The Early History Of The Van Asten's Of Haarlem, in the Netherlands

THE VAN-ASTEN FAMILY

researched and compiled by
Barry Van-Asten

Arie van Asten was born circa 1762 and died 20th February 1793, in Haarlem at the age of 31. He married twenty-two year old Lena de Nijs on 21st September 1777. Lena was born in Haarlem on 10th December 1754 and died there on 27th February 1838 at the age of 83. Lena was the daughter of Jan de Nijs and Aaltje Hopman who were married in Haarlem on 23rd January 1752.

 



Arie and Lena had the following children: Hendrik van Asten born 28th December 1777 and baptised on 1st January 1778; Alida Aaltje van Asten baptised on 9th January 1780 and dying on 16th January 1860* ; Arie (Arend) van Asten born 1783; Govert van Asten born 1785; Johanna Elisabeth 'Anna' van Asten 1788-1865 and Aaltje van Asten baptised 20th July 1791.

*Alida Aaltje van Asten 1780-1860 married Arie van Duijn, born 1774 in Haarlem and dying on 23rd April 1862 aged 87. Arie was a timber buyer and merchant and he was the son of Arie van Duijn and Elizabeth lammerts Ziewerts. They had the following children:

a) Lena van Duijn, born 1803. Lena was a servant and she married Helmeg Stenvers on 6th April 1825. After his death she later married Peter van den Bink on 27th April 1853.

 

b) Arie van Duijn, born 1805.

c) Alida van Duijn, born 1812. Alida was a seamstress and she married Johannes Rikstel Joris on 10th June 1846.

d) Jacob van Duijn, born 1819 and dying in 1891. Jacob was a factory worker and a road mender. He married Johanna Hendrika Krouwels on 13th June 1849 and they had two children: Jacobus van Duijn, born 1854 and Elisabeth van Duijn, born 1862.

e) Elizabeth van Duijn, born 1822 and dying on 5th September 1882. Elizabeth was a seamstress and she married Leonardus Wilhelmus Sleeman (1820-1862) on 26th April 1843. They had the following children born in Haarlem: Adriana Elizabeth Sleeman, born 1851; Bernardus Sleeman, born 1854 and Johannes Christoffel Sleeman, born 1859.

After her husband's death, Elizabeth married Hendrik Nieuwenhuijsen (born 1822) on 23rd April 1862 in Haarlem and they had a child named Hendrika Nieuwenhuijsen, born in 1863.

f) Anna van Duijn, born 1825. Anna was a servant and she married Abraham van Gelder (born 1823) on 31st May 1843. They had two children named Abraham van Gelder, born 1845 and Dirk van Gelder, born 1853.

 

Arie (Arend) van Asten was born in 1783 and baptised on 26th January 1783 and he worked as a weaver. He married Maria van Elswijk (born 15th June 1783, Haarlem) on 3rd August 1806 and they lived in Haarlem and had a child named Arend (Arie) van Asten born in 1807 and baptised on 1st November 1807 and a daughter named Maria van Asten baptised on 25th February 1810. After the death of his wife Maria on 1st February 1837, Arie married Alida Turin, (born 1785, the daughter of Gerrit Turin and Alida Bensinck) in Haarlem on 1st December 1841. Arie died in 1862.

Johanna Elisabeth 'Anna' van Asten was born in Haarelm on 24th October 1788 and she died on 31st October 1865 at the age of 77 in Haarlem. 'Anna' married when she was twenty-five, to a weaver named Govert Stammers (b: 1st December 1788, d: 28th March 1860 age 71). Govert was the son of Peter Stammers and Ariaantje Everaars and he and 'Anna' were married on 21st July 1814. They had the following children all born in Haarlem:

a) Johanna Elisabeth Stammers b: 3rd April 1815, d: 31st January 1816.

b) Johanna Elisabeth Stammers b: 11th May 1816, d: 11th August 1827.

c) Govert Stammers b: 11th July 1818, d: 6th March 1894. Govert was a wine merchant.

d) Alida Stammers b: 24th April 1820, d: 20th April 1898. Alida married Adrianus Fortgens on 17th August 1842.

 

e) Adriana Helena Stammers b: 21st March 1823, d: 4th October 1865. Adriana married Laurens Fortgens on 14th May 1845.

f) Adriana Helena Stammers b: 30th October 1824, d: 15th August 1825.

g) Helen Stammers b: 7th November 1826, d: 10th November 1893. Helen remained un-married.

h) Johanna Elisabeth Stammers b: 12th August 1828, d: 28th December 1901. Johanna married Adam Hermanus van der Steur on 22nd August 1855.

i) Cornelis Stammers b: 4th february 1830, d: 21st June 1830.

j) Mat Stammers b: 10th July 1831, d: 26th August 1831.

Arend (Arie) van Asten (b:1807) was a weaver and he married Anna Hilegonda Bruigom, born in 1806 (daughter of Hendrik Bruigom and Adriana de Jong) at the age of 26 in Haarlem on 5th February 1834. In 1872-3 he was living at Lange Heerenstraat, 6; in 1878-9 Voorkamp 21, and in 1884-5 Essenstraat 21. They had three children: Arend van Asten b:1834 and marrying Dorothea van der Laan on 26th November 1856; Hendrik van Asten b: 1838 and marrying Gezina Hermina de Beer on 11th June 1862, and Maria Louisa van Asten b: 17th October 1846 and marrying Pieter Christiaan on 24th May 1871.

