sons and two daughters. Of the son Derck D. (III, 13) only the date of baptism
is known. From later data in baptism-, marriage-, and death books as well as
registers of inhabitants, it would appear that Derrick most likely did not
continue to live in Dalfsen. He probably moved to Emmen, below Dalfsen.
Willem Hendrik’s older son Gerrid D. (III, 12)
was married three times, resp. in 1745 with Marije Snel; in 1759, as widower,
with Aatje Dirks and in 1763, again as widower, with Aaltje Gerrits of Ancum.
He continued to live in the parish where he died in
From the second marriage of Gerrid Dorgelo (III,
12) two daughters were born (IV, 5+ 6). His third marriage resulted in no less
than nine children (IV, 7-15), namely six daughters and three sons, of who the
last born died early. The oldest, son Gerrit Jan (IV, 9), has probably been
married twice. The first time, at about 1795, with Antonia van ‘t Hout. From
this marriage only one daughter is known and she died at Zwolle, in 1816.
Gerrit Jan remarried in 1812 when he took Hanna Knape as his wife. From this
second marriage there were four children (V, 11-14), namely three daughters and
one son Gerrit J, (V, 13) who was born in 1818. There are no further data on
this son. Nevertheless, seven Dorgelo’s were living in Zwolle in 1947.
The second son of Gerrit D. (III, 12), from his
third marriage, was named Willem Hendrik (IV, 13), the name of his grandfather.
In 1798, when he was 20 years old, he married Gerritdina van Eerbeek who
originally came from Den Ham and worked at the mansion Gerner near Dalfsen. He
moved to the hamlet Emmen where he died in 1818 at the age of 40 but he was
burried at Dalfsen. He left behind his wife and one child, a son Gerrit (V, 15)
who was then 20 years old. He held a job as cooper at Dalfsen. In 1822 he
married Hendriekje Mensink who was a seamstress there. Gerrit had five children
from this marriage among whom one son, Willem Hendrik (VI, 4). However, he died
at a very young age as did three of Gerrit’s daughters. With the death of
Gerrit (date unknown) came the end to this branch of the male Dorgelo’s in
Dalfsen.
c. Branch at
Ancum and Heemse
Gerrit Dorgelo. (II, 3), the third son of Dirck Durgelo of Bremen (1), was the
forefather of most of the Dorgelo’s living in The Netherlands. Gerrit succeeded his father as school master at
Ancum. He married Geertien Tijs, probably in 1718. From this marriage came no
less than six sons (III, 16-21). Unfortunately, the life span of the two oldest
is unknown. Most likely, they were not married in Dalfsen (not present in the
Books of Marriages as of 1745), or possibly deceased at a young age. Gerri’s
third son, Jannes (III, 18), succeeded his father as school-master at Ancum in
1743 or 1742. He received a year’s salary of 50 Dutch Guilders. In 1747 Jannes
married Mattje Hendriks (Dijks),”young daughter of ‘The Hardenberg’, but last
residing in the ‘Red Heart’ at Ancum”, according to the book of marriages. The
Red Heart was the inn along the Hessenweg [road] North of Ancum. Jannes had
three children (IV, 16-18) of whom the first born, a girl, would have died at a
young age. The second child was a son, Gerrit (IV, 17). In 1772 he became
school master and sexton at Heemse near Hardenberg, the place of origin of his
mother. In the same year he married Anna Margaretha Raafkus, widow Warmelink,
who died at the age of
Gerrit Dorgelo (IV, 17) was not only the
ancestor of the Dorgelo’s at Heemse, he also had a reasonably important role
locally: In 1795 he was the delegate of the Bailiff’s office in Hardenberg to
the assembly of the Provincial Representatives of the People of [the province]
Overijsel. In connection with the requisitioning of wagons and the billeting of
French soldiers, Gerrit asked the provincial meiers of the monastery Sibculo,
who were always exempt from military service, whether they could provide [horse
and] wagon services. This would ease the heavy burden of the neighboring folk
considerably. Gerrit Dorgelo also made the point that Heemse was the only
village in the Bailiff’s district that was suffering from taxes and billeting,
similar to the town of Hardenberg. He raised the serious matter that the
majority of the inhabitants of his municipality not only refused to take the
oath of May 22, but also forbade the minority to do so “at the explicit order
of the respective peasant counties”. This oath recognized not only the
sovereignty of the people - based on the rights of man and citizen and on
freedom and equality - but also considered viceroyalty [being ruled by a
viceroy - deputy of a sovereign] as abolished while it maintained allegiance to
the provincial government until a national convention might decide otherwise.[9]
(Shortly before this [Dutch] text was going to
print, I received data regarding the descendents of Evert Jan (VII, 13). These
are mentioned in the family register as numbers VIII, 6a-e; IX, a-e; X, a–h;
XI, a-c).
