INTRODUCTION TO MASSELINK HISTORY
Masselinks are Millennials! (i.e., Over a Thousand Years of Masselinks)
For over a thousand years from as early as the year 804 (about when the first Masselink farms are established in Mander and Vasse, in what now is the Netherlands) and until the late 1800's (when the last of the three Kleine Masselink brothers emigrated from what is now Germany to Michigan), almost all of my ancestors were farmers who for more than a millennium lived and farmed within about a fifteen-mile radius of Uelsen, Germany.
Although we can document 14 generations of Masselinks by name, we have no information regarding the names of any Masselink prior to around 1660. We only know of their existence from tax and other property records kept by various government entities in what is now the Netherlands and Germany. The Masselink birth, marriage and death documents registered before 1660 in the Town Hall in Uelsen, Germany were destroyed during the Thirty Years War.
Thirty Years’ War | Summary, Causes, Combatants, Map, & Significance | Britannica
DNA testing of my oldest living male Masselink ancestor also confirms that our ancestors lived in Northern Europe for over 25 generations. This finding also aligns with old tax and property records showing that Masselinks and their farms existed throughout these generations in what is now both the Netherlands and Germany.
Generation Zero for the Masselink surname originates in Mander and Vasse, in what is now eastern Netherlands. There is also a place known as Masselink, Germany on the Dutch-German border (see map above). This is not the location of the two original Masselink farms founded around 804, but rather a crossroads that over the years offered food and lodging to travelers. See pictures of this crossroads location at the bottom of this page.
http://travelingluck.com/Europe/Germany/Niedersachsen/_2873003_Masselink.html
Below is an example of a 13 Generation legacy of one Masselink family by name:
Generation 1-6: Grafschaft Bentheim, in what is now Germany.
1. Harmen Kleine Masselink (before 1660 -1713)
2. Geerd Kleine Masselink (1693-after 1743)
3. Harmen Kleine Masselink (1719-1747)
4. Hendrik Kleine Masselink (1747-1798)
5. Fenne Kleine Masselink (1771-1843); Husband is the First Colon of the Hardinghausen farm.
6. Gerrit Hendrik Kleine Masselink (1792-1870); Second Colon of the Hardinghausen farm.
Generation 7-8: Emigrants from Grafschaft Bentheim to Michigan
7. Hendrik Kleine Masselink (Masselink in the USA) (1829-1907); Third and last Colon of the Hardinghausen farm.
8. Gerrit Hendrik Kleine Masselink (Masselink in the USA) (1858-1927)
Generation 9-13: Born in the USA
9. Andrew Masselink (1888-1977) (Michigan)
10. Edward Herman Masselink, Sr (1920-1998) (Minnesota)
11. Thomas Andrew Masselink (1951 -) (Michigan)
12. Andrew Timmerman Masselink (1973 -) (Michigan)
13. Taylor Jolene Masselink (1999 -) (Florida)
Below are pictures of the Masselink Crossroads near the Dutch/German border as shown on the map on the top of this page. Known as Erve Masselink, it is located on Hesinger Strasse in Hesingen, Germany. (Hesingen is a hamlet near the German town Halle bei Neuenhaus just across the Dutch border north of Overijssel Ootmarsum). The genealogy of the owners of this Masselink inherited property (Erve) is unknown.
BELOW: Masselink, Germany. This is not the location of the two original Masselink farms.
For over a thousand years from as early as the year 804 (about when the first Masselink farms are established in Mander and Vasse, in what now is the Netherlands) and until the late 1800's (when the last of the three Kleine Masselink brothers emigrated from what is now Germany to Michigan), almost all of my ancestors were farmers who for more than a millennium lived and farmed within about a fifteen-mile radius of Uelsen, Germany.
Although we can document 14 generations of Masselinks by name, we have no information regarding the names of any Masselink prior to around 1660. We only know of their existence from tax and other property records kept by various government entities in what is now the Netherlands and Germany. The Masselink birth, marriage and death documents registered before 1660 in the Town Hall in Uelsen, Germany were destroyed during the Thirty Years War.
Thirty Years’ War | Summary, Causes, Combatants, Map, & Significance | Britannica
DNA testing of my oldest living male Masselink ancestor also confirms that our ancestors lived in Northern Europe for over 25 generations. This finding also aligns with old tax and property records showing that Masselinks and their farms existed throughout these generations in what is now both the Netherlands and Germany.
Generation Zero for the Masselink surname originates in Mander and Vasse, in what is now eastern Netherlands. There is also a place known as Masselink, Germany on the Dutch-German border (see map above). This is not the location of the two original Masselink farms founded around 804, but rather a crossroads that over the years offered food and lodging to travelers. See pictures of this crossroads location at the bottom of this page.
http://travelingluck.com/Europe/Germany/Niedersachsen/_2873003_Masselink.html
Below is an example of a 13 Generation legacy of one Masselink family by name:
Generation 1-6: Grafschaft Bentheim, in what is now Germany.
1. Harmen Kleine Masselink (before 1660 -1713)
2. Geerd Kleine Masselink (1693-after 1743)
3. Harmen Kleine Masselink (1719-1747)
4. Hendrik Kleine Masselink (1747-1798)
5. Fenne Kleine Masselink (1771-1843); Husband is the First Colon of the Hardinghausen farm.
6. Gerrit Hendrik Kleine Masselink (1792-1870); Second Colon of the Hardinghausen farm.
Generation 7-8: Emigrants from Grafschaft Bentheim to Michigan
7. Hendrik Kleine Masselink (Masselink in the USA) (1829-1907); Third and last Colon of the Hardinghausen farm.
8. Gerrit Hendrik Kleine Masselink (Masselink in the USA) (1858-1927)
Generation 9-13: Born in the USA
9. Andrew Masselink (1888-1977) (Michigan)
10. Edward Herman Masselink, Sr (1920-1998) (Minnesota)
11. Thomas Andrew Masselink (1951 -) (Michigan)
12. Andrew Timmerman Masselink (1973 -) (Michigan)
13. Taylor Jolene Masselink (1999 -) (Florida)
Below are pictures of the Masselink Crossroads near the Dutch/German border as shown on the map on the top of this page. Known as Erve Masselink, it is located on Hesinger Strasse in Hesingen, Germany. (Hesingen is a hamlet near the German town Halle bei Neuenhaus just across the Dutch border north of Overijssel Ootmarsum). The genealogy of the owners of this Masselink inherited property (Erve) is unknown.
BELOW: Masselink, Germany. This is not the location of the two original Masselink farms.