The name “Van Duyne” is often synonymous with the City of Wilmington. Seldom do you read a box score or school rosters without seeing that name or an immediate relative.
It all started in Holland with the births of Pieter Klaver (b.1837) and John Van Duin (b.1835), fathers of the bride and groom. In addition to the Van Duin family tree, two separate family trees (among others) proliferated from Pieter Klaver: the Kennedys and the Klovers.
Netherlands flag and United States flag 1896.
Growing up in Braidwood, I learned about the Van Duyne name first though mom’s sister, Helen, and Uncle Nick. Their kids, Ronnie, JoAnn, and Nikki became close friends of mine and and my sister. As I grew older, it was apparent that the number of Wilmington Van Duynes outnumbered every other family name.
Much later, I learned that my family was somehow related to all of them. How did that happen? This is the story.
The Van Duyne Tree
A son of John Van Duin, Pieter, married Margaret Klaver and together they established arguably the largest, most prolific family tree in Wilmington, Illinois. Now known as the Van Duyne family, currently there are so many relatives that many members may not know their cousins.
Pieter and Katherine Klaver emigrated from Holland in 1886 bringing 9 of their children with them. Only one remained in Holland: Margaret. Margaret had been married to Pieter Van Duin 6 years earlier, and it was just a matter of time before she would join her parents in 1892. She had married Pieter in May 1881 and had 8 children, 7 of which also came to the US (One had shortly after birth.) After arriving in Illinois, the Van Duin family were to have 9 more children including Margaret (Baskerville) who chronicled her parents travel to America.
In order to grasp the magnitude of travel challenges and sacrifices for immigrants in that era, I have included excerpts from an interview with Margaret. (Complete text is included at the end.)
“My parents, Pieter and Margaret Van Duin (both 32 years old) left Holland April 10, 1892 (six months after Pieter’s father, John had died.) They landed in America May 1, 1892. They left Holland from Antwerp. It took 4 days to get all the shots, etc. before they were allowed to leave. Their home had been in Heer Hugo Woard, Holland. The name of their ship was Edam, 4th Class. Their journey took 15 days.
Pieter Van Duin worked in the kitchen (galley) and by doing this he acquired food for the journey for his family. Seven children born in Holland were brought to the USA. (The youngest, Bill, was only 7 months old and the oldest, John, was near 8 years old.)
They landed in New York, and it took 3 days to go through customs at Ellis Island. They made the rest of the journey by train; it took 3 days to get to Chicago. They changed trains to get to Wilmington and landed there in the biggest thunderstorm that had ever been seen in their lives.
Brophy’s Carry All, pall bearers wagon, met them at the depot. Two uncles, Pete and Case Klover, rented the P.B. wagon to take them to Grandpa Klaver’s house.
The storm was so terrible that the men had to take the children and parents out of the carriage to Dennis Van Garvin’s home. They fed them before they arrived at Grandad’s. (Pieter Klaver). Pieter Klaver’s farm was at the far end of Lakewood Shores.
The river was raging, and the water was 20 ft. higher than it is now. The lightning and thunder frightened the horses so bad that they reared up, spread apart, and broke the harness.
Two days after landing here they moved into a house on Starvation Hill.”
Margaret Van Duyne Baskerville Guiney (1901-1986)
(It should be noted that the Kankakee River dam was constructed in 1917, so the feasibility of 20 feet high would be terrifying.)
The Klover and Kennedy Trees
Two other families are personally relevant and have historically enjoyed close ties: the Cornelius Klover and the Kennedy trees.
The Cornelius (“Casey”) Klover Tree
Casey was a son of Pieter and Katherine Klaver and brother to Margaret Van Duin. Casey and his wife, Trey, had nine children: Jim, Cornelius (Casey), Evelyn, Sr. DePaul, Jack, Francis (Fat), Mary, Pete, and Wybrant. Besides being cousins to my father, several were also close friends. Their descendants are my relatives.
Pictured below: top left: Joe and Evelyn Klover Hermes family; right: Klover brothers left to right are Pete, Francis “Fat”, Bill, Casey; front row Jim and Jack. Below left: St. Rose Grade School class 1954. How many relatives?
The Klover/Kennedy Tree
My grandmother, Margaret Klover, was married to grandfather Dan Kennedy. Neither Margaret’s mother nor her father has been credibly identified. Margaret was raised by her grandparents, Pieter and Katherine Klaver. What has been verified is that she was the mother of Florence, Rita, Tom (dad), Ray, and Margaret.
Dan Kennedy’s parents were James and Margaret Barrett Kennedy. Dan’s great great grandparents arrived in America between 1828 and 1855. More on this side of the Kennedy, Corcoran, Barrett, and Walsh families in the future.
Concluding Remarks
By sharing as much family histories as possible, we can find common roots and rare stories that portray the hardships, challenges, and perseverance that our ancestors faced. More stories and pictures probably exist in library archives and family files. I know of only a few.
Ancestors who are gone have taken their stories to the grave, stories that will never be known and appreciated. But it is my hope that we can gather and disseminate a few treasures before they disappear, never to be known by our grandkids and future generations.
Further information can be found at: “We are Related to the Van Duynes?” https://braidwoodguy.com/2020/03/10/we-are-related-to-the-van-duynes/
Transcript from interview with Margaret Van Duin Baskerville.
Braidwood Beginnings 