Hello Again. Keen interest in our good name continues, suggesting that its time for another DEBOO Family Newsletter ‘Update.’ We began this project following a visit with the Marc Deboo family at Lendelede, West Flanders, nearly fifteen years ago. Since then, Marc and others have contributed to five full issues and three shorter Updates of our De Bootje Gazette. We have also conducted and participated in research projects, several happy and informative family gatherings (vergaderings), and the creation of a second website while helping to promote worldwide interest in our rare old name.
Documents from Flanders and Holland tell us there are over five hundred years of records related to our name, a major variant of de Bode (‘the messenger’). In England, we’ve learned that records have been found for a Flemish weaver namesake at London dated 1535. Our name has been a fixture in the Fens of Eastern England since the arrival of Flemish agricultural workers and their families at the Isle of Axholme in 1626. Also during the 16th - 17th C period, the name distribution extended to France, Germany and the Dutch colony at present-day New York.
By the late-19th C, immigration brought our name to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other locations in the USA. Since WWII, there has been additional emigration of (unrelated) namesakes from India (eg, Deboo members of the Parsi community at Mumbai) mixing with those of European origin coast-to-coast in North America. Migration, then, has been an important feature of our family history for a very long time. It continues today.
So, one of the primary attributes of any DEBOO family history is mobility. We move both short and long distances; we move frequently. What else have we learned during the past fifteen years?
Yes, a great amount of information about DEBOO has been gathered during the past fifteen years. About one hundred individuals have met face-to-face to exchange information and discuss genealogy at places like Thorney in Cambridgeshire, Adelaide in South Australia, and at Brielle, South Holland. There have been massive family reunions in Flanders. So, what are some of the more important chores still to tackle?
Flemish Migration History. The long emigration history of Flanders has been well documented in the literature and repeatedly outlined on related websites. We know Flemings, including Deboo namesakes, have been on the move all over Europe for hundreds of years.
During the Early Modern period, two major factors have stimulated this mobility — religious differences and economic hard times. Often, these factors were related. As recorded by Kevin Phillips in his excellent book “Wealth and Democracy” (2002; ISBN 0-7679-0533-4): “The emergence of the United Provinces (Northern Netherlands)…also profited from three sixteenth- and seventeenth-century streams of refugees whose membership had high ratios of commercial skills: some 150,000 Protestant Flemings, fleeing Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent after 1585, doubled Amsterdam in size and turned it into Europe’s new commercial capital…”
This historical note also reminds us that the Dutch citizenry we know today, like that of English, has had a significant Flemish component for hundreds of years.
Deboo, Debow and Deboogh. About the time the first Flemish “Strangers” were arriving in the Fens of Eastern England (1626), Dutch entrepreneurs were establishing the colony of New Netherland, later to be known as “Dutch New York.” The Dutch settlement actually extended from New York City (Nieuw Amsterdam) up the Hudson River and along the New Jersey shore. One of the very interesting early settler names at this part of the New World was Deboogh. This topic was raised previously in a brief discussion found in Update 2007; following is the continuing story as we discover more details:
A genealogical study sponsored by Richard DeBow of Saint John, New Brunswick, has included the following information concerning early history in the USA: Hendrick Deboogh was born before 1620 in Holland (?); he died possibly at Nieuw Amsterdam (?). One fact related to the early history of Dutch New York is that there was a serious shortage of farmers in the colony. Thus, Protestants from Flanders, and religious refugees already in Holland, were recruited to farm in the colony. Reference to Amsterdam, then, as place of birth might be wrong; Amsterdam as referred to in this study might have been only Hendrick’s place of departure to the New World.
According to Debrabandere’s dictionary of names (1993), Boogh is another occupational name — for a boogmaker — a bow maker. Thus, odds seem slim for a connection of Deboo with Deboogh or Debow, even in England. But we will continue to explore this possibility, especially in England.