In 1805, Gerrit Dorgelo (IV, 17) was one of the
inspectors at the court of Hardenberg. He also kept the ‘markbooks’ of the
hamlet Rheeze. In 1939 these books and some others were still in the custody of
Hendrika Johanna D. (VIII, 8). Parts of the family tree had been inserted here
and there in the books, which is used here for the description of this branch
of the family. In 1816 Gerritt D. (IV, 17) was succeeded by his son Herman Jan
(V, 22) as schoolmaster in Heemse. In 1821 this son married Egbertdina Roelofs
from Archem near Ommen. In turn, Herman Jan was succeded as school master by
his only son Gerrit Jan Herman (VI, 9) in 1846, the year of this son’s marriage
to Hendrika Stoeten from Rheeze. Nine children (VII, 12-20) are known from this
marriage, of whom no less then eight boys. Hermen Jan (VII, 12) was baker at
Zwolle and Amsterdam. He had four sons (VIII, 3-6) of who Hendrik (VIII, 4) was
a book keeper at Amsterdam; Abraham (VIII, 5) art teacher and Herman Jan (VIII,
6) bank clerk in Amsterdam, as was his oldest brother Gerritt Jan Hermen (VIII,
3). Of the four brothers (VIII, 3-6) only Hendrikus (VIII, 4) has male
descendants into the third degree. From his marriage to Elizabeth Raakman two
children were born, of whom one son - Hendrikus (IX, 0a) who is architect in
Rotterdam. In 1938 he married Anna Vreeswijk who had four children by him among
whom three boys (X, 0, 0a - 0c). The second, Renee Constant, is engineer. From
his marriage a son was born, Steven Martin (XI, 0).
.
The second son of Gerrit Jan Hermen Dorgelo (VI,
9) was Evert Jan (VII, 13), laborer at the farm ‘Voorzorg” in Heemstede. His
brother Lubertus D. (VII, 15) was a manufacturer in Zwolle. He had a son Willem
J. (VIII, 7) who was a teacher. A younger brother of Lubertus, namely Willem
Johannes D. (VII, 16), was also a teacher, til 1921, having succeeded his
father in Heemse. He was the seventh successive Dorgelo who held the position
of teacher, - starting with Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen (1) in Ancum; and the
fourth in that position in Heemse. From his marriage only one daughter is
known, Hendrika Johanna (VIII, 8). She had the family archives in her
possession and lived for a long time in Heemse and later in Ermelo. Younger
brothers of Willem Johannes D. (VII, 16), the last.teacher in Heemse, were
Hermannes Hendrikus (VII, 17), farmer at Rheeze; Gerhardus Hendrikus (VII, 18);
Johannes Lambertus (VII, 19), teacher at Deventer and later in Rotterdam; and
Hendrik (VII, 20) at Nijverdal. In 1947 20 Dorgelo’s were living in Amsterdam.
Returning now to the generation of Hermen Jan D.
(V, 22), we need to mention that he had one brother, Everd (V, 25), who was a
merchant and shopkeeper at Heemse. This is evident from a letter of June 1833
to Everd from Anthony D. (V, 37), his cousin-twice-removed and clerk at the
Taxation Office in Haaksbergen, concerning a claim of 10 Dutch Guilders and 75
cents in favour of Everd. This letter also mentions the expected appointment of
Everd as lieutenant in the “Landstorm’ [storm troops].
From Everd’s marriage there are at least four
sons, of whom two sons died in the years of their birth, and one daughter (VI,
10-12). Son Gerrit (VI, 12) together with his sister lived in a café at Heemse.
It is possible that the Dorgelo’s, who at the present time live on a farm and
have a café in Schoonebeek [province of Drenthe], stem from this branch of the
family at Heemse. In 1947 there were no less than 37 Dorgelo namesakes in the
municipality of Hardenberg and
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Jannes D.
