"It is sometimes said that every person dies twice: the first time when he dies, and the second when he is... Read More

Name origin. The name Bustraan is probably a corruption of "bûcheron," the French word for "woodsman" or... Read More

From Flanders. Operating on the assumption of a Flemish origin, why did Maljaert appear in Zeeland records in the... Read More

The Zeeland setting. As the 19th century Dutch economy became more connected to the broader Atlantic economy, the... Read More

Dutch? Bicycles? Bustraan? Two brothers, Joop and Willem Bustraan, started making RIH bicycles in Amsterdam in... Read More

Got photos? So far, there are three pages of photos. On these pages you can click the pictures to enlarge them. If... Read More

Wemeldinge. This South Beveland village in Zeeland is where many family civil and church records can be... Read More

Ellis Island. Thirty-four year old Adriaan Bustraan and family (five boys, one girl, and one six-month... Read More

Emigration to America. Cornelis Bustraan was the first to come to America. He and wife Jacoba brought six... Read More

So how many Bustraans are there? Not many, it appears. The 1947 Dutch census found 69 instances of the surname... Read More

Family tree. Following is my compilation of the descendants of Maljaert Bustraan of Kapelle,... Read More

Database. At last count, there were 1,084 people in 363 families in my genealogical database. All of their... Read More

Acknowledgements. Genealogy is as much about people helping people as it is about keeping one's nose buried in... Read More