This article contains what we know of three generations of our family, starting in about 1800. Photos for these three generations survive, along with some dates and family information. We have an extensive family lineage for the Trip branch of the family, and additional ancestors for the Beerninks, Mulstegens, Giesens, and Arends. Click here if you have stories or pictures to share >

Many Beerninks lived in the eastern part of Twente (part of the province of Overijssel), along the German border. Another group lived in the Achterhoek, the eastern part of the province of Gelderland, just to the south of Overijssel. Near the town of Oldenzaal, not far from the German border, lies "Het Beernink," possibly the original home of the family. A third group of Beerninks live in the German County (Graafschap) Bentheim. This is where our Beernink ancestors come from.

In the middle ages farmers were serfs on the land of a count. Later on they were given the title to their property and became free men. Beernink was a contraction of Berend-ink, ink meaning "the land of."

The German County of Bentheim wraps around Overijssel, lying both to the North and East of Oldenzaal. The capital of Bentheim is Nordhorn, which is the site of the old reformed church in which several generations of Beerninks were baptized. Nordhorn was granted municipal rights in 1379 by Count Bernard (variants: Bernd, Berend, Bernhard) I of Bentheim. Could this be the Count from whom our name comes? More likely we are descended from a farmer named Berend who was given property rights at some point.

In the County Bentheim, the main language was Dutch until the end of the 19th century. The Calvinistic faith, in this region tightly connected to the Dutch Twente, prevented its members from speaking German, which was associated with the Lutheran faith. Initially neither the government of Prussia nor that of Hanover intended to force the people to speak German, but from the 19th century on German was strongly promoted. In 1853 the Dutch language was abolished at the schools and at the end of the 19th century also in local government. It was about this time that Dutch-speaking people began emigrating in large numbers.

Our story begins with Herman Beernink, who was born in 1792. When Napoleon was ruling the Netherlands, Herman Beernink was conscripted into the French Army that was going to conquer Russia. In Poland he deserted and hid in a haystack. All the others in his company perished when crossing the Berezina river in 1812. Herman made it back to Holland and was nursed back to health in the hospital in Denekamp.

I have recently located records of Herman (or Harm), his father and grandfather, and his son Evert, in a German database. They are listed under the name "Beerning", although the transcripts of the church records are usually given as "Beernink". They lived in the town of Hesepe, just outside Nordhorn for at least four generations. Here are the links:

• Harm (1729-?)
• Evert (1758-1811) Evert was listed as a "colon" or property holder, and "akkerman" or farmer, and a "landbouwer" or farmer.
• Harm (1792-1842) Harm was listed as a "colon" or property holder and an "akkerman" or farmer.
• Evert (1825-1900) Evert was a "colon" or property holder and then a "fuhrman" or carriage driver and a toll collector.

Herman's son Evert was born in Hesepe and was baptized in the church at Nordhorn just across the German border, north of Denekamp and Oldenzaal. He became an innkeeper. Possibly Herman, having learned a lesson when he was conscripted by Napoleon, thought it was safer to live in Germany, which was a loose combination of many smaller entities. These entities did not have a well organized civil administration like Holland, thus it would be much harder for a conqueror to track down young men to serve in their Army.

Evert Beernink, Aale, and Janna Mulstegen

Evert married Janna Mulstegen and they had five children. They were:

1. Herman Harm BEERNINK (1857-1928). Herman, the oldest child, was born in Hesepe and baptized in Nordhorn, like his father. He later moved to Amsterdam. Hesepe is about 3 miles east of Nordhorn.
2. Jan Hindrik BEERNINK (1860-1912), the second son, was born in Hesepe and migrated to Muskegon, Michigan, where he died at age 52 of a ruptured appendix. This inspired his son Ernest Henry to become a physician. Ernest Henry settled in Grand Haven where he was a general practioner. He and his wife Gladys raised four children. The youngest and only son is also a doctor and practices in Grand Rapids. According to my Aunt,

   "In 1937 Ernest Henry and Gladys visited the European relatives. With Ferdinand Beernink they went to visit the old family territory and met Aale (the youngest sibling), in Hesepe."

   Aale had already died by this time, but perhaps they met her son Berend. Ernest Henry died in 1970.
3. Berend BEERNINK (1863-1896) Born in Hesepe and died in Bakelde at age 32. He had no wife or children.
4. Albert BEERNINK (1867-1945) was the fourth child. He also moved to Amsterdam, probably in 1909, where he had seven children. I originally reported that the family were German (NSB) collaborators. Here is a note from Albert's granddaughter Beatrice:

   "The family was not NSB, only the oldest daughter Rensina Charlotte. The second daughter Johanna helped Jews and hid their children. My father, Johan Hendrik, lived in Switzerland where Ferdinand Beernink paid us a visit after the war. I possess Janna Beernink's bible, printed in 1778 in Amsterdam. Albert had 7 children but my sister, who lives in New York, and I are the only grandchildren."

   The youngest of the seven children apparently moved to California after the war.
5. Aale BEERNINK (1874-1924). According to my aunt: "Evert and Janna's youngest son became the father of a son, Berend, in 1924, when he was almost fifty years old." But Aale is a girl's name, and the picture shown above is of a girl, and there were no other girls in the family. According to Hendrika Beernink-Bekker, wife of Hein Beernink, "she died while giving birth to her first child at the age of 50."

