Our Roots and Journey
The Ouwerkerk surname for our family began generations ago in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. There Simon Ouwerkerk married Reijertje Pothoven in 1753.
Their third son Hermanus Ouwerkerk was born in 1761. When he was 15 he went to the stadskinderhuis orphanage. Then he became a soldier.
In 1780 Hermanus married Anna van Greuningen. Their oldest son Simon Ouwerkerk was born in 1784. Hermanus was wounded in the battle of Callantsoog fighting the English invasion in 1799. Son Simon became a soldier too, as did two of his brothers.
In 1812 Simon survived the Russian campaign of Napoleon as a member of the French 33rd regiment of light infantry.
After surviving the battle of Waterloo in 1815, this time fighting against Napoleon, he joined the new unit Koninklijke Marechaussee in 1816 as a sergeant.
In 1828 he married Gerrigje Cosijnse in Utrecht. Then in 1829 he was appointed rijksveldwachter (sheriff) in Krimpen aan de Lek.
Their fourth son Hendrik Ouwerkerk was born there in 1838. Hendrik, who was a ship builder, married Francina van Dijk in 1862. Their only child Simon Ouwerkerk was born in 1863.
Simon, who was a warehouse manager, married Anna Visser in 1888. In total they got 13 children, of which third son Frederik was born in 1892 in Lekkerkerk.
Frederik, who was an iron worker, married Cornelia de Waard in 1922. The couple moved to Rotterdam. They got two children: Anna in 1924 and Cornelis in 1931.
Cornelis, who was a teacher, married Dana van der Sluijs in 1956. They got three children: Martin in 1958, Ronald in 1960 and Conny in 1964.
This site is dedicated to preserving our history and keeping our extended family connected, no matter where life takes us.