The story of Martin Engbringhof, my great-grandfather
Martin was born in the Netherlands on August 20, 1857, 96 years almost to the DAY prior to my birth Aug. 19th, 1953. The family is from the part of the Netherlands called “Friesland” so in all likelihood they spoke “Frisian” and not “Dutch” at home. Friesland is a northern state of the country of the Netherlands, on the coast. Martin was born in St. Jacobiparochie, Het Bildt, Friesland, the Netherlands. His FATHER, Martin Martens Engbrighof, was born in Marrum, Ferwerderadeel, also in Friesland, and his MOTHER, Feikje Dirks Koopma, was born in Frouwenparochie, Het Bildt, Friesland. So we are definitely Frisian.
From what we know, Martin had a brother born 2 years before him, but he only lived for 2 years. His name was Marten spelled with an “e”. Then MARTIN was born the same year that his older brother died. Then he had a younger brother, Dirk Martens, born in 1858 but he died that same year. Then another boy was born 7 years later, in 1865. They named him “Dirk” also. He lived a long life of 74 years. Martin and Dirk had 2 younger sisters, first Sjoukje, born in 1868 and she lived for only 29 years. The baby girl, Antje, died the same year she was born in 1871. So out of 6 children born to Martin’s parents, only himself and his brother Dirk lived a long life.
Martin got married on June 5, 1879, to a woman named Trijntje van Schepen. They were both 21 years old. Their first child, a girl named Fekje, was born 3 months later on September 27, 1879. The next year, on New Year’s eve, Dec.31, 1880, they had another baby girl named Flora. It appears Martin made a few trips back and forth from Holland to America, but at any rate, by Jan. 1st, 1883, they lived in Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and in 1884, their 3rd daughter, Martha, was born there in October 1884. After coming to America, Martin changed his last name from “Engbringhof” to “Brink”, and their daughter, Fekje, became “Fannie”. I remember Great Aunt Fannie at family reunion picnics. She was always very nice to kids, but wore old Dutch black dresses that hung down low. In 1885, Martin’s only son, Henry, was born, but he only lived one year. At that time, Martin worked at a place called “Car Works” and was listed as a “laborer”. (This doesn’t quite make sense to me because what cars existed in 1885? This is what ancestry.com says is in the Lafayette city directory for 1885-1891.)
Another daughter, Clara, was born in 1889 and finally, MY GRANDMOTHER, Cena, in 1891. At the turn of the century, by June 1900, they lived in the country near Lafayette, in “Wayne Township”. Martin was 42 years old and his wife, who now was named Trena and nicknamed “Kate” was also 42. Living with them were their youngest 3 girls, Martha now 15, Clara age 11, and “Sennie” age 8. From Cena’s stories, I know that at this age, Sennie was going to school and loved it. She had to quit school to never return to it by 6th grade. She never wanted to quit school but she had to go to work in other peoples’ houses, doing cleaning services, AND, give the money back to her father, Martin Brink. For the rest of her life she was very proud of the fact that she knew ALL the state capitals, and delighted in us, her grandchildren, asking her to name them when she was an older woman. I feel sad that she had to quit school, don’t you?
In this year of 1900, Martin said he immigrated to America in the year 1882. His work is listed as “farmer” and he rented, not owned, the farm. It was listed as farm #11. They also had 2 men working for them, who were listed as servants, but “white”. They were Dutch also. At some point he became an American citizen, but I don’t know when that was.
In 1910, the family was still out in Wayne Twp., but by 1920 they had moved back into town. By that year, they lived at 1709 Hartford St., which is in the same neighborhood my mother was born in, and the neighborhood where my father and mother met each other. Martin is 63 years old and listed just as a “laborer”. All the girls are now married and living apart from he and Trena. Ten years later they are still in this house but he is no longer working. Trena is sometimes called “Catherine” or “Kate”. She only lives one more year, passing in 1931. She died by falling down a basement stairway and cerebral hemorrage! And THEN, four years later, Martin marries Kate’s SISTER, Flora! They were married in 1935. I noticed in a wedding announcement that only a couple of relatives came, and my grandmother Cena did not. She told me when I was a child that “he needed somebody to cook for him”. That is one of the family stories. It is interesting that FLORA was also the name of his first wife’s mother.
Another not-so-complimentary story of Martin is from my great-aunt Tina. When Tina was a little girl, she was looking at herself in a handheld mirror, and Martin came up behind her and said, “You look in that mirror too long and you will see the DEVIL in it!” and scared her. Martin was a member of the Dutch Reformed church, a church in the Puritan tradition. No dancing, no frivolities, just serious work.
Martin Brink only lived for one more year, passing at age 79, on Nov. 1st, 1936. He is buried next to his first wife, Trena (Kate, Catherine, Trejntje), in Springvale cemetery in Lafayette. I’ve been there, the gravestone is a dark rose color, in the back of the cemetery on the left side, up a small hill. His death certificate lists “myocardial….something” and arteriosclerosis as the problem. Heart attack, hardening of arteries. At his death, he left quite a family with 17 grandchildren and also I think 6-7 great-grandchildren.
Doctor Grandma 