Special thanks to "Aunt Toots" (GEN 10 Jeanette Masselink De Jong) for writing:
"A Tribute to my Mother: Berendina Beckering/Masselink", Mother's Day 1990
"A Tribute to my Mother: Berendina Beckering/Masselink", Mother's Day 1990
GENERATION SEVEN:
Bena's Grandfather Gerrit and Grandmother Barantje Hofkamp
Bena's maternal ancestors are from Onstwedde, Stadskanaal Municipality, Groningen, Netherlands. They are proud hard working folk of middle class heritage. Grandmother Hofkamp had relatives in Des Moines, IA.
1885 APR 13 Gerrit Hofkamp (written as Hapkamp on the ship's records) arrived with his family in New York from Amsterdam on the ship Zaandam. Family includes Gerrit (*1843 age 42), wife Barantje (*1840 age 45) and six children: Jan (*1868 age 17), Geesjen (*1872 age 13; Bena's mother 'Grace'), Hendrik (*1874 age 11), Harm (*1876 age 9), Fredrick (*1878 age 7), and Albertje (*1874 age 11); All born in the Netherlands.
Bena's Grandfather Gerrit and Grandmother Barantje Hofkamp
Bena's maternal ancestors are from Onstwedde, Stadskanaal Municipality, Groningen, Netherlands. They are proud hard working folk of middle class heritage. Grandmother Hofkamp had relatives in Des Moines, IA.
1885 APR 13 Gerrit Hofkamp (written as Hapkamp on the ship's records) arrived with his family in New York from Amsterdam on the ship Zaandam. Family includes Gerrit (*1843 age 42), wife Barantje (*1840 age 45) and six children: Jan (*1868 age 17), Geesjen (*1872 age 13; Bena's mother 'Grace'), Hendrik (*1874 age 11), Harm (*1876 age 9), Fredrick (*1878 age 7), and Albertje (*1874 age 11); All born in the Netherlands.
GENERATION EIGHT:
Frank Beckering (Frans Bekkering) and Grace Hofkamp Beckering
Bena's father, Frank Beckering, is a tall, thin, mild man. Her mother, Grace Hofkamp, is a strong-willed, quick-tonged woman. Together, among the other Dutch of southwestern Minnesota, they farm the rich black soil near the little town with the Indian name of Leota.
abt 1863-64 Frans "Frank" Bekkering [Frans Frank Bekkering Beckering] born in Netherlands
1872 FEB 28 Future wife Geesjen "Grace" Hofkamp born in Netherlands
1885 APR 13 Grace Hofkamp emigrates to America (Guspie Hapkamp [Geessien or Grace Hofkamp]); age 13; Nationality: Netherlander (Dutch); Port of Departure: Amsterdam; Port of Arrival: New York, New York; Ship Name: Zaandam
1888 MAR 26 Frank emigrates to New York; Age 22; Occupation: Farmer; Origin: Holland; Purpose: Permanent Sojourn; Port of Departure: Rotterdam; Ship accommodations: Steerage
18XX Frank and Grace marry; Seven children all born in the USA: Hilliard (dies young around 1895 of diphtheria); Berendena (Bena); Hillard Frank (1918), Katherine (Catherine); Ella (Ellie) Spoolstra; Gerrit (Garret); and Jean (Jennie)
1894 SEP 23 Daughter Berendina (Bena) Beckering born in Leota, MN
1897 JAN 6 Son Hillard Frank Beckering born in MN 1918 JUN 5 WWI Draft Card: Age 21; self-employed; live in Nobles County, Leota MN; father born in the NL; gray eyes; light brown hair; medium build
1910 Census: Frank Beckering; Home in 1910: Leota, Nobles, Minnesota; Household Members: Frank Beckering 47, wife Grace Beckering 37, Berendiena Beckering 15, Hilliard Beckering 13, Katherine Beckering 11, Ella Beckering 7, Garret Beckering 5, Jennie Beckering 1
1920 Census: Frank Beckering (Born abt 1864; Birthplace: Netherlands; Home in 1920: Leota, Nobles, Minnesota; Immigration Year:1888; Married; Spouse Grace Beckering; Father's Birthplace: Netherlands; Mother's Birthplace: Netherlands; Home is owned; Naturalization Status: Naturalized; Able to Read and Write; Occupation: Farmer; Household Members: Frank Beckering 56, wife Grace Beckering 48, Hilliard Beckering 23, Catherine Beckering, 20 Ella Beckering 16, Gerret Beckering 15, Jennie Beckering 11
1927 OCT 20 Grace dies of diabetes at the age of 55 Grace Hofkamp Beckering 1871 gravestone USA; Location: Leota Cemetery, Nobles County, Minnesota; Geesjen "Grace" Hofkamp (1872-1927)
1938 JUL 9 Frank dies of a heart attack that comes on without warning. He dies that morning at the age of 74 on the way to the hospital.
