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Newsletter 2-2025, Oldenburg Society for Family Research e.V.
Janssen-Westerholt Family
International Family Reunion Planned in Jeverland
Back in the OGF Yearbook 2009, we reported on the emigrant Sjouke Janssen Westerholt, who was born in Sandel in Jeverland and joined the Dutch East India Company in 1742. After adventurous travels, he settled in Malacca. His many descendants are now spread across Asia, Australia, America, and Europe.
The various branches of the family have remained in contact and have already held reunions in Singapore, Australia, and California.
The next reunion is planned for 2026 in Jeverland. In preparation, several family members met in July and visited Sjouke’s birthplace Sandel, the State Archive in Oldenburg, distant relatives in Jeverland, and several locations in the Netherlands associated with the VOC (Dutch East India Company).
The photo shows (from left):
Scott Westerhout from Seattle,
Nanette Westerhout from Singapore,
Geoffrey Morris (Nanette’s husband),
Garreth Mann from Bochum, and
Justin Mann from Bochum (born in San Francisco)
at the site of Sjouke Janssen’s former residence in Sandel.
Gerold Diers
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Nordwest Zeitung from July 31 2025.
Westerhout-Family Returns
LOCAL HISTORY 121 Relatives from seven countries plan meeting in Sandelerhorsten
BY DIETMAR RECK
SANDELERHORSTEN - In 1974, at the corner of L813/Horster Weg in Sandelerhorsten, an old farmhouse was demolished that had long been home to a family that today draws interest far beyond the region. In 2020, genealogist Justin Mann discovered that his maternal ancestors hail from the Jeverland—and not, as previously assumed, from the Netherlands.
From Farm to Sea
In 1741, the then 19-year-old Zioke Janssen left his parents’ farm to sign on as a sailor aboard a ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Life in the region was tough at the time: inheritance rules in the parish of Sandel favored the youngest brother. Zioke's half-brother Harm Johansen (Westerholt) inherited the farm — Zioke, as the eldest son, had no claim to it. So he looked to the sea for his future.
At recruitment in Hoorn, his name was translated into Dutch as Sjouke Jansz Westerhout, van Jeverlandt — a family name still carried today. “Westerhout” and “Westerholt” mean “west of the forest,” referencing the farm’s location west of the Upjeversche forest. Many young men from Jeverland emigrated to the Netherlands at the time due to economic hardship and no inheritance prospects.
Zioke started as a junior sailor earning 8 guilders a month and rose to the rank of lieutenant, earning 48 guilders monthly from 1758 on. Around 1763, he settled in Malacca (now Malaysia), married three times, and died in 1774. His 1774 will precisely states his parents’ birthplaces: Cleverns and Sandelerhorsten.
Research into the Westerhout lineage began back in the 1960s with clues from an 1840s will. In 2005, the 1774 will was discovered in the Netherlands, leading to a breakthrough. In 2008, a branch of the family from Singapore contacted the Oldenburg Society for Genealogical Research. Parish records from Sandel (*1) confirmed roots back to 1605 and documented additional farmsteads in the parish.
Return to the Homeland
Today, the Jeverland family tree of the Westerhout family includes more than 150 names and over 50 marriages. Justin Mann, 12th generation, returned to Germany in 1977, and his children are the first generation in centuries to be born in the Jeverland (*2) again. The family WhatsApp group now includes 121 families spread across New Zealand, Canada, the USA, Australia, the UK, Singapore, and Malaysia.
A major family reunion is planned for 2026 in Jever, with participants expected from around the world. In preparation, Justin Mann traveled with family members from Singapore, Perth, and Seattle to the “old homeland” and met in the Dörphuus of Sandelermöns with chronicler Alfred Hinrichs and more relatives from Cleverns and Grappermöns.
(Image 1)
Justin Mann (left) and Alfred Hinrichs with a 1910 photo of the farm Sandelerhorsten No. 3, corner of Horster Weg. It was the parental home of Zoike Jannsen. The barn was modernized in 1913, burned down in December 1920, and rebuilt before the farm was purchased and demolished by the government in 1974. PHOTO: REPRO DIETMAR RECK SOURCE: STATE ARCHIVE OLDENBURG
(Image 2)
The Westerhout families (from left): Geoffrey Morris and wife Nanette Westerhout (Singapore), Justin Mann (Bochum, his mother was Katherine Westerhout), Alfred Hinrichs and Edith Hinrichs, Scott Westerhout (Seattle), Anke Nannen, behind them Rainer Köpsel, Dirk Eilers, and Garreth Mann, son of Justin Mann. PHOTO: DIETMAR RECK
(*1) "Parish records from Sandel confirmed the roots back to 1605 and documented additional farmsteads in the parish."