The other critical feature of Deboogh is that within the first hundred years in the New York City settlement area, spelling changed to Debow. Our friend, Tim Robbins of Houston, Texas, has checked US census records over the years 1790 to 1930, and has provided the following compilation related to frequency of occurrence:
Tim has agreed to continue to work with us on questions related to the relationships of Deboo, Debow and Deboogh. Dutch and Flemish records need to be reviewed. Can we confirm a relationship for these three surnames? Did the change Deboogh to Debow occur only in the United States? What is the genealogy of Debow in England? How do Deboo and Debow connect?
Deboo in History. The Amazon.com bookstore lists “The Deboo Name in History” as a title available for $29.95. Has anyone read it?
Over the years, several questionable family history books have been advertised as the definitive, ‘all you need to know’ book on a surname. In fact, they are largely disappointing, and often no more than a standard text about genealogy and surname history with a few specific extracts taken from telephone directories. Thus, “The Deboo Name in History” type of book has 90% or more content similar to “The Smith Name in History.” Would the Amazon.com listing be the results of one of these questionable enterprises? Let us know.
USA Military Service. Our friend at Houston, Tim Robbins, is also collecting USA military service records for several variants of our name. Here are samples for Deboo during the Civil War:
Michael Deboo enlisted in the Connecticut 9th Infantry Regiment on 30 October 1861 as a private and was mustered out on 3 August 1865 as a full sargent. Thus, he served for the duration of the war; participated in some 20 battles.
James Deboo enlisted late in the war, on 8 March 1865. James served in the Indiana 155th Infantry Regiment, and mustered out on 4 August 1865 at Winchester, Virginia.
Dutch Art. In past reports, we have proudly presently the excellent paintings of some of our Dutch namesakes. Here’s one more; by our good friend and distant cousin, Roy de Boo of Hooge Mierde, North Brabant:
Bob DeBoo by Roy de Boo (2008)
Spelling Deboo. In Marc Deboo’s spectacular family tree rooted in his ancestor Henricus de Boo, born circa 1636 at Wielsbeke, West Flanders, the spelling variants de Bo and de Boo are intertwined for several generations. Also, we know the family of Yvette Deboo (born at Koekelare) was situated just down the road from Ichtegem, home of the Felip Debou family. As Yvette has written, in the old days the name was spelled in many different ways, such as Debo, Dubo, Duboo, Debou or even Duboi…it all depended on the priest who wrote the name of the child in his book.
Montana Meetings. In May 2008, I (RFD) had the great pleasure of visiting with Chuck and Cary DeBoo at their ranch near Valier, Montana. They operate a very pleasant facility for ‘ranch adventures,’ including fishing and horseback riding (www.netclique.net/DeBoo/adventures.html).
A comfortable cabin is available for the guests.
The DeBoo name came to this part of northwest Montana over a hundred years ago. Lineage for this family stems directly from Flanders via Frank DeBoo, born at Snellegem in 1865, a village not far from the aforementioned Ichtegem and Koekelare. Beef ranching has been the major activity since Frank’s arrival at Valier.
We also met Don (Frank’s grandson) and Janet DeBoo, along with their son Mark and grandson T.J., who tend a purebred Black Angus herd also near Valier. Details concerning their Diamond D ranch operation are found at www.diamonddangus.com/.
DEBOO Kids — The Next Generation. Over the years, pictures of our DeBoo children have been proudly presented in the Gazette. Here are a few more:
Jalea, Taylor and Aiden
(grandchildren of John DeBoo of Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Fleuriëtte
(daughter of Roy and Mia de Boo of Hooge Mierde, North Brabant)
Alexander Ford
(son of Richard Ford DeBoo, Oakville, Ontario)
Vibe with Sjaak
(daughter of Hella Henderson De Boo of Rotterdam)
Edith Fosse Deboo of Hazebrouck, France,
with some members of her family
Flemish Roots. There is an active “Flanders-Flemish DNA Project” website (www.flemishdna.com) which includes our own good name as De Boo. The project is administered by Guido Deboeck of Arlington, Virginia. Contact him via gdeboeck@mac.com.
