Portrait: Cornelis Kool (1838-1923)

Cornelis Kool [1838-1923]. (Courtesy Halbo Kool)

This is another portrait Halbo Kool sent me, this one of our common ancestor Cornelis Kool. Cornelis was born September 9, 1838, in Gieten, Aa en Hunze, Drenthe, Netherlands, to Elsien Cornelis Schreuder and Halbe Geerts Kool. He was both a sailor and a skipper in his lifetime, according to his marriage record and a child’s death certificate, before he died on March 16, 1923 in Groningen.

Portrait of Gonda Margaretha Duuntjer and Cornelis Kool (1838)

Portrait of Cornelis Kool and Gonda Margaretha Duuntjer.

This is a lightly retouched photo of Gonda Margaretha Duuntjer and Cornelis Kool, my great-great-great-grandparents (with that many greats, they must have been pretty awesome!). Of all the photos I have, this is one of the farthest back in generations — thanks go to cousin Anje Belmon who emailed it to me in the first place.

I like that both Gonda Margaretha and Cornelis took such care to pose with their wedding bands to the camera. It makes me think that, perhaps, this was a portrait from an anniversary.

Here are some more details of their lives:

Gonda Margaretha was born in 1840 in Veendam, Groningen, Netherlands, to Hindrik Heres Duuntjer and Trijntje Germs Boon, according to a record on Genlias.nl.

Cornelis was born in 1838 in Gieten, Aa en Hunze, in Drenthe, Netherlands, to Elsin Cornelis Schroder and Halbe Geerts Kool.

Cornelis and Gonda Margaretha were married on the 25th of January in 1867 in Veendam, also according to a record from Genlias.nl, which listed Cornelis’ occupation at the time as sailor. About 10 months later, their first child was born (go grandparents!).

Anyway, I don’t have a date on this photo, but it had to have been taken prior to 1921, when Gonda Margaretha passed away. Cornelis died just two and a half years later.