A Lion Banner in Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed in Bruges, Belgium.

If you look close you can see the lion banner above the church steeple.

Thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras! 

This lion banner weathervane was spotted above a very tall steeple on a very narrow street in Bruges, Belgium.  There are traces of gilding on the banner.  The lion is a symbol of strength, valor, and nobility when used in heraldry, and in Christian symbolism the Lion of Judah is on the coat of arms for Jerusalem.  The Leo Belgicus ("Belgian Lion" in latin) is on the Belgian national coat of arms and is the national animal for Belgium.  

For the truly curious:

Click on this link to see over 550 other weathervane posts: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Lion Banner in Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 27, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-lion-banner-in-bruges-belgium-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Mystery Weathervane in Antwerp for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Antwerp, Belgium.  Does it look familiar to anyone?

My husband took a walking tour of Antwerp and photographed this weathervane near the Plantin Moretus Museum.  We don't know the building or the history of this weathervane.  It's a complete mystery. 

This hand is very mysterious. 

This shape looked like a possible boat or ship.  It was also very mysterious. 

Online I saw a reference to a V-1 Flying Bomb weathervane in Antwerp, installed above a private house.  When I Googled the V-1 flying bomb I saw this photo below.  It was a match. 

The V-1 Flying Bomb was the famous "buzz bomb" or "doodlebug" during the Blitz in England during World War II.  It was an unmanned German missile.  It also terrorized civilians in Antwerp.  This was the precursor to today's cruise missile.  Antwerp, Belgium was hit by 2,448 V-1s from October 1944 to March 1945. It remains a mystery as to why this destructive missile was commemorated by a weathervane.  Perhaps it is symbolic of the resilience of the Antwerp citizens during World War II.  

The hand silhouette  on the finial above the vane remains a mystery!  If you know any details on this weathervane in Antwerp, please leave a comment below or email me at vrojomit@gmail.com  

For the truly curious:

V-1 Flying Bomb at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb

Click here to see over 550 other weathervanes worldwide:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Mystery Weathervane in Antwerp for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy,  posted August 20, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-mystery-weathervane-in-antwerp-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

If This Isn't Real, There must be a Real One Out There Somewhere!

 Another historical Friday Funny...

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "If This Isn't Real, There must be a Real One Out There Somewhere!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/if-this-isnt-real-there-must-be-real.html: accessed [access date]). 

Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Ancient Burial Gound in Brewster, Massachusetts.

In Memory of                               In Memory of

    Isaac Sparrow Bangs                           Sukey Bangs       

                    who died april 12 1795                   who died octr 20th 1794     

            Aged one year                             Aged 2 Months     

    11 Months & 3 Days                        &12 Days         

Children of Mr Dean and Mrs Eunice Bangs

Happy the babes who privileged by fate

To shorter labor and a lighter wight

Received but yesterday the gift of breath

Ordered tomorrow to return to death. 

This sad, broken, and reset tombstone was dedicated to two children of Captain Dean Bangs (1756 - 1845)  and his wife Eunice Sparrow (1756 - 1818).  The carvings show a winged soul and also a fallen dove/bird.  Eunice was the daughter of Isaac Sparrow and Mary Hopkins (a Mayflower descendant).  They had two sons named Isaac Sparrow Bangs (1793 - 1795 and 1798 - 1874).  Captain Dean Bangs was a descendant of Edward Bangs of Chichester, England who came to the Plymouth Colony in 1623 on board the ship Anne.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, July 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/two-bangs-babies-died-in-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at Brewster, Massachusetts.

THOMAS BANGS

SON OF JOSHUA &

MEHETIBEL BANGS

AGED 12 YEARS

AND 8 DAYS DECd

DECEMBER YE 8th

1728

Thomas Bangs was born on 28 November 1716 in Harwich, Massachusetts and died on 8 December 1728.  He was the son of Captain Joshua Bangs and Mehitable Clark.  He was one of nine children (Nathan 1714 -1749, Thomas 1716 - 1728, Thankful 1720- 1749, Joshua 1723 - 1755, Mary 1724 - 1784, Mehitable 1728 - 1805, Thomas b. 1729, Susanna b. 1731, and Mary b. 1734). 

