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| Jan Boissevain (1836-1904) |
I received the following email from Charles Boissevain asking us to help a woman who is writing a dissertation about five relatives of the man Inez Milholland married, Eugen Boissevain.
They are the daughters of Jan Boissevain (1836-1904), who may be found in the "Blue Book" - Nederlands Patriciaat 1988, on p. 52.
Jan's daughters would be first cousins of the children of Charles Boissevain (1842-1927) who include Eugen and his four brothers and six sisters, including my grandmother Olga Boissevain.
Besides the five Jantje sisters, the Charletjes include three women in-laws who are world-famous in suffragist history:
Marie Pijnappel, the first female member of the Dutch Parliament, who was married to Charles E. H. ("Charles Eh Hah") Boissevain.
Inez Milholland Boissevain, who is the subject of this blogsite, the first wife of Eugen Boissevain.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, who was the second wife of Eugen Boissevain.
They are the daughters of Jan Boissevain (1836-1904), who may be found in the "Blue Book" - Nederlands Patriciaat 1988, on p. 52.
Jan's daughters would be first cousins of the children of Charles Boissevain (1842-1927) who include Eugen and his four brothers and six sisters, including my grandmother Olga Boissevain.
Dear Descendants of Jan Boissevain (1836 - 1904) and Other Interested People:
A lady at the Dutch University of Groningen, Mrs. Esmeralda Tijhoff, is writing a most interesting Ph.D. dissertation about the five daughters of Jan Boissevain.
Jan and his wife Petronella Gerharda Johanna Brugmans (1838 - 1905) had five daughters and four sons. The five daughters were, each in her own way, active in developing citizenship for women and in advocating for women's rights.
A dissertation like this is rare and an honor for "The Five Sisters Boissevain''.
Jan Boissevain's daughters were:
> Elisabeth Antonia, 1864 - 1904. She was married to Jan Gunning, 1859 - 1951. She died half a year after the birth of their only child, Jan Gunning jr. There are still some descendants alive.
> Helena Mensina (Heleen), 1867 - 1946. Not married. Dedicated her life to the translation of books by Plato into Dutch.
> Anna Maria, 1872 - 1924. Married to Gideon Mari Den Tex. Their son was Jan den Tex, honorary doctor of Utrecht University. No children.
> Petronella Johanna (Nella), 1873 - 1970. Married to Adriaan Floris (Aat) van Hall. Mother of ten children. Two of them well-known: Gijs van Hall, mayor of Amsterdam and Walraven van Hall, one of the most famous Resistance heroes during W.W. 2. He was shot by the Germans not long before the end of the war. Read about their lives via Google. [Aat's brother Jan van Hall, married Nella's cousin Hester Boissevain, further cementing the connections between the two families. The two families vacationed together in Drafna, about which I have written on another post. - JTM]
> Dr. Maria (Mia), 1878 - 1959. Not married. She was very active in organizing all sorts of women activities, also international ones. It is possible that descendants of Jan and Nella (or others !) know more. Especially descendants of the brothers of these Five Sisters Boissevain.
Please let me know.The descendants of Jan Boissevain are called the Jantjes in Dutch. The descendants of his brother Charles are called the Charletjes.
Charles Boissevain (1934, Nederlands Patriciaat p. 75). ch.boissevain@online.nl.
Besides the five Jantje sisters, the Charletjes include three women in-laws who are world-famous in suffragist history:
Marie Pijnappel, the first female member of the Dutch Parliament, who was married to Charles E. H. ("Charles Eh Hah") Boissevain.
Inez Milholland Boissevain, who is the subject of this blogsite, the first wife of Eugen Boissevain.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, who was the second wife of Eugen Boissevain.
