Walvoord History.com

My Dutch cousins visiting Nashville, Tennessee in May of 2011 from the Netherlands. From left to right: Henk B. Walvoort, Scott Walvoord, and Henk J. Walvoort.

When I visited The Netherlands in 1997, I met a distant cousin from Zelhem, Gelderland near where the Walvoort family originated.  His name is Henk J. Walvoort.  You may recall reading about him on my Kinships Page.

Henk J. Walvoort and Henk B. Walvoort are first cousins.  Henk is a nickname for Hendrik.  Hendrik is a very popular name within the Walvoort/Walvoord family and has been in use for many generations.

Their grandparents were Hendrik Jan Walvoort (1872-1948) and Hendrika Willemina (Rutgers) Walvoort (1877-1951).

Hendrik Jan Walvoort (1872-1948) and Hendrika Willemina (Rutgers) Walvoort (1877-1951) Photo circa 1906

Last May, Henk J. Walvoort and  Henk B. Walvoort visited the United States.  This was Henk J. Walvoort’s first visit to America.  Henk B. Walvoort had been in the USA three times since 1990.

After arriving in Chicago from The Netherlands, Henk and Henk experienced two days of torrential downpours of rain.  They began their travels south and stopped in Nashville and stayed with my family one night.  I took them to the The Hermitage; the home of our 7th President, Andrew Jackson.

Henk J. Walvoort, Scott Walvoord, and Henk B. Walvoort at the Hermitage near Nashville, Tennessee

They then traveled southwest to West Monroe, Louisiana to visit Ann Walvoord Graff, another cousin who had met them in The Netherlands in May of 2010.

Henk J. Walvoort, Ann (Walvoord) Graff, and Henk B. Walvoort at the Coca-Cola Museum in Monroe, Louisiana

After leaving Louisiana, they went to Kilgore, Texas to visit the East Texas Oil Museum.  Henk B. Walvoort had visited this before and was so impressed he wanted to visit it again.

Next, the plan was to visit my Uncle Gary Walvoord in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, however, a traffic tie up caused them to make a detour to a small town west of there.

Henk B. Walvoort is a pig farmer near Aalten, Gelderland and also grows corn, potatoes and grain.  They know fellow Dutch farmers who farm near the towns of Dimmitt and Hart in the Texas Panhandle and visited them and then traveled to Amarillo, Texas and stayed with my parents.

They had dinner at the home of David and Peggy Walvoord (my parents).  Also at dinner was my brother Kit Walvoord, my nephew Kirk Walvoord, my Uncle Randy Walvoord, and family friends Bruce and Rosie Das.    Bruce and Rosie also have Dutch ancestry and lived in Groningen, which is the capital city of The Netherlands province of the same name.  Bruce and Rosie were in ministry with the Navigators in Groningen for many years and were able to practice their Dutch language skills with Henk and Henk.

Tombstone of Gerrit and Berendena Walvoord in Holland, Nebraska

After visiting Amarillo and the surrounding area they traveled to the northeast through Kansas to Holland, Nebraska (20 miles south from Lincoln).  First they visited the cemetery of the small village Holland (population 140).  They saw a lot of graves of Walvoords, Kolstees and other names of their area in The Netherlands. A neighbor of the cemetery gave them the adress of Mr. Huenink who is the administrator of the church and the cemetry. He showed them the church with the little windmill and phoned a family called Walvoord, but they were not at home.

Then they traveled through Iowa to Des Moines to visit the World Pork Expo which was held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, in Des Moines  June 8th-10th.

Later they went to Pella, Iowa which is a very ‘Dutch’ small city.

Going east they visited John Deere Factory and Historic Site in Davenport and Moline.

Walvoord Cemetery, Cedar Grove, Wisconsin

Their last three days were spent in the area of Cedar Grove and Oostburg, Wisconsin.  First they met Randy Walvoord, the strawberry farmer from Smies/Walvoord Road.  He showed them the Walvoord cemetery near the bank in Cedar Grove.