Captain Joshua Bangs was the son of Edward Bangs and Ruth Allen, and the grandson of  Jonathan Bangs and Mary Mayo, and the great grandson of Edward Bangs and Rebecca Hobart (immigrant ancestors) of Chichester, England, who came to the Plymouth Colony on board the ship Anne in 1623. According to the book The Great Migration Begins 1620 - 1633, Volume 1, page 86, Edward Bangs was an inkeeper at Eastham on Cape Cod.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 8, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/thomas-bangs-age-12-of-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

An Ancestral City, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

 

In April we were in The Netherlands for a river cruise tour of the tulip fields and gardens.  It was a lovely time of the year to see this country, and we enjoyed seeing so many small towns and villages along the waterways.  I was excited to see that we cruised by the town of Dordrecht twice on our itinerary, because that is where my Hoogerzeil ancestors lived.  I had visited Dordrecht once before in 2017, when one of my distant Hogerzeil cousins gave me a tour of Dordrecht, Nieuwport, and Krimpen aan de Lek where our ancestors lived.  

At one time, in the 1970s and 1980s (before the internet was used for genealogy research, and well before Google existed) I was stumped in trying to find out more information about my ancestor Peter Hoogerzeil.  He came from Holland in the 1820s, and he was a mariner.  He wrote many letters back and forth, and stated that he was from Dort in Holland.  I was unable to find any town in The Netherlands with this name.  Years later, on an online genealogy forum, a Dutch citizen told me that Dort was the nickname for Dordrecht.  This helped break down a big brick wall for me, and suddenly I found generations of records on the Hoogerzeil family.  

Dordrecht is on an island between many rivers in South Holland.  It is considered the oldest city in The Netherlands, and is near Rotterdam, another major seaport.  My Hoogerzeil ancestors were all commanders of whaling ships that sailed from Rotterdam to Greenland. It was easier for ships to reach the sea from Dordrecht before 1829 when the Voorne Canal was dug.  By the end of the 1800s Rotterdam had become the major seaport, and Dordrecht lost many of its shipping and ship building industries.  I wonder if this is why my  3rd great grandfather, Peter Hoogerzeil (1803 - 1889) stowed away on a ship full of hemp in the 1820s and landed in Salem, Massachusetts.  

Many of the Hoogerzeil family church records (baptisms, marriages, funerals) were found at the "Grote Kerk" ("Big Church") which was built between 1285 and 1470.  You can see this church tower from quite a distance, and while we cruised by I just had to look for this familiar square tower to know we were at Dordrecht.  Below you can see photos we took of this church from the land in 2017, and above you can see the photos we took from the river boat.  

Vincent used his iPhone to track our boat position and to find Dordrecht.  When we were close I ran up to the top deck of the boat to take photos with my phone.  Some people were eating lunch near the railing, and a kind woman passenger snapped the photo of me with the Grote Kerk.  I'm so glad she offered to take that picture!  

Click on the links below to see more blog posts about the town of Dordrecht, including my uncle's visit to his Hogerzeil cousins in Dordrecht after World War II.  

2017

Hans Hogerzeil, Erik Kon, and Yours Truly

in front of the doors of the Grote Kerk, Dordrecht

Grote Kerk

View of Dordrecht by Aelbert Cuyp, 1655

By Aelbert Cuyp - English Heritage, Kenwood House, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57844274

For the truly curious:

Hoogerzeil Surname Saturday post:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/surname-saturday-hoogerzeil-of-holland.html  

My 2017 visit to The Netherlands, including Dordrecht:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/in-footsteps-of-ancestors-visit-to.html   

More information on Dordrecht and the Hoogerzeil/Hogerzeil family:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/09/value-of-posting-brick-walls-on.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "An Ancestral City, Dordrecht, The Netherlands", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 2, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/an-ancestral-city-dordrecht-netherlands.html: accessed [access date]). 

