History of the Silver Spoon
My Oma (paternal grandmother) was from the patrician Teves family in Friesland. She immigrated to the United States with her siblings and disgraced father in the first decade of the 20th century. Her father brought with him a favorite spoon. I was told he ate with it every meal, thus accounting for its wear and allowing us to infer that he was right handed.
The spoon bears the inscription "A J van der Heide is geboren den 24 Maart 1825" translated as A J van der Heide is born on 24 March 1825.
Albert Jans van der Heide [28222] M
Albert v d Heide is the subject of this birth spoon. His family is summarized at this link. Albert was born Mar 24, 1825 in Harlingen, Friesland, Neth., as the spoon memorializes, and died there Oct 27, 1828. His sister was Tryntje van der Heide [22] (1827-1889), the mother of Rev. Jan Teves Teves [11] (1854-1913) who brought the spoon to America.
Albert died in infancy. An subsequent sibling was named after him (e.g., a replacement child), but he also died young: Albert van der Heide [28224] (1829-1830).
The Silversmith
The spoon bears the stamps of the silversmith, which are somewhat worn, but shown here:
With the help of my distant cousin, Melle van der Heide and Hugo ter Avest at the Hannemahuis centrum voor Harlinger cultuur en historie (Hannemahuis center for Harlingen culture and history), the silversmith has been identified as Willem Hoogland of Alkmaar and the date the spoon was produced as between 1740-1750. Thus, the inscription memorializing Albert vd Heide's birth was made many years latter.
Dutch Silversmith Marks
A referral, seeking further information, was made to Jan Schipper, a silver marks expert in the Netherlands. He provided additional information, translated here.
"Willem Hoogland sr .: member of the guild in Alkmaar on 28 January 1734. (Zilver van het Noorderkwartier). According to Citroen (Dutch Goldsmith's etc.) working in Alkmaar from 1734 to 1772. Son Willem Hoogland jr. With maker's mark HL becomes member of the guild on January 6, 1772; it seems that he succeeds his father. (article by Hemko van der Zwaag in the Stavelij Yearbook 2007). Given the fact that the spoon bears the master mark of Hoogland sr. It can be dated in the period 1734-1772. Attached is an image of his mt's exits in the years 1738 and 1739."