Janna's last name was not passed down throught the family histories. However, I found an emigration record that documented Jan Hendrik Beernink's settlement in Michigan, with his wife Jenne Lubben, which listed both his parents' names. This is confirmed by the German database. Janna Mulstegen is the daughter of Jan Hendrik GIESEN (1799-1844) of Bimolten, after whom their son Jan Hindrik was named. Janna's mother's first husband was named Mulstegen.

The dates for Albert's birth and emigration are from naturalization records. See Credits.

The Giesens also came from Bentheim. Heinrich Giesen had come to Amsterdam without a cent, became a candlemaker's helper and married Fenna Dina Arends (1827-1904), a maid, in 1854. They started a small shop, selling eggs. The business expanded into dairy products and later became one of the largest in Amsterdam, helping them become a rich family.

Fenna Dina Arends was born in 1827 in Neuenhaus, Bentheim (which is about 5 miles northwest of Nordhorn). Her father was Jan Arends (1774-1864) and her mother was Tunetta Hendrika Lubbers (1788-1868). Jan Arends was a pewter smith. His great-great-granddaughter Yoka still has 2 pewter spoons made by Jan Arends. They were married in about 1811. She was the 7th of 9 children. None of the nine died in Neuenhaus, where they were born, and records show that she and several of her siblings died in Amsterdam, so it seems likely that the siblings all moved to Amsterdam together at some point in time. Both of her parents died in Neuenhaus.

I believe that Heinrich grew up in a small town a couple of miles from Neuenhaus, called Bimolten. There is a Hindrik GIESEN born in 1820, whose father was named Jan GIESEN. Jan GIESEN's brother Jan Hindrik GIESEN was the father of Janna MULSTEGEN (Evert's wife). In addition the FamilySearch site lists Bimolten as his birthplace. The family connection might explain why Herman could go to Heinrich Giesen and ask to marry one of his daughters.

Heinrich Giesen and Fenna Dina Arends

Heinrich and Fenna Dina had five children, two boys, followed by three girls.

1. Jan Frans Hendrik GIESEN (Jan) (1855-1923) Jan was the name of his maternal grandfather. He was a merchant, and he lived his whole life in Amsterdam. In 1893 he married Hilda Hendrieka DIEMER, age 23. [Source]
2. Johannes Theodorus GIESEN (Henri) (1858-?)
3. Tunetta Hendrika Locke GIESEN (1862-1932) Her maternal grandmother's name was Tunetta Hendrika Lubbers .
4. Fenna Dina GIESEN (Dina) (1865-?) Fenna Dina married Ernst Firnhaber and moved to Leipzig.
5. Susanna Lamberta GIESEN (Suus) (1867-?) Lambert was also an Arends family name.

Hendrikus (Hendrik) Jongbloed (1825-1910) was born in Doniawerstal to Jacobus Frankes Jongbloed and Sipkje Reinders Ruardi. He died in 1910 in Arnhem. Antje Houwink (1824-1916) was born in Sneek in 1824 to Geert Houwink and Sietske van Gorkum. She died in 1916 in Arnhem. They were married in Sneek in 1849.

Antje Houwink and Hendrik Jongbloed

They had seven children:

1. Sietske Jongbloed (1853-1883)
2. Sine Jongbloed
3. Sipkje Jongbloed (1868-1920)
4. Geert Jongbloed (1857-?)
5. Bartha Jongbloed (1862-1945)
6. Jacoba Francisca Jongbloed (1863-1938)
7. Hienke Jongbloed

The family lived in Sneek, in the province of Friesland. In those days in Holland, it was unusual for a girl to learn a trade, but the three daughters Sine, Bartha and Jacoba were rather emancipated and they were interested in science. All three became pharmacy assistants. Sine, who never married, later became one of the first women in Holland to go to the University and she became a pharmacist.

For more information about the Jongbloeds, see the article on the Jongbloed Family.

Scato Hendrik Trip married Anna Maria Everdina Poulie (1831-1904) daughter of Carel Frederik Poulie and Catharina Elizabeth van der Wal, at Meppel in 1860.

Anna Maria Everdina Poulie and Scato Hendrik Trip

They had three children:

1. Catharina Elisabeth Trip (1861-1934) Born in Meppel.
2. Hendrik Jan Trip (1863-1933) Born in Meppel.
3. Carel Frederik (1869-1950) Born in Meppel. Died in Zeist, Utrecht.

Herman Harm BEERNINK, the oldest child of Evert and Janna, was born in Hesepe and baptized in Nordhorn, like his father. He also moved to Amsterdam. He married Hendrika Giesen in 1888, and together they had five children. The oldest son Hein wanted to study theology. He could not do this in Amsterdam but in Utrecht, so the whole family moved in 1907 to Zeist, not far from Utrecht.