Frank Beckering (Frans Bekkering) and Grace Hofkamp Beckering
Bena's father, Frank Beckering, is a tall, thin, mild man. Her mother, Grace Hofkamp, is a strong-willed, quick-tonged woman. Together, among the other Dutch of southwestern Minnesota, they farm the rich black soil near the little town with the Indian name of Leota.
abt 1863-64 Frans "Frank" Bekkering [Frans Frank Bekkering Beckering] born in Netherlands
1872 FEB 28 Future wife Geesjen "Grace" Hofkamp born in Netherlands
1885 APR 13 Grace Hofkamp emigrates to America (Guspie Hapkamp [Geessien or Grace Hofkamp]); age 13; Nationality: Netherlander (Dutch); Port of Departure: Amsterdam; Port of Arrival: New York, New York; Ship Name: Zaandam
1888 MAR 26 Frank emigrates to New York; Age 22; Occupation: Farmer; Origin: Holland; Purpose: Permanent Sojourn; Port of Departure: Rotterdam; Ship accommodations: Steerage
18XX Frank and Grace marry; Seven children all born in the USA: Hilliard (dies young around 1895 of diphtheria); Berendena (Bena); Hillard Frank (1918), Katherine (Catherine); Ella (Ellie) Spoolstra; Gerrit (Garret); and Jean (Jennie)
1894 SEP 23 Daughter Berendina (Bena) Beckering born in Leota, MN
1897 JAN 6 Son Hillard Frank Beckering born in MN 1918 JUN 5 WWI Draft Card: Age 21; self-employed; live in Nobles County, Leota MN; father born in the NL; gray eyes; light brown hair; medium build
1910 Census: Frank Beckering; Home in 1910: Leota, Nobles, Minnesota; Household Members: Frank Beckering 47, wife Grace Beckering 37, Berendiena Beckering 15, Hilliard Beckering 13, Katherine Beckering 11, Ella Beckering 7, Garret Beckering 5, Jennie Beckering 1
1920 Census: Frank Beckering (Born abt 1864; Birthplace: Netherlands; Home in 1920: Leota, Nobles, Minnesota; Immigration Year:1888; Married; Spouse Grace Beckering; Father's Birthplace: Netherlands; Mother's Birthplace: Netherlands; Home is owned; Naturalization Status: Naturalized; Able to Read and Write; Occupation: Farmer; Household Members: Frank Beckering 56, wife Grace Beckering 48, Hilliard Beckering 23, Catherine Beckering, 20 Ella Beckering 16, Gerret Beckering 15, Jennie Beckering 11
1927 OCT 20 Grace dies of diabetes at the age of 55 Grace Hofkamp Beckering 1871 gravestone USA; Location: Leota Cemetery, Nobles County, Minnesota; Geesjen "Grace" Hofkamp (1872-1927)
1938 JUL 9 Frank dies of a heart attack that comes on without warning. He dies that morning at the age of 74 on the way to the hospital.
GENERATION NINE:
Berendina (Bena) Beckering Masselink
Bena is the oldest of six surviving children. Hillie, the first born, dies around 1895 of diphtheria when Bena is hardly more than one. Bena has three younger sisters (Catherine, Ella, and Jennie) and two younger brothers (Gerrit and a second Hillie). Her cousin Bertha confides that Bena cherishes her schooling and wants to be a medical doctor. When Bena's teacher told her parents of this dream, they reply: "She's needed at home" and she quits school after the sixth grade. As the oldest, Bena is in the unenviable position. Instead of pursuing her dreams, she has to work on the farm and help with the family.
