Germany
Information provided on the family history in Germany is from the research of the late Vivian R. Corkum from her travels to Europe and published in her book "Von Gorkum of Johannes of Holland" 2003. I am grateful for the work of Vivian. Until I read her book, I knew nothing about the family before arriving in Halifax in 1752.
(Click on pictures below to enlarge)
(Click on pictures below to enlarge)
Wesel
Johannes' son Peter Heinrich left Gorinchem and moved to Wesel, Germany in 1572. He received the surname "von Gorinchem" (from Gorinchem).
Wesel is approximately 140 kilometers east of Gorinchem.
Today you can drive there in 1-1/2 hours but in those days of horse and wagon, it would have probably taken 2 to 3 days.
Today you can drive there in 1-1/2 hours but in those days of horse and wagon, it would have probably taken 2 to 3 days.