Correct is:
Sources for further farmsteads and roots back to around 1605 were provided by documents from the Lower Saxony State Archive in Oldenburg; entries from Sandel’s church books begin only in 1671 and are fragmentary.
(*2) "and his children are the first generation in centuries to be born again in the Jeverland."
Correct is:
"In Germany" instead of "in the Jeverland"
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Jeverisches Wochenblatt from Friday July 11 2025.
Genealogy – From Malaysia to Jever
FAMILY TREE Descendants of an adventurer from Sandelerhorsten travel back to their origins
BY THOMAS VAN LENGEN
(Photo by Thomas van Lengen) Justin Mann (center) shows Dirk Eilers and Anke Nannen the large family tree of the Westerhout family.
SANDEL – When Zioke Janssen registered on May 27, 1741, in the Dutch town of Hoorn with the chamber of the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, for a journey aboard the 600-ton ship Meerlust lying off Texel, he likely had little idea what awaited him. At age 19, he had long since left his parents’ home in Sandelerhorsten near Jever. Though his family owned a farm, land, and two pews in the church in Sandel, the local inheritance law favored the youngest brother—Zioke would receive nothing upon his parents’ death. That was reason enough to seek his fortune in the wider world. Driven by a thirst for adventure, he enlisted. From the chambers in Hoorn, Enkhuizen, and Amsterdam, the transport ships departed for the large merchant ships anchored in the deep waters off Texel. As many as 100 waited there for favorable winds. An incredible sight.
More soldiers than sailors aboard
They were ships of fate. On these voyages, often up to 100 sailors and soldiers died, those who also defended the ships against attacks by other European colonial powers. Frequently, there were more soldiers than sailors aboard. In the ship logs, Zioke was henceforth recorded in Dutch as “Sjouke Jansz: Westerhout.” The addition is possibly a reference to “Westerholt,” the name of a farm in Sandelerhorsten.
Zioke was lucky and, thanks to his rural upbringing, seemingly enjoyed robust health. On his many voyages aboard different ships, he escaped harm, overcame scurvy and other deadly diseases, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. From the money he earned, initially eight, later 48 guilders per month, he settled around 1763 in Malacca (Melaka), a port city in present-day Malaysia. There, he gained considerable wealth, married three times, drafted a will, and died in 1774. The name Westerhout endures to this day.
Zioke’s traces lead back to Jeverland
The will of the adventurer from Sandelerhorsten is the reason why, over 250 years later, Justin Mann is sitting in the old schoolhouse in Sandelermöns. He hasn't come alone. The German-American from San Francisco, now living in Bochum, has brought his son. Also present in the village community center are relatives from Singapore, Perth, and Seattle, gathered over a cozy cup of tea. The clan is spread all over the world, in New Zealand, Canada, the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Singapore, and Malaysia. Their family WhatsApp group has 121 members. Since the 1960s, they’ve been researching their ancestry. In modern-day Melaka, they eventually discovered the will of Zioke Janssen, followed his footsteps, and arrived where it all began—Jeverland.
This shortened version doesn’t do justice to the painstaking detective work undertaken by Justin Mann, a 12th-generation Westerhout. He’s reviewed countless church records and documents in the State Archive of Oldenburg and spoken with experts in Germany and the Netherlands. Along the way, countless pages written in Sütterlin script were deciphered. The result is a family tree that stretches nearly 2.5 meters when printed on paper.
Two and a half meters of genealogical detective work, over decades. And some passages overlap with the Nannen family, which still resides in Grappermöns today.
Multiple family trees laid side by side
Crucial clues came from the Oldenburg Society for Family Research, particularly Gerold Diers, as well as the Sandelermöns village community and its website, where the village chronicle of Grappermöns is published. There, the Nannen family tree is also listed. “I eventually laid theirs over mine and saw that there were matches,” says Justin Mann. “That was the first time it connected to the present,” he says. Anke Nannen is also seated at the tea table this afternoon, along with Dirk Eilers from Cleverns, who also appears in the family tree.
