Pieter Hubert Dormans: A Genealogical Find
Sometimes you get special genealogical questions. During a visit to a Dormans relative, I was shown a picture and asked: Do you know this man?
I had never seen that picture before. I asked: ”What do you know about him?” He only said, “he was a close relative of my grandfather, Jacobus Hubertus, born at 08-25-1893”. The picture, made by a photographer in Harderwijk, shows a soldier with the text "Goodbye, 1893." The man pictured looks about 20 years old.
In my file, I was able to find two people born around 1873, with a close family relation with his grandfather- a brother, Pieter Hubert Dormans, born 07-08-1873, and a cousin, Hubertus Dormans, born 10-30-1872. At that moment, I couldn't give a final answer.
One year later, my sister-in-law, Sytske, a professional genealogist, indicated that there was a colonial navy yard in Harderwijk where all soldiers who traveled to the Dutch East Indies departed from. In The Hague, there is an extended military record, where all those records were held. There I finally found Pieter Hubert, the oldest brother of the grandfather. Pieter Hubert signed up for 6 years in the Navy and departed on the 21st of October 1893 with the steamship, Prins Alexander, for a Fl. 300,- gilders signing bonus. Three years later, he made the journey back with the steamship, Conrad, but failed to return home. He died aboard the ship on 16th January 1896, latitude 31˚58” N and longitude 31˚14” E., north of Alexandria, Egypt. He was buried at sea there in the Mediterranean Sea.
That was the reason that the grandson I had spoken with never had heard about Pieter Hubert, as Pieter Hubert departed to the Dutch West Indies when the grandfather was just two months old. The grandfather of the relative I spoke to had never met his brother who was born 20 years earlier.
That was also the reason that the grandson never had heard about Pieter Hubert, as back in the days Harderwijk had an open link to the North Sea by the Zuider Zee. After the construction in 1932 of a 32 kilometer long dike between the providences, Noord-Holland and Friesland (the Afsluitdijk), the Zuider Zee has become the IJsselmeer (lake). Since 1948, Den Helder is the new marine haven.
Alie Dormans-Visscher: A life of service
At the 26th April 2022, the mayor of Zeist reached out a royal award to Alie Dormans-Visscher (chapter 7, X1b-4), accompanied by her husband Jan Dormans.
Alie Dormans-Visscher earned this award for her efforts in the community. During 8 years in Soesterberg and now 30 years in Den Dolder, she was elder of the Protestant Church: assisting with ecumenism, council meetings, pastoral care, services, funerals, appeals commission etc. During the last 5 years, she has printed the monthly church magazine and organized its distribution. Moreover, she has given 22 years of volunteer service in gardening at Het Stille Hofje (The Silent Court), the local cemetery. In addition, she volunteered for six years in the Hospice Demeter in Bilthoven and subsequently 6.5 years in the care centre ZonnaCare in Den Dolder, that functions as a lodging address for very disabled children.
The municipal official, the mayor of Zeist, the commissioner of the King in the province of Utrecht, the Chapter of the civil orders, and the minster respectively have given all their advice to the King. The day before the birthday of our king Willem-Alexander, at April 26th 2022, the mayor bestowed on her the medal of the member of Order of Oranje-Nassau.
Family Stories
A Summary of Paul Dormans' Great Life
Paul Marie Dormans was born on March 29, 1923 in Sittard, Netherlands. He served in the Royal Dutch Air Force during World War II, escaping capture, surviving a work camp, and even hiding in a French boarding school with the assistance of a French spy. Of his many decorations for his service to his country, below you will see two medals.
The second medal is the Cross of Merit (kruis van verdienste) given to Dutchmen or foreigners who did brave and prudent things in the interest of the Dutch nation. It is a high decoration given mainly to Englishmen. During WWII, Queen Wilhelmina stayed in London with one trip to the US in 1942. Her daughter, Princes Juliana, stayed in Canada. In 1943, the Princes visited Curacao and it is well possible that she gave the award to Paul. In 1948 she became Queen of the Netherlands.
Paul met his wife-to-be, Virginia Ann Statham, while he was training in Jackson, Mississippi with the Dutch Air Force. They were married in 1943, just a few months before Paul received orders to ship overseas. Virginia found creative ways during the war to be with, or close to, her husband while he was stationed in Australia, New Guinea, the Phillipines, and Biak Island.
When they returned to the States after the war, Paul and Virginia moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, so that Paul could pursue an engineering degree from Indiana Technical College. The couple had four children together: Jacqueline, JoEllen, John, and David. Two of Paul's siblings, a brother and sister, eventually came from Holland to make their homes in Fort Wayne along side Paul and Virginia.
After 30 years of service, Paul retired from North American Philips (formerly Magnavox) where he developed several patents. "Paul was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. His interests included books, reading, international developments, radio, computers, music, art, and woodworking. " He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. Paul passed away after celebrating 67 years of marriage and 87 years of life.
The Miraculous Healing of Dolf Dormans
On the 3rd of June 2007, Pope Benedictus XVI declared Dolf Dormans' fellow villager, Carolus Andreas Houben, better known as Father Karel, holy. The pope made this decision after a determination by a medical commission in the Vatican that in 1999 Dormans (chapter 7, XIc) was miraculously cured.
Karel Houben, born in Munstergeleen, worked as priest in Ireland and was a father Passionist (1821-1893).
Also born in Munstergeleen, Dolf Dormans had a very serious intestinal ailment, and in the operation room the doctors said that the would live only a few hours. Despite this prognosis, he recovered, as Dormans reported after praying to father Karel. Years later the commission in Rome concluded unanimously that this incident could not be explained by the medical science, and so a miracle by Father Karel was performed. Dof's general practitioner, Wil Keulers, who was involved at the time with the first examinations, talked about a miraculous healing, and sent a declaration to Rome that led to the canonization of Father Karel.
Dolf Dormans together with 800 Limburgian pilgrims, including bishop Wiertz from Roermond and the complete choir of the St.Pancratius parish of Munstergeleen, were present in Rome.
Dolf Dormans was an honoured member of the community Munstergeleen. He was knight of the Order of Orange Nassau, a farmer, an aldermen in Munstergeleen, city secretary in Munstergeleen, aldermen in Sittard, President of the fanfare Juliana, President Union of Carnival Associations in Limburg 1977-1992. On December 17, 2002, he celebrated his 50-year jubilee of the beekeeper association, department Mijnstreek. He died in 2017.