Arend later re-married in Haarlem on 4th September 1861 to Apolona Nanette van der Meulen, born 1827, the daughter of Hendrik van der Meulen and Geertruij Aachen.

Arie and Maria van Asten had another child named Gerrit, born 28th September 1812 (also in Haarlem). Gerrit also became a weaver and he married Sophia Cornelia Steenmeijer (born 25th January 1812 in Haarlem, daughter of Willem Steenmeijer and Everdina Rumpff) on 4th February 1835.

Gerrit van Asten's birth certificate. 1812

Gerrit and Sophia's marriage certificate. 1835

 In 1872-3 Gerrit and Sophia lived at Lange Lakenstraat, 4. They had the following children all born in Haarlem:

a) Maria Sophia van Asten born 12th March 1835. She married Johannes Jacobus Magielse around 1865 in Haarlem. Johannes was a wagon-maker, born in Haarlem on 25th January 1833 and dying there on 21st April 1877. They had the following children: 1) Jacobus Phillipus Magielse, born 21st August 1866. He married Alida Kolfschoten (born 12th November 1866) in Haarlem on 11th August 1897. 2) Maria Sophia Magielse. 3) Carel Hendrik Magielse and 4) Johannes Jacobus Magielse.

Maria Sophia also married Peter Vervoort who was a blacksmith born in Amsterdam on 7th May 1854.

b) Sophia Cornelia van Asten born 2nd August 1837. Sophia became a seamstress.

c) Anna Elizabeth van Asten born 21st December 1838. She married the wine merchant Jacob Ferdinand van Musscher on 13th November 1861. They had the following children all born in Haarlem: Jacob Ferdinand born 30th November 1861; Anne Elisabeth born 4th June 1864 and Jan born 17th May 1866. Anna died in Haarlem on 13th August 1888 at the age of 49.


d) Gerrit van Asten born 1843 and dying on 16th March 1848 aged five.

Gerrit van Asten's death certificate. 1848

e) Christina Everdina van Asten born 25th May 1845. Christina married Pieter Smit (son of Pieter Smit and Elisabeth van der Schellingen) on 1st January 1870 and they had a child named Alexander Cornelis Smit, b: 1881 in Amsterdam.


f) Cornelius George van Asten born 24th September 1847; he later became a painter's assistant and he died of pneumonia at the age of 48 on 5th February 1896. His address in 1884-5 was Kort Doelstraat 2a. In 1891 he was living at Brouwerstraat 116.

Cornelius George van Asten's birth certificate. 1847

g) Gerrit van Asten born 13th September 1850. Gerrit worked as a lithographer and he married Catherina Gruenwald on 20th November 1872. They had a child named Gerrit van Asten, born 15th May 1874 in Amsterdam who also became a lithographer and he married the twenty-one year old Cornelia Elisabeth Muijderman, born 6th November 1879, (daughter of Charles Frederick Muijderman [lithographer] and Elisabeth Magdalena Landzaat) on 29th August 1901. They had a child named Gerard van Asten born in Haarlem on 10th April 1908.
Another child of Gerrit's and Catherina's was named Johannes Hendrik van Asten, born 18th September 1880. Johhanes worked as a barber and he married Maria Petronella Serne, born 14th April 1882 (daughter of Hendrik Nicolas Serne and Maria Petronella Overmeijer) in Haarlem on 15th August 1907. Johannes and Maria were living at Spaarnrijkstraat, 5 in 1946 and after Johannes' death on 27th April 1962, his wife remained at the address and was still there in 1969.

Arie and Maria van Asten also had three more children:

Albertina van Asten born 1819 in Haarlem and marrying Johannes Labaar (born in 1817, the son of Johannes Labaar and Sara Catherine Bosman) on 19th May 1841 in Haarlem. Albertina and Johannes had three children all born in Haarlem: 1) Maria Albertina Labaar, born 30th july 1841 and dying on 23rd August 1904 in Haarlem. She married Hendrik Rozenheart (born 4th July 1836 in Haarlem) on11th February 1903. Hendrik died on 11th March 1905. 2) Alida Wilhelmina Labaar, born 1845. Alida was a maid at the time of her marriage to the shopkeeper Johannes Franciscus Koks (the son of Pieter Koks and Elisabeth de Graaf, born in 1834) on 4th May 1871. They had five children all born in Velsen: Engelmundus Petrus Koks (born 21st June 1871); Alida Elisabeth koks (born 26th January 1873); Maria Margaretha Koks (born 4th May 1875); Elisabeth Wilhelmina Koks (born 30th June 1877) and Petrus Wolterus Koks (born4th March 1879).
Alida Wilhelmina Labaar also married the labourer Leendert van der Mije (born about 1857) on 13th december 1883 at Velson. 3) Maria Albertina Labaar, born 1847. Maria, a servant, married the bricklayer and Lutheran Dirk Lodewijk Pieters (born 23rd December 1843 in Haarlem and dying aged 51 on 12th March 1895 also in Haarlem) at the age of 27 on 5th May 1869. They had three children named: Dirk Lodewijk Pieters; Maria Albertina Pieters and Jan Pieters.