It’s not Justin Mann’s first journey to Jeverland. On his first visit, he searched through church books in Sandel and went multiple times to the state archive with Mr. Diers. “From then on, the picture slowly came together,” he recalls. His genealogical research has now reached its conclusion. He now wants to show the rest of the family where they actually come from. The planned tour includes Jever (with city tour, museum visit, and brewery), Hoorn, Texel, Amsterdam, and the province of Zeeland, where Zioke Janssen once traveled. A large family reunion is scheduled in Jever in 2026. There will be plenty to talk about.
Jessica Chmura 10.04.2010, 02:09 Uhr
Zioke Janssen war Seemann und später Leutnant der Küstenwache von Malacca.
Sein Testament brachte Familienforscher auf die Spur ins Jeverland.
SANDEL - Die Entfernung von Jever bis nach Malaysia beträgt rund 10 000 Kilometer. Eine Reise mit dem Flugzeug dauert heutzutage etwa elf Stunden. Im 18. Jahrhundert hingegen waren Reisen über diese Entfernung weitaus beschwerlicher.
Elf Monate war Zioke Janssen Westerholt, geboren am 9. August 1721 im Kirchdorf Sandel bei Jever, mit dem Schiff unterwegs.
Auf seinen vielen Reisen ist Malaysia dem Friesländer zur zweiten Heimat geworden, so dass er schließlich zwischen 1762 und 1763 endgültig dorthin auswanderte. Für seine Nachfahren, die zum Teil bis heute in Malaysia leben, war die Spur ins Jeverland auf der Suche nach ihren Vorfahren eine große Überraschung.
Ein ominöser Nachlass brachte Mitglieder der Familie Westerholt auf die Spur nach Friesland, berichtet Gerold Diers von der Oldenburgischen Gesellschaft für Familienkunde in einem Aufsatz über das abenteuerliche Leben des Zioke Janssen, den er im aktuellen Jahrbuch für Oldenburgische Familienkunde (ISBN 978-3-389995-690-0) veröffentlicht hat.
Am 20. April 1774 wurde im malaysischen Malacca das Testament von Sjouke Janszen Westerhout – dies ist die niederländische Schreibweise für Zioke Janssen Westerholt – beurkundet. Darin verfügt er, dass sein Erbe seinen Eltern Grethe Zioke und Johan Jacobs junior aus dem Jeverland zugehen soll, falls seine Kinder vor ihrer Volljährigkeit sterben sollten.
Von Janssens Leben in Sandel ist nur wenig bekannt. Deutlich mehr Informationen gibt es über seine vielen Reisen und seinen Neuanfang in Malaysia: 1757 heiratete er Anna Maria Magdalena Holst, die ein Jahr später bei der Geburt ihres ersten Kindes starb. Aus seiner zweiten Ehe mit Catharina van der Wall gingen zwei Kinder hervor, ebenso aus seiner dritten Ehe mit Maria Elisabeth Smit.
Die Familie gehörte damals zu den wohlhabenden Bürgern in der niederländischen Kolonie.
Zu seinem Beinamen Westerholt bzw. Westerhout kam Zioke Janssen bei seiner ersten Schifffahrt. Mit 20 Jahren begab er sich auf die Reise. Wie Dokumente der Holländischen Ostindischen Companie (VOC), einer Handelsgesellschaft niederländischer Kaufleute, belegen, heuerte er bei der Gesellschaft an. Die VOC erhielt vom niederländischen Staat Hoheitsrechte zur Kriegsführung, zum Festungsbau und zum Landerwerb sowie mehrere Handelsmonopole in Ost- und Südostasien.
Im Jahr 1741 ging Janssen als Jungmatrose an Bord des Segelschiffs „Meerlust“. Es folgten viele weitere Seefahrten: Janssen heuerte im Oktober 1745 als Schütze und Hilfssteward auf dem Segelschiff „Wiltrijk“ an, arbeitete sich hoch und war 1757 Kommandeur auf der „Donquist“.