Bena cooks and cleans, learns to crochet and knit, and takes care of her siblings, but her heart is not in it. Grandma Hofkamp (GEN 7) notices that Bena is unhappy and needs to learn something new. So she gives Bena her Dutch Psalm Book and loans Bena her pump organ. Grandma Hofkamp also finds Bena a Dutch music teacher who gives her lessons and Bena is soon playing the organ for her grandma on Sunday afternoons. Grandma Hofkamp also takes Bena on trips, such as a train trip to Des Moines to see relatives, despite protests of favoritism by Bena's cousins. But Grandma likes Bena best as Bena is a wonderful, cheerful companion who also translate for her, as her Grandma's English is not very good.
Married life on the farm with her husband Andrew is difficult and fast paced. Bena's father Frank summed it up by saying "It's always a circus at your place." She bakes eight loaves of bread every other day and on Saturdays, she also makes pies and cakes. She also sews all the bedding, makes dresses, mends clothing, and crochets rugs from discarded clothes. Saturdays also means dusting, mopping and waxing the floor, peeling potatoes and vegetables, and dressing chickens. In addition, Sunday clothes are ironed, shoes are cleaned and polished, and the whole family bathes in a canvas tub in the kitchen. Each member of the family has their own place at the long table which has a shelf underneath for their individual Bibles. Oatmeal is served every morning for breakfast except on Sundays, when after Andrew says the Lord's prayer, they have Cream of Wheat. Bena also takes care of the chickens that arrive as chirping little chicks by mail in the spring. She feeds and waters them and cleans their coop and transforms them into hens.
There is a well-known proverb in Dutch that refers how something should divided: "kieenof delen" (choose or divide). It refers to the situation when one person makes the portions and the others have the first choice between them. Tom Masselink (GEN 11) remembers his Grandma Masselink using this strategy when dividing the last piece of a dessert between him and his brother: "One cuts and the other chooses."
1888 24 SEP Future husband Andrew born in Fremont, MI. As a result of a fire that burned down GH's log cabin, the family finds refuge in an abandoned blacksmith shop with a mud floor. Here Andrew is born.
1894 SEP 23 Berendina (Bena) Beckering born in Leota, MN
1910 At the age of 16, Bena goes to Rock Valley (probably Iowa) to learn how to sew and in four happy weeks she is "sewing like a pro". After she returns, Bena works as a "hired girl".
1911 Bena and Andrew both belong to the Leota Young People's Society of the Leota CRC. After the worship service, the young people often paired off. Gerrit Wassink, a cobbler with a house on Main Street, tries to court Bena but loses out to Andrew Masselink, a power house for whom the word "no" did not exist. So Bena decides to give up on her cobbler and marry a farmer. The wedding is scheduled before spring farm work begins. Bena makes her own wedding dress on a form she named "Tillie". She also has a bouquet of orange blossoms and even sews some of the flowers on her veil.
1915 JAN 27 Andrew Masselink and Bena Beckering are married by Domine W. De Groot in Leota, MN. For their honey-moon they take a train to Des Moines where Andrew meets Bena's relatives. When they get back to the farm, Bena helps Andrew put in the crop until they find out that she is pregnant.
1916 JAN A week before their first anniversary, Bena gets a terrible stomach-ache. Andrew thinks Bena has the flu because he believes that the baby is not due for another few weeks. Andrew's remedy is to go to the barn, put oats in a rucksack, heat it up, and place the warm rucksack on her "stomack". When the hot oats remedy does not work, Bena's mother Grace is summoned for some additional medical advice. When she arrives Andrew is reprimanded soundly for not recognizing the imminent birth. Their first child, George Henry, is born shortly thereafter.
1916-1939 Andrew and Bena are blessed with a total of nine children.
1940 JAN Andrew and Bena's 25th Anniversary is spent with family during the day and with the consistory in the evening. Hattie and Cora Koedam bake fluffy angel and sunshine cakes that are served with sandwiches, cookies, ice cream and coffee.