Lena Wilhelmina van Asten, a servant born in 1822 in Haarlem and marrying Jan Albers (the son of William Albers and Cornelia Margaret Counts, born in 1826) on 16th May 1855 in Haarlem.

Johannes van Asten, a ribbon weaver born in 1824 in Haarlem and marrying Cornelia Bouman (the daughter of Gerrit Bouman and Mary Timmers, born in 1830) on 25th June 1851 in Haarlem.


The van Asten's belonged to the Dutch Reform Church and in 1847 they were living at Lange Lakenstraat, 4, which is close to the Nieuwe Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church), a rectangular, brick church dating from 1645-1649 to a design by Jacob van Campen. The tower was built in 1613 by Lieven de Key, in the Dutch Renaissance style. Later at the time of Cornelius's death in 1896 their address was Brouwersstraat number 116, close to the Leidse canal, and not far from the Kathedrale Basiliek Sint-Bavo, which is Roman Catholic and was built between 1895-1906.



Cornelius George van Asten married Maria Elizabeth Becker on 12th August 1874 in Haarlem. Maria was born on 23rd October 1852 in Amsterdam, the daughter of jacobus Becker, a blacksmith and gun maker born in Delft on 6th June 1815 and Alida van Egmond also of Delft born 23rd October 1815. The Beckers were married on 25th August 1841 in Delft and they had five children: Johan Gerrij born in January 1841 in Delft; Jacoba Maria born in December 1843 in Haarlem; Cornelius born in May 1845 in Haarlem and Maria Elizabeth and Jacobus both born in July 1857 in Haarlem.

Marriage certificate of Cornelius George van Asten

and Maria Elisabeth Becker. 1874

Signatures on marriage certificate of Cornelius George van Asten

and Maria Elisabeth Becker. 1874

Cornelius and Maria van-Asten had ten children all born in Haarlem:

 

 

 

 

Maria Elizabeth van Asten and the children

after the death of her husband Cornelius

 

 

 

Addresses and family details

 

 

 

a) Jacoba Maria van Asten born 14th November 1872 and dying on 10th May 1926. She married the painter Johannes Christiaan Boeree (son of Pieter Boree and Mary catherine Seel, born in 1869 and dying in 1945) on 16th May 1894. They had two children: Pieter Boeree born 15th January 1896 and dying on 22nd November 1955, and Cornelius george Boeree, born in 1897 and dying on 29th january 1931. Cornelius married Elisabeth Maria Tijman (1899-1963) on 24th September 1919 at Schoten. [Cornelius and Elisabeth had a child named Johan Christiaan Boeree (1920-1976).

b) Cornelius George van Asten born 16th April 1875. Cornelius worked as a printer and he married Anna Catharina Maria Pennarts (daughter of James Hubert Pennarts and Anna Maria Mols, born in 1875) on 12th Septemebr 1900.

c) Jacobus van Asten born 17th July 1877. He became a bookbinder and married Louisa Wilhelmina Bieman (daughter of the mason and merchant William Bieman of Alkmaar 1820-1899 and Mary Louisa Voges, born 13th December 1875 in Alkmaar) on 17th July 1901 in Haarlem and he died there on 2nd February 1945. They had a daughter named Maria Louisa van Asten born on 17th December 1896 in Haarlem and dying on 31st July 1914.

 

 

 Jacobus van Asten and his family

 

 

 

 

Addresses and details concerning family members

 

 

d) Maria Elizabeth van Asten born 25th September 1879. She married the clerk Hendrik Damiaans (son of Dirk Damiaans and Hendrika Petronella Steenks, born 12th October 1883) in Haarlem on 8th October 1908. They lived at Leidsche plein, 10 from 1910-1917. Maria and Hendrik separated and divorced on 27th July 1927. She married Jan W. Roobol in Haarlem on 18th February 1932. Jan was an office clerk and they lived at Rozenprieelstraat, 69 from 1934-1949. In 1960 they were living at Grote Houtstraat, 144j. Maria Elizabeth Roobol (nee van Asten) was still at the same address in1972-3.


 

 

Maria Elizabeth and Jan Roobol

 

 

 

 

 

Jan and Maria Roobol



 

 

 

 



e) Sophia Cornelia van Asten born 29th January 1882. She married Dirk Boerkoel ( the son of Dirk Boerkoel and Anna kerkman, born in 1881) on 10th June 1908.

f) Alexander Cornelis van Asten born 28th June 1884. Alexander worked as a carriage painter and he married Marijtje Snel ( the daughter of Cornelis Snel and Trijntje Koster, born in 1887) in Haarlem on 30th January 1907. In 1913-14 they were living at Rolsteeg, 16; in 1917-18 at Oude Raamstraat, 17. From 1929-30 they were at Oosten de Bruijnstraat, 216 and from 1939-1957 at Faradaystraat, 9. They had two daughters: Catharina Maria van Asten born 25th February 1907 in Haarlem and Johanna Alexandra Maria van Asten born 25th march 1909 also in Haarlem.