Then they visited Mr. and  Mrs. Van Sluys on the Smies Road.  Carol makes beautiful paintings of landscapes.

Henk and Henk visited George and Carol (Walvoord) Van Sluys. They live on the Smies Road.

Henk and Henk also visited David and Janet Walvoord in Oostburg

Henk and Henk visited Walvoord Road located between Ooostburg and Cedar Grove, Wisconsin

Henk and Henk also visited the Historic Landmark Christiaan Walvoord Home while in Wisconsin

I’ve recently gotten motivated to work on WalvoordHistory.com with some new research and new topics of interest, not just for descendants of the Walvoord Family, but also of general interest to genealogy buffs.

I am currently working on the Biography Page to not only give a listing of personal Biographies but to replace the genealogical data and reports that were once there.  When I redid this site a couple of years ago, I took that aspect down because I was concerned about privacy of living relatives.  I think I’ve come up with a solution, by limiting the number of generations shown.

I’ve also updated several other pages and added a new page.  I’ll let you try to find them because I’m not finished with updating them yet.  Come back often because you never know what new items you may find.

Also “Scott’s Blog” is going to become more active as I give on updates on pages as well as some new stories including:

• The Story of a Dress
• My cousin Henk and my other cousin Henk and their Excellent Adventure
• The Mystery of the “Janes”
• Christmas With “The Phillips Girls” Part II (coming at Christmas time)
• The Death of a Barn
• The Walvoord Family “Coat-of-Arms”
• Walvoord Reunion Plans

I hope you’ll keep coming to WalvoordHistory.com and please tell me you’re here by posting comments on the Comments Page or posting your thoughts on a Blog Post.

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You can also subscribe to “Scott’s Blog” by clicking on the RSS Feed icon in the lower left hand corner of the website and any new blog posts will come straight to your email box.

I have updated the biography of Johanna “Jane” Walvoord who married Roelof “Ralph” Hoopman.  There is also a newly acquired family portrait of the Hoopman family with all ten of their boys!  I have also included new research on each of the ten boys.  I would love to hear from some of you Hoopmans out there!  Do you have any stories you would like to add?

Click here to read the updated biography:  Johanna Walvoord (1849-1935).

SHAMROCK, TEXAS – Christmas 1993

When visiting my parents in Amarillo one Christmas, I was asking my mom more questions about her side of the family.  When she didn’t have the answers to what I wanted, she would simply pick up the phone and call the best source she knew.   One of these sources was my maternal grandfather’s (Elmo Lawson Phillips) cousins.

Phillips Farmhouse in Dozier Community near Shamrock, Texas

There were three sisters living together in an old farmhouse is the Dozier Community near my mother’s hometown of Shamrock, Texas.  You won’t find Dozier anywhere on the map.  I was in Amarillo for several days, so we decided to drive out to visit the “Phillips Girls” as my mom referred to them.

On our first visit in 1993,  Irene was 88, Bea was 84 and Lenora was 80.  They were very happy to see us since visitors were rare.  The “Phillips Girls” were the 6th, 7th, and 8th of nine children born to James Sterling Phillips (1866-1921) and Eleanor Jane (Adams) (1877-1963).

I learned from them that my great-great-grandparents were Thomas Crammore Phillips (1830-1921) and Sarah Caroline (Dismukes) (1835-1929).  They told me the story of how Thomas, Sarah and their two oldest children moved from Georgia to Texas before the Civil War.  Thomas fought with General Lee’s army in Virginia.  while he was gone to war, his wife had to live alone which was dangerous because they still had Indian raids back then in Texas.  Thomas got a medical discharge and was eager to get home to Texas.

He tried to get on the first stagecoach to Texas but there was no room inside.  He asked to ride on top but the said he couldn’t “because the trees would knock him off.”  He was persistent however, and was allowed to ride on top of the stagecoach back to Texas.