19XX After all their children are married, they sell their house in Edgerton, MN and move permanently to Grand Rapids, MI
19XX They move to Edna Street, Grand Rapids, MI. This modern house is Bena's dream come true. Andrew would not buy a house unless it was within walking distance to church. This house meets that criteria as it is located about two blocks from Seymour CRC. This house is also about a block away from where their son Edward lives at 871 Edna Street. Son Edward and his wife, Wilma, believe it is a great honor that Grandpa and Grandma Masselink decide to live so near them. On Sundays after church, many family members would meet at the house on Edna Street; The ladies would stay in the kitchen and the guys would be in the living room. Each wife would serve their husband coffee and cake in the living room and then retreat back to the kitchen with Grandma. The children fend for themselves. Their grand-daughter (Grayce's daughter (GEN (10) Beth (GEN 11)) helps and stays with Andrew and Bena when they got older.
19xx Andrew transfers ownership of his farms to his children.
1975 Family and friends celebrate Andrew and Bena's 60th wedding anniversary.
19XX Their third son, Edward (GEN 10), was known as the "mama's boy" as he was the one who looked out for his mother and his sisters when they were growing up. (In fact, sister Jeanette (GEN 10) once told Thomas (GEN 11) that she called Edward "her hero" for the way he always "protected" her when she was growing up). As such, Edward makes the preliminary arrangements for his mother and father to move to the best retirement home in Grand Rapids, Heather Hills. After some resistance by Andrew, they move there. Son Edward first had to tell his father Andrew that his mother Bena needs to retire too and that she is moving to Heather Hills. Andrew has the choice of staying alone on Edna Street or moving with Bena to Heather Hills. Andrew decides to move with Bena to Heather Hills. The Edna Street house is donated to the Christian Reformed Home Missions Board for use by overseas missionaries visiting the United States. At Heather Hills, Bena is the envy of the other residents for the number of visitors she and Andrew have each week (Edward calls it counting coup), as members of their family routinely stop by throughout the week, especially on Sunday mornings after church. (Bena usually serves her homemade apple cake on Sundays).
1977 NOV 11 Andrew dies and is buried in Washington Park Memorial Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI; His brother, Dr. Edward Masselink, officiates at the funeral. This burial plot originally belonged to his son Edward. Andrew, Bena, Edward, and Edward's wife Geraldine are all buried in adjoining plots. Edward's stepdaughter Jane's husband, Jose Pantoja, is buried very close by.
1977-1989 Bena stays at Heather Hills until her health deteriorates and she needs a gall bladder operation; The operation is difficult and she develops Alzheimer's disease; "She sat restlessly in her wheelchair with an expressionless face, no longer caring or conscious of person, time or space."
1989 FEB 1 After taking ill with the flu, Bena dies and is buried alongside husband Andrew in Washington Park Memorial Gardens, Grand rapids, Michigan.
Berendina (Bena) Beckering Masselink
Bena is the oldest of six surviving children. Hillie, the first born, dies around 1895 of diphtheria when Bena is hardly more than one. Bena has three younger sisters (Catherine, Ella, and Jennie) and two younger brothers (Gerrit and a second Hillie). Her cousin Bertha confides that Bena cherishes her schooling and wants to be a medical doctor. When Bena's teacher told her parents of this dream, they reply: "She's needed at home" and she quits school after the sixth grade. As the oldest, Bena is in the unenviable position. Instead of pursuing her dreams, she has to work on the farm and help with the family.
Bena cooks and cleans, learns to crochet and knit, and takes care of her siblings, but her heart is not in it. Grandma Hofkamp (GEN 7) notices that Bena is unhappy and needs to learn something new. So she gives Bena her Dutch Psalm Book and loans Bena her pump organ. Grandma Hofkamp also finds Bena a Dutch music teacher who gives her lessons and Bena is soon playing the organ for her grandma on Sunday afternoons. Grandma Hofkamp also takes Bena on trips, such as a train trip to Des Moines to see relatives, despite protests of favoritism by Bena's cousins. But Grandma likes Bena best as Bena is a wonderful, cheerful companion who also translate for her, as her Grandma's English is not very good.
