December 20, 2021
Christmas Message to Dutch Cousins
| Dear Dutch Cousins, I hope that this Christmas Season finds you well and ready to spend time with loved ones. Unfortunately, the devastating tornadoes of December 10 have leveled a terrible blow to many and a challenge to the holiday spirit. The National Weather Service received reports of 36 tornadoes in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi. The scope of this tragedy is surely witnessed by our Dutch Cousins who live or have family and friends in the stricken heartland. My heart and prayers go out to all those affected in losing their homes, communities and most of all for all the lives lost. Besides our prayers being needed, many are already stepping up to volunteer and make a positive difference. The towns of Mayfield and Bowling Green have been especially hard hit with the number of people killed and the vast destruction. They will continue to require support in so many ways. In the generous spirit of the Christmas Season please reach out in your special way to support and encourage those who have suffered so much. I wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a healthy and restorative New Year. Sincerely, Mary Jo Gohmann Dutch Cousins President ————————————————————- Past President Carolyn Leonard wrote: Dearest Cousins, So much news these days, may seem sad at first, but keep looking for the GOOD. The news stories about the Kentucky area tornadoes is horrible, but the good news is that our Old Mud was not damaged, and that Mercer County and Anderson County seem to have escaped and so far as I know none of our cousins were affected. I am still devastated to learn that Sharon was diagnosed with Cancer, but the good news is they are able to give chemo and I pray it will be successful and not too uncomfortable for her. Prayers for King, too, as he is her caretaker and I know how important that job is! For myself, I am still here! The chemo side effects are pretty rough at times, but I am still able to work on my computer, discuss (and cuss) the news and politics, to enjoy entertaining family and friends, participate in zoom meetings, read, count my blessings of having my dear Jon close by and visits from our children, and see photos of our precious new great-grandbaby born last month to remind us of the continuity of life. I love the greeting cards and letters of the season from friends far and near, so keep them coming! Especially have to tell you about the wonderful invaluable gift I received from Vince Akers. It is a big history of his home town, SWEET HOME DEFOE, compiled by Mike Grimes with much of the text and photos contributed by Vince from his knowledge and family records. Lots of Demaree and Dutch Tract history included. It doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon.com, so not sure how to tell you to find a copy, but I bet the County Historical Societies in Henry, Shelby, or Mercer counties could find it. I will donate my copy to HHS with my other research papers in time. James O’Neil plans to go to the Netherlands in January to look up parent churches or villages of some of the Old Mud progenitors. If you are interested and know the information about where your ancestors came from in the “old country,” send that info to Amalie Preston at the HHS. Blessings and a Merry Christmas (in spite of the pandemic and other problems)! Keep a song and joy in your heart, no matter what. Hugs, Carolyn Leonard PS I just published my latest book, JOHN BAPTIST BARR from the Grand Duchy of Baden. Available in ebook, soft cover, and hardback from Amazon.com PPS I learned you should not try DNA unless you are prepared for a shock. ————————————————————- Past President Carolyn Leonard also wrote: Here’s what I sent to Amalie about my COZINEs of Gelderland: My immigrant ancestor Cosyn Gerritzen Van Putten Born 1606 Putten, Gelderland Province, Holland (25 miles NE of Utrecht) in the small village of Putten in northern Gelderland, in the Veluwe, the hilly wooded region in the central Netherlands 1626: The Dutch acquire Manhattan (Manhatus) from the Indians Cosyn married his 1st wife Maekijken Everts which he married in 1631 in Putten, we believe she died before he came to New Amsterdam around 1633. 