Tuesday, October 15, 2024
GREEN BAY – Willem Keeris has been making the long journey from his small town in the Netherlands to Brown County for nearly 30 years.
Each visit has been driven by a simple yet powerful motivation: uncovering the histories of Dutch Catholic immigrants who settled in the area between 1840 and 1940.
His work has become a passion, helping families on both sides of the Atlantic reconnect with their past.
But to Keeris, it’s just a way of life.
“Some people think it’s special what I do, but for me it’s normal,” Keeris says with a modest shrug.
When asked how many times he’s made the trip, he pauses to think, “I don’t know, 27, 26, 28, something like that. I lost count.”
He’s been making the journey for nearly three decades now, and it’s something he still enjoys as much as when he first started.
“I meet people here. I meet friends. In the Netherlands, people go on vacation every summer for three weeks to Spain. I go to the United States,” he said.
Keeris’ annual trips typically last four weeks, giving him plenty of time to immerse himself in the archives and pursue new leads.
“It’s not worthwhile to make the whole trip across the Atlantic Ocean for one week or so,” he explained.
Keeris had been interested in genealogy since the 1980s.
“It slowly begins, of course, and then 10 years later, you don’t know exactly when you started,” he said.
His research started with the people from his hometown of Zeeland in North Brabant, Holland, where everyone he knew was Catholic.
It made sense to focus on Dutch Catholics who emigrated, as they came from the same environment in which he grew up.
“I’m born in a little town in the south of the Netherlands,” he explained. “When I grew up when I was a teenager, everybody was Catholic. When I became interested in the people who emigrated, they were Catholic because they lived in a Catholic environment. So that’s the only reason,” he explained.
His first visit to Brown County dates back to 1994 when a history professor invited him to join in researching Dutch Catholic immigrants for a book.
“He asked me to join him, to accompany him to this area,” Keeris recalled. “I already made up my mind that I wanted to go to the De Pere area, just to see where those people went. So that’s what I did. The rest is history.”
Keeris describes his work as a challenge that keeps him coming back.
“Every time, it’s a big puzzle, and it’s fun to find all the pieces and put them together,” he said with a smile.
Every year, he uncovers new stories, new connections and new challenges.
“Most of the time, people contact me — people in the United States and people in the Netherlands,” he added. “Because every year there are other families who ask me questions, so every year there is something else to discover.”
But not every question has an easy answer.
“Often documents in the U.S. say, ‘Where do you come from? Holland.’ And that’s about it,” he said laughing. “Although our country is not really big, there are a lot of towns and a lot of people. So if the only reference is ‘my ancestor is from Holland,’ it’s sometimes difficult to find. But if you do, it’s rewarding.”
One memory that stands out for Keeris is finding a death certificate that had eluded him for years.
“This year, I found the death certificate of a woman I was looking for for two years. Never found it until this year. So for this year, that’s one of the things that stands out,” Keeris said.
Despite the difficulties, the rewards are clear.
“People want to know where they come from, and sometimes I’m able to answer the questions. Not always, but sometimes.”
It’s not just the thrill of discovery that draws him back, though.
Over the years, Keeris has built lasting connections with people in the U.S.
“But another reason to come is to see those friends,” he explained.
For Keeris, it’s not just about the research or the discoveries — it’s about the connections, the people, and the stories that span continents and generations.
He added, “If you want to know where you’re going to, it’s good to know where you come from.”
