Genealogy van der Kaap

This site is dedicated to all persons in the Netherlands and overseas who bear the surname 'Van der Kaap'. As I (Albert van der Kaap) have found out, all persons in the Netherlands and abroad with the name 'van der Kaap' descent from Karst Jacobs from Zevenhuizen, probably born in 1770. He was married to Roelofje Harms.

The origin of the name Van der Kaap

Between 1810-1813 the Netherlands were part of France and in 1811 emperor Napoleon obliged every Dutchman to choose a surname. Karst Jacobs chose the name van der Kaap, probably because he lived on a site called 'de Kaap'. In that neighbourhood there is furthermore a small canal called the Kaapdiep en the house on the pictures is called 'The Kaap'. See the map on this page and on this page. On this map you can see where most of the Van der Kaap's' live in Holland.

Karst Jacobs van der Kaap was a peat digger who lived in Zevenhuizen on the border of the Dutch provinces of Groningen en Drente. After some time when the digging was finished the Van der Kaap's moved to the south-eastern part of Drente, where they probably were peat diggers again. Some of them were shippers on a peat barge. Again when the digging ended they moved on, some of them to the textile industry in Twente (Overijssel), others to industries in the southern and western part of Holland. Some van der Kaap's went to Limburg, possibly to work in the coal mines. 

If you have any questions regarding this site or when you have relevant additional information please contact me at kaap@home.nl