RESEARCH INTO MY FAMILY HISTORY.  I have restarted the research into my family history after about 25 years, after a visit of family from the US in August 2010.  They would like to know more about the family, particularly those in Europe.  The current time with internet now offers many more possibilities for genealogy research than 25 years ago. Good software does the rest, and before you know it you're back to about your ears in your family's past. The results are summarised in this website. ORIGIN. During the progress of making the family tree, the origin of my ancestors becomes  clear. From my father's side they come from the province of Groningen in the Netherlands and are all Roman Catholic. They remain there until about 1900. In 1893 my great-uncle (Bernardus Wilhelmus Alma) emigrated to the United States. His cousin Tjaart Alma (1856-1883) leaves in 1882 for Australia where he dies a year later. My grandfather (Johannes Josephus Alma) settled in Deventer in 1903, where he started in the Lange Bisschopstraat 50 as a retailer in fancy articles, toys and household items. His bride (Elisabeth Hermine Rühmkorf) comes from Papenburg in Germany, just across the border with Groningen. Most of her ancesters are Protestant. Johannes Josephus Alma (1874-1952), Elisabeth Hermine Ruhmkorf (1878-1949). BOT, BOS, SUREN, BIJL, BLOEMSMA, FLIERL. The research is not limited to the Alma family. Of some related (by marriage) families in the U.S. Dutch ancesters are searched for as well. This mainly concerns the Bot, Bos and Suren families from Groningen and the Bijl, Bloemsma and Flierl families from Friesland. NAVIGATION The tabs in the navigation bar lead to pages with some history and background of the areas where my ancestors come from or emigrated to in the 19th century. The 'reports' tab leads to the page with information about family members and their relationships. SOURCES. During the investigation many sources are consulted. Some sources are so obvious that they are not listed. Examples are www.wiewaswie.nl, www.allegroningers.nl, www.allefriezen.nl  and other websites of provincial archives. These websites are easy accessible for anyone who can read Dutch. There was also extensive use of part of the website of the Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, especially when searching marital attachments or other documents that have not been published on the Internet (yet) by the Dutch archives Also this source is not always listed separately. On this and other pages are a few words in blue color and are underlined in blue. These are direct links to external websites. One left click leads directly to the relevant website. The other sources are indicated by an italic letter '(s)' from 'source'. The source appears as a pop-up image, each time the mouse hovers over this ‘(s)’. The most consulted source is the history and the genealogy of the Boelens family  by Drs. J.M.B. Boelens and O.J. Nienhuis. These two great books are an absolute must for people who do research into a Roman Catholic family in Groningen.
Hover the mouse over the map below for an overview.
ALMA ORIGIN
INTRODUCTION