Krimpen aan de Lek, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

 This is the second time I have featured this weathervane here on Weathervane Wednesday!  

My 6th great grandfather, Michiel Ockers Hogerzeijl, was born in Krimpen aan de Lek on 18 July 1696, and was buried at this church after his death in 25 May 1779.  This 1425 church was demolished in 1939 and rebuilt, and his tombstone was moved to the chapel in the village cemetery.  However, the church retains a bit of my ancestor's history, since he was the commander of whaling ships, and the weathervane features a gilded whale! 

I first visited this village in 2017 with my distant cousin, Hans Hogerzeil.  You can read all about that trip HERE.  I featured the weathervane and the tombstone (see the links below).  This time, in April 2025 we were taking a river cruise around The Netherlands and Belgium and we sailed right by Krimpen aan de Lek and stopped nearby at Kinderdijk.  I was thrilled to see this village, and also the city of Dordrecht nearby, where Michiel Ockers Hogerzeijl's son, Simon Machielszoon Hoogerzeijl was buried, and where several other generations of my family lived until my 3rd great grandfather, Peter Hoogerzeil (1803 - 1889), immigrated to Beverly, Massachusetts in the 1820s.  

I loved my visit to Dordrecht and Krimpen aan de Lek in 2017.  I remember sitting in a restaurant with Hans and watching the river outside the window.  I kept seeing the river cruises go by, and I made a wish that maybe someday I would return and take one of those cruise tours of The Netherlands.  When we finally were able to make that wish come true, we did it during the tulip season, which was even extra fun!  

According to Wikipedia, the first mention of the name of this town in 1396.  The town is located nearby rotterdam, and in the 1700s the Van Holst whaling business was established here. Many Krimpen residents worked on board the ships, including my ancestor as a commander. He was a respected member of the community, and his impressive gravestone certainly verifies this!  

For the truly curious:

My previous blog post about Krimpen aan de Lek:     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/in-footsteps-of-ancestors-touring.html   

Tombstone Tuesday featuring Michiel Ockers Hogerzeijl's gravestone in Krimpen aan de Lek:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/tombstone-tuesday-michiel-ockers.html  

Kerk aan de Lek website in English:  https://www.kerkaandelek.nl/locaties/   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Krimpen aan de Lek, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 25, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/06/krimpen-aan-de-lek-netherlands-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

Zuiderkerk, Enkhuizen, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday

 

The Zuiderkerk (Southern Church) is a protestant church in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands.  The church was originally Sint Pancraskerk (St. Pancratius) built in 1458.  The tower with the weathercock is owned by the town, and was restored in 1992. The first musical clock in this tower was installed in 1524. There are two bells in the tower which were installed in 1653. There is also a carillon of 52 bells connected to the keyboard of the organ inside the church.   The interior was rennovated in 2013 and 2014. 

We could see the weathercock on the church tower from the main square of Enkhuizen while we were touring the town a few months ago.  We even heard the church bells while we were having a tea break in a local cafe.  This old weathercock is a very old Christian symbol, dating back to Pope Gregory I (between 590 and 604 AD) who declared that every church should install the rooster as a symbol of Christianity.  Pope Nicolas made the decree official in the 9th century.  Many early churches took advantage of this decree to install weathercocks.  The rooster stayed as a popular weathervane over the centuries, still seen on churches and farms in Europe and in America. The oldest weathervane known to exist is the Gallo di Ramperto, in the Museo di Santa Guilia in Brescia, Italy (thought to date between 820 and 830 AD).  

For the truly curious:

Zuiderkerk website (in Dutch):   https://www.pgenkhuizen.nl/ons-gebouw/  

Southern Church, Enkhuizen at Wikipedia (in English):    https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuiderkerk_(Enkhuizen)   

Another weathervane seen in Enkhuizen:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/05/enkhuizen-gatehouse-netherlands-for.html  

Click here to see over 550 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Zuiderkerk, Enkhuizen, The Netherlands for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 18, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/06/zuiderkerk-enkhuisen-netherlands-for.html:  accessed [access date]).