 

 

 

Alexander Cornelis van Asten and his family

 

 

 

 Addresses and details of the family

 



 

 

g) Alida Catharina van Asten born 13th November 1886. Alida married a carpenter named Gerrit Zandstra (the son of Klaas Zandstra and Bauke dijkstra, born 2nd November 1882) in Haarlem on 19th May 1909. They had a child named Gerrit Zandstra born 11th May 1911 in Haarlem. They lived at Gasthuislaan, 169 in 1910-11 and at Westergracht, 93 in 1917-18.

h) Christina Everdina van Asten born 11th May 1889. She married Jan Heeren (son of Cornelis Heeren) on 1st July 1914.

 

 

 



Four van Asten sisters: top left, Alida,

top right, Christina, bottom left, Sophia,

bottom right, Maria  

 

 



 

 

 

i) Wilhelm van Asten born 12th May 1892. Wilhelm became a bookbinder and he died at the age of 22 on 24th March 1915.

Wilhelm van Asten's death certificate 1915

Cornelius George van Asten's death certificate 1896

j) Johannes George van Asten born on Friday 4th October 1895. The address at the time of his birth was still Brouwersstraat, 116. Four months after Johannes was born, his father Cornelius died of pneumonia, leaving Maria Elizabeth van Asten to look after the children: Cornelius (almost 21), Jacobus (18), Maria (16), Sophia (13), Alexander (11), Alida (9), Christina (6), Wilhelm (3), and Johannes (4 months).

Birth of Johannes George van Asten 1895

Some time prior to December 1918 Johannes George came to England. In Haarlem he had been working on the cargo ships crossing the North Sea to England. He left quite suddenly as he did not inform the authorities.

Detail from the document showing Maria Elizabeth

van Asten and her children. This note refers to Johannes

George van Asten leaving for 'Birmingham, England.'



In Britain Johannes came to be known as John van-Asten. John married Clara Beatrice Shipley on Saturday 21st December 1918 at St John's Church, Sparkbrook, Birmingham. John was 25 years old and his occupation was coal merchant; Clara was also 25 years old and they lived at number 1 Shakespeare Street in Sparkbrook.



Marriage certificate for John [Johannes] van Asten

and Clara Beatrice Shipley, 1918.

 

 

 

John and Clara had the following children all born in Birmingham:

 

1. Clara B. van Asten, born 1919 and dying Saturday 30th May 2009. She married Frank H. Williams in 1941.

 

2. Marie Elizabeth van Asten, born 2nd April 1921 and dying in 1986. She married George McBride in 1943.

 

3. John George van Asten, born 4th November 1922 and dying in 1970. He married Mary Elizabeth Thomas in 1944 in Liverpool.

 

4. George van Asten, born 23rd October 1923 and dying in 1994. He married Ethel Cabb in 1950 and in 1960 the family moved to Melbourne, Australia.

 

5. Marjorie C. van Asten, born 12th January 1925 and dying in 2008. She married Edward Burrows in 1949.

 

6. Winifred J. van Asten, born 1926. She married John R. Gallagher in 1950.

 

7. Dennis van Asten, born 1930 and dying in 2005. He married Jean M. Sweaney in 1950.

 

8. Enid van Asten, born 1932. She married Eric Preston in 1954.

 

9. Jean van Asten, born 1933. She went to Sydney, Australia from Glasgow in 1951 and returned to England around 1957. She married Badruddin Z. Usmani in 1971 and went to live in the United States.

 

10. Gordon Richard van Asten, born 15th June 1934 and dying in 1995. He married Betty Layton in 1967.

 

11. June van Asten, born 1936. She died aged 4 on 19th November 1940 during the bombing of Birmingham.

 

 

 

 

 



John and Clara van Asten in Birmingham

with children Wilfred Shipley (1916-1996),

Clara van Asten (1919-2009) and Marie

van Asten (1921-1986)



Death certificate for Clara Beatrice van Asten

 

 

 

 

 

John van Asten (1895-1969)

 

 

 

 

 

John van Asten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death cerificate for John George van Asten

 



The Shipleys

Clara was one of five children: William Arthur Shipley born 1884 in Aston, Birmingham, [William worked at Farden's Vinegar factory in Glover Street, off Great Barr St/Watery Lane, where he made barrels]; Charles Henry Shipley born 1888; Albert Shipley born 1890; Clara Shipley born 3rd September 1893 and May Shipley born 1897.

 

Birth certificate of Clara Beatrice Shipley (1893-1963)



Their parents were: Arthur Shipley born 1857 in Staffordshire [he died in 1926] and Elizabeth Beach born 1860 in Birmingham. They were married at St Gabriel's Church in Birmingham on 23rd October 1882. At the time of Arthur's marriage in 1882 his profession is listed as 'watchmaker'.



Marriage certificate of Arthur Shipley and Elizabeth Beach

 





In the 1901 census his occupation is given as 'brewer's engine driver' and the family are living at 6, 13 court, Upper Trinity Street, Aston, Birmingham. In the 1891 census they are living at 25 Great Barr Street, Aston, Birmingham. In 1881 Arthur is 22 and living at 32 Glover Street, Aston, Birmingham, with his Uncle Charles Russell aged 47 whose occupation is 'trotter dealer'. In 1871 the Russell's and Arthur Shipley aged 13 are living at 28 Upper Canterbury Street in Coventry. Young Arthur is working as a 'loom turner'. In 1861 Arthur is 3 and living with his Grandparents Isaac Smith born 1802 in Drayton Staffordshire, an agricultural labourer and his wife Ellen Smith born 1800 in Erdington, Warwickshire. They are living in Edingale, Staffordshire. Next door to the household is William Shipley, 'the boy's father', a widow and a lodger to the Smiths. He is also an agricultural labourer.

