I put a page on here (see tab at the top of this page) which links to my genealogy blog. A year ago I barely knew what a blog was, and now I have three blogs (with ideas for more–slap me, please). The third blog was actually the first one–it’s about adoption and I write it with my daughter. I had so much fun, I decided to keep going.
Back to the genealogy blog. Long before I had kids (both of them were adopted), I was interested in family history and genealogy. For a while I worked on a master’s degree in history, specializing in just that subject. That’s before I gained/lost my senses and switched over to creative writing and English. So while genealogy is a strange subject for someone with kids and a brother who were adopted, it’s something I’ve long been interested in. Because of my interest, family members have told me stories and given me memorabilia. I feel a great responsibility for this trust.
If you’re also into this subject, or if you just want to see what kind of weird family created me ;), check out my mother’s Dutch ancestors at The Family Kalamazoo.
I keep the focus on the DeKorn and Zuidweg families of southwestern Michigan. On this site, I share old photographs (100 years old), many taken by family photographer Joseph DeKorn.
Flooding at the Water Works Bridge in Kalamazoo, March 26, 1904. That spring, the water got 6″ higher than the photo shows.
I also have many other old photos and artifacts from the family.
Years ago, my grandfather Adrian Zuidweg shared a portion of the collection with Western Michigan University‘s Archives and Regional History Collections. A larger portion is not at the archives, and my goal is to share the rest of the collection on this blog.
At the lake
The lives of my family members revolved around their families, small businesses (such as retail and construction), and the many lakes of the Kalamazoo area.
