In the eighties a distant cousin discovered the photo album of his grandparents, Geurt Stoffels (1865-1956) and Johanna Gerhardina van Tongeren (1868-1947), after the album had been locked up in a room for more than 30 years. Geurt Stoffels was a miller in Witmarsum, Friesland, Netherlands, and made the album about 1896.
One of the pictures in the album is this one, probably taken about 1895, probably showing a stepsister of my greatgrandfather Evert Jan Stoffels. The picture is made in Paterson, NJ. The woman at the right must be Pieternella Geertruida Veldhoen "Nelly" (1824 Elburg, Gelderland, Netherlands-1899 Paterson, NJ). The younger woman will be a daughter or granddaughter. Nelly was married to Ayrus/Azweerus Hagedoorn, with whom she arrived in the USA in 1873. The black clothes probably refer to a strict puritan protestantism. View full size.