Isaac Smith in his eighties, ended his days at the Union Workhouse in Burton Road, Lichfield.

Arthur's father, William Shipley was born on 23rd March 1828 in Staffordshire and he married Mary Smith (born 12th October 1828, in Tamworth) on 17th December 1854 at the Church of Croxall in Derby. Mary, Arthur's mother probably died around December 1859 leaving William to look after young Arthur, which it would seem he fails to do, and so Arthur is looked after by Mary's sister Elizabeth Smith (born 5th June 1836) at Edingale, Staffordshire with her husband Charles Russell born 18th February 1834 in Exhall, Warwickshire.

 

 





Marriage certificate of William Shipley and Mary Smith

William, Arthur's estranged father later married Ellen Dawson (born 6th August 1837, St Matthew, Walsall, Staffordshire) on 26th January 1862 at Ogley Hay in Stafford. They had a child named Emma Esther Shipley born 15th March 1863 in Dunstall, near Burton in Staffordshire.

Elizabeth Beach was the daughter of Edwin Beach born in 1838 in Birmingham and his wife Mary Ann Beach. Edwin was a military gun maker and he later married Hannah Freeman in 1871, in Aston, Birmingham. In 1871 they are living at 15 court number 3, Aston Road, Birmingham. Elizabeth is 12 years old and a 'button maker'. In 1881 the Beaches are living at 27 court number 4, New John Street, Birmingham.

Present at the wedding were William Arthur Shipley aged 34 and May Shipley aged 22, Clara's brother and sister. Clara's father, Arthur Shipley was an engine driver. At the time of the wedding Clara already had a child born out of wedlock named Wilfred Eric Shipley, almost three years old, born on Friday 24th March 1916 in Birmingham. They lived at Shakespeare Street above a grocer's shop; Clara's parents lived in the front room while John, Clara and the children lived in the attic room. Albert Shipley, Clara's brother lived in the back room.

In the 1911 census the Shipleys are living at 65 St John's Road, Sparkhill. Elizabeth Shipley is 48 and 'looks after the home'. Arthur Shipley, her husband is not present but she is still shown as married and not widowed. William Arthur Shipley her son is 27 and single. He is a 'labourer vinegar worker'. Albert Shipley her son is 20 and single and 'out of work'. Clara Beatrice Shipley is 17 and works as a 'press hand'. Little May Shipley is 14 and her occupation is shown as 'carding boot protectors'.

Charles Henry Shipley born 1888 was living with the Homer family during the 1911 census at 54 Lea Road, Sparkhill, Solihull. Charles married Alice Amelia Homer (born circa 1888) at St John's Church, Sparkhill on Monday 28th June 1909 and he is listed under occupation as 'wire drawer'. At the address in 1911 were Alice's parents Edward Homer aged 45, a brass worker born in Birmingham and Fanny Homer aged 45. The parents had been married for 25 years and with them at the address apart from Charles and Alice were two other daughters: Elizabeth aged 14 who does bicycle work and Gladys aged 7 who is a 'school girl'.

Charles joined the Army in 1914 to fight in the Great War. But it seems that Charles didn’t get to do much fighting as we learn from looking at his Army Record:

 

Charles Henry Shipley

Born: Aston, Warwickshire (1888)

Reg Number: 2937

Corps: R.W.R. (Royal Warwickshire Regiment)

Joined: Saturday 15^th August 1915. Rank: Private.

R.W.R. 9^th Depot, posted Tuesday 18^th August 1914.

France from: Saturday 15^th August 1914 to Wednesday 16^th September 1914. Total: 33 days.

Date of Discharge: Wednesday 16^th September 1914.

Address at time: 7 Bertha Road, Greet, Birmingham.

Height: 5 feet 7 and three quarter inches.

Weight: 156 lbs.

Chest full: 37 inches

Complexion: Clear

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Brown

Religion: Protestant.

Fit for Duty on Saturday 15^th August 1914. Birmingham.

R.G.A. (Royal Garrison Artillary)

Reg Number: 49482. Shipley, Charles Henry. Private. Saturday 31^st October 1914.

Joined at Fort Rowner, Gosport on Monday 16^th November 1914.

R.G.A. Depot 2 attested and posted on Saturday 31^st October 1914.

Discharged on Tuesday 10^th November 1914. Total service towards engagement: 11 days.

Tattoo: Dot on both forearms.

Examined on Saturday 31^st October at Birmingham.

Age: 26 years and 234 days.

Cause of Objection: Two fingers left hand contracted and webbed.

Discharge approved on Tuesday 10^th November 1914, Fort Rowner, Gosport.

