Ego-documents: Letters from home

Part 1: Making connections

Genealogy is a hobby for collectors digging into the archives of the past.  Tien Generaties Stijnman (my Uncle Joop’s body of work on which my creative history rests) is a fascinating collection of dates, places, lines of descent. It follows a pattern, a gathering up of data that sings its own logic. It’s a very patriarchal line. Only one woman gets more than a passing mention, and that’s Margaretha Lommerse.  Only occasionally does he break out of the logic to record a story from a different kind of collection: family letters. 

Joop’s typed reproduction of the letters of Jan Petrus Stijnman (1887-1912), the namesake uncle who died at sea, has come down to me.  I would guess Joop typed these up for his father, his brothers and sisters, and the stencil version I have will also exist among cousins and their descendants. Letters are a tool that the Dutch historian Jacob Presser first labelled ‘ego-documents’ – a term now universally applied to such personal records as diaries, letters and anything written from the first person point of view.  The subjective ‘I’ can tell us a lot about how an individual might experience their life and times – and offers quite a different perspective on the ‘culture’ of a time, a trade, a family.  I was quite taken by this idea as I was thinking about how I might shape my book and what themes I might choose.  I realised that these letters from home with their historical sense were my ego-documents. If I think about the power of the diaries of Anne Frank, Samuel Pepys, or the letters of the Apostles, then I knew that I should pay attention to Joop’s transcript.

Johan (Jan) was the ninth child in a family of 11 – a long way down a family line of bakers and inheritance that begins with the eldest brother.  Piet, Theo, Antoon and George are already destined to ply the family trade. This might explain why this fifth son chooses a seafaring career.  Jan would have needed his father’s permission to do something so out of the family character.  Shipping is indeed a noted Dutch occupation.  Even today, maritime design, engineering, dredging, offshore ocean logistics are associated with Dutch expertise.  At the turn of the 20^th century, Jan picks this as his future. Off he goes to the shipping school in Vlissingen, Zeeland. 

He's 16 years old when Jan makes his first trip as as cabin boy on the steamship “Skandia” to the Baltic, from 3 September to 24 November 1903. His Grandmother Greta is still alive and well into her nineties; his eldest sister Margot has married into the Stallinga family; his sister Wendelien (Lina) is married too and both have young children. His father is holding his breath.

The voyage is a taster of a totally different life, quickly followed by his first long-distance journey in October 1903. It's a foreshortened world.  The Suez canal makes the difficult rounding of Cape Horn obsolete. Nevertheless, the biblical references to landmarks as the ship navigates the Red Sea are no doubt meant to offer comfort to his father.  The “Twelve Apostles” pass by, a group of islands which today are known as the Hanish group, strategically placed between the coast of Yemen and Eritrea, and “Judas”, an island standing slightly to one side, directly beside the main shipping lane.  Disputes about these islands continue to this day, though they no longer hold the biblical references in their names. Eritrea invaded them in 1995, Yemen reclaimed them.  Today they’re a staging point for Houthi pirates, hijackings, weapons caches and war stations for the US and Israeli militaries, a fairly good excuse to not use the Suez canal at all.  In 1903, Jan’s only concern is his destination in the East Indies and where the family might address letters to reach him. Regular mentions of birthdays in these letters suggests how culturally important they are!

Jan returns to Vlissingen on  10 February 1905, and writes to his parents about his ongoing education. He says he’s doing ‘extremely well’ back at the school. He’s among a group of six – and by his own lights far ahead of the others as far as maths, algebra and science is concerned.  The other subjects he’s studying are cosmology, seamanship, natural sciences, shipbuilding, English, meteorology, steamship engineering, and Dutch law – all of which give him pleasure.  He doesn’t think much of the town (of Vlissingen). Today, its boulevard is celebrated as the longest in the Netherlands. It’s a nice stroll, says Jan - in good weather.  “The only thing worth seeing here is the shipyard De Schelde”. 

From the letters, the relationship between brothers Theo and Jan appears tight. He teases Theo about the cost and weight of writing paper, the surprise of a lengthy missive, his delight in the daily amusements of families. Why hasn’t Frans written to me? Has Toon (Antoon) finished his (bakers’) apprenticeship yet?   I’d like a letter from them too on thick watermarked stationery just like yours, he suggests.  Have you taken any pictures yet?  He gets into joking mood: I’d like [a camera] too, he writes,  so I can show you something of the sights around here, like the fountain…"you’ll need to hold your belly while you laugh."  Which is to say that Jan’s description of the memorial fountain to two women writers is dismissive.  The canals get a serving too: they run empty at ebb tide, so that the cutters lying there fall sideways and if you have to go past you better take a handkerchief soaked in eau de Cologne –  it’s has something of the (stinky) airs around the canals of den Haag. 

Jan comes from a family that educates in the Roman Catholic tradition.  What kind of character does this create?  Some letters show how alive he is to current events. News of naval drama in the Far East arrived late in the Netherlands, but it catches Jan’s youthful attention. Admiral Rozhestvensky of the Tsar’s Imperial Russian Navy, was defeated at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 by the Japanese.  He’d managed to steam an all-steel, coal-powered battleship fleet over 27,000 kilometers to the aptly-named Far East to engage in battle, on the instructions of the Tsar, against the Japanese; but was routed at the loss of 5000 sailors. A seaman might indeed notice such slaughter. He also refers to a book by Leo Balet which his brother has already read, that he wants to read too.  It likely isn’t everybody’s cup of tea – perhaps the biography about the early Dutch painter Geertgen tot Sint Jans who lived in the monastery of the Knights of Saint John in Haarlem during the 15^th century fascinated because of its Leiden connection?

