April 29th 1880 – May 14th 1883 Ite (Jans) Tornga and Geeske van Polen

Oldijk 7 oost (housenr. 16->16a)

Ite Jans Tornga was born at the 24th of May 1857 in Roderwolde, son of shoemaker Jan Ites Tornga and Jantje Jans Smit. Ite Jans was a farmer’s servant than.
Geeske van Polen was born at the 22th of December 1859 in Saaksum, daughter of weaver Garmt van Polen and Jantje Rienewerf.
They married in Leek on the 13th of October 1877, Ite lived in Roden, Geeske lived in Leek.

Ite Jans and Geeske settled in Leek where their first child was born:

• Jantje, born on 30 December 1877. She married Henry Van der Slik and passed away in 1968 (named Jennie) in Ellsworth, Antrim County, Michigan

Probable they stayed there for a season, after when they moved to Adorp, where their second child was born:

• Jantina, born at the 4th of April 1879. Jantina died 7 months later in Adorp

After that they went on to Fransum, close to Ezinge and the Oldijk, where again a child was born:

• Garmt, born on the 30th of April 1880. He passed away at the 12th of April 1957 in Antrim County, Michigan. On his gravestone he is named Herman. He was married with Aice Hennip

At the 29th of April 1880 they arrived on Oldijk 7, also there a child was born:

• Jan, born at the 4th of October 1881. Witnesses on his born document are Homme Ritzema from Oldijk 10 (Suttum), the owner of Oldijk 7 and merchant Jakob van Polen, who lived on Nieuwestreek 29. He was a brother of Geeske. Jan died on the 20th of May 1957 in Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, Michigan and then was named “John”. He was married with Anne Veenstra

At the 14th of March 1881 the ten years old sister of Geeske, Anna van Polen moved in and moved with the family on the 14th of May 1883 to Oldehove. Anna van Polen travelled again with them to their next destination. In Oldehove the next Jantina was born:

• Jantina, born at the 8th of October 1883. Also this Jantina did not live long, she died in Oldehove 16 months later. Ite than became a shoemaker
• Jacob, born at the 25th of July 1885. Also Jacob died soon, 6 months later in Oldehove

Also the next son of Ite Jans Tornga was named Jacob

• Jacob (Ites), born at the 28th of November 1886. He married Helen and passed away as Jake on 3 January 1971 in Ripon, San Joaquin County, California
• Albert, born at the second of September 1888. He died in Grand Rapids Michigan on 9 may 1892
• Klaas, born at the 6th of January 1890. Klaas married Alyda Meijer. He died on 25 April 1971 as Nicholas in Charlevoix, Charlevoix County, Michigan
• Martha, born at the 11th of June 1891. She passed away on the 5th of May 1892 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan

At the beginning of 1892, Ite Tornga and his wife emigrated with their 7 children from Oldehove to Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan in North-America. Sister Anna van Polen stayed in Holland and married in Aduard in with farmhand Hielke Hoogerwerf.
It did not start so well for the family in the States. Their youngest child, Martha, died real soon on the 5th of May of that same year in their new living place, four days Albert (9th of May 1892) passed away too.

In Kent County two children were born:

• Albert Tornga, born on the 16th of July 1894 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. He died on 19 February 1965 in the house of veterans in Retsil, Kitsap County, Washington (he had participated World War One). As far as I know, Albert was not married.
• Joseph (Joe) Tornga, born at the 3th of July 1896 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan. His partner was Philena (Helena) Telgenhof. He passed away on the 20th of January 1988 in Charlevoix, Charlevoix County, Michigan. Joe Presumable was an owner of a shoestore in Ellsworth (Michigan). Later his house was used as a house of prayers. His father Ite Tornga also was a shoemaker./li>

Ite Tornga and Geeske van Polen in Michigan (with thanks to Craig Tornga)

Ite Tornga died on 12th of January 1920 in Ellsworth, Antrim County, Michigan.
Geeske van Polen died on29 januari 1945 in Ellsworth, Antrim County, Michigan. She then was named Jessie.

gravestone Ite Tornga Atwood Cemetery in Ellsworth

gravestone Geeske van Polen, Atwood Cemetery in Ellsworth

Annechien Kregel (housenumber 16a)

According to the file “Servants” of the municipality of Ezinge servant Annechien Kregel moved to the Oldijk 7 on 12 June 1882. She was born on 25th of August 1869 in Peize, daughter of Roelf Kregel and Aaltien Meinds. She was at the age of 12 when she moved to Oldijk 7 and possibly lived with de Tornga family. It is not known when she left Oldijk 7.
Annechien married on the 31th of July 1891 in Norg with labourer Wolter van der Spoel.

The Tornga family

Craig Tornga

By Facebook I got acquaintance with Craig Tornga from Ninilchik (Alaska), who helped me a lot with the search of the trace of the Tornga’s in America. Craig is a director of the Alaska Marine Highway System, which is settled in Ketchikan (Alaska). The business takes care of the transport of people and there means of transport by ferry all over the world.
In the next section I will present an overview of this special family, from which the relationship of Craig to the Tornga’s of Ezinge will be get clear.

Ite Sijbrands (Tornga and Marchien Pieters (Scholtens)

The surname giver of the family is Ite Sijbrands who was a farmer in the aria Leegkerk/Dorkwerd.
Ite Sijbrands was born at the 21th of April 1771 in Leegkerk, son of Sijbrand Alber(t)s and Liefke Jans.
At the 4th of January 1797 he married Martje (Marchien) Pieters under the Justice of Leegkerk and Dorkwerd. Marchien Pieters was baptized at the 17th of October 1773 in Slochteren, daughter of Pieter Kaspers and Jantje Jans. At the 29th of January 1797 they married in the church of Hoogkerk and Leegkerk.