(III, 18), the third teacher at Ancum, not only had a son Gerrit (IV, 17) but
also a daughter Grietje (IV, 18). She married her cousin Jan Dorgelo (IV, 25a)
in approximately 1789 and lived first at the Wachteveld near the Rozengaarder
Gate near Ancum and thereafter at the Pakop, also at the Rozengaarder
Gate. Her husband was a farm worker there. It is
known that from this marriage there were two children who died soon after birth
and a son Gerrit Jan (V, 28). By lot he remained free from military service in
1826. At that time he lived at the latter farm in Ancum, together with his
father and his wife Janna Hoogenkamp who he had married in1822. From this
marriage six children were born (VI, 13-18) among whom two sons. The first son
Jan (VI, 13) died at age 3. Gerrit Jan’s second son, also Gerrit Jan (VI, 16)
followed in his father’s footsteps as farm worker. I have no knowledge about possible
descendants of Gerrit Jan. In 1947 the municipality of Dalfsen counted only
four Dorgelo’s among its inhabitants.
d.
Branch at Ancum.
The fourth son of Gerrit D. (II, 3) was probably
Gerrit Hans Thijs D. (III, 19). His year of baptism is not known. He
appears on the list of inhabitants of Ancum of 1748 as husband of Margien
Jansen with three live-in children under 10 of whom very little is known. One
of them was Jan Tijsen D. (IV, 19). In 1780 he married the widow Janna Janssen
of the Gerner estate in the present municipality of Dalfsen. His wife died
early, in 1788. At that time Jan Tijsen D. lived at Ancum. He remarried Grietje
Peters in 1789. From his first marriage only two daughters (V, 29-30) are
known. Therefore, this branch became extinct with Jan Tijssen.
e. Branch
via Raalte to Dedemsvaart.
Jan Gerrits D. (III, 20), the fifth son of Gerrit D. (II, 3), is certainly
important in genealogical terms. He is the ancestor of a branch via Raalte to
Haaksbergen and of a branch to Dedemsvaart. In 1750 Jan Gerrits D. married Ida
Janssen, widow of Jan Janssen. According to the 1748 register of inhabitants of
Ancum, Jan Jansen was still alive at that time and had two sons older than 10.
Jan Gerrits D. also had two sons (IV, 20-21). Of the second son, Jannes (IV,
21) only the date of baptism is known, in contrast to the first son Gerrit Jan
D. (IV, 20) who married Janna Pastmans of Ancum in 1780. From this marriage
there are eight children, namely four daughters and four sons. The first child
was born at Ancum in 1781, the others after
Of Gerrit Jan’s (IV, 20) eight children (V,
31-38), seven were born at the Marssebelt. His second son Willem (V, 34) is
registered incorrectly as “son of Willem Doorbroek and Janna Pastmans”.
Actually, nothing is known of him other than his birth date of September 2,
1787. Gerrit Jan’s third son Antony (V, 37) established himself at Haaksbergen.
This branch of the Dorgelo family will be dealt with in section f. below
The first and fourth son, resp. Jan D. (V, 33)
and Gerrit D. (V, 38), both peat-diggers, settled along the Dedemsvaart
[canal], in the municipality of Avereest. When he lived in Deventer, Jan D.
married Gerredina Kamerman in 1814. From this marriage there are four sons (VI,
19-22). The oldest, Gerrit Jan D. (VI, 19), was born in Ommen. At age 22 he
married Fennigjen (Jacobs) Kruger, born at Veldhuizen (Bentheim). Neither the
bride nor her parents were able to write, according to the announcement of
marriage. They had no less than eleven children (VII, 21-31), of whom six sons.
Gerrit Jan’s first son, Jan (VII, 21), went to
live in the Krim (near [the town] Dedemsvaart) and married Geertje Koop. From
this marriage there is a son, Jacobus D., born in 1896, who is a painter in
Hengelo. He married in 1921. Gerrit Jan’s second son Jacobus D. (VII, 22) died
in 1865 at a young age of 24. The third son Gerrit D. (VII, 23) married Johanna
Meyer from Nijverdal and died in 1879 at the age of 36. Descendants of
Jacobus and Gerrit are unknown, as is the case with the
fourth son, Gerhardus D. (VII, 24) who died at Nijverdal in 1876, at age 31.
The fifth son, Johannis (VII, 27) died at a very early age in Dedemsvaart. The
sixth son Johannis (VII, 31) died in 1878, at age 18.
The second son of Jan D. (V, 33) was Mannes D.
(VI, 20) who married Aleida Bruin Slot in 1843. They had seven children (VII,
32-38) among whom only one daughter.
The oldest son Jan D. (VII, 32) was a baker in
De Krim and married to Jentje Horstra. I have no knowledge of their children.
This J. Dorgelo was honorary chairman of the Building Commission of the Dutch
Protestant Church at De Krim. The first stone for the building of that church
was laid a few months before his death in 1911.
