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by J.J. van der Schuit translation: A. van de Ruit
Till mid 19th century the Van der Schui(j)ts of Werkendam remained faithful to their native soil before flaring out over villages and cities around Werkendam and De Werken. Some of them took bigger steps and set off to other continents. Willem Frederik (1827) was the first one to migrate to South Africa, where he died in 1890 in Johannesburg. His two daughters then returned to the Netherlands. However the journey to the Dutch Indies was favorite and several Van der Schui(j)ts set off to this former Dutch overseas territory.
However a number of Van der Schui(j)ts preferred the United States of America as their land of future.
Of the “Rutger-branch” it was Barend Otto (1873) who in 1900 ventured the step and of the “Abraham-branch” Hendrik (1851) and Gerrit (1856) were taken along by their mother Pietertje Visser in 1867 to “the country of unlimited possibilities”.
Also of the "Rutger-branch" it was Marinus Wilhelm (1933) who emigrated in 1959 to the U.S.A. after coming to Holland from Indonesia one year earlier. He died in 2010 in Orange, Cal.
Pietertje Visser (1827-1904)
Pietertje Visser, the widow of Gerrit van der Schuijt (1826-1856), had been re-married since November 1858 to a certain Wouter Jan van Zantwijk, who in May 1865 moved by himself from Rotterdam to Bleskensgraaf. In April 1867 Pietertje and her two sons Hendrik and Gerrit departed from Rotterdam via Hull to Liverpool, where they embarked the s.s. “England” and arrived in New York on May 18.
They resided in Greenpoint, the 17th district of Brooklyn. Shortly thereafter they moved to the 14th district and in 1870 to the 16th district.
In 1883 the marriage of Pietertje Visser and Wouter Jan van Zantwijk was dissolved by the Rotterdam Court of Justice on account of malevolent leave by Pietertje Visser.
Once more we meet Pietertje Visser as the widow of Peternelle Dircks (census 1880) and she dies in 1904 by the name of Petertje Dirckx.
Hendrik van der Schuijt (1851-1910)
Son Hendrik in New York practiced the job as mechanic and oil merchant and married Catherine Caroline Hoffman(n) in 1872. The couple had four children. Hendrik, who in the meantime called himself Henry VanderSchuyt, was naturalized as American citizen on October 16, 1876 by the County Court of Kings County, City of Brooklyn.
Upon arrival in Brooklyn in 1868 he got into service as a mechanic with the Pratt Oil Manufacturing Company, where he stayed for eight years.
In 1875 he occupied himself with the oil-trade with warehouses on 18, Stagg Street in the 16th district, where he established the center of a successful commercial enterprise.
In 1879 he moved the enterprise to 161, Throop Avenue in the 21st district and in 1896 again to 178, Throop Avenue, where he added, under his personal leadership, a home-furnishing department. His oldest son Henry (1879-1931) became manager of the oil-trade in 1896.
Henry VanderSchuyt was in social respect a prominent person. In Brooklyn he was a member of the Fort Greene Lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Kades Encampment. He also had musical capability and was member of the Richard Wagner Quartet Club. Henry Vanderschuyt won the honorable American title of “self-made-man” for all his achievements.
Henry and Catherine Vanderschuyt had one daughter and three sons. Henry and Catherine both passed away in Brooklyn, respectively in 1910 and in 1940. Source: History of Long Island, pages 365 and 366
Gerrit van der Schuijt (1856-1908)
Pietertje Visser’s son Gerrit became an insurance agent and is also known as George and Garret van der Schuyt. In 1880 he was naturalized as an American citizen by the County Court of Kings County, New York. Gerrit married a Elizabeth Rose on March 15, 1885 in Kings County,New York. The family had nine children, five sons and four daughters and lived in 1900 and 1905 on 21, Ward, Kings County, New York. (U.S. census 1900 and 1905)
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