CHURCHYARD MARRUM

1831 - 2002

 




In the “Traditiones Fuldenses” -letters of the abbey of Fulda- some villages in Ferwerderadeel are mentioned, one of them being Mareheim (Marrum) which may be translated as "the yard near the sea". The abbey of Fulda was founded in 744 by bishop Bonifatius who later on was murdered near Dokkum. Today around the terp of the town, which mostly remained owing to building houses on it, is the ring road. The characteristic radial structure of the town is, just like in Hallum, still there. Various old small streets lead from the ring road to the top of the terp. At the top is, surrounded by a unique double row of lime trees, the church and the churchyard.

Many thousands of Marrumers will have found their last resting place at the top of the terp ever since the 8th century. As from mid 1831, the 7th of July to be precise, it is known who was burried and where, at the churchyard.
During the period July 1831 - 1925 there were 2538 people buried at the churchyard, an average of 26 - 27 per year. However, in 1859 no less than 52 inhabitants of Marrum were buried, 22 of whom were children not older than 10 years. It must have been mainly infectious diseases which caused this high rate (about 5% of the population at the time) of death.
Furthermore a considerable number of stillborn children were buried in the second half of the 19th and the early 20th century along with quite a lot of mothers who passed away shortly after giving birth. We may assume that the same bad hygienic conditions in those days were to blame for that too.
One of the oldest deceased during the timeframe 1831 - 1925 was Yfke Koenraads Meister. She was buried at the age of 93 years and the record mentions her to be "the oldest in Marrum". Her sister Sjoukje Koenraads got to be very old as well: 91 years. She passed away in October 1882 and at the time she was the oldest person in Marrum. Nevertheless, the oldest one who found his resting place at the churchyard was Dirk de Zwart, buried on December 3, 1917 at the age of 94 years.

As to the period 1926 - 2002 it is noted that 1185 burrials took place, an average of 15 per year. The oldest deceased was Dirk Boersma who was burried on October 14, 1999 at the rspectable age of 101 years. He was widower of Ruurdje Slager. Three more may be considered to be very " strong" ones: Jeltje de Boer and Hessel van der Velde who passed away in 1996, both being 99 years old, and Grietje Tjepkema who died in 1997, also being 99 years of age.

The names of the deceased are spelled exactly the way they are mentioned in the original records. For that reason differences occur compared to their names in the records of the Civil Registration. In case of reasonable doubt about the spelling, latter records were consulted at Tresoar/It Ryksargyf in Leeuwarden.
You will notice remarks when taking a look at the overviews such as "diaconie, armvoogdij, kerkvoogdij and/or rotting". These remarks indicate that the costs were paid by that particular authority whenever the family was not able to pay the funeral expenses. The word "rotting" means that the particular grave was free of any future charges. The church would take care of that, usually for a period of 10 years after which the remains would be removed and, as a consequence of which, the grave could be used again for another deceased. The indication "Blinde Fok" refers to a location without a row number. They were owned and used by the church.

At the churchyard of Marrum the "hoofdnummers" (row #) are mentioned on the outside churchwall and/or small poles along the side of the path. Please note: the "ondernummers" (grave #) of each row start at the path, increasing towards the church which is the opposite of the churchyard of Westernijkerk.

Andries Dijkstra
   

1831 - 1925

 A  B  C  D  E
 F  G  H  J  K
 L  M  N  O  P
 R  S  T  U  V
 W  Y  Z    
Note: no persons with surnames
starting with the letter I -Q -X 


Stillborn children
1926 - 2002

 A  B  C  D  E
 F  G  H  I  J
 K  L
 M
 O  P
 R  S  T
 V
 W
 Y
Z
     
Note: no persons with surnames
starting with the letter N -Q -U -X 


Stillborn children