Mannes’ second son was Johannes D. (VII, 33). In
1880 he married Nelligje Steenbergen who gave him four children among whom
three sons (VIII, 9-11), namely Willem (VIII, 9a, who died at a young age);
Mannes (VIII, 10) and Johannes (VIII, 11).
The former [Mannes (VIII, 10)] was shop keeper
at De Krim and married Petronella Horstra, in 1909. From this marriage there
are eight children (IX, 1-7), among whom four sons. The oldest son, Johannes
(IX, 1), was a baker who married Jansje Konijnebelt in 1938. From this marriage
two children were born (X, 1-2) among whom one son Hermannes Johannes, born
30-12-1944 [during the Second World War]. Six weeks earlier, on 15-11-1944, his
father had died in the [Nazi] concentration camp Neuengamme. Hermannes Johannes
has two children (XI, 1-2), of who one is a son.
The second son of Mannes (VIII, 10) is Egbertus
(IX, 2) who is a shopkeeper. In 1934 he married Gerritdina Konijnebelt. Of this
marriage only one son is known, Mannes (X, 3) who was born in 1935. He has at
least one son (XI, 3).
The third son of Mannes D. (VIII, 10) is Jacob
(IX, 6) who, it seems, followed in his father’s footsteps as storekeeper in De
Krim. In 1947 he married Roelofje Steenbergen. From this marriage three sons
were born (X, 4-6).
The fourth son of Mannes (VIII, 10) is Willem
(IX, 7). He is a chief mechanic, married Hendrika Brunink in 1947 and, after
her death, Alida Trijntje Dorgelo (IX, 28) in 1953. From the first marriage
there are two sons (X, 7-8); from the second marriage there are two daughters
and one son (X, 9-10). Willem’s oldest son Hermannes Johannes is father of one
son (XI, 4).
We return now to the third son of Johannes D.
(VII, 33), again a Johannes (VIII, 11) who settled in Antwerp as technical
employee of the Bell Telephone Co. He married in 1920 and had three daughters
(IX, 8-10).
Afore mentioned Mannes D. (VI, 20) had a third
son, Gerrit, (VII, 34) who lived in Hoogeveen and probably died childless.
Mannes’ fourth son Pieter (VII, 35) was a peat
digger as well as shop and pub keeper in Lutten (De Krim). He had ten children
(VIII, 12-16) among whom eight sons, four of whom died at an early age,
however. Jan (VIII, 13) born in 1875, was a baker in Vroomshoop. He had two
daughters and died in 1971 at age 96. Jan’s younger brother Albertus (VIII,
14), who did not get older than 31, had four children (IX, 10c-f) among whom
three sons. The oldest was Pieter (IX, 10c) who lived in Enschede and had five
children (X, 10a -e) among whom two sons. Of them the oldest goes again by the
name Albertus (X, 10a) and lives in Almelo. He has one daughter and two sons.
His brother Engbert Hendrik (X, 10c) lives in Apeldoorn and has two daughters.
Albertus’ second son Engbert (IX, 10d) died unmarried in 1928. His third son
Johannes Berendinus (IX, 10e) was tax official and lives in Veendam. His son
Engbert (X, 10g) works as a building expert, also in Veendam. He has three
children (XI, 10 -12) among whom two sons.
The third son of Pieter (VII, 35) was Herman
(VIII, 14a), who was bookkeeper in Vroomshoop. Althouigh he was married twice,
he died childless in 1957.
Pieter’s fourth son is again a Jan (VIII, 15)
who was also a baker like his oldest brother. He is presently (1973) still
alive and lives in Assen, at age 90. His bakery passed to his oldest son Pieter
(IX, 10g) who has no children. Jan’s second son, Frederik (IX, 10h) was
principal of a school in Hilversum and has gathered many data about his grandfather
and his grandfather’s progeny. Frederik has two daughters. His younger brother
Berend Jan (IX, 10j) also has two daughters.