Married life on the farm with her husband Andrew is difficult and fast paced. Bena's father Frank summed it up by saying "It's always a circus at your place." She bakes eight loaves of bread every other day and on Saturdays, she also makes pies and cakes. She also sews all the bedding, makes dresses, mends clothing, and crochets rugs from discarded clothes. Saturdays also means dusting, mopping and waxing the floor, peeling potatoes and vegetables, and dressing chickens. In addition, Sunday clothes are ironed, shoes are cleaned and polished, and the whole family bathes in a canvas tub in the kitchen. Each member of the family has their own place at the long table which has a shelf underneath for their individual Bibles. Oatmeal is served every morning for breakfast except on Sundays, when after Andrew says the Lord's prayer, they have Cream of Wheat. Bena also takes care of the chickens that arrive as chirping little chicks by mail in the spring. She feeds and waters them and cleans their coop and transforms them into hens.
There is a well-known proverb in Dutch that refers how something should divided: "kieenof delen" (choose or divide). It refers to the situation when one person makes the portions and the others have the first choice between them. Tom Masselink (GEN 11) remembers his Grandma Masselink using this strategy when dividing the last piece of a dessert between him and his brother: "One cuts and the other chooses."
1888 24 SEP Future husband Andrew born in Fremont, MI. As a result of a fire that burned down GH's log cabin, the family finds refuge in an abandoned blacksmith shop with a mud floor. Here Andrew is born.
1894 SEP 23 Berendina (Bena) Beckering born in Leota, MN
1910 At the age of 16, Bena goes to Rock Valley (probably Iowa) to learn how to sew and in four happy weeks she is "sewing like a pro". After she returns, Bena works as a "hired girl".
1911 Bena and Andrew both belong to the Leota Young People's Society of the Leota CRC. After the worship service, the young people often paired off. Gerrit Wassink, a cobbler with a house on Main Street, tries to court Bena but loses out to Andrew Masselink, a power house for whom the word "no" did not exist. So Bena decides to give up on her cobbler and marry a farmer. The wedding is scheduled before spring farm work begins. Bena makes her own wedding dress on a form she named "Tillie". She also has a bouquet of orange blossoms and even sews some of the flowers on her veil.
1915 JAN 27 Andrew Masselink and Bena Beckering are married by Domine W. De Groot in Leota, MN. For their honey-moon they take a train to Des Moines where Andrew meets Bena's relatives. When they get back to the farm, Bena helps Andrew put in the crop until they find out that she is pregnant.
1916 JAN A week before their first anniversary, Bena gets a terrible stomach-ache. Andrew thinks Bena has the flu because he believes that the baby is not due for another few weeks. Andrew's remedy is to go to the barn, put oats in a rucksack, heat it up, and place the warm rucksack on her "stomack". When the hot oats remedy does not work, Bena's mother Grace is summoned for some additional medical advice. When she arrives Andrew is reprimanded soundly for not recognizing the imminent birth. Their first child, George Henry, is born shortly thereafter.
1916-1939 Andrew and Bena are blessed with a total of nine children.
1940 JAN Andrew and Bena's 25th Anniversary is spent with family during the day and with the consistory in the evening. Hattie and Cora Koedam bake fluffy angel and sunshine cakes that are served with sandwiches, cookies, ice cream and coffee.
19XX After all their children are married, they sell their house in Edgerton, MN and move permanently to Grand Rapids, MI
19XX They move to Edna Street, Grand Rapids, MI. This modern house is Bena's dream come true. Andrew would not buy a house unless it was within walking distance to church. This house meets that criteria as it is located about two blocks from Seymour CRC. This house is also about a block away from where their son Edward lives at 871 Edna Street. Son Edward and his wife, Wilma, believe it is a great honor that Grandpa and Grandma Masselink decide to live so near them. On Sundays after church, many family members would meet at the house on Edna Street; The ladies would stay in the kitchen and the guys would be in the living room. Each wife would serve their husband coffee and cake in the living room and then retreat back to the kitchen with Grandma. The children fend for themselves. Their grand-daughter (Grayce's daughter (GEN (10) Beth (GEN 11)) helps and stays with Andrew and Bena when they got older.
19xx Andrew transfers ownership of his farms to his children.
