Peaks Island and the Umbrella Cover Museum

 Yes, you heard correctly. There is an Umbrella Cover Museum on Peak's Island.  The only one in the world!  Keep reading to learn more. 

The ferry to Peaks Island from Portland, Maine

Last summer we took a trip to Peaks Island in Casco Bay, Maine, population 2,000 year round residents.  The ferry ride is about 3 miles from Portland, taking only about 20 minutes. This is a small island with two museums, the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum (Civil War), and the Umbrella Cover Museum.  There is a large fort, Battery Steele (World War II), to explore near the beach.  

The tiny Umbella Cover Museum

The Umbrella Cover Museum on 62 Island Road is a seasonal fun stop on Peaks Island, open seasonally.  It was founded by Nancy Hoffman in 1996. There are over 2,000 umbrella covers from over 71 countries on display.  You know, what is an umbrella cover?  They are those "sheaths" or "pockets" that you remove when you buy an umbrella and then immediately lose it because you can never get it back on?  Well Nancy has kept all these unique items and created a display.  She even wrote a book on umbrella covers (available at the gift shop) and won a Guinness Book of World Records achievement in 2012 when she had only 730 umbrella covers.  

Don't miss this when you are on Peaks Island.  It is a less than five minute walk from the ferry landing. 

Cairn beach had hundreds of cairns

Vincent exploring one of the "art carts"

The best way to see Peaks Island is to rent an electric golf cart or a bicycle. There are at least two businesses renting golf carts near the ferry landing, and one is right in the driveway of the Umbrella Cover Museum.  When we rented our cart we were given a map showing all the beaches, art galleries, museums, and unique sites.  Along the way we passed many art carts and plant sales.  We saw the fort twice on our two rounds around Peaks Island. There is not much to see and do, but the scenery and views of Casco Bay were fantastic.  A few hours is all you need on this little island. 

Getting on the ferry to return to the mainland

For the truly curious:

Peaks Island website:  https://peaksisland.info/   

Peaks Island at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaks_Island   

The Umbrella Cover Museum website:   https://www.umbrellacovermuseum.org/   or email info@UmbrellaCoverMuseum.org 

Umbrella Cover Museum at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_Cover_Museum  

Uncovered and Exposed: A Guide to the World's Only Umbrella Cover Museum, by Nancy 3. Hoffman, published in 2010.  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Peaks Island and the Umbrella Cover Museum", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 5, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/11/peaks-island-and-umbrella-cover-museum.html: accessed [access date]). 

This story will give you the Willeys - literally!

 

To the memory of the Family

which was at once destroyed by

a slide from the white Mountains

on the night of 28 August 1826.

SAMUEL WILLEY, AE 38

POLLY L. WILLEY, 35

ELIZA A. WILLEY, 12

JEREMIAH WILLEY, 11

MARTHA G. WILLEY, 10

ELBRIDGE G. WILLEY, 7

SALLY WILLEY, 3

Happy Halloween!  In New England we use a lot of words to describe the sensation of getting the shivers - goosebumps, goosepimples, chicken skin, jitters, getting the creeps, and "getting the willies".  Some people say that this word "the willies" dates back to a disaster that happened in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 1826 when an entire family died during a landslide.  The Willey Family story is sad, but scary enough to have lived on in ghost stories, books (including Nathaniel Hawthorne), and history books.  I previously blogged about the Willey family disaster and their genealogy HERE in 2010.  Seven members of the Willey family, two parents and five children, and two hired hands all died in this landslide. Only the bodies of the parents, two of the three children, and the two hired men were found. The bodies were buried near the homesite originally, and then reburied elsewhere. 

Recently we drove through Crawford Notch, the site of the famous 1826 landslide, and we looked at the monument to the family.  I knew that this was the place where the family house stood, not the burial place for the bodies of the Willey family.  But where were they buried? Somewhere else in Crawford Notch? Nearby in Bartlett or somewhere that is now part of the Crawford Notch State Park or the White Mountain National Forest land? Miles away with family members in southern New Hampshire (the family originated in the Piscataqua Region) or even out of state? Where? 

