Andrew, Epe in Gelderland, the Netherlands, lies halfway between Vaasen and Heerde, to the West of Deventer, Overijssel. (Coordinates: 52°21'N 5°59'E) It has always been in the Netherlands and shouldn't be confused with other places named Epe. The Province of Overijssel lies between this Epe and the eastern (German) border. My grandmother was born there and we often visited our family there (on the Veluwe). I think you are referring to Epe, Westphalen and confusing the two. There is also an Epe in Niedersachsen, but the three are different places, just like the two Middelburgs in South Africa. It is important to note that the Province of Gelderland is situated in the mid -eastern Netherlands, and is not part of Holland, which are Provinces (Noord and Zuid) further west. The Netherlands remained neutral in WW1 and expected to remain neutral in WWII, when it was unexpectedly annexed by Germany. They did not side with Germany in WW1 and as far as I know no border shifts took place at that time. The eastern border is much older than the united Germany itself, and has not shifted since 1815, when minor adjustments took place. The Provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland were part of the initial 11 Provinces of the United Netherlands in the sixteenth century. The Pennsylvania Dutch are indeed from the Anabaptist movement from Germany, but the Mennonites, with similar leanings, were followers of the Fryske (Frisian) religious leader Menno Symons. At the moment there is a similar but less severe branch of the Anabaptists in Grand Rapids, which was started by Rev de Neui from Germany, with it's first spitiual leader being my great grand-uncle Douwe Laansma from Makkum, Friesland. The Anabaptists splintered off from the main Church before Luther started the Reformation. It is a very old movement, and was very popular in Germany, East and West Friesland and Groningen wheer life is harsh and austere. The church in Grand Rapids is known as the "Holland Church", doing mainly missionary work under young people. Members of the congregation are known for their plain living. Douwe's mother belonged to the Mennonite movement, and it was from her he recieved his inspiration. They emigrated to Grand Rapids in 1891 (along with most of the young adults from that town!). Gerda Pieterse Richards Bay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Rodger" <rodgera@audioio.com> To: <south-africa@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2011 3:51 AM Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Weyers -- Holland and Germany > On 12 Nov 2011, at 4:31 AM, Sonia van Heerden wrote: > >> I have another surname that is puzzling me. >> >> My records indicate that Heinrich WEYERS (or Weyer HENDRIKS) was >> born ca 1680 in either Eppe, Germany or Netherlands, christened in >> 1700. He arrived in SA 1702 on the Oostersteen, married May 1, 1718 >> to (Elsje) Anna Elisabeth GERRITSDOCHTER, daughter of Caspar >> GERRITS (GERRYTS) and Elsie (Elisabeth) (PYL) SPELDENBERG. He was a >> soldier and burger 1714, had 3 daughters. >> >> Can anyone advise me whether he was in fact from the Netherlands or >> Germany? >> >> Sonia >> Toronto, Canada > > Epe is in Germany, but only maybe 10 kilometres SSE of Enschede in > the Netherlands. > > The western border of German has been changed a number of times, even > after World War I when a slab of territory was taken from Germany and > added to Belgium in exchange for Belgium ceding a similar slice > surrounding Dunkerk to France. (Its Flemish name was Duinekerke, > "the Church on the Dunes", and its current name is Dunkerque, a > curious hybrid spelling.) There are still a few Flemish-named > villages remaining in France: for example, Marck, just west of > Dunkirk; the village of Oost-Duinekerke is in Belgium. That change > was made linguistic grounds, the population being more French than > Flemish-speaking, but to this day perhaps 10% of Belgium's population > is German-speaking. I don't know whether similar changes occurred > with the Dutch border, bearing in mind that the Dutch were on the > German side in that war, but Epe could possibly be of partly German > character; nevertheless it is now in Germany. If you have a map, > it's just a little way off the A31. > > It needs to be borne in mind that "Germany", as a political entity, > only came into existence in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War; it > was whittled down from around 360 separate princely States before the > French Revolution to its present number of around 13 or 14. The main > phases were: some amalgamations after the French Revolutionary Wars, > more consolidation after the Franco-Prussian War when Austria was > squeezed out because of its control of huge non-German-speaking > countries, and the further changes when Austria, also on the losing > side, was stripped of most of its territory after World War I by the > granting of autonomy to those countries as Yugoslavia, > Czechoslovakia, etc (and those countries have been further > dismembered by ethnic squabbles since Soviet control collapsed). > > As an aside, there are also people known as "Pennsylvania Dutch": > these are actually descendants of German immigrants. Indeed, the > word "Dutch" has a clear etymological link to Deutsch which means > "German". So both terms have to be used carefully in the context of > the times you are talking about. > > Andrew Rodger > rodgera@audioio.com > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SOUTH-AFRICA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message