The Phillips Girls told us that Thomas Crammore Phillips’ father was from Ireland and married his wife in Georgia.  They later moved to Rusk County, Texas and are believed to be buried in Pine Cove Cemetery.   This was the first time I heard that I had some Irish in me!  And although I’m only 1/32 Irish, I have to say that St. Patrick’s day is a little more fun now!

I learned in later research that my Irish ancestor (great-great-great grandfather) was named Joshua Phillips and was born in Ireland circa 1793 and died sometime after 1860.  Phillips is a Welsh name and how and why Joshua was born in Ireland is still a mystery.  Joshua’s wife’s name was Nancy.

According to the Phillips Girls, in 1875, Thomas Crammore Phillips’ oldest son David Grissom Phillips (1852-d.unknown) moved from Rusk County (just east of Tyler) to Parker County (just west of Ft. Worth) in an ox-drawn covered wagon.  As he was passing through Dallas County, a man offered him 80 acres of land for his ox and wagon.  David refused.  This land later became Oak Cliff!  When he later passed through Ft. Worth, the log court house was burning.

The Phillips girls told the tale of how my great-great grandmother Sarah Caroline Dismukes’ father, James Dismukes (1795-1873) owned a plantation in South Carolina.  When her father went for supplies (presumably in Charleston) he would be gone for several days at a time.  Sarah and her mother Nancy Matthews (Wilson) would spend that time cooking for and feeding the slaves.  Her father must not have approved of that while he was there.

Although I found no evidence to confirm the plantation or the  South Carolina connection, I did see that the family lived in Pike County, Georgia and did in fact own slaves.

I was very excited to learn of this knowledge about James Dismukes, not that he owned slaves, but that he was born in 1795 in Georgia.  That made him my earliest ancestor born in America!  Theoretically he would’ve been old enough to fight in the War of 1812.  Later research showed that James did in fact do just that!  James served as a private in Capt. William Huckaby’s Co., Georgia militia, 1814-1815.

Later research showed that James’ great-grandfather (also James) was born in Virginia (c.1685) and died in Caroline County, Virginia in 1770.

Bea also told me that we had a cantankerous relative that insisted on being buried in his UNION uniform somewhere near Ft. Worth.  Apparently, his family was outraged to have Yankee soldier buried in Confederate soil!

To be continued.

I have added photos of Walvoord Cemetery that I took on a visit to Cedar Grove in 2003.  The slide show uses controls like a VCR.  To move through the photos more quickly, click the > key.

I hope you enjoy them.  If you have any questions or need a copy of any of these photos, please do not hesitate to ask.  I will (when motivated… yeah right) post some captions with each photo.  Your suggestions are always welcome on how to improve Walvoord History.com.

I am still loving the new NBC Series: Who Do You Think You Are?

Episode 3  featured Lisa Kudrow (producer of the series).  Lisa Kudrow’s roots date back to the Holocaust, which means her family connections, like many other Eastern European Jews, have been lost.

Lisa Kudrow interviews her dad, Lee, about their family history. Image Copyright 2010 NBC/Universal

Her father, Lee, has been trying to solve one of their family’s mysteries for almost 60 years. What happened to their family during World War II–and what became of a long-lost cousin who survived it? Lisa is on a mission to find out. Her father grew up impoverished in New York and then worked his way up to become a doctor. Lisa believes by trying to find out what happened to her great-grandmother and distant cousin she can find the answers her father has been searching for–as well as find some of her own.

Lisa’s grandmother, Gertrude, immigrated to America in 1921 for a better life. It is her family’s history that Lisa and her father want to research more deeply. Lisa remembers how Gertrude spoke about her mother (Lisa’s great-grandmother) and how Hitler stabbed her in the back with a knife. Lee, Lisa’s father, tells Lisa that he heard a story from a cousin, Yuri Barudin, back in 1947 or 1948. Yuri Barudin just came off of a Polish ship called the Batory when he visited Lee’s family in New York, Lee only being a young boy at the time. Yuri recounted his experience when the Germans came to the Jewish village of Ilya which was located outside the city limits of Minsk, Belarus. Lee remembers Yuri’s tale of seeing Jewish families shot down by the Germans from a wooded area; including Lisa’s great-grandmother. Lisa knows this story has always haunted her father and is determined to find out more about her great-grandmother and Yuri, especially since Lee was told Yuri died long ago.