Returning now to Mannes D. (VI, 20) we come to
his fifth son Hermannus (VII, 36) who was also a peat digger as well as a meal
merchant and storekeeper. In 1879 he married Hillegonda Scholten. From this
marriage came four sons of whom one died shortly after birth. The oldest son
Hermannus Hendrikus (VIII, 17) was a parson of the Protestant Church in
Naarden. He died in 1944. From his marriage with Johanna Beil there are three
sons (IX, 11-13). The first of these, Alexander, architect in Bussum, has done
a great deal of work putting together the genealogical registry [attached to
this ‘History of the Dorgelo Family’] and the family tree From his marriage to
Martine Dirkzwager there are two children of whom one is a son, Maarten Arthur,
lawyer (X, 11). The second son of Hermannus Hendrikus is Henny Andreas (IX,
12), sales manager in Curacao. From his marriage to Nannan den Oude two
daughters. Hermannus Hendrikus’ third son Gerhard Herman (‘Hans’), (IX, 13)
moved in 1952 to Canada where he became an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at
Vancouver, Canada [translator of the Dutch text into this English on-line
format]. From his marriage to Maria Wiersma: four children (X, 15-18) of whom
three sons: Clifford John (X, 15), who died at age 18; Harold Roy (X, 16), who
runs a forestry office, and Eric Glenn (X, 17), manager of a software company.
The second son of Hermannus D. (VII, 36) was
Alexander (VIII, 18), a teacher, who remained unmarried and died in 1914.
Hermannus’ fourth son Hendrik Berend (VIII, 19) was Professor at the Technical
University in Delft and later Vice-Chancellor of the University at Eindhoven.
From his marriage with Herna Plomp there are seven children, among whom three
sons. The oldest, Cornelis Hendrik (IX, 15), is engineer at Shell. Of his two
children (X, 19-20) there is one son. The second son of Hendrik Berend is
Alexander Hendrik (IX, 17) who is marketing manager. He has three children (X,
21-23) among whom one son. The youngest son of Hendrik Berend is Herman (IX,
18), an engineer at Philips. He has three children (X, 24-24b) among whom two
sons.
Finally we come to the sixth son of Mannes D.
(VI, 20), Albertus (VII, 37) who married Aaltje Schutterop but died in 1923. He
had eight children, four daughters and four sons (VIII, 20–25) of whom one son
and one daughter died at an early age. The first son Jacob (VIII, 22) was
school principal in Hengelo in [province of] Gelderland and was twice married,
namely with Grietje van der Meer and M.B.H. Jaeger. He had five children (IX,
21-25) among whom two sons. The first one died at a young age; the second is
Tjeerd Hans (IX, 23) who is a forester in Tasmania, Australia. He has four
children (X, 25a-d) among whom two sons.
Albertus’ second son was Hermannus (VIII, 23),
shopkeeper in Dedemsvaart and married to Albertje Kooy. From this marriage four
children were born (IX, 26-29) of whom two sons. Albertus (IX, 26) is
confectioner in Dedemsvaart. From his marriage with Johanna van Keulen there
are five children (X, 26-30). His daughter Ada Gretha, student at Amsterdam,
has given much of her time to making our family tree and genealogical register
ready for printing. Her brother Herman (X, 28) works in the store of his father
as confectioner. Lubertus (X, 29) is a student at the Academy of Pedagogy in
Meppel. The second son of Hermannus (VIII, 23) is Jan Heman (IX, 27), a
clergyman in Oost-Souburg. He is married to Jeltje Jeanette van Hilten and has
two daughters.
The third son of Albertus (VII, 37) was Gerrit
(VIII, 24). Like his older brother, he was principal of a Christian school,
most recently in Abbenes (municipality of Haarlemmermeer). He was married
twice, first with Neeltje Andriessanna de Jong, and then with Grietje de Jong.
From the first marriage there is one son, from the second two sons (IX, 29a–c).
The youngest, Gerrit (IX, 29c) has two sons (X, 32c-d). With this we have come
to the end of the description of the successors of Mannes (VI, 20), son of Jan
(V, 33).
Last-named [V, 33] had a third son Lambertus
Johannes (Jan) (VI, 21) about whose possible descendants nothing is known. In
contrast, we know that the fourth son of Jan D. (V, 33), namely Willem (VI,
22), was a skipper and later store owner. In 1846 he married Grietje van
Blanken, daughter of a warden at the institute ‘Ommerschans’ of the Charity
Society. There were five children (VII, 39–43) of whom three sons. The first son,
Lambertus Johannes (VII, 40), born 17-6-
As noted earlier, however, the branch to Raalte
and Dedemsvaart has also been formed in part by Jan D’s younger brother Gerrit
(V, 38). This Gerrit settled along the Dedemsvaart [canal] as peat digger. He
married twice. From his second marriage, with Hillegonda
Noordhuis, there are four sons (VI, 33-36) of whom the second died at a very
young age. The oldest, born in 1830, was most likely Wessel (VI, 33). He was
baker in Zwolle. The third son, Gerrit (VI, 35), was fen-boss and baker. The
fourth son, Willem (VI, 36), born 23-5-1842, was skipper and store keeper in De
Krim. Nothing is known of the descendants of these three brothers.
