Background

Sjoerd (pronounced SHUWRT) Vander Schaaf was born in the province of Friesland, The Netherlands.  Although the province of Friesland was part of The Netherlands in the 19th century, in many ways it still exhibited the characteristics of an independent country. The province had its own language, Frisian, and even its own system of government. 

In 1840 the population was 232,000 people, most of which were Protestant.

Up until the 1880’s the population was increasing. However, the agricultural crisis in the 1880’s resulted in a large number of people seeking to emigrate and a significant decrease in the number of inhabitants. Most of the emigrants headed to the United States. 

Friesland consisted of eleven towns (Leeuwarden, Bolsward, Franeker, Sneek, Dokkum, Harlingen, Stavoren, Sloten, Workum, Ylst en Hindelopen), and 30 grietenijen (municipalities) and two islands. 

The grietenijen, in turn, consisted of a number of kerkdorpen (villages with a church). 

The town of Harlingen, where part of the Vander Schaaf clan lived, expanded around the kerkdorpen called Almenum (of the grietenij of Barradeel). Almenum was the birthplace of Sjoerd Vander Schaaf. 

The people of Almenum, went to church in Harlingen. Today, Almenum is part of Harlingen itself.

Midlum is also a kerkdorp (of the grietenij Franekeradeel).  Sjoerd live here as a young boy.

Education was of a low level. In 1840 there were 333 elementary schools in all of Friesland. 

Education above the elementary school level was possible in Latin schools. Usually the number of students in each Latin school did not exceed 75.  Franeker boasted a university. However, it was limited to theological and law students.

Most of Friesland’s inhabitants worked in agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing, forestry, peat digging, chalk burning and commerce.  Industrialization was limited to mills for grain and oil, saw mills, and tile factories. Tile factories produced not only roof tiles and floor tiles – plavuizen en estrikken, but even the more civilized variety of pottery, and the polychrome colored plateel (faience) and tiles (in the village of Makkum). 

Shipping yards were numerous, as the main means of transportation was over water. Harlingen was one of the coastal towns, with shipping lines to England, Denmark and Norway.

Most of the people lived in very poor circumstances. Families were generally large, making it difficult to overcome the poverty.