This is a portrait of Trijntje Vanderkloot, wife of Matthijs Vanderkloot. Trijntje Smit was born on 2 May 1832 in Oude Sluis, Zijpe, Netherlands. They were married on 15 November 1851 in Zijpe, Noord Holland.

Matthijs and Trijntje’s son Pieter Vanderkloot went back to Holland in early 1886 and brought his parents (Matthijs and Trijntje) and siblings (Matthijs, Jannetje, Cornelius, and Jan) to Chicago. They all arrived in New York on 22 March 1886 and headed for Chicago where their other sons Adrianus and Marinus were.

An interesting feature in this photo is Trijntje’s form-fitting cap. Betsy Strand wrote, “These caps varied by the area you came from and told where you were from (identified).” Corine Van der Kloot Taylor told me that her mother's (Tante Berta Dros Vanderkloot's) cap was made of Battenberg lace.

Many times after immigrants arrived then or now, they kept to their traditional dress for a while. And it is the traditional head cap and Betsy Strand’s commentary that changed my mind on where to place this photo in time, that is earlier rather than later.

Another aspect in making the change is that in the circa 1892 portrait, she and her husband have on very nice clothes, while in this portrait, Trijntje’s dress appears quite ordinary. Trijntje also appears younger as her face and body are slightly thinner. One possibility is that this photo was taken on Trijntje Vanderkloot’s 54th birthday, May 2, 1886, a few months after their arrival.

Dave Jordan took this photograph at Dick Denker's 1988 Vanderkloot Reunion in Crystal Lake, Illinois, from a photograph brought by Robert Vanderkloot of Michigan. Betsy Strand is a g-granddaughter of Matthijs and Trijntje Vanderkloot. If you would like to add information about this photo, please contact Dave Jordan, a 2x great-grandson of Matthijs and Trijntje Vanderkloot. The Picture Reference Number is DJB12; Digitized Negative: 140-8.