1975 Family and friends celebrate Andrew and Bena's 60th wedding anniversary.
19XX Their third son, Edward (GEN 10), was known as the "mama's boy" as he was the one who looked out for his mother and his sisters when they were growing up. (In fact, sister Jeanette (GEN 10) once told Thomas (GEN 11) that she called Edward "her hero" for the way he always "protected" her when she was growing up). As such, Edward makes the preliminary arrangements for his mother and father to move to the best retirement home in Grand Rapids, Heather Hills. After some resistance by Andrew, they move there. Son Edward first had to tell his father Andrew that his mother Bena needs to retire too and that she is moving to Heather Hills. Andrew has the choice of staying alone on Edna Street or moving with Bena to Heather Hills. Andrew decides to move with Bena to Heather Hills. The Edna Street house is donated to the Christian Reformed Home Missions Board for use by overseas missionaries visiting the United States. At Heather Hills, Bena is the envy of the other residents for the number of visitors she and Andrew have each week (Edward calls it counting coup), as members of their family routinely stop by throughout the week, especially on Sunday mornings after church. (Bena usually serves her homemade apple cake on Sundays).
1977 NOV 11 Andrew dies and is buried in Washington Park Memorial Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI; His brother, Dr. Edward Masselink, officiates at the funeral. This burial plot originally belonged to his son Edward. Andrew, Bena, Edward, and Edward's wife Geraldine are all buried in adjoining plots. Edward's stepdaughter Jane's husband, Jose Pantoja, is buried very close by.
1977-1989 Bena stays at Heather Hills until her health deteriorates and she needs a gall bladder operation; The operation is difficult and she develops Alzheimer's disease; "She sat restlessly in her wheelchair with an expressionless face, no longer caring or conscious of person, time or space."
1989 FEB 1 After taking ill with the flu, Bena dies and is buried alongside husband Andrew in Washington Park Memorial Gardens, Grand rapids, Michigan.
GENERATION TEN
CHILDREN OF BENA BECKERING MASSELINK
CHILDREN OF BENA BECKERING MASSELINK
THE NINE CHILDREN OF BENA BECKERING MASSELINK (Picture from 1975?)
George, Harold, Ben, Katheryn (Kay), Edward, Frank, John
Jeanette (Toots), Mother Bena, Father Andrew, Grace (Grayce)
1st 1916 George Henry; Named after Andrew's father, Gerrit Henry (GH).
2nd Franklin (Frank); Named after Bena's father Frank Beckering and according to Dutch tradition.
3rd 1920 Edward Herman Masselink born; Named after Andrew's mother Etta as they were expecting a girl; Middle name Herman named after Andrew's brother who died at the age of two.
4th Grace (Grayce); Named after Bena's mother; a curly-headed first granddaughter pampered by Bena's parents.
5th Harold; Named after Andrew's brother Herman who died at the age of two.
6th Jeanette (Toots) Eleanor Masselink De Jong; Born unexpectedly amidst the canning of meat; Named after Bena's two sisters, Ella and Jennie.
7th John; Named after Andrew's brother which prompted his uncle to open a ten dollar bank account for his namesake.
8th Benjamin (Ben) is born on a wintry day; Andrew and Bena chose the name in a "unified way".
9th Kathryn Ann (Kay); Named after Bena's sister Catherine and husband Andrew 's sister Anna.
George, Harold, Ben, Katheryn (Kay), Edward, Frank, John
Jeanette (Toots), Mother Bena, Father Andrew, Grace (Grayce)
1st 1916 George Henry; Named after Andrew's father, Gerrit Henry (GH).
2nd Franklin (Frank); Named after Bena's father Frank Beckering and according to Dutch tradition.
3rd 1920 Edward Herman Masselink born; Named after Andrew's mother Etta as they were expecting a girl; Middle name Herman named after Andrew's brother who died at the age of two.
4th Grace (Grayce); Named after Bena's mother; a curly-headed first granddaughter pampered by Bena's parents.
5th Harold; Named after Andrew's brother Herman who died at the age of two.
6th Jeanette (Toots) Eleanor Masselink De Jong; Born unexpectedly amidst the canning of meat; Named after Bena's two sisters, Ella and Jennie.
7th John; Named after Andrew's brother which prompted his uncle to open a ten dollar bank account for his namesake.
8th Benjamin (Ben) is born on a wintry day; Andrew and Bena chose the name in a "unified way".
9th Kathryn Ann (Kay); Named after Bena's sister Catherine and husband Andrew 's sister Anna.