Ite Sijbrands and Marchien Pieters got the following children:

• Sijbrant Alberts Ites, baptized at the first of October 1797 in Leegkerk. He became a carpenter and married Wietske Jans van der Schaaf. Later on he became a watermiller.
• Pieter Ites, gedoopt op 24 maart 1799 te Leegkerk. Hij trouwde op 22 oktober 1825 met Jantje Freerks Vroom en vestigden zich in Matsloot.
• Pieter Ites, baptized at the 24th of March 1799 in Leegkerk. Hij married Jantje Freerks Vroom at the 22th of October 1825 and they settled at Matsloot

After these children they settled in Matsloot bij Roderwolde, where the following children were born:

• Lijfke Ites, baptized at the first of February 1801 in Roderwolde. She married Jan Jans Kuiper in 1843 in Middelstum, he was a baker’s servant
• Jantje Ites, baptized at 3rd of November 1802 in Roderwolde. She first married Hendrik Koenes van der Veen and after his deseasing Arent Klaassens Huizinga in 1848 in Hoogkerk
• Jakob Ites, baptized at the 30th of December 1804 in Roderwolde
• Corneliske, born at the 7th of January 1807 in Roderwolde. I found nothing more about this Corneliske
• Anna Ites, born at the 6th of February 1810 in Roderwolde. She did not marry en passed away in 1861 in Oostwold
• Jan Ites, born at the 4th of November 1812 in Matsloot. Look
• Albert Ites, born at the first of March 1815 in Matsloot. Albert married Anje Pieters Vos in 1853 in Hoogkerk

After the introducing of the obligation to choose a surname in 1812 Ite Sijbrants choose the surname “Tornga” and Marchien “Scholtens”. From then they were called Ite Sijbrants Tornga and Marchien Pieters Scholtens.

Ite Sijbrants passed away on the 21th of January 1838 in Matsloot (Roden).
Marchien Pieters died on the 8th of September 1824 in Matsloot (Roden).

Jakob Ites Tornga and Aaltje Geerts Ipema

Jakob Ites Tornga married servant Aaltje Geerts (Ipema) on the 28th of March 1836.
Aaltje was a daughter of carpenter Geert Pieters and Annegien Eites Oosterhoff also born at Roderwolde.
They possibly settled at Matsloot, where there first children were born:

• Annegien Tornga, born at the 23th of November 1837. Her father Jacob now is a shopkeeper
• Geert Tornga, born at the 27th of May 1839.
• Martinus Tornga, born at the 11th of October 1841. Possibly he died very soon, because a year later a new Martinus was born
• Martinus Tornga, born at the 31th of October 1842 in Matsloot. I found nothing more about these Martinus
• Jantje Tornga, born at the 9th of November 1844 in Matsloot. She married the farmer’s servant Heine Rosema in Adorp in 1870 but died real soon after her marriage
• Liefke Tornga, born at the 7th of May 1848. She married merchant Pieter Nieland in 1877 in Adorp

After Matsloot they settled in Lagemeeden near to Aduard. Also there a child was born:

• SSiebrand Tornga, born at the 26th of December 1850. He became a shoemaker’s servant and married Hilje Ritsema in 1878 in Ten Boer. They settled in Kroddeburen near Ten Boer

Jakob (also written as Jacob) Ites Tornga passed away in Groningen on the first of January 1853.
Aaltje Ipema died in the same month in Groningen on the 30th of January 1853.

Geert Tornga and Knelske Bodde

Geert Tornga became a hawker, he married Knelske Bodde on the 21th of May 1870 in Adorp. She was a daughter of Harm Lukas Bodde and Matje Jans Horn. They settled in Sauwerd and gave birth to the following children:

• Jakob Tornga, born at the 11th of May 1871. He married servant Aaltje van de Riet in 1895 in Adorp
• Harm Tornga, born at the 10th of May 1872. I further found nothing about these Harm
• - Tornga, dead born child on the 15th of November 1873
• Aaltje Tornga, born at the 11th of December 1874. Her father Geert now is a shopkeeper. She married merchant Willem Nienhuis shortly after the emigration of her parents in November 1899 in Adorp. They stayed in Sauwerd.
• Mattje Tornga, born at the 25th of December 1876/li>
• Annegien Tornga, born at the 18th of October 1878
• Jan Tornga, born at the 21th of March 1880
• Ite Tornga, born at the first of December 1881
• - Tornga, dead born child at the 29th of March 1884

Seven years later Geert Tornga followed his nephew Jan Ites Tornga and also emigrated with his family to Grand Rapids in Noth America; they arrived in July 1899 at the harbor of New York. Geert then already was 60 years old. He emigrated with his wife Knelske and the following children:

• Mattje Tornga
• Annegien Tornga
• Jan Tornga
• Ite Tornga

His married oldest son Jakob Tornga also joint the emigration with his wife and their three children:

Jakob Tornga and Aaltje van de Riet and their children:

• Knelske Tornga (3 years)
• Pieter Tornga(2 years)
• Geert Tornga (4 months)

Jan (John) Tornga married Melissa (Maloney) de Witt and passed away at the 25th of April 1979, 99 years old in Grand Rapids. John Tornga had five children, including Gerald John Tornga, who was born in 1915 in Grand Rapids. He married Marguerite and passed away at the 6 th of November 2008 (93 years old).
One of the children of Gerald John Tornga and Marguerite is Craig Tornga, my contact in the States!

A brother of Jan Ites Tornga of the Oldijk 7, Jakob Ites Tornga is the great great grandfather of Craig Tornga.