Anyone interested in comparing numbers with another DEBOO, please contact me at deboo@pacificcoast.net. According to the genetic test, I belong to Haplogroup R1b1c. My test includes 37 marker alleles.
Hella’s Art. Another of our favorite Dutch artists is Hella De Boo of Rotterdam. We have proudly included several of Hella’s works in the Gazette over the years. Here’s another example of her considerable talent:
Sjaak
For more about Hella, please visit www.helladeboo.nl.
Betsy and Mary Deboo. If you scroll down to the update piece in the Canada Section of my (RFD) English-Canadian family tree in the Gazette Issue No. 5 (2003), you will find 1841 Census records of my great-grandfather, Isaac, his two sisters, Mary and Betsy, and other members of their family living at Yaxley, Huntingdonshire (Eastern England). At that time, Isaac was 7 years of age, Mary 11, and Betsy 9.
Now, thanks to the careful research work of Richard van Schaik of Werkhoven, Utrecht, we know a little bit more about Mary and Betsy:
Mary married Robert Steel, coachman, on 28 July 1853 at St George the Martyr Church, Southwark, Surrey. Betsy attended the wedding.
Betsy married William Watson, carpenter, at the parish church of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on 1 January 1856. William, at his death in 1891, was a retired railway contractor. Betsy died at Stratford, West Ham, on 17 March 1908.
The vital statistics provided by Richard are a fine example of the benefits of our very successful DEBOO information network, the great value of steady, shared accumulation of data over time, and the merits of patience and persistence. Thanks, Richard, we appreciate your contributions.
Flemings in the Fens. Nearly a hundred years after the arrival of that first DEBOO Flemish weaver at London (1535), our connection to the Fens of Eastern England was established at the Isle of Axholme (1626). Known as “Strangers” and not well liked by the locals, DEBOO was part of a group of about two hundred Flemish families that settled near Sandtoft. Some, because of the heavy social pressures by the unwelcoming natives, moved to the Bedford’s Estate at Thorney near Peterborough. Smiles (1905) and Lindley (1982) have described some of this early history in the Fens. Please see the References Section of the Gazette for these books and other related literature.
Naturally, spelling of DEBOO was a problem at these two settlements. But thanks to Don Ramery of Epworth, North Lincolnshire, who passed on some of his research on DEBOO (see Update 2007), we now have a fix on some of the early name variants in the Fens. But hard mysteries remain. For example, two individuals at Sandtoft, and later at Thorney, of great interest to me are Rolland and Anthony Dubois. I’ve always wondered if they were not really DEBOO men. Anyone know?
Over the past few years, we have investigated most of the Stranger names found in the Fens using all the old documents we could find with the special help of dear friend Alan Bullwinkle of Stapleford, Cambridgeshire. The master list compilation, and the sources used, are found in the Settler Families Section at our Flemings in the Fens Journal website — please see http://pacificcoast.net/~deboo/flemings/ as shown below:
The “Flemings in the Fens” project commenced in 2004; it is ongoing. It is likely we will have preliminary information on about two hundred Stranger surnames posted in the Journal by the end of 2009. We will maintain this information base in the future with the intention of adding new details and more photographs, correcting errors, and encouraging communication.