1633: Cozyn came from Putten Holland to New Amsterdam (NY) (we believe) He married Vroutgen GERRETTSE 1636 in Kings County New Amsterdam. We don’t have any info on her birth, except presumed in the Netherlands. (Holland society of New York, Thursday, Dec 29 1661: Tomas Hal and Pieter Stoutenburg, administrators of estates of Margriet Samuels and Janneken Tomas are advised to settle estates. (next entry, no date) Vroutje Gerrits, wife of Cousy, the wheelwright, owes to an estate 37 guilders 16 sttivers. He died after 1686 probably in the Tappan Patent of New Jersey, maybe in the DeClark-DeWitt House still there, owned by the Masons and open to the public daily. The house was built by Cosyn’s soninlaw Daniel DeClark. Cosyn, the wheelwright of New Amsterdam, may have been the son of Gerrit Cosyn Jans Van Oldenbarnevelt of Putten. Cosyn was the father of Gerrit Cozyntie Cosine, a carman in NYC, and wife Belitje Jacobsen QUICK. Gerrit Cosyn was the father of Jacobus COZYNSZEN, a farmer of Bushwyck, and Aeltje Janse VAN WYCK and they were parents of the DOMINEE Cornelius Cosine born in Bushwick, died in Conewago Colony (my sixth great grandfather.) Cornelius Cozine married Antje Pieterse STAATS, granddaughter of Hendrick Claesen VAN VEHTE of Norg, Province Of Drenthe, Netherlands Cornelius Cozine’s mother Aeltje Janse VAN WYCK ’s father wasf Wijck bij Duurstede, Netherlands and her mother Anna POLHEMIUS, daughter of the DOMINEE Johannes Theodarus* POLHEMIUS, probably of German-Swiss origin, whose earlier pastorates seem to have been in the Palatinate; then at Meppel in the provence of Overyssel, Netherlands before coming to be the first regularly stationed minister of the Dutch on Long Island. POLHEMIUS married Catherine VAN DER VERVEN of the Netherlands. The sources for most of this info are listed in Jim Cozine’s website on the Cozine family history and his book, FINDING OUR WOODEN SHOES, by James “Jim” Cozine — but I can’t find either of those hotlinks today! ————————————————————- Carolyn Leonard informs us of the passing of John C Westerfield – past presidents of the Dutch Cousins Although John was an octogenarian, the illness and death were sudden and unexpected. Phyllis called this morning to let me know so I could let all the COUSINS know. John was the second president of our organization, following Claude Westerfield. His son Jeff performed the worship service at Old Mud. John and Phyllis had been married 66 years, they grew up in Louisville and met in high school. Cards to the family can be sent to Phyllis Westerfield at 106 Village Square, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 17201 (She doesn’t do the computer thing, so no email) https://www.publicopiniononline.com/obituaries/mpa074824 (Pam, please post on DutchCousins.org) Obituary for John Carson Westerfield John Carson Westerfield, 86, of Chambersburg, PA, passed away Saturday evening, October 9, 2021 at his home. Born August 12, 1935 in Laurel County, KY, he was a son of the late Leonard A. and Beatrice R. Mullins Westerfield. John was a graduate of Ahrens Trade High School in Louisville, KY and went on to earn an Associate Degree in Forestry and Wood Tech from the University of Kentucky. He served honorably in the Air National Guard. Early in his life he was employed at General Electric and with Sun Oil Company, both in Louisville. John retired in 1996 from the Maryland Park Service where he had been employed as a park ranger, park manager and law enforcement officer of 24 years. He was a member of the Chambersburg Christian Missionary Alliance Church. John and Phyllis enjoyed traveling the country in their RV for nine years, visiting all 50 States, Canada and Mexico. John is survived by his wife, Phyllis Wheeler Westerfield, whom he married September 16, 1955; his daughter, Tonjah “Toni” Westerfield of Bradenton, FL; his son, Jeffrey C. Westerfield (Katherine) of Selma, NC; his sister, Pat Wigington of Bryon, GA; nine grandchildren, Cassandra Leggett Brett, Shannon Leggett Burkett (Michael), Johnathan W. Leggett, Erin Leggett Hajdu (Tibor), Jason Westerfield (Mollie), Matthew Westerfield (Danielle), Benjamin Westerfield (Jennifer), Aaron Westerfield (Janel), and Katelyn Westerfield (Danny Cunningham); and nineteen great-grandchildren, Kathleen, Adriana, Collin, Aliah, Kaiya, Liliana, Jozsef, Tatum, Teegan, Carson, Levi, Amelia, Florence, Matilda, Lucille, Edith, Hannah, and Darcie. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, John Curtis Westerfield; a brother, Arthur Westerfield; and a sister, Lucille Westerfield. A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 13, 2021 at Menno Haven Life Center in Chambersburg, PA. Receiving family and friends at 2:00 and service at 3:00. Come celebrate the life of John. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the Menno Haven Benevolent Fund, 2011 Scotland Avenue, or to the Chrisitan Missionary Alliance Church, 230 Siloam Road, both in Chambersburg, PA 17201. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Carson Westerfield, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store. https://colchesterfuneral.frontrunnerpro.com/book-of-memories/4751954/Westerfield-John/index.php ————————————————————- A Conversation about Cozine research (shared with permission): The oldest messages start at the bottom. Carolyn Leonard Dec 17, 2021, 10:02 PM (2 days ago) to Pam, Jim, Janice, me It worked! Hallelujah! Thanks Pam! On Dec 17, 2021, at 4:15 PM, Pam Ellingson wrote: The website already had the link to the freepages rootsweb listing. I learned recently that Family Search has digitized most of their holdings. Sure enough, they do have Finding Our Wooden Shoes. Can someone let me know that this link works for them? https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/121418-finding-our-wooden-shoes-my-cozine-family-history-and-album-with-genealogy-pt-01-02?viewer=1&offset=0#page=1&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q= Pam Ellingson On Fri, Dec 17, 2021 at 2:05 PM Carolyn Leonard wrote: Pam please add this to the hotlinks for research on COZINE from Jim Cozine http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cozine/genealogy/ And this wherever it fits, it is a great history of COZINE and others, but it is a pay to see site. https://en.geneanet.org/library/doc/5924030/Finding-our-wooden-shoes-my-Cozine-Family-History-and-Album-with-genealogy (205 pgs -the 2006 version) Hi Carolyn & Eddie Feel free to post my comments with Dutch Cousins. Your free to do with it as you see fit — I never pay any attention to the issue of copy rights – so can’t say if every page is OK. My distribution notes show that 67 hard copies of the manuscript were sent to my family & the cousins. I see were I listed 196 folks & places that gave or shared information over the 15+ yrs of the search. Likely this is incomplete and many more should have been added. Pls consider anything I have as a free gift to the group – JIm On Dec 16, 2021, at 1:02 PM, Jim Cozine wrote: Hi Carolyn & Jon I boxed up all my research and books about a year ago and sent everything to Eddie & Janice Cozine in Mt. Washington, KY. Only recently – last month – did my brother Bill’s son Darin, express any interest in the family history so I gave him a manuscript made up from my master copy. so, what follows is all I can see for where things are/were on the internet… https://en.geneanet.org/library/doc/5924030/Finding-our-wooden-shoes-my-Cozine-Family-History-and-Album-with-genealogy (205 pgs -the 2006 version -seem to recall there was a fee to view?) http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cozine/genealogy/ ( this is the online master tree- free access ) The last hard copy tree was draft #62 of 8/17/2017 ( I’ve made pencil updates to my working copy as folks contacted me) -One of the big discoveries was about the COZINEs that live in Italy — we now know that Eugene Lavern Cozine 1930-2007 fathered this branch when he was in the U S Army stationed in Trieste – his son there is 1950 Harold Eugene Cozine , now he too has a son. WE wish you & Jon a wonderful Christmas and New Year…and I ‘Thank You’ for all your many years of help in Finding Our Wooden Shoes – what an amazing story – I stand in Awe of our ancestors. I still belong to the Holland Society of New York…Hiroko is slowing down and for a time was wheelchair bound, having had surgery on both achilleas tendons… Brother Bill’s wife passed away 2 yrs ago, and Jimmie Cozine is slowing down too – but I’m kept very busy with 2 Navy Vet groups and running the weekly radio-controlled sailboat races, for 19 yrs now. Truly the Dutch Cousins was a ‘Dutch Treat’ of the best kind and I consider blessed to have been a part. Our son-in-law is planning to retire in 2 more years and our daughter & son-in-law want to move to Hawaii—( we have vacationed there annually for many yrs). If they move – we move and likely combine households. Thanks Again – Cousin Jim & Hiroko On Dec 15, 2021, at 11:18 AM, Carolyn Leonard wrote: Hi cousin! I have lost the hotlinks for the website on the Cozine family history and for your book, FINDING OUR WOODEN SHOES. Can you please send those to me for my records? They also need to be added to the DutchCousins.org website. I have the Wooden Shoes manuscript and your last Master copy of Cozine ancestry in my box of things to donate to HHS in time. Wishing you a merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in spite of the pandemic and all the inconveniences we are going through. Hope you and Hiroko and family are doing well. I am still here 14 months after the doc gave me two weeks to live! The chemo side effects are pretty rough at times, but I am still able to work on my computer, discuss (and cuss) the news and politics, to enjoy entertaining family and friends, participate in zoom meetings, read, count my blessings of having my dear Jon close by and visits from our children, and see photos of our precious new great-grandbaby born last month to remind us of the continuity of life. I love the greeting cards and letters of the season from friends far and near, so keep them coming! Still love all my Dutch Cousins, and especially Jim Cozine and the Cozine cousins. Hugs, Carolyn & Jon Heavener, Christmas 2021 The hotlinks are available at the DutchCousins.org and here: Jim Cozine’s book FINDING OUR WOODEN SHOES (not available in print, never published except online) and his COZINE MASTER FAMILY TREE done in Excel. You can find a complete copy of Finding Our Wooden Shoes, including the hard copy Master Family Tree- Draft #47 (living folks are blocked out) at https://familysearch.org/ |
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