Photo of Lisa's Grandmother Gertrude, Image Copyright 2010 NBC/Universal

Lisa knows that Grandma Gertrude’s mother was Meri Mordejovich. Meri, along with other family members, were murdered during the Holocaust. Lisa travels from Los Angeles to Minsk, Belarus. Here she meets with Tamara Vershitskaya, a researcher of Jewish history. Lisa’s worried that there will be no records, but learns that before World War II the village of Ilya had strong Jewish roots going back hundreds of years. This was drastically changed by the war all across Eastern Europe. According to Tamara, only five percent of the Jewish population were left alive after the Holocaust–10 percent at the most.

Lisa searches the archives in Molodechno and through these documents finds her great-grandmother’s name–which isn’t joyful news. Here, Lisa learns that Meri was killed and burned for being Jewish.

Lisa heads to the village of Ilya to search for answers about her father’s distant cousin, Yuri.

Lisa visits the site of the massacre in the village of Ilya. Image Copyright 2010 NBC/Universal

Lisa and Tamara visit a villager, Maria, who lived during the massacre in Ilya. After showing Maria pictures, Lisa learns that she knew Gertrude–they actually went to school together and they were like family. Maria retells the story of when the Germans came to town and recounts the haunting tale of what they did to the Jewish families: looting their homes and burning down their houses. According to Maria, some Jews escaped to the forest and others were collected by the Germans. Maria remembers trying to hide a small girl under her bed, but terrifyingly the girl was found by the Germans and thrown into a fire. Lisa feels the sadness of the history surrounding her as she stands in her Grandmother Gertrude’s yard.

It was called “the selection,” where the Nazis used an ice storage unit in the ground as a mass burial unit for 900 Jewish men, women, children and babies from Ilya. All the Jews that were selected to be killed were ordered to remove their clothes and then they were shot on site, falling directly into the frozen pit. Then, the Nazi soldiers smeared oil on the walls of the building and set it on fire.

Lisa searches for the Polish ship Batory, and finds its manifest. However, the name Yuri Barudin never shows up but another name does: Boleslaw Barudin. Lisa travels to Gdynia, Poland to find the rest of her answers. There she visits the State Archives and is assisted by researcher Krzysztof Dzieciolowski. Lisa discovers that not only did Boleslaw change his name to Yuri, but that he was also married and had a son who was born on May 16th, 1949, right in Gdynia. Lisa, hopeful that Boleslaw’s son is still in Gdynia, uses a phone book to find his name. But what she finds is even better: the name Boleslaw Barudin, the long-lost Yuri from her father’s story. This could mean Boleslaw is still alive and has a family. Lisa makes the phone call and gets in touch with Tomek Barudin (Boleslaw’s grandson)–and finds out that Boleslaw is still alive.

I have updated and added additional text to the biography of my grandfather.

Click on this link to view:  Randall Henry Walvoord Biography

Here are 4 bonus photos shown below that won’t be shown any where else!

Tonight, Amy and I watched the new NBC television series, Who Do You Think You Are? It airs on Friday nights at 7:00 pm Central.  Each episode features a celebrity who traces their family tree.  The first episode featured Sarah Jessica Parker.  She knew her mother’s side of the family was German in ancestry but learned from her mom that there was one branch that had the surname Hodge.  Sarah traces this line from Cincinnati to the California Gold Rush in 1849 and after learning that her fourth great-grandfather, John S. Hodge, had died during the Gold Rush, Sarah travels to New England to explore the Hodges in colonial times. In Boston, Sarah meets with genealogist Josh Taylor who tells her that Hodge is a big New England name. In fact, Josh found the estate of John S. Hodge and his father, Eber Hodge. Eber Hodge, Sarah’s fifth great grandfather, was born in Connecticut right after the American Revolution ended. In fact, he was the first generation born as an American.

