
to
the History of the
Valk Family
ORIGIN OF THE VALK NAME:
The word "Valk" means falcon in both Dutch and German. As I
have researched my ancestors over the years, I have come across the Valk surname
with origins from the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Lithuania, as
well as other countries. It is likely that my ancestors may have been
falconers, who raised and trained falcons to hunt for royalty and the
nobility. My Valk ancestors were from the Province of Friesland, in the
Netherlands. Surnames were not in common use in the Netherlands until around
1811, when under French rule, the Dutch citizens were required to choose a
surname for census and other official purposes. The earliest records I can
find on my Valk ancestors were those who were living in the province of
Friesland in the mid-1700's. My ancestor, Jantje Joukes
Valk, was born about 1744 in the town of Koudom, which is located in the
municipality of Hemelumer Oldeferd in Friesland. His children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren settled in the town of Marrum, in the
municipality of Ferwerderadeel,
Friesland for several generations before migrating to the
United States around 1882.
THE VALKS IN AMERICA:
Around 1882, my great-great-grandfather, Tjamme "James" Wiegers Valk
emigrated to the U.S. with his fianc�e Berber "Barbara" J. DeJong.
The family story is that they were married on board ship by the captain as they
crossed the Atlantic, but after arriving in the United States, had to go through the
ceremony again on land. They first made their way to Rock Island, Rock
Island County, Illinois, where they met with a community of other Dutch
expatriates. It is in Rock Island County that their marriage record was
found. After a short stay in Holland,
Ottawa County, Michigan, they settled in Grand Rapids, Kent
County, Michigan, where their descendants live today.
Select an
AnceStory:
William
"Bill" Valk
(1912 - 1989) |
William
James Valk
(1886 - 1950) |
Tjammes
"James" Wiegers Valk
(1860 - 1922) |
Wieger Tjammes
Valk
(1827 - 1888) |
Tjamme Jantjes
Valk
(c. 1785 - 1842) |
Jantje Joukes Valk
(c. 1744 - 1817) |
Jouke Valk
(dates unknown) |

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Miriam
Robbins Midkiff
page created 6 Jul 2003
page updated: 6 Jun 2004

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