Introduction
Most researchers of family history focus on the family tree. I, on the other hand, find the immigration story far more interesting than a list of names and birth dates. The immigration story is also undoubtedly more difficult to research. But once discovered and told, yields a greater sense of satisfaction both to the researcher and the reader.
The key to researching and telling the story is finding family members able and willing to donate the few anecdotes and artifacts they have to offer. The answers will not be found in one momentous single act of discovery. They will be found by linking together bits and pieces of data, much like constructing the solution to a complex puzzle.
If you have something to contribute, please contact me via the website, or you can reach me at:
Address: 4910 Greenwood Drive
Douglasville, GA 30135
E-mail: mark.dejong@mindspring.com
Phone: 770-843-5503
Mark A. De Jong
The Key Characters
This is a story about two generations of Van Doorns: Adriaan Van Doorn, and his son William Van Doorn. Let me introduce them to you.
Adriaan Van Doorn
Adriaan Van Doorn left his home in The Netherlands seeking a better life, including economic betterment and religious freedom. His wife became ill at the docks of Liverpool and never boarded the ship for America. He arrived in this country a single parent to four children. Adriaan worked as a mason for his brother John. He remarried and started a second family. At age 57 he moved his family to Grand Rapids, Michigan. For the remainder of his life, he worked in the furniture factories of Grand Rapids. A respected member of his community, he was an elder in the Third Reformed Church in Grand Rapids.
William Van Doorn
William was Adriaan’s youngest son. He started working in the furniture factories of Grand Rapids at an early age. He lost his first wife quite young, leaving William to care for three sons under the age of 12. He remarried, and at his second wife’s urging, the family moved from the city to Coopersville, Michigan. William became a farmer, though he had no training or experience as such.
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