From the preceding it is apparent that the
construction of the Dedemsvaart canal [by hand, cart and horse] (1809-1852),
and the peat digging in the adjacent peat-moor district, formed an attraction
for some Dorgelo’s. A number of them have lived or still do live in this area
as peat digger, agricultural laborer, store keeper, baker and skipper. The
village of Dedemsvaart is situated in the municipality of Avereest; the peat
colony De Krim in the municipalities of Gramsbergen and Hardenberg; and De
Lutten in the municipality Hardenberg. By 1947, respectively 5, 14 and 37
Dorgelo namesakes lived in these three municipalities.
f. Branch via Raalte to Haaksbergen
As was noted in the beginning of the previous
chapter, a third son of Gerrit Jan D. (IV, 20), Antony D. (V, 37), was born at
that small farm close to Den Vellener, near Raalte. This son settled in
Haaksbergen after he had become a commissioner at the Tax Department (Section
Import Duties) at that municipality. He was the heir of the so-called
Haaksbergense branch. He married Anna Elisabeth Kelder from Sibculo
(municipality Den Ham) where their first son, Willem Jan (VI, 23), was born.
It’s possible that he was a painter. Other than his birth date, nothing further
is known about him. In total, Antony had ten children (VI, 23-32) of whom all
other nine were born in Haaksbergen. Among these were four sons.
Antony’s second son Alexander (VI, 28) worked,
like his father, in the Tax Department, successively in Enschede, Den Ham,
Hardenberg, Glanerbrug and Haaksbergen. From his second marriage, with Aleida
Flim, five children were born, all sons (VII, 44–48).The oldest son, once more
Alexander, born in Enschede, was adjutant in the Royal Army, most recently in
Leeuwarden. From his marriage with Johanna Zirschky eight children were born
(VIII, 33a-h), among whom two sons, the youngest of whom died at a young age.
The oldest son, also Alexander (VIII, 33b) was, like his father, adjutant in
the Royal Air Force in Leeuwarden. He married Helena Catharina Suurmeyer and
had two sons (IX, 29d+e). The oldest, again Alexander (IX, 29d) is, like his
brother, paperware manufacturer in Gouda. First-named took care of the printing
of this manuscript. In 1932 he married Wilhelmina van der Vlis. From this
marriage three sons were born (X, 32e-g) of whom the oldest son, Alexander, is
textile merchant in Gouda. The two other sons, Jan and Hans, work in the
business of their father. Jan has a daughter from his marriage with G.de Vos
and Hans, married to A.de Rooy, is the father of a son Alexander (XI, 14).
Returning to Alexander (VI, 28), we may assume
that his second son, Johan Hendrik (VII, 45), died at a young age. The third
son of Alexander (VI, 28) was called Johannes Idarus (VII, 46). He was the
third generation being employed at the Tax Department. In 1887 he married
Geertruida Willemina Toebes at Winterswijk where he worked as a civil servant
at the import duty office. From his marriage seven children
were born (VIII, 34-40), of whom five sons. The oldest, Alexander, was art
teacher at Deventer. He died childless. The second son of Johannes Idarus D.
was Jan Derk (VIII, 36) teacher in botany and zoology. He died at Soerabaja
[Indonesia] in1925 and left behind two children among whom one son Jan Derk
(IX, 30b), engineer in agriculture in Oestgeest and writer of this genealogical
survey. He has three daughters. The third son of Johannes Idarus (VII, 46) is
Willem Frederick who lives in Alkmaar and is a teacher of botany and
agriculture. His son Alexander (IX, 31a), lawyer, also at Alkmaar, has two
children among whom one son, Alexander. The fourth son of Johannes Idarus (VII,
46) again named Johannes Idarus D., (VIII, 38), is head clerk at The Hague. He
has one son, also Johannes Idarus D. (IX, 31b) who is Director of Siemens in
Wassenaar.
Lastly, the fifth son of Johannes Idarus (VII,
46) is Eduard Gerhardus (VIII, 40), engineer at Philips Industries. He has one
daughter and one son, Jan (IX, 32), who is employed as biologist in France.
Returning to the seventh generation of this
branch we note the fourth son of Alexander (VI, 28) named Eduard (VII, 47) who
died in 1884 at the age of 22. The fifth son of Alexander was Willem Frederick
(VII, 48), school principal at Rekken and later at Leimuiden. He had four
children (VIII, 41–44) among whom two sons. Of both sons (living at Amsterdam?)
only the names are known [Herman Hendrik and Alexander].