 

1 Shakespeare Street, Birmingham

 

Sometime between 1911 and 1921 the Shipley family moved to 1 Shakespeare Street, above a Grocers shop. 1 Shakespeare Street during the time of John and Clara’s wedding in 1918 must have been rather cramped and by 1921 John and Clara had already left; the Shipley family were still at Shakespeare Street as we can see from the census, the head of the household is Arthur Shipley (Clara’s father) aged 63 and 8 months who works as a ‘boiler stoker’ at Fardons Vinegar Co. in Glover Street, Birmingham. His wife Elizabeth gives her age as 57 and 2 months and she performs ‘home duties’. Daughter Maud May Shipley (Clara’s sister) is 24 and 11 months, she is single and works as a ‘brush maker’ at Hindes Brush Manufacturers in Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham. Then we find Clara’s brother, Albert Shipley at the address who is single and 31 years old and works as a ‘general labourer’ at Perry & Co. in Tyseley, Birmingham, but is now ‘out of work’; and finally Clara’s brother, William Arthur Shipley who is 37 years old, single and also out of work. But where had John and Clara moved to?

In fact, there is some mystery surrounding this because I have managed to find Clara and the children living at an address in Sparkbrook but no sign of John Van Asten – Clara is living at 82 Henley Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, the home of Susannah Dingley who is a single, 60 year old woman (born in Coventry in 1861) who runs a small butchers shop at 82 Henley Street. In fact, the Dingleys were there in 1901 also where 40 year old Susannah was a ‘Military Leather Striker’ – in 1881 she was a ‘cigar maker’! (it appears she never married and died aged 84 in Birmingham in 1946). But what deepens the mystery are the entries or ‘returns’ we find in the 1921 census (taken on 19^th June) made by Susannah herself, after her own entry she enters Clara B. Van-Asten, born 1893 as her ‘sub-tenant’, her age is 27 and 9 months and she performs ‘household duties’ but strangely Clara’s marital status is given as ‘Single’. And there is more which seems to suggest that there is something being covered up! After Clara we find Wilfred E. Van-Asten (not Shipley), born 1916 in Birmingham who is 5 years old and his relationship to the head of the household (Susannah Dingley) is ‘Step-Son’ – we find the same for young Clara B. Van-Asten, born 1919 in Birmingham who is 2 years old and 1 month: ‘Step-Daughter’, and for little Marie E. Van-Asten, born 1921 (on 2^nd April) in Birmingham so she is only 2 months old and again – ‘Step-Daughter’; all the children have the same comment: ‘Both Parents Alive’. Why false information would be given only suggests something to hide (and I’m sure there are many inaccuracies in the census returns) and I cannot find John Van Asten in the 1921 census. Perhaps he just did not want to appear in the census as many people thought it was intrusive, yet the fact that John left Haarlem in the Netherlands quite suddenly just three years before and failed to notify the authorities that he was doing so or where he was going points towards some secret, now lost to time.

 

85 Turner Street, Birmingham

 

Much of the following information was given to me from recollections by Clara and John Van Asten’s first child, Clara B. Williams (my Aunt ‘Claire’, born Van Asten, 1919) in 2009. She said that her parents, John and Clara Van Asten, along with the children, Wilfred Eric who is 10, herself (Clara) who is 7 years old, Marie Elizabeth who is 5, John George who is 4, George who is 3, Marjorie who is just 1 and new-born Winifred, moved into a four bedroom house at 85 Turner Street, Sparkbrook in November 1926. The house belonged to the Harwood family and George Harwood was a quite successful coal merchant established in 1879, and John took the job of caretaker at Turner Street (at the time of John and Clara’s marriage in 1918 John gave his occupation as ‘coal merchant’ so perhaps he is already working for George Harwood). In the ‘Kelly’s Directory of Birmingham’ for 1908 we find ‘George Harwood, coal merchant, 85 Turner Street, Sparkbrook’ (p. 626). George Harwood, born 1858 in Grafton, Warwickshire, married Mary Ann Toye in Aston in 1879 and they had a large family of ten children. George Harwood supplied coal and coke and as well as living and working from 85 Turner Street he had a coal yard at Camp Hill Wharf, Stratford Place goods station.

Clara Williams (nee Van Asten) remembers the house being ‘more like a cottage as there was no upstairs and it was situated on farm land.’ From the Electoral Roll for 85 Turner Street we find that for the year 1919 George and Mary Ann Harwood are living at the address; in the 1921 census just a few years before John and Clara Van Asten move there, we find Elizabeth Harwood, George and Mary Ann Harwood’s daughter as the head of the family, born 1884 in Aston, aged 37 and 6 months, single and performing ‘home duties’. Then there is her sister, Emma Harwood, born in Aston in 1887 who is single and works as a ‘paper box maker’ at Kirby Beard & Co. Pin Works in Bradford Street, Birmingham. And finally there is her brother, Alfred Henry Harwood, born in Aston in 1898 who is single and 23 years old; Alfred works as a ‘sheet metal worker’ at Vincent Street, Balsall Heath, Birmingham. Looking back at the Electoral Roll, in 1933-34 there are brother and sister, John Harwood (born Aston 1881) and Leah Harwood (born Aston 1891) at Turner Street. In 1935, Clara Beatrice Van-Asten is at the address and from 1937-38 and 1938-39, Wilfred Eric Shipley. In the 1939 Register (taken on 29^th September) we can see John George Van-Asten, born 4^th October 1895, married, whose occupation is ‘Lorry Driver’ (‘Heavy Worker’); John’s wife Clara, born 3^rd September 1893 performs ‘unpaid domestic duties’ and then there are several children present at the address: Clara B. Van-Asten, born 20^th May 1919 who is single and a ‘Cinema Cashier’; Marie Van-Asten, born 2^nd April 1921, is single and a ‘Hand press operator’; Marjorie C. Van-Asten, born 12^th January 1925; Winifred J. Van-Asten, born 1926; Dennis Van-Asten, born 18^th April 1930, who is ‘at school’, also ‘at school’ are: Enid Van-Asten, born 6^th December 1931, Jean Van-Asten, born 1933 and Gordon Richard Van-Asten, born 1934. Also at the address is little June Van-Asten, born 13^th May 1936 who is ‘under school age’. (not at the address are John and Clara’s eldest son, John George Van-Asten, born 4^th November 1922 and their other son, George Van-Asten, born 23^rd October 1923). Back to the Electoral Roll, for 1939-1940 we find Wilfred Eric Shipley with George Samuel Harwood, born 1895 and Elisa Harwood; also John and Leah Harwood – there are no more records for 85 Turner Street after 1940.