I made a quick search of the Find A Grave website, and Google with some interesting results. I searched for Samuel Willey born 1788 and died 1826.  Find A Grave said he was buried in the Willey Slide Cemetery located in Intervale, Carroll County, New Hampshire.  There are many places in New Hampshire called "Intervale", which literally means between mountains or between towns.  There is a place called Intervale nearby between the towns of Bartlett and Conway, New Hampshire. On Find A Grave there are no GPS coordinates or directions, which is very odd.  There is no description of the cemetery, and no map.  Very odd indeed.  There is even a misleading entry "Willey Family Cemetery" off Moose Mountain Road in Brookfield, New Hampshire with no photos, no information, nothing. I think it was created as a red herring. 

Since we were in the area, I was determined to find this elusive cemetery.  Google showed me that I was not alone. Many other people have documented this search online. I found one of the hired hands buried nearby in Bartlett.  His name was David Allen, and he is buried at the Garland Ridge Cemetery a short distance from Crawford Notch.  There is a link below to his gravestone. That was easy. But where is the Willey family burial ground, and where is the other hired hand buried? 

Using Google Maps satellite view has helped me in the past to find small, unmarked family cemeteries in New England.  Since we live in a heavily wooded region, satellite views often show small square or irregular openings in the forest canopy that are not visible from the road.  My next ploy was to stop in to the Conway or North Conway Public Library to ask about local cemeteries. 

As we were driving up towards Crawford Notch, through the Kancamaugus Notch and Bear Notch, I read the accounts online of other people searching for the Willey Family.  The story told by Robert Gillis of his teenaged nephew, Colin, searching for the burial ground, was inspirational. I loved reading about young people who become enthralled with local history or genealogy.  Colin used the local library to find the small Willey family burial ground. Then he mysteriously did not give the location.  But, if Colin could find it, I was sure I could find it, too.

As we were driving I also watched a 15 minute video by "Rick and Bill" on Youtube of their search for the Willey Cemetery.  You can find the link below.  Rick and Bill make videos of local history in New Hampshire, and although they also did not give the location of the cemetery either, their video gave me clues in the background as to where it was located. If you are familiar with the Intervale area, you will know what I mean. 

Both Vincent and I searched the Intervale area using the satellite views.  We knew that the Willey burial ground was nearby and easily found it.  You can find it, too.  I'm going to follow the local tradition and not tell you where to find it.  Some things can't be too easy! 

I'm writing this story near Halloween.  I've seen what Halloween mania has done to historic places like Salem, Massachusetts, and to some local burial grounds.  This is why the local people have not published the map, coordinates, or address for the Willey Family cemetery.  If you are truly interested in the history, then like me, Bill, Rick, and Colin, you can do the legwork and find it for yourself.  This is a burial ground which deserves respect.  It is not a tourist attraction for Halloween.  

Visit with respect.  Bring flowers, and leave nothing but footprints. 

Colin, Bill, Rick, and the entire Willey family would agree.  Let me know if you find the Willeys! 

The Willey Family plot

A close up of the tombstone

This stone is marked with a DAR flagholder,

and is reinforced with a metal support

The entrance to the cemetery is on private property.

Ask permission before you enter the cemetery

For the Truly Curious:

A 2010 blog post about the Willey Family:   
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-story-of-willey-family.html     

Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willey_House_(New_Hampshire)   

Link to Samuel Willey's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231693821/samuel-willey  

Link to David Allen's memorial at Find A Grave:   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116456101/david-allen  

Robert Gillis, "An historical quest fulfilled: Finding the Willey Family of Crawford Notch", posted 17 September 2015,  https://www.robertxgillis.com/?p=5761  accessed 18 October 2025. 

Bill Thompson and Rick Davidson, "Visiting the Site of the Famous Willey Landslide and the Willey Cemetery", Youtube, 17 April 2024,   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPlKlczGsBs accessed 18 October 2025. 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "This story will give you the Willeys - literally!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 28 October 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/10/this-story-will-give-you-willeys.html: accessed [access date]). 

A weathervane in Santander, Spain

 

This weathervane of a galleon ship is atop a stone column in the middle of a roundabout in Santander, Spain.  It is located on the beach in the El Sardinero neighborhood, near our hotel a few weeks ago.  Santander is a coastal city on the Catabrian Sea in northern Spain.

It took us several trips around the roundabout to get these photos!  Sorry, but they aren't very good.   It was a very interesting place to install a weathervane.   Santander has always had a very busy port, and perhaps galleons set off from this city for the New World?  We saw a ferry to the United Kingdom, and many fishing boats in the port. To U.S. citizens, this city is perhaps most famous for Banco Santander, which was founded here and now has many branches in the United States. 

For the truly curious:

Click here to see almost 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts!

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A weathervane in Santander, Spain", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 22 October 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-weathervane-in-santander-spain.html: accessed [access date]). 

Dari Joy, Bellows Falls, Vermont

This is another post in my series of stories about 20th Century Americana, which I use as story starters and for helping with oral histories.  Most of these subjects bring back great memories to the people who lived through the 20th century, maybe even YOU!

The Dari-Joy is a small ice cream restaurant at 140 Rockingham Road in Bellows Falls, Vermont, across the street from the Connecticut River.  This is another installment of the 20th Century Americana series at this blog, where I feature unique places and things across New England that were established or made in the 20th century. Maybe you, your parents, your grandparents, or even your great-grandparents remember visiting a place like this for snacks and ice cream. 

The Dari-Joy restaurant was established in 1953 by the DeMuzio family.  For decades we had driven by this little ice cream stand on our way to the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham, Vermont.  Recently we finally decided to stop by and have lunch.  We each had a fine plate of fish and chips, and were tempted by the ice cream menu.  The interior of the restaurant was decorated with photos from the last 50 years of the restaurant, which started as a walk up window and now has expanded to indoor dining.  It was so cute that I decided to include Dari-Joy in my 20th Century Americana series.

There is a statue of "Big Boy" on the roof, and lots of colorful booths and juke boxes inside. Dining here is like stepping back into the 1950s.  They serve burgers, fried seafood, sandwiches, hot dogs, and of course ice cream both hard and soft serve. Wednesdays are prime rib specials.  It's cash only, with and ATM in the dining room. 

The Dari-Joy is open seasonally April to October.  I hope you can visit soon!  

1953 newsclipping about Dari-Joy opening

For the truly curious: 

Dari-Joy at Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/Darijoyrestaurant  

The Rutland Herald, "50 Years of (Dari) Joy", 17 October 2018   https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/50-years-of-dari-joy/article_76f9a927-738a-5c5f-891f-e40d463fc5b5.html   

Click here to see more 20th Century Americana at the Nutfield Genealogy blog:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/20th%20Century%20Americana  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Dari Joy, Bellows Falls, Vermont", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 16, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/09/dari-joy-bellows-falls-vermont.html:  accessed [access date]). 

A Gilded Sailing Ship, Veere, The Netherlands, for Weathervane Wednesday

 This ship weathervane was photographed in Veere, The Netherlands. 

This past spring we enjoyed a river cruise to see the tulips and windmills in my ancestral country of The Netherlands.  One day our river boat moored at the small village (population 1,500) of Veere, which means "ferry" in Dutch.  It is located in the province of Zeeland, on the body of water known as the Veerse Meer. We could see this building with a spire from a long distance, but the beautiful weathervane was indistiguishable until we were very close. 

This weathervane is on the bell tower above the town hall, built between 1474 and 1517.  The golden weathervane has a ship with five flags and a banner, and it dates from 1598, but was restored in 1933.  This is a terrific weathervane with lots of details to admire. 

For the truly curious:

The Veere website:    https://www.zeeland.com/en/visit/islands/walcheren/towns-and-villages/veere 

Click here to see over 550 more Weathervane Wednesday blog posts: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Gilded Sailing Ship, Veere, The Netherlands, for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 10, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-gilded-sailing-ship-veere-netherlands.html: accessed [access date]). 

B for Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed during a canal boat ride in Bruges, Belgium.

The weathevane can barely be seen above this

very, very tall steeple! 

This gilded banner has a letter B cut out in the center.  It was installed very high above a building in Bruges, barely visible from street level.  Thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras!  If you look very carefully on the photo you can see two other gilded banners and two golden crowns on the other turrets of this building. 

For the truly curious:

Click here to see over 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts from this blog:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "B for Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 3, 2025, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/09/b-for-bruges-belgium-for-weathervane.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Lion Banner in Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed in Bruges, Belgium.

If you look close you can see the lion banner above the church steeple.

Thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras! 

This lion banner weathervane was spotted above a very tall steeple on a very narrow street in Bruges, Belgium.  There are traces of gilding on the banner.  The lion is a symbol of strength, valor, and nobility when used in heraldry, and in Christian symbolism the Lion of Judah is on the coat of arms for Jerusalem.  The Leo Belgicus ("Belgian Lion" in latin) is on the Belgian national coat of arms and is the national animal for Belgium.  

For the truly curious:

Click on this link to see over 550 other weathervane posts: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Lion Banner in Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 27, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-lion-banner-in-bruges-belgium-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Mystery Weathervane in Antwerp for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Antwerp, Belgium.  Does it look familiar to anyone?

My husband took a walking tour of Antwerp and photographed this weathervane near the Plantin Moretus Museum.  We don't know the building or the history of this weathervane.  It's a complete mystery. 

This hand is very mysterious. 

This shape looked like a possible boat or ship.  It was also very mysterious. 

Online I saw a reference to a V-1 Flying Bomb weathervane in Antwerp, installed above a private house.  When I Googled the V-1 flying bomb I saw this photo below.  It was a match. 

The V-1 Flying Bomb was the famous "buzz bomb" or "doodlebug" during the Blitz in England during World War II.  It was an unmanned German missile.  It also terrorized civilians in Antwerp.  This was the precursor to today's cruise missile.  Antwerp, Belgium was hit by 2,448 V-1s from October 1944 to March 1945. It remains a mystery as to why this destructive missile was commemorated by a weathervane.  Perhaps it is symbolic of the resilience of the Antwerp citizens during World War II.  

The hand silhouette  on the finial above the vane remains a mystery!  If you know any details on this weathervane in Antwerp, please leave a comment below or email me at vrojomit@gmail.com  

For the truly curious:

V-1 Flying Bomb at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb

Click here to see over 550 other weathervanes worldwide:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Mystery Weathervane in Antwerp for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy,  posted August 20, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-mystery-weathervane-in-antwerp-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

If This Isn't Real, There must be a Real One Out There Somewhere!

 Another historical Friday Funny...

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "If This Isn't Real, There must be a Real One Out There Somewhere!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/if-this-isnt-real-there-must-be-real.html: accessed [access date]). 

Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Ancient Burial Gound in Brewster, Massachusetts.

In Memory of                               In Memory of

    Isaac Sparrow Bangs                           Sukey Bangs       

                    who died april 12 1795                   who died octr 20th 1794     

            Aged one year                             Aged 2 Months     

    11 Months & 3 Days                        &12 Days         

Children of Mr Dean and Mrs Eunice Bangs

Happy the babes who privileged by fate

To shorter labor and a lighter wight

Received but yesterday the gift of breath

Ordered tomorrow to return to death. 

This sad, broken, and reset tombstone was dedicated to two children of Captain Dean Bangs (1756 - 1845)  and his wife Eunice Sparrow (1756 - 1818).  The carvings show a winged soul and also a fallen dove/bird.  Eunice was the daughter of Isaac Sparrow and Mary Hopkins (a Mayflower descendant).  They had two sons named Isaac Sparrow Bangs (1793 - 1795 and 1798 - 1874).  Captain Dean Bangs was a descendant of Edward Bangs of Chichester, England who came to the Plymouth Colony in 1623 on board the ship Anne.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, July 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/two-bangs-babies-died-in-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at Brewster, Massachusetts.

THOMAS BANGS

SON OF JOSHUA &

MEHETIBEL BANGS

AGED 12 YEARS

AND 8 DAYS DECd

DECEMBER YE 8th

1728

Thomas Bangs was born on 28 November 1716 in Harwich, Massachusetts and died on 8 December 1728.  He was the son of Captain Joshua Bangs and Mehitable Clark.  He was one of nine children (Nathan 1714 -1749, Thomas 1716 - 1728, Thankful 1720- 1749, Joshua 1723 - 1755, Mary 1724 - 1784, Mehitable 1728 - 1805, Thomas b. 1729, Susanna b. 1731, and Mary b. 1734). 

Captain Joshua Bangs was the son of Edward Bangs and Ruth Allen, and the grandson of  Jonathan Bangs and Mary Mayo, and the great grandson of Edward Bangs and Rebecca Hobart (immigrant ancestors) of Chichester, England, who came to the Plymouth Colony on board the ship Anne in 1623. According to the book The Great Migration Begins 1620 - 1633, Volume 1, page 86, Edward Bangs was an inkeeper at Eastham on Cape Cod.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 8, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/thomas-bangs-age-12-of-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

An Ancestral City, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

 

In April we were in The Netherlands for a river cruise tour of the tulip fields and gardens.  It was a lovely time of the year to see this country, and we enjoyed seeing so many small towns and villages along the waterways.  I was excited to see that we cruised by the town of Dordrecht twice on our itinerary, because that is where my Hoogerzeil ancestors lived.  I had visited Dordrecht once before in 2017, when one of my distant Hogerzeil cousins gave me a tour of Dordrecht, Nieuwport, and Krimpen aan de Lek where our ancestors lived.  

At one time, in the 1970s and 1980s (before the internet was used for genealogy research, and well before Google existed) I was stumped in trying to find out more information about my ancestor Peter Hoogerzeil.  He came from Holland in the 1820s, and he was a mariner.  He wrote many letters back and forth, and stated that he was from Dort in Holland.  I was unable to find any town in The Netherlands with this name.  Years later, on an online genealogy forum, a Dutch citizen told me that Dort was the nickname for Dordrecht.  This helped break down a big brick wall for me, and suddenly I found generations of records on the Hoogerzeil family.  

Dordrecht is on an island between many rivers in South Holland.  It is considered the oldest city in The Netherlands, and is near Rotterdam, another major seaport.  My Hoogerzeil ancestors were all commanders of whaling ships that sailed from Rotterdam to Greenland. It was easier for ships to reach the sea from Dordrecht before 1829 when the Voorne Canal was dug.  By the end of the 1800s Rotterdam had become the major seaport, and Dordrecht lost many of its shipping and ship building industries.  I wonder if this is why my  3rd great grandfather, Peter Hoogerzeil (1803 - 1889) stowed away on a ship full of hemp in the 1820s and landed in Salem, Massachusetts.  

Many of the Hoogerzeil family church records (baptisms, marriages, funerals) were found at the "Grote Kerk" ("Big Church") which was built between 1285 and 1470.  You can see this church tower from quite a distance, and while we cruised by I just had to look for this familiar square tower to know we were at Dordrecht.  Below you can see photos we took of this church from the land in 2017, and above you can see the photos we took from the river boat.  

Vincent used his iPhone to track our boat position and to find Dordrecht.  When we were close I ran up to the top deck of the boat to take photos with my phone.  Some people were eating lunch near the railing, and a kind woman passenger snapped the photo of me with the Grote Kerk.  I'm so glad she offered to take that picture!  

Click on the links below to see more blog posts about the town of Dordrecht, including my uncle's visit to his Hogerzeil cousins in Dordrecht after World War II.  

2017

Hans Hogerzeil, Erik Kon, and Yours Truly

in front of the doors of the Grote Kerk, Dordrecht

Grote Kerk

View of Dordrecht by Aelbert Cuyp, 1655

By Aelbert Cuyp - English Heritage, Kenwood House, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57844274

For the truly curious:

Hoogerzeil Surname Saturday post:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/surname-saturday-hoogerzeil-of-holland.html  

My 2017 visit to The Netherlands, including Dordrecht:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/in-footsteps-of-ancestors-visit-to.html   

More information on Dordrecht and the Hoogerzeil/Hogerzeil family:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/09/value-of-posting-brick-walls-on.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "An Ancestral City, Dordrecht, The Netherlands", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 2, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/an-ancestral-city-dordrecht-netherlands.html: accessed [access date]). 

Krimpen aan de Lek, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

 This is the second time I have featured this weathervane here on Weathervane Wednesday!  

My 6th great grandfather, Michiel Ockers Hogerzeijl, was born in Krimpen aan de Lek on 18 July 1696, and was buried at this church after his death in 25 May 1779.  This 1425 church was demolished in 1939 and rebuilt, and his tombstone was moved to the chapel in the village cemetery.  However, the church retains a bit of my ancestor's history, since he was the commander of whaling ships, and the weathervane features a gilded whale! 

I first visited this village in 2017 with my distant cousin, Hans Hogerzeil.  You can read all about that trip HERE.  I featured the weathervane and the tombstone (see the links below).  This time, in April 2025 we were taking a river cruise around The Netherlands and Belgium and we sailed right by Krimpen aan de Lek and stopped nearby at Kinderdijk.  I was thrilled to see this village, and also the city of Dordrecht nearby, where Michiel Ockers Hogerzeijl's son, Simon Machielszoon Hoogerzeijl was buried, and where several other generations of my family lived until my 3rd great grandfather, Peter Hoogerzeil (1803 - 1889), immigrated to Beverly, Massachusetts in the 1820s.  

I loved my visit to Dordrecht and Krimpen aan de Lek in 2017.  I remember sitting in a restaurant with Hans and watching the river outside the window.  I kept seeing the river cruises go by, and I made a wish that maybe someday I would return and take one of those cruise tours of The Netherlands.  When we finally were able to make that wish come true, we did it during the tulip season, which was even extra fun!  

According to Wikipedia, the first mention of the name of this town in 1396.  The town is located nearby rotterdam, and in the 1700s the Van Holst whaling business was established here. Many Krimpen residents worked on board the ships, including my ancestor as a commander. He was a respected member of the community, and his impressive gravestone certainly verifies this!  

For the truly curious:

My previous blog post about Krimpen aan de Lek:     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/in-footsteps-of-ancestors-touring.html   

Tombstone Tuesday featuring Michiel Ockers Hogerzeijl's gravestone in Krimpen aan de Lek:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/tombstone-tuesday-michiel-ockers.html  

Kerk aan de Lek website in English:  https://www.kerkaandelek.nl/locaties/   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Krimpen aan de Lek, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 25, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/06/krimpen-aan-de-lek-netherlands-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

Zuiderkerk, Enkhuizen, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

 

The Zuiderkerk (Southern Church) is a protestant church in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands.  The church was originally Sint Pancraskerk (St. Pancratius) built in 1458.  The tower with the weathercock is owned by the town, and was restored in 1992. The first musical clock in this tower was installed in 1524. There are two bells in the tower which were installed in 1653. There is also a carillon of 52 bells connected to the keyboard of the organ inside the church.   The interior was rennovated in 2013 and 2014. 

We could see the weathercock on the church tower from the main square of Enkhuizen while we were touring the town a few months ago.  We even heard the church bells while we were having a tea break in a local cafe.  This old weathercock is a very old Christian symbol, dating back to Pope Gregory I (between 590 and 604 AD) who declared that every church should install the rooster as a symbol of Christianity.  Pope Nicolas made the decree official in the 9th century.  Many early churches took advantage of this decree to install weathercocks.  The rooster stayed as a popular weathervane over the centuries, still seen on churches and farms in Europe and in America. The oldest weathervane known to exist is the Gallo di Ramperto, in the Museo di Santa Guilia in Brescia, Italy (thought to date between 820 and 830 AD).  

For the truly curious:

Zuiderkerk website (in Dutch):   https://www.pgenkhuizen.nl/ons-gebouw/  

Southern Church, Enkhuizen at Wikipedia (in English):    https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuiderkerk_(Enkhuizen)   

Another weathervane seen in Enkhuizen:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/05/enkhuizen-gatehouse-netherlands-for.html  

Click here to see over 550 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Zuiderkerk, Enkhuizen, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 18, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/06/zuiderkerk-enkhuisen-netherlands-for.html:  accessed [access date]). 

The Schreierstoren, Amsterdam, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

The 15th century Schreierstoren is a tower that was originally part of the city wall of Amsterdam.  I twas built in 1487. The ship on the weathervane is very appropriate because in 1595 Cornelis Houtman left here for the East Indies in 1595.  And this is where Henry Hudson set sail for North America in 1609 on his third voyage and founded New Amsterdam (Manhattan).  

The name Schreierstoren has many stories.  One is that women would go there to cry over lost husbands, those who were gone to sea for war, fishing, or exploration like Henry Hudson. The English translation is incorrectly told to be "Weeper's Tower" or "Tower of Tears".  However the name in Old Dutch translates to "Sharp Angle Tower" because the now extinct wall once made a sharp turn at this tower.  

The weathervane is a two dimensional gilded ship.  It cannot represent Henry Hudson's ship De Halve Maen  (The Half Moon) because he left Amsterdam in 1609, and this tower was built in 1487. 

This tower is now a cafe and bookshop, located at Prins Hendrikkade 94. 

For the truly curious:

Schreierstoren at Wikipedia:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schreierstoren  

"The true story behind Amsterdam's Schreierstoren": 

   https://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/279-schreierstoren-amsterdam   

Click here to see over 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Schreierstoren, Amsterdam, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 28, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-schreierstoren-amsterdam.html: accessed [access date]). 

The Westerkerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

While we were in Amsterdam in April, our hotel was located a block from this impressive church, with a gilded weathercock above a fantastic domed steeple.  This is the Westerkerk, a Reformed church built between 1620 and 1631 in Renaissance style.  There are older churches in Amsterdam that were built before the Reformation.  This is one of the first Protestant churches built in The Netherlands, and at the time it was built it was the biggest Protestant church in the world.  This church is also very close to the Anne Frank House. 

The impressive spire is 286 feet tall.  The blue dome is actually the Imperial Crown of Austria worn by the Emperor Maximilian I.  The weathercock is a traditional symbol of Christianity, ever since the decree by Pope Nicholas in the 9th century.  His papal edict said that a cockerel, the symbol of St. Peter's betrayal, should be installed on top of churches.  It is also a symbol of hope, vigilance, the dawn, and human fallibility.  By chance, most of these roosters were installed as weathervanes. Early weathervanes did not include the cardinal letters, like this one, because early churches were always laid out east to west. 

The Westerkerk is still a working church, and it is open to visitors Monday to Friday.  Many famous people, including the artist Rembrandt, are buried here.  The entrance is Prinsengracht 279.  The tower is owned by the City of Amsterdam and has a separate entrance.  It is not open to the public at this time. 

For the truly curious:

Westerkerk at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerkerk      

The official Westerkerk website:   https://westerkerk.nl/tourist-information-westerkerk-amsterdam/   

Click here to see over 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts from around the world:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Westerkerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 21, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-westerkerk-amsterdam-netherlands.html: accessed [access date]).