Josh Explains to Sarah about her family tree. Copyright NBC/Universal 2010

Josh explains a long list of Sarah’s ancestors in New England. Eber’s mother was Abigail Elwell, and her father’s name was Jabez Elwell. Jabez came from three generations of Samuel Elwells. This places Sarah’s family five generations deep in New England, and the first Samuel was born in 1635, only 15 years after the Mayflower arrived.

Robert Elwell, who came over from England and was the first Elwell in America. Sarah discovers that Robert Elwell had been admitted to the Salem Church. Robert died before the Salem Witch Trials but his son Samuel and Samuel’s wife, Esther, were alive during that time. Josh tells Sarah that genealogists know that anyone alive in Essex, Massachusetts in 1692 was most likely involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Sarah is astounded by this news.

Sarah discovers that Esther Elwell, her tenth great grandmother, and two other women were on a list with a marked “warrant” label. Sarah is unsure of what that means–did the women issue a warrant or was it for their arrest?

Salem Witch Warrant, Copyright NBC/Universal 2010

Sarah learns that Esther Elwell had a warrant out for her arrest for practicing witchcraft. According to the warrant, Esther and two other women were accused of performing witchcraft on a neighbor, Mary Fitch, causing the woman bodily harm. Sarah reads the original 300-year-old complaint and learns that Mary Fitch died and Esther and the other women were accused of murder.

However, Esther Elwell was lucky. The date of the deposition, November 8th, 1692, happened after the dissolution of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and her case never went to trial. The court realized what a big mistake they were making in sentencing people to death on the basis of the devil’s work. Sarah is ecstatic to hear this news and more than that, Esther’s accusation is the last one in Salem Witch Trial history. Not only did Esther survive the witch trials, but she lived to be 82 years old.

Amy and I both loved the show and look forward to next week’s episode that features Emmitt Smith.  It is really inspiring to me, as someone who loves family history, to start digging again some of the interesting and various branches of my family, especially my mom’s side of the family that has one branch (Dismukes) that was in America before the Revolutionary War (all other branches in my family immigrated).  In my previous post about Andersonville, I learned some of Amy’s family tree and look forward to learning more of her Irish Allen roots and English Morford roots.

Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was one of the largest of many established prison camps during the American Civil War. It was built early in 1864 after Confederate officials decided to move the large number of Federal prisoners kept in and around Richmond, Virginia, to a place of greater security and a more abundant food supply. During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union Solders were confined here. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements.

My wife Amy’s 2nd great-grand uncle, Samuel Davidson, was one of the 13,000 who perished there in 1864.  He was private in the Pennsylvania 184th Regiment (Company “A”) organized on May 14th, 1864.  They were under the command of Major Charles Kleckner.  On May29th after it had joined the Army of the Potomac it was led into battle at Tolopotomy Creek.  It was engaged in skirmishing on the way to Cold Harbor, and on the second day of battle, led the brigade in two desperate assaults upon the enemy’s works, losing sixty-seven killed, and one hundred and thirteen wounded, and leaving some of it’s dead on the enemy’s entrenchments.

For its unflinching bravery, it was warmly commended by its brigade commander.  For ten days it remained upon the front line, heavy skirmishing being constantly kept up. It then moved with the corps, and crossing the James, assaulted the enemy’s works on the 16th, repeating the assault on the two following days., and losing in each very heavily.  On the 22nd the assault was renewed, and the brigade, after having charged and gained a position close upon the fortifications, was out-flanked, and a large number were taken prisoners.  In this engagement, the regiment lost 52 in killed and wounded, and 115 taken prisoners.