Nachdem er sich endgültig in Malacca niedergelassen hatte, trat Janssen in der Küstenstadt im Westen Malaysiens seinen Dienst als Leutnant bei der Küstenwache an.
Die Nachfahren von Zioke Janssen sind ebenso reiselustig wie ihr Vorfahre aus Sandel. Nach Recherchen von Gerold Diers leben sie heute in zehn Ländern über vier Kontinente verteilt. Seit 2004 kommen die Westerhouts zu Familientreffen zusammen. Nach dem ersten Treffen in Malacca reisten die Westerhouts 2008 nach Australien. Das nächste Treffen ist bereits geplant: 2012 sind alle Familienmitglieder nach Kanada eingeladen.
Gerold Diers hofft, dass sein Bericht dazu beiträgt, dass sich Familienforscher aus dem Jeverland mit dem Leben und der Herkunft der Eltern des abenteuerlustigen Auswanderers befassen: „Die Nachfahren sind sehr an weiteren Erkenntnissen interessiert“, so Diers. Außerdem würden sie zu gerne wissen, ob es auch heute noch entfernte Verwandte im Jeverland gibt.
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Nordwest Zeitung from April 10 2010
Travelled from Sandel out into the wide world.
Jessica Chmura 10.04.2010, 02:09 Uhr
Zioke Janssen was a sailor and later a lieutenant in the coastal guard of Malacca.
His will put family researchers on the trail leading back to Jeverland.
SANDEL - The distance from Jever to Malaysia is around 10,000 kilometers. A journey by airplane takes about eleven hours today. In the 18th century, however, travel over such a distance was far more arduous.
Zioke Janssen Westerholt, born on August 9, 1721, in the village of Sandel near Jever, spent eleven months at sea.
On his many journeys, Malaysia became a second home to the Frisian, so that between 1762 and 1763 he finally emigrated there for good. For his descendants, some of whom still live in Malaysia today, the trail leading back to the Jever region in their search for their ancestors came as a great surprise.
A mysterious inheritance set members of the Westerholt family on the trail to Friesland, reports Gerold Diers of the Oldenburg Society for Family Research in an article about the adventurous life of Zioke Janssen, which he published in the current Yearbook for Oldenburg Family Research (ISBN 978‑3‑389995‑690‑0).
On April 20, 1774, in Malacca, Malaysia, the will of Sjouke Janszen Westerhout — the Dutch spelling of Zioke Janssen Westerholt — was officially recorded. In it, he stipulated that his estate should go to his parents, Grethe Zioke and Johan Jacobs Junior from the Jever region, should his children die before reaching adulthood.
Very little is known about Janssen’s life in Sandel. Far more information exists about his many voyages and his new beginning in Malaysia: in 1757 he married Anna Maria Magdalena Holst, who died a year later during the birth of their first child. His second marriage, to Catharina van der Wall, produced two children, as did his third marriage to Maria Elisabeth Smit.
At that time, the family belonged to the wealthy citizens of the Dutch colony.
Zioke Janssen received the surname Westerholt, or Westerhout, during his first sea voyage. At the age of 20 he set out on his journey. As documents of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), a trading company of Dutch merchants, show, he signed on with the company. The VOC was granted sovereign rights by the Dutch state for waging war, building fortresses, and acquiring land, as well as several trade monopolies in East and Southeast Asia.
In 1741, Janssen went on board the sailing ship Meerlust as a young sailor. Many further voyages followed: in October 1745, Janssen signed on as a gunner and assistant steward on the sailing ship Wiltrijk, worked his way up, and by 1757 he was commander of the Donquist.
After he had finally settled in Malacca, Janssen took up his post as a lieutenant in the coastal guard of the port city on the west coast of Malaysia.
The descendants of Zioke Janssen are just as fond of traveling as their ancestor from Sandel. According to research by Gerold Diers, they now live in ten countries across four continents. Since 2004, the Westerhouts have been gathering for family reunions. After the first meeting in Malacca, the Westerhouts traveled to Australia in 2008. The next reunion is already planned: in 2012 all family members are invited to Canada.
Gerold Diers hopes that his report will encourage family researchers from the Jever region to look into the life and origins of the adventurous emigrant’s parents. ‘The descendants are very interested in further findings,’ says Diers. They would also very much like to know whether there are still distant relatives living in the Jever region today.
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