On 28 March 1906, Jan receives his diploma as third mate.  The third mate is usually responsible for safety on board a merchant ship.  It’s a step on a ladder than is destined to lead to second mate and then captain, as aspiration that the family explicitly encourages.  Jan receives a promotional ticket on board the steamship Kinderdijk in June 1906. By February 1907 he’s offered a post on one of the merchant East Indiamen plying the route to the White Sea (Russia) and Mediterranean destinations.

Then comes the news of brother Theo Stijnman’s engagement.  Writes a father with very clear views and advice to give on 29 October 1907: 

On Sunday Moe and I travelled to Rotterdam.  There we made the acquaintance of the Familie v Boheme.  We enjoyed ourselves and I believe that Theo will have a darling little wife.  Which we heartily endorse.  She is also very religious, which is a most important requirement in a woman. If you want to create a happy household, always remember that, Joh. You miss so much of God’s good service so if you come ashore and find someone there who will pray for you and care for you, always remember that and above all make sure not to associate with people who think differently, but mostly with religious girls. Remember this forever.

The way Theo himself writes about this match betrays the social norms and values of this family and class. It is ‘announced’ with photographic portraits shared with family and friends.  A good impression matters. There is a great deal of visiting that takes up most of a valuable Sunday. Who is she? There is just one aunt, who lives next door; and only a brother and sisters that comprise her entire family.  In Theo’s own words:

Het zijn eenvoudige maar gezellige lui. Ik zal ook je nieuwsgierigheid tevreden stelle met te vertellen, hoe ik er in geloopen ben.  Margot van Leeuwen geb. Brouwer was eens in Leiden op visite bij tante Sophie en trof daar Moe, na een gesprek, ik hoef je eigenlijk niet te vertellen welke liep over de meidenquestie enz., ik was er niet bij, maar heb het van hooren zegge, kwam tusschen een kopje koffie en een stukje taart ook het gesprek op ons.  Moe vroeg gekscherend aan Margot en klagend over ons niet opschieten of ze somwijlen in R’dam niets voor ons wist waarop beschrijving en opgave van adres volgde, over het eerste zal ik maar uit gebrek aan plaatsruimte niet over uitweiden. Het 2de is Zwaanhals “Huize Damrust” R’dam. In ‘t kort mijn Zondag niet beter wetende te besteden en denkend je baat het niet dan schaadt je niet, ben ik eens gaan kijken.  Onder introducte van Adriaan van Leeuwen welke Dina’s voogd is, want zij heeft geen ouders meer, hebben we een bezoek gebracht, doch zij was niet thuis, na nog een boodschap verzonnen te hebben, had ik eindelilijk het genoegen haar thuis te treffen, dat was onze eerste kennismaking. Eenige tijd daarna heb ik maar de stoute schoenen aagetrokken, want ik horde dat er haaien op de kust waren, en je begrijpt da tik mijn kaas niet van mijn brot laat eten. Ik heb gevraagd en verkregen. En zoo is Theo nu geangageerd.  Dat is de heele geschiedenis.  Zoo zie je maar weer, dat je nooit vooruit weet, waar je geluk ligt.

They are simple but sociable people. I'll satisfy your curiosity by telling you how I got into this. Margot van Leeuwen, b. Brouwer happened to be in Leiden to visit Tante Sophie and met Ma there.  After a conversation, I don't really have to tell you who started on about the girl question -  I wasn't there, I just heard about it  - and so betwixt a cup of coffee and a slice of tart the spotlight came on us. Ma jokingly complained to Margot about us not getting a hurry along, did she [Margot] know of nothing possible for us in Rotterdam? to which a scribbling of notes and an exchange of addresses followed, I won't elaborate on the first because of lack of space. The 2nd is Zwaanhals "Huize Damrust" R'dam. In short, not knowing any better how to spend my Sunday and thinking if it doesn't help it won't hurt, so I went to have a look. With an introduction from Adriaan van Leeuwen who is Dina's guardian, because she no longer has parents, we paid a visit, but she was not at home; after having concocted another errand, I finally had the satisfaction of meeting her at home, that was our first acquaintance. Some time later I put on my stoutest shoes, because I heard that there were sharks on the shore, and you understand that I don't let anyone else eat my cheese from my bread. I asked for and got. And so Theo is now engaged. That is the whole story. So there we go again, you never know in advance where happiness might be found.

Engagement photos, Theo and Dina

How much family connections matter!  Theo’s literary twinkle in this ego-document – betwixt a cup of coffee and a piece of tart – suggests the social  significance of coffee and bakery.  Although I think I knew this already, I thank Jan’s letter for bringing this into focus for me!

In sum, Tante Sophie’s niece Margot van Leeuwen becomes the link that forges the connection between the van Bohemens and the Stijnmans.   (The family tree in the book helps to trace the line).  These are my grandparents.