1. Heinrich Evert BEERNINK (Hein) (1889-1926) He became a minister, but died in Rotterdam at age 36 from stomach cancer. Married to Hendrika Bekker (Riek) in 1917, and had three children: Wiemeria Suzanna (Wietje), Hermina Theodora (Pien), and Tunettus Hendrik Lucas (Henk). A wonderful example of the Dutch naming pattern: maternal grandfather (Wiemer -> Wiemeria), paternal grandfather (Herman -> Hermina), paternal grandmother (Tunetta Hendrika Locke -> Tunettus Hendrik Lucas).
2. Ferdinand Jan BEERNINK (1891-1975). Became an opthalmologist. Married to Marie and had three children: Jacoba Francisca, Heinrich Evert, and Ferdinand Jan. Ferdinand was named after his grandmother, Fenna Dina.
3. Susanna Hendrika BEERNINK (Suus) (1893-1984). Married to Nico Nap and had two children: Mieke and Hein Ernst. Died in 1984 in Zeist.
4. Ernst Heinrich BEERNINK (1899-?) Born in Amsterdam and died Driebergen(?). He never married or had children. He held some type of position with the anthroposophical movement in the Netherlands and was not very much involved with the family.
5. Menno BEERNINK (1909-1909) Born in Zeist. He died shortly after birth.

Coos, the daughter of Ferdinand, tells the following story:

Tunetta Hendrika Locke Giesen, or simply Rika, had epilepsy and was physically and mentally handicapped. Herman Beernink came from Germany, didn't have much money, liked to drink and was not inclined to work. He asked for the hand of daughter Dina of the wealthy Giesen family, who had come to Amsterdam from the same region of Germany. But father and mother Giesen said: "No, we don't give the second daughter before the first one." So Herman ended up marrying Rika! I have listened to many discussions between my father and Tante Suus. He would get very excited and would shout: "Father married mother for her money!" Tante Suus would then defend her father. It seems likely that father and mother Giesen thought that Dina would be able to achieve a better marriage (she later married Ernst Firnhaber, a doctor from Leipzig, Germany.) They may also have been concerned that it would be hard to find a decent husband for the handicapped Rika. Additionally, I have heard stories that Rika was already pregnant by a Jewish man who couldn't or wouldn't marry her, and that her parents arranged a marriage with Herman to prevent the shame of her having a baby out of wedlock. [Since Rika and Herman were married on 19 July 1888 and their son Hein was born on 25 May 1889, this story appears to be untrue.]

Herman Beernink and Hendrika Giesen (1885?)

Herman Beernink, son Hein, and father Evert (1890?)

Hendrik Jan Trip (1863-1933), geography and history teacher at H.B.S in Almelo. Married in 1896 to Jacoba Francisca Jongbloed (1863-1938), daughter of Henricus Jacoba Jongbloed and Antje Houwink.

Jacoba Jongbloed and Hendrik Jan Trip

Children:

1. Anna Maria Everdina Trip (1897-1971), pediatrician. Married in 1923 to Ferdinand Jan Beernink (1891-1975), ophthalmologist at The Hague, son of Herman Harm Beernink and Tunetta Hendrika Locke Giesen.
2. Anneke Trip (1899-1988), English teacher. Married in 1933 to Johannes Friedrich Hoffmann, German teacher, born at Hagen, Germany. They had three children and seven grandchildren who all live in Germany.
3. Scato Hendrik Trip (1907-1997) notary at Hengelo. Married in 1939 to Maria Roeloffina Runeman (1917- ) daughter of Jan Siepko Runeman and Hanke Wilhelmina Bathoorn.

At the beginning of World War I, Ferdinand Beernink joined the Army as a lieutenant in the infantry, to remain on active duty for almost five years. He served most of this time as lieutenant of the guard at the border between Holland and Belgium, the latter country having been invaded by Germany in 1914. The Dutch received the fleeing Belgian troops and my father was given a trumpet by one of them with which he had signalled the retreat from the city of Liege.

After the war was over he finished medical school at the Army's expense by signing up to become a regular Army medical officer. They also allowed him to specialize in ophthalmology following graduation. Sometime during the last part of his medical school he met my mother, Marie Trip, and in order to get their specialty training at the same University they had to move to Groningen, in the very northern part of Holland. They were married in 1923 and moved to the Hague about that time. He was assigned to the military hospital in the Hague and they both opened a private practice at home, as was customary in those days.

Ferdinand Jan Beernink and Marie Trip Beernink at their wedding in 1923

The majority of this story was from the Beernink History written by Jacoba Francisca Beernink in 1993 at The Hague, Holland. Some details provided by her brother Heinrich Beernink.

The following entry for Jan Hindrik Beernink was found in a list of people who have emigrated from Grafschaft Bentheim to the New World.

	Beernink, Jan Hindrik
	Born: 24.06.1860 Nordhorn, + 07.07.1912, 
	Parents: Evert B., Janna Mulstegen, Partner: Jenne Lubben, 
	Lived in: Nordhorn, 
	Settled: in Missaukee County, MI, [Korresp]

The following information about Albert Beernink was found in these dutch naturalization records:

	Beernink Albert 06-12-1909 koopman Hesepe Pruisen 28-11-1867 Amsterdam

Details for the children of Heinrich Giesen were found on the FamilySearch web site.