Finally, we still need to mention that Antony
(V, 37), had three more sons apart from Willem Jan (VI, 23) and Alexander (VI,
28). They were, respectively, Isidorus Theodorus (VI, 30), smith in Haaksbergen
who remained unmarried; Gerhardus Johannes (VI, 31), joiner at Nijverdal; and a
son who died at a young age. Gerhardus had four children (VII, 48a-d) among
whom one son Albertus Johannes who was a painter in Enschede. There are two
sons known from his marriage (VIII, 44a+b). Gerhardus Albertus was inspector
for the town of Enschede. His son Albertus Johannes Gerhardus is engineer and
lives in Putte in [the province of] Noord Brabant. [No data on other son, VIII,
44b]
g.
Branch to Heino
The last branch of the Dorgelo’s in The
Netherlands, which we will describe now, goes back to the sixth son of Gerrit
Derks D. (II, 3), Gerrit D. (III, 21), school master at Ancum. This sixth son
is named in the register of baptisms as ‘Gerrijd’, son of ‘Gerrijd Derks
d’Orgelo’, baptised on 10-9-
Of the third set of twins two boys were born in
1766 (IV, 26+26a). Of these, Gerrit Jan married Antonia van ‘t Hout. From this
marriage only one daughter is known. Gerrit Jan’s twin brother, Gerardus (IV,
26a) is the ancestor of the branch at Heino, In 1796 he married Maria Egberts
at the farm ‘the Bartels’ in the Liederbroek near Heino. He was a farmhand at
that farm. From this marriage seven children were born (V, 39-45) of who five
sons. One son died shortly after birth. The oldest son Jan (V, 39) married
Gerrigje Holtrust of Raalte in 1825, at Zwolle. Of this marriage four children
are known, three daughters and one son (VI, 37-40). The first
child, a daughter, was born in Heino; the second child, Jan (VI, 38), at Zwolle
and the two other daughters in Emmen. Jan D. (VI, 38) married Geertje Huisman.
Of this marriage only one son is known to us, namely Jan (VII, 49). He could
have been born in 1869 at Dalmsholte near Zwolle and might have lived in
Deventer and Germany.
Returning now to the other sons of Gerhardus D.
(IV, 26a) we name next Hermannes (V, 41) who married Margje van der Laan in
1830. He was a farmhand at Wythmen, municipality of Zwollerkerspel. From his
marriage five children were born (VI, 41-45) among whom only one son Gerrit Jan
(VI, 42) who died at age two, causing this branch to die out. In 1947 two
namesakes D. lived in Zwollerkerspel who must, therefore, be descendants of
another branch.
Of the fourth son of Gerardus D., Gerrit Jan (V,
43), only the birthdate (21-5-1804) is known. We were unable to persue his life
history any further.
Lastly, the fifth son Willem (V, 44) was a
farmhand at first and thereafter became a farmer himself. In 1834 he was
registered for the National Militia but did not serve as he ‘drew a lucky
number’ [was exempt from militairy duty]. That same year he married Hendrika
Hendriks of Wijhe. From this marriage there were five children (VI, 46-50),
four sons and one daughter. The first born son, Echbert (VI, 46) most likely
died at the early age of six. The second son, Hermannes (VI, 47) was a farmhand
at Heino in the Lierderbroek. He married Hendrikje Dekker. From this marriage
eight children were born (VII, 49a-56) among whom only two sons: Gerhardus
(VII, 50) and Hermannes (VII, 55), born 10-2-1885. Nothing is known to us about their descendants.
The third son of Willem D. (V, 44) was Gerhardus
(VI, 48). He settled in Zwolle as a coachman and later lived in The Hague. He
had seven children among whom five sons (VII, 57-63). The oldest son Leonardus
Hendricus (VII, 57) had three children, all boys, of whom we know only their
names [in the attached ‘Register of Family Names’ noted as VIII, 45-47]. The
next son, Gerhardus (VII, 58), carried the name of his father. From his
marriage there are three children (VIII, 48-50), among whom two sons [VIII,
48-50]. The third son of Gerhardus D. (VI, 48) was Johan Jozef (VII, 60) who
had two children (VIII, 51-52) from his marriage, both girls. The fourth son of
Gerhardus was Hendrik (VII, 61), born at The Hague on 10-2-1880. He later lived
at Vorst in Belgium (Brabant). He died in 1961 without descendants. Finally,
the fifth son of Gerhardus D. (VI, 48) was Herman (VII, 63). From his marriage
a daughter is known, Johanna Christina (VIII, 53), born at The Hague, now
living in Amstelveen where she is employed by KLM Dutch Airlines as a
directors’ secretary.