Out of the 500 men who stood in the ranks on the banks of the Tolopotomy, on the 29th of May, 350, including 12 officers, had either been killed wounded or taken prisoners, in a period of twenty-five days — a loss unprecedented.  Of the number taken prisoners on the 22nd, sixty-seven died at Andersonville.

Samuel Davidson was one of them.  He died October 28, 1864 of “Scorbutus.”  Also known as scurvy which is disorder caused by lack of vitamin C. Symptoms include anemia; soft, bleeding gums; and bumps under the skin near muscles.

Yesterday, Amy and I visited Andersonville National Historic Site.

Merry Christmas from the Walvoord Family and Walvoord History.com to yours!

I have found a way to post a gallery of ALL the images on Walvoord History.com in one convenient place. This was just posted for the first time today and I still have some learning to do, so come back often and your suggestions are very welcome. Please give me some feedback.

To see the photo gallery, click on the link above.

Walvoord Family Thanksgiving in Flower Mound, Texas in 2008

I am Thankful for so many things…  I am thankful to be a Walvoord, where Faith and Family aren’t just talked about, but lived out day-to-day.  I am thankful for my wonderful wife and my daughter Katie (due in April).  I am thankful for my parents, my brothers, my sisters-in-law, my brother-in-law, my nieces and nephews. I am thankful for my parents-in-law (who arrive in Nashville today).  I am thankful for my job, my house, my country, but most of all, I am thankful for Him, to whom the thanks is given.

As many of you know… I have been on a quest for many years.  A quest for the long lost “gospel.”  The “Gospel according to Louise.”

Much of the Walvoord History here has been handed down through the years from a type-written transcription of Louise Antoinette Walvoord’s Journal.  I have been hearing whispers of its existence for decades but it has always eluded me.  I even have a letter from my great-grandfather in the 1940s that indicated he was looking for it too.  Decades ago I would interview people such as Ruth Stovall and Betty Carpenter (cousins of my grandfather) who claim to have had in in their possession at one time.  I told them at the time that I hope that someone has the foresight to donate it to the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center in Sheboygan Falls.

Several weeks ago, I got a package in the mail from my 3rd-cousin in Colorado: Debbie Bjork (great-granddaughter of Anna Margretta Walvoord).  It was a photo copy of Louise’s journal!!!  Debbie had been on a family research trip to the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center and lo and behold, the journal was there among the Walvoord artifacts!

Being able to read it and see her intent is so exciting!  I will be able to share some new content including some old Walvoord Family Recipes!

Thanks Debbie!!!!

I will try to post any updates on “This What’s New Blog.”

I’ve added photos to many biographies.  Some of these photos have never been seen on Walvoord History.com before.

I’ve added too many pictures to give any kind of summary here, so keep visiting as I keep adding more photos.

Navigation has been somewhat sorted but still needs more work.

Scott

Happy Veteran’s Day!  Thank you to all those who have served this great nation!

Well, I’m getting close to re-posting all my page content from my original site.  I should have all of them up by the end of the day.

After that, I will try to sort the navigation in a logical sense.  I am trying to find out how to have drop down lists in the primary navigation.

My next goal, is to edit those pages with some new (old) photos.

My final goal (next week?) is to get a photo gallery of some really awesome old family photos that have been acquired through the years.  This will be the center piece of the site.

Welcome back to Walvoord History.com!  I’m happy to report that after a hiatus of several months of transitioning to a new host, that Walvoord History is back online!

I would like to publicly thank my good friend Stuart Young for his dedication to my website needs for many years.  I was fortunate to be one of his “Beta Testers” for his web site building software.  “Site Tablet”  which is going “dark” in mid December and now I’ll have to go it alone on hosting and tech support.

I am now independently hosted through JustHost.com and using WordPress.org for my website building.

If you have any suggestions I would welcome your input.   Original content will be added weekly and I’ve re-submitted my website to the search engines, so keep visiting.