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Genealogy Introduction
(Go
directly to Genealogy website)
Generation I of the Te Selle Family genealogy
begins with Hermen Wijggers (aka Hermen te Selle) who lived
from 1685-1736. Under the naming convention of the time,
Hermen was originally given the surname "Wijggers" because of his
birthplace on the farm called "Wijggershuise". However, in
1712 when he married and moved to the farm called "de Selle",
his surname commonly became known as "te Selle".
The Netherlands was
annexed by Napoleon (1810-1813) and formed a part of the French
empire. Legislation of that period known as the Napoleonic
Code required that each family choose an official family surname,
and that henceforth all children would keep their father's surname.
Thus, the name "te Selle" became an official family
surname name as part
of the government practice of civil registration. During that
time sons began taking and keeping the surname of their father,
rather than changing their surname to correspond to the place where
they lived. As a result, nowhere in either The Netherlands or
in the United States have we thus far come
across people carrying the "te Selle" family name that cannot be
traced back through the Te Selle family tree to Hermen Wijggers te
Selle. (Note: When the Napoleonic Code was first imposed
in The Netherlands, many Dutch families apparently did not think
that the practice would last of keeping a family surname for many
generations. Therefore, some of these families chose silly
surnames as a joke. Unfortunately, descendants of those
families are still suffering from that ill-advised name choice many
generations later!)
Geert te Selle in Winterswijk, Netherlands,
has been the primary person gathering and organizing the information
for the Te Selle Family Genealogy. Dirk Willem te Selle
in Enschede, Netherlands, Ellen TeSelle Boal,
and Norma TeSelle Prophet in Firth, Nebraska, have also been
significant contributors to the genealogy detail. Many other
family members and others have contributed information, photos, and
memorabilia. If any reader of this website has information
that would be a meaningful addition to the genealogy, please contact
us at
webmaster@tesellefamily.com.
The published genealogy on this website currently includes a
complete listing of Generation I through Generation VI. Generations beyond Generation VI have
only been
partially posted to this public website in order to respect the privacy rights
of the individuals involved. Anyone born after 1920 who is
still living is listed as "afgeschermd" (Dutch term for
"protected").
Even though we do not publish data about
living individuals, we do maintain complete genealogy data for all
generations, and are anxious to gather as much information as
possible about all of the Te Selle family, past and present.
If you have information about births, deaths, marriages, children,
or other interesting information about any members of the Te Selle
family, or if you wish to pursue additional
genealogical research regarding more recent generations, please contact
us at
webmaster@tesellefamily.com. We appreciate your input and support.
(Go
directly to Genealogy website)
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