While at Turner Street, John and Clara had the following children: Dennis (1930), Enid (1932), Jean (1933), Gordon (1934) and June (1936); twelve children in all, counting Wilfred Eric Shipley, Clara’s first child.

During the war, Dennis, Enid, Jean and Gordon were evacuated to Ibstock, in Leicester. Clara ‘Claire’ Van-Asten (born 1919) also had the following information to give in 2009: She (Claire) attended Golden Hillock County Primary School in Golden Hillock Road, Sparkbrook. The school was opened in 1910 and Claire said that when the family moved to Turner Street she continued to attend Golden Hillock School for a further two years before she went to Christ Church Primary School along with the other children of John and Clara. Christ Church School was a Church of England Primary School on Stratford Road in Sparkbrook; it was opened in 1867 in a private house and transferred to a borrowed saw mill in 1870. Demands to improve the building in 1912 were carried out in 1915. The school was later transferred to Claremont Road in 1958 and the school building was sadly demolished and made into apartments during the 1990’s. The school playground was situated on the roof with railing around it and boys and girls entered via separate entrances. A name often associated with the school was Father (later Canon) George Nesbitt Haydon Tredenick (1860-1942), Vicar of Sparkbrook.

 

Air Raid

 

On the night of Tuesday 19^th November 1940 during an air raid, a bomb struck 85 Turner Street, Sparkbrook; the youngest child, June Van-Asten, aged just 4 years old, was found dead in the rubble – she was later buried at Brandwood End Cemetery, Birmingham, grave number 5283, section B.1. con. Marjorie Van-Asten was the only person not present during the raid* (and also the children who had been evacuated: Dennis, Enid, Jean and Gordon). John and Clara Van-Asten were in the kitchen when the bomb exploded and they were both hurt from the blast – that night they lost their home and their youngest child: why hadn’t they taken shelter? Clara and Claire, the eldest child was taken to hospital after suffering wounds and being buried in the rubble. According to Claire she remembers the family having to ‘walk the streets’ and being ‘taken in by neighbours for short periods’. That night had devastating effects upon the lives of John and Clara Van-Asten and their many children.

 

*Marjorie seems to have been a little wayward and I have found an article in the Lancashire Daily Post under ‘Sentences Postponed’ which confirms this: ‘sentence was postponed for three months on Marjorie Van-Asten (19), a Birmingham munition worker, committed from Blackpool, on theft charges with a view to Borstal detention.’ (Lancashire Daily Post. Wednesday 17^th May 1944. p. 1)

 

62 Tillingham Street, Birmingham

 

After the war, the Van-Asten family took up residence at 62 Tillingham Street, Sparkbrook and if we look at the Electoral Rolls we can see the various family inhabitants:

 

1945-46: George Van-Asten

1946-47: George Van-Asten, George and Marie McBride (nee Van-Asten)

1947-48: (same) also Winifred Van-Asten

1948-49: (same)

1949-50: Clara B Van-Asten, Winifred Van-Asten, George and Marie McBride

1950-51: (same)

1951-52: Clara B Van-Asten, George and Marie McBride

1952-53: Clara B Van-Asten, George Van-Asten

1953-54: Clara B Van-Asten, George and Betty Van-Asten

1954-55: Clara B Van-Asten, Enid Van-Asten

1955-56: Clara B Van-Asten, Gordon Van-Asten (returned from National Service), Eric and Enid Preston (nee Van-Asten)

1956-57: (same)

1957-58: Clara B Van-Asten, Gordon Van-Asten

1958-59: (same)

1959-60: Clara B Van-Asten, Gordon Van-Asten, Eric and Enid Preston

1960-61: (same)

1961-62: (same)

1962-63: Clara B Van-Asten, Gordon Van-Asten

1963-64: (sane)

1964-65: (same)

1965-66: (same)

1966-67: (same)

1967-68: Gordon R Van-Asten

1968-69: (same)

1969-70: Gordon R and Betty Van-Asten

1970-71: (same)

1971-72: (same)

1972-73: (same)

 

62 Tillingham Street was not recorded after 1973 and was demolished. Gordon and his wife Betty Van-Asten moved to 56 Vimy Road, Billesley, Birmingham. My parents, Gordon and Betty told me stories of how 62 Tillingham Street was haunted, if you believe in such things, but I have no reason to doubt my parents. I was about 4 years old when I left Tillingham Street and I have some memories of it being rather dark and spooky – my father, Gordon said that on many occasions when he and Betty had gone to bed they would hear something thumping up the stairs, throw open the bedroom door and pull the bed sheets off the bed; Gordon also reported seeing many shadowy figures in the bedroom, crowd upon the ceiling and whispering. He didn’t seem frightened at all but perhaps was just used to them! Aunt Claire (Clara born 1919) also confirmed this to me when she said she and others would sit their for hours watching the poker in the fireplace swinging to and fro without stopping, so maybe it was just a playful spirit!