Richard Willard De Boo. Previously, we have presented some detail about the WWI service records, the book publishing business, and the colorful life of Richard W. De Boo (1897-1970) who lived near Toronto, Ontario. Please see the aforementioned Issue 5 for some of his story. More recently, we found a bit more about the man, my uncle, in a book written about a business colleague, the lawyer Heward Stikeman:
Pound. R.W. 2003. Stikeman Elliott — The first fifty years. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, ISBN 0773524118, 396 pp. [There is a preview of this book at Google Book Search; search ‘Stikeman Elliott’]
The Stikeman reminiscence begins on page 15 in a section titled “Legal Writing: Beginning a Tradition:” …in the spring of 1941, Stikeman became acquainted with one of the genuine characters of the Canadian publishing industry, Richard “Dick” De Boo, then a salesman for the Buttersworth firm of law book publishers. De Boo, the son of a CNR locomotive engineer, was a dashing, immensely handsome, larger-than-life figure, who drove around in a Cadillac convertible, undoubtedly living, if not beyond, at least certainly ahead of, his income. He had been born at Levis, Quebec, and raised at Cambellton, NB, at the mouth of the Restigouche River, where as a young boy, he started his entrepreneurial career by poaching and selling salmon from the estuary…
The rest of the piece about my Uncle Dick continues for several more pages. A worthwhile read about a DEBOO with a very nimble mind! Have a look!
The Australians. During my second visit to Australia (2006), I (RFD) had the good fortune to visit the facilities of the Australian Society of Genealogists at Sydney with cousin Rae McCully of Wilberforce, New South Wales (Please see Update 2007 for a report of this encounter). Rae, like many other Australians with DEBOO blood, is a descendant of Ephraim DeBoo (b. 1763; m. 1787). His son, William, was born at the Fens village of Holme in 1790; please see Australia Section, Gazette Issue No. 5, for more about the Fens connection at Holme.).
Rae’s DeBoo family link to the Fens is as follows:
Ephraim (b. 1763)
|
William (b. 1790)
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Ephraim (1829-1900)
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Elizabeth (b. 1861at Poplar - d. 1942 at Newtown, NSW; m J.H.H. Watts)
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John Henry Hollis (Jack) Watts (1882-1942)
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Alfred Leonard Watts (1908-2004)
|
Rae Lynette McCully nee Watts; (b. 1947)
The Editor of Descent, the SAG magazine invited the following article during the visit: DeBoo, R.F. 2007. Questioning Huguenot and Walloon heritage. The paper discusses, especially in England, how our Flemish ancestors were often carelessly lumped in with other cultural groups. For a copy, please contact me at: deboo@pacificcoast.net.
As this Update is being written, I’m also planning another trip to Australia, and I hope to visit with Rae and the SAG headquarters at Sydney once again.
Random Browsing. The amazing growth of the Internet during the past few years has prompted periodic ‘time-outs’ to check in and explore a few of the 550,000 places where the DEBOO name is found. For example, as I was wondering about the relationship Deboo-Debow-Deboogh, I entered “Deboogh family history” in a Google search, and found “My Deboogh Family Ancestral Line” at http://members.cox.net/mountgen/deboogh.html. It did not answer any questions concerning relationship directly, but it presented an opportunity to ask if anyone else had already attempted to answer the question.
A lot of present-day/recent DEBOO occupations can be found on the Internet. For example, we see that Theo de Boo was a co-author of a research paper on artery wall thickness and stiffness published by the American Heart Assn. in 1958. See http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/18/12/1958. Theo de Boo worked at the University Hospital, Nijmengen, Netherlands.
Continuing on browsing, we learn that in 2007 Cyrus Deboo, an actor at Hollywood, California, has written enthusiastically, and in similar great technical detail, a blog report about his great carpentry endeavor in upgrading his kitchen (see — http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/pardonourdust/2007/for-west-hollw.html.) And scattered throughout the 500,000 information pieces on the Internet are reports on our namesakes with family roots in the Indian Subcontinent — eg, Astad, Kurush, Noshir, Nariman…
We suspect that during a few hours of browsing on a slack day, anyone can achieve a fine start to learning nearly all you need to known about DEBOO. Thanks to this ‘Information Age,’ and the willingness of many namesakes to share, we no longer need to ask ‘what kind of a name is that.’
Good searching…and please let us know what you find!
Robert F. DeBoo
deboo@pacificcoast.net
Victoria, British Columbia
April 2009