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TON family from Zeeland, the Netherlands to Ohio and Michigan

TON family from Zeeland, the Netherlands to Ohio and Michigan

Posted: 4 Sep 2004 6:54AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 22 Mar 2006 1:01AM GMT
Surnames: Ton, Pape, Hoekstra, Van Klinken
I am descended from Pieter TON (1823 - 1874), born in Nieuwerker, Zeeland, the Netherlands. In 1857, he emigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, USA with his wife Maria Marina VAN LINKEN, his sister Suzanna TON Pape and brother-in-law, Izak PAPE.

Between 1870 and 1874, Pieter and Maria removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Pieter died in 1874. Maria re-married, but died in 1878, leaving her and Peter's three daughters orphans. One of these daughters was my great-great-grandmother, Jennie TON Hoekstra.

I have traced Pieter's ancestry to his grandfather Geert TON (c. 1746 - 1812). I am interested in connecting with anyone who has ties to this family. I've often wondered if my TONs somehow connect to all the TONs of Illinois...but also realize that "ton" is a Dutch word for barrel or bouy, and is the equivalent of the English word "cooper".

More can be found on my website at:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kidmiff/ton.htm

or on my database:
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kidmiff

Re: TON family from Zeeland, the Netherlands to Ohio and Michigan

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 4:25AM GMT
Classification: Query
I don't know if the Tons of Ohio are related to the Tons of Illinois, but I am the great great grandson of Gerrit Eeningenburg and Jannetje Ton. My grandmother, Marie Eeningenburg married Gerben Hoekstra so we probably have a connection on one side of the family or the other. If you have any questions I can be reached by email at rayhoekstra3@yahoo.com.

Ray Hoekstra

Re: TON family from Zeeland, the Netherlands to Ohio and Michigan

Posted: 22 Nov 2008 10:45PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: TON
Ray, do you know which province your TON family came out of? Mine came from Zeeland. The name TON means barrel or buoy in Dutch. I suppose it could have been an occupational name (similar to the English COOPER...a barrel-maker or buoy maker...or even someone who kept an eye on the buoys in the channels) or maybe it was a descriptive name (to describe a barrel-chested big man).

HOEKSTRA means "from the corner" and is a Frisian name. There are a lot of HOEKSTRAs and they are mostly likely not related to each other, since it would describe anyone who lived on a corner or intersection of two roads. See my family history webpages on the HOEKSTRAs and the TONs here (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kidmiff/ho... here (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kidmiff/to...).

Re: TON family from Zeeland, the Netherlands to Ohio and Michigan

Posted: 23 Nov 2008 5:56AM GMT
Classification: Query
I'm not clear on the province of origin for Gerrit Eeningenburg and Jannetje Ton, but according to my information they arrived in America on June 8, 1849. For some reason I think I heard they came from Zeeland. I know the Hoekstra family came from Frisland as did almost everyone with names ending in "stra" or "sma". I will try to get more info. Two of my father's sisters and one brother are still alive and my uncle's second wife did considerable research into Gerben Hoekstra's ancestory; although that may not be of much help since the Ton connection is thru my grandmother's side of the family. I'll make some inquiries and get back to you. I also misspoke when I referred to us being the Illinois Tons. The Ton family to whom I'm related were in southern Michigan. Our Hoekstra ancestors were in the Chicago and southwestern Michigan areas. Both sides of the family were also connected to the Tanis family if you're familiar with that name. When I was a child we went every summer to Chicago for the Ton family reunion. There was a Life Magazine spread done on one of the reunions back in the forties and it included a letter from Queen Juliana. My Aunt Ethel Peters (of Niles, Michigan) still has a copy of the magazine. I wish I had paid more attention to all of this when I was a young man. At this point there are so few family members living who care about these things.
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