Leendert Tieles Berkenpas was
born on May 26, 1862 in
Sint
Jacobiparochie, municipality Het Bildt as a son of Tiele Jacobs
Berkenpas
and Jantje Leenderts Dijkstra. On May 12, 1883 Leendert married Akke
Fokkema
in the municipality Ferwerderadeel. Akke was born on March 31, 1857 in
Marrum, daughter of Jantje Dirks Fokkema, her father being unknown.
In the year 1889 Leendert & Akke and their two children Joukje and Tiele emigrated to Argentina in an attempt to improve their life. They departed from Amsterdam on board s.s. "Schiedam" on September 25, 1889. Also on board this ship was a family from the municipality Hemelumer Oldeferd: Jan Cornelis Koornstra & Sijke Rintjes Bijlsma and their children. In one of the letters that Jan Cornelis Koornstra wrote to the folks back home he mentions that "a little child has died, one from Marrum". This child was Tiele Leenderts Berkenpas who passed away on October 7, 1889. It was only the beginning of a dreadful life in Argentina. Although the exact dates are unknown, it is known that Akke
Fokkema
and daughter Joukje died in Argentina. Leendert remarried, probably in
1896, to Jantje Paulus Pausenga who was born on August 31, 1868 in
Oosternijkerk,
municipality Oostdongeradeel, as a daughter of Paulus Tjerks Pausenga
&
Trijntje Gerbens Postma (aka Postmus). It were hard, very hard times
for
Leendert & Jantje in Argentina. In fact it was so hard that they
sent
a desperate letter to a minister in Michigan asking him for help. This is the story of Rev. S.J. Menning's attempts to
have
Leendert
Berkenpas and his family come over. It is presented by means of
translations
to English of the original advertisements which were in Dutch:
Many
thanks to Mitch Berkenpas
and Bob Schwierenga
for their kind cooperation. |