My maternal grandfather was John Berend Peterson, the son of Berend Peterson who immigrated to Grand Rapids, MI from Leens, Groningen in 1870. PIETER BERENDS (abt 1756) is the earliest Pietersen ancestor I have been albe to identify.  My maternal grandmother Nellie (Pieternelle) Peterson, spouse of John B. Peterson, was a Miedema.  Her father, Chester (Tjeerd) Miedema, the immigrant ancestor of our branch of the Miedema family, settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1880. JELGER JACOBS of Hallum, Friesland is the earliest (1747) Miedema ancestor I have thus far located.

 Included here are links to genealogies of both PIETER BERENDS [PIETERSEN] and JELGER JACOBS [MIEDEMA] as I've posted them on Rootsweb's WorldConnect project.  You may access any family page by browsing through pedigree charts, or by selecting individuals from the index of Surnames.  I have also provided separate family pages and photographs for my direct Miedema ancestors.  In the interest of simplicity, I have chosen to make the most recent Miedema my starting point, rather than beginning with the earliest (Jelger Jacobs).  For the Petersons, I have included separate family pages only where I have photographs available.

Dates for all living persons included here are stipulated as private.

Finally, don't miss "The Friesian Page"  for everything you would ever wanted to know about Fryslân.
 
 

Acknowledgements

A special word of thanks to Peter Marema and Jewel Peterson who long ago sparked my interest in the family history with photographs, stories, and trips to local cemeteries. Thanks also to Dan Sinema whose work has been particularly helpful in researching the early Miedemas.   And finally, the Friesland Historical and Literary Centre, available online at www.tresoar.nl, has been absolutely indispensable.
 
 

This is, and always will be, a work in progress. Your corrections, additions, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as well as copies of any family photos which you might have access to.  Please do contact me at my email address below.

Lenore Tolsma Bruinsma Folkertsma Miedema Peterson VandenBout Brashler
Lenorevdb at yahoo.com
March 2009

 

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