Returning to the fourth son
of Willem D, (V, 44), namely Egbert (VI, 50) born in 1843, we established that
he continued to live at the parental farm ‘the Bartels’ in Heino, as a
farmhand. He married Harmina Laarbroek by whom he had four children (VII,
64-67). Among these were two sons, namely Theunis (VII, 65), born 15-9-1875,
and Jan (VII, 67), born in 1883, also at ‘the Bartels’. From the marriage of
the last named there are two sons, Egbert and Hermannes (VIII, 54-55), both of
whom were farmers at Heino a few years ago.
[1] Data provided by the [Dutch] Government Archives for
Overijsel in Zwolle.
[2] Register of names of clergyman of the Lower German Dutch-Reformed parish
of Waverveen, 1592-1795. #3.
[3] Register of clergymen, elders and deacons, idem,
1592-1745.
[4] Melchior Veeris, Ecclesiastical alphabet, pg.43, Amsterdam 1711.
[5] Th.O. Achelis and A. Botzler, Die Matrikel des
Gymnasiums Illustre zu Bremen, 1610-1810, in: Bremisches Jahrbuch [yearbook],
zweiter series, teil III, Bremen, 1968
[6] Registers of inhabitants of Grafhost, 1744-’48.
[7] Dutch Repertoire of Family names, part VI
(Overijsel), Commission
for the Study of Names at
the Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam 1968.
[8] Joh.
Theunisz, Overijssel in 1795, publ. 1943,
pg. 174
[9] Joh. Theunisz., pg 83, 86,
132 and foll.
Summary
In this study concerning
the genealogical history of the family Dorgelo, attention is paid first of all
to the meaning of the name. This is derived from the place-name Dorrieloh
(today’s spelling), the name of a predominantly agrarian village, and from the
rural municipality of the same name in the county of Diepholz in Lower Saxony,
about
The family name Dorgelo,
Von Dorgelo, Von Doringelo, Doringlo, Dorgeloh, appears in German sources for
the first time in
In the register of heirs of
1585 of the district Syke, in the county of Hoya, south of Bremen, one finds
for the first time the civil [non-ecclasiastical] family name Dorgelohe as the
last name of a farm hand at a fairly large farm in Dreye (part of the present
municipality of Kirchweye) along the [river] Weser”.
Having described in
chapters II and III the genealogical history of the R.C. branch in Germany,
chapter IV contains all the facts about the Evangelical [Orthodox Protestant]
branch which we were able to gather from German sources. It is shown, on the
basis of a number of arguments, that a genealogical connection between both
branches is very likely.
A descendant of the farmer’s
family at Dreye established himself in Bremen in the 17th century. His youngest
son Dierich Dorgeloh emigrated to the Netherlands. In 1679 he appears for the
first time as “Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen, teacher at Ancum” in the register of
members of the Dutch ‘Hervormde’ Church at Dalfsen in Overijsel He was the
ancestor of the later Dorgelo’s in the Netherlands.
The last chapter [‘Appendix’] contains the names
of all known male namesakes in the Netherlands carrying the last name Dorgelo
[listed and numbered by generation] from the 17th to 20th
century.
On the basis of areas of concentration at that
time [in the mid-Eastern part of Holland, namely the province of Overijsel], a
distinction is made between the following family branches [from the late 17th
century until the first Dutch publication of this “Genealogical History of the
Family Dorgelo” in the late 20th century]: a. to Grafhost-Kampen
(still existent) – page 17;
b. to Dalfsen, Borne and Zwolle (still existent
in last named municipality) - page 19;
c. at Ancum and Heemse (municipality of
Hardenberg) (possibly still existent at Dalfsen;
in any case: many descendants
in Hardenberg and a few in Amsterdam) - page 20;
d. at Ancum (extinct) - page 22;
e. via Raalte to Dedemsvaart (municipality
of Avereest) (among others still existent in
De Krim, Gramsbergen and Hardenberg, Assen, Den Ham,
Schoonebeek and in the
west of the country) – page
22;
f. Via Raalten to
Haaksbergen (among others still in existence in Enschede and in
the
West of the country) – page
26;
g. To Heino (still existent
there; also descendants in the West of the country) – pg.27
As is evident from the
text, the Genealogical History of the Family Dorgelo in the Netherlands
contains in a few places some gaps and possibly incorrect data. For this reason
we would be happy to receive from namesakes, near or far away, any supplemental
data.