Claire also told me more information about my grandfather, John George Van-Asten (born 1895), apparently he was a good driver and found a job driving coaches, picking up the workers for Rover in Coventry. One day he stopped his coach in Moor Street, Birmingham to get his morning newspaper when suddenly he was struck and knocked down in the road by a car which caused a blood clot. He wasn’t allowed to drive again and had to retire. He had been staying with the Salvation Army for sometime (since the death of their child and the loss of their house in 1940, John and Clara had been living separately) but became ill and had to go to West Heath Hospital; he was later a resident at the old people’s home at Quinton Hall. Claire told me she was the only member of the family to support John and take care of him which is a shame. Claire married Frank H Williams in 1941 in Sutton Coldfield and she said that throughout the war she sent her cousins in the Netherlands gifts because of the terrible time they had under the German occupation. She said, although I can’t confirm any of this at the moment, that ‘when the Germans invaded Holland in 1940, many of John’s relations suffered directly at the hands of the occupying force. Those at the University were taken prisoner and their books were burnt. One of John’s brothers starved to death and another was shot!’

 John George Van-Asten, born in Haarlem in 1895, died on Monday 6^th January 1969 at West Heath Hospital, aged 73 years old. He died of Broncho-pneumonia and Chronic Bronchitis. He was cremate at Robin Hood Crematorium in Birmingham and according to Claire, in attendance were herself, Enid Preston (nee Van-Asten) and her husband Eric and John Van-Asten who returned for the occasion from Liverpool.

 Clara Beatrice Van-Asten, (born Clara Beatrice Shipley in 1893), died on Sunday 6^th October 1963 at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, just a month after her 70^th birthday. She died of Broncho-pneumonia and Cerebral Thrombosis. Like John, she was cremated at Robin Hood Crematorium.

Aunt Claire went on to give some more information on the family, much of it too personal to disclose and of which I remain silent, but I will briefly mention that Wilfred Eric Shipley, Clara’s first-born child, served in the army during the war and I was told he was sent to India and Burma: Wilfred married Hilda F Markley in 1945; died aged 80 in 1996; John George Van-Asten (born 1922, died 1970) served in the army and was stationed in Liverpool where he worked in the artillery at the docks; he married Mary Elizabeth Thomas in Liverpool in 1944; George Van-Asten (born 1923) served in the army and was sent to Italy and Greece. He married Ethel Cabb in Birmingham in 1950 and had five children; George and family went to live in Australia in 1960; Aunt Claire Van-Asten (born 1919) was in the ARP, she later married Frank H Williams in Birmingham in 1941; Winifred Van-Asten (born 1926) was in the Land Army and Marie Van-Asten (born 1921) worked at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and previous to that she was at the BSA. Marjorie Van-Asten married Edward Burrows in Birmingham in 1949; Marie Elizabeth Van-Asten married George McBride in Birmingham in 1943; Winifred Van-Asten married John Gallagher in Birmingham in 1950; Enid Van-Asten married Eric Preston in Birmingham in 1954; Jean Van-Asten married Badruddin Usmani in Birmingham in 1971; Dennis Van-Asten married Jean Sweeney in Birmingham in 1950 and Gordon Van-Asten married Betty Layton in Birmingham in 1967.

Interestingly, I found a newspaper article relating to Dennis Van-Asten:

 ‘New Homes Wrecked to Build Motorway – by Paul Connew

 The demolition gang just couldn’t believe their eyes. It must be a mistake, they thought. For the building they had been told to smash down was a block of luxury flats just two years old. But it was no mistake. The £40,000 three-storey block had to come down to make way for a new motorway link road. And yesterday the demolition work began. But gang foreman Mr. Dennis Van-Asten (mispelt ‘Vanaston’) of Summer-Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham couldn’t help feeling frustrated as he watched the luxury block begin to crumble. Dennis said: “When we got here, I thought we had come to the wrong place.’ I thought, ‘Sureley I haven’t got to pull this down!” “But I have. And there am I living with my nine children in a back-to-back house. “It doesn’t seem right that places like this are built and pulled down while no one can get round fast enough to building houses that will give people like me a home.” The short-lived block of nine flats stands in Gravelly-Hill, Erdington, Birmingham. Now the firm which developed the site – A H field and Partners, of Birmingham – are to claim £40,000 compensation. Last night a corporation spokesman said it was “always a matter for deep regret” when good housing had to be demolished. He added: “Any claim for compensation should be directed to the Ministry of Transport,”’ [Daily Mirror. Wednesday 11^th September, 1968. p. 2]