Jill's Genealogy Journey

Stories, Discoveries & Tips

John Middendorp

Ancestor Ornaments

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Do you find it hard to know what to do with all your research?

What if there are some easy and fun options?

How about ancestor ornaments!?

Ancestor Ornaments: Holman, Fjerstad, Laitala & Middendorp

What a nice way to honor our ancestors!

Click here if you want to see these ancestor ornaments up close.

If you want more context on these pictures:

P.S. Thinking about doing this yourself? It was a little fussy to design these, but if you have some technical skills and you already have done the genealogy research, it isn’t too difficult. You can even use mine to get started and customize ornaments yourself!

Ancestors of Renie Middendorp

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Here is my current knowledge of this part of the family . . . I can’t say that everything is perfectly verified from primary sources yet, but this is a good start and a good basis for further research.

John and Dena and all their children are a bit confusing. John was married before Dena, to Cornelia and they had a son. Dena had a child before she was married, then she married Sam Bird and had 3 children, then she married John and they had 10 children. On to the ancestors and the timeline of events that are documented . . .

The Ancestors of Renie Middendorp (1882-1961)
The Ancestors of Renie Middendorp (1882-1961)

Timeline
1803 – Teunis born (WieWasWie)
1830 – Teunis married Elizabeth (WieWasWie)
1845 – John born (naturalization papers)
1847 – Dena born (1900 census)
1873 – John came to the US (naturalization papers)
1880 – Ubbe & Myka and John & Dena are in Turner SD (census)
1882 – Renie born (death certificate)
1883 – Teunis died (WieWasWie)
1885 – Ubbe & Myka are in Turner SD (census)
1885 – John & Dena in Minneapolis MN (census)
1895 – John & Dena in Minneapolis MN (census)
1900 – John & Dena in Turtle Lake WI (census)
1905 – John & Dena in Turtle Lake WI (census)
1909 – John is a US citizen (naturalization papers)
1910 – John & Dena in Turtle Lake WI (census)
1911 – John gets a land patent in WI (BLM database)
1913 – Renie and Melena married (marriage certificate)
1918 – Renie drafted in WWI (draft card)
1918 – John died (Marvin Iwerks’ books, findagrave.com)
1920 – Renie and Melena in Turtle Lake WI (census)
1920 – Dena with daughter Lena in Clayton WI (census)
1930 – Renie and Melena in Turtle Lake WI (census)
1939 – Dena died (Marvin Iwerks’ books, findagrave.com)
1961 – Renie died (death certificate)

Sources

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John & Dena Middendorp

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John & Dina Middendorp
John & Dina Middendorp November 1914


This is one of the oldest pictures I have, so I couldn’t resist sharing it, even though I still have more work to do on this part of the family.


This photo comes from the pictures that my grandmother gathered for me and the note says it is from November 1914. He died the beginning of 1918 so that cannot be too far off. It is a 4×6 inch reprint. I’m not sure who had the original.


Their dress looks pretty formal to me. It looks like they got cleaned up, dressed up and went to the studio to get their portrait taken. I wonder what the occasion was?


Dena was married to Sam Bird before she married John Middendorp. Also, before she was married to either of them, she did have a child in 1870, who was raised by her parents. That tidbit comes from Marvin Iwerks. You should really check out his work – he did a nice job and it is available electronically:
*Iwwerks-Iwerks: A Family History (vol 1 from 1996)
*The Iwerks Family in America: A History and Genealogy (vol 2 from 1998)

The Basic Facts:
John MIDDENDORP
b. 12 Mar 1845, Naaldwijk, Netherlands
d. 9 Jan 1918, Clayton, Polk, WI
& Dena Ubben IWWERKS
b. 3 Nov 1847, Uttum, Ostfriesland
d. 7 May 1939, Clayton, Polk, WI
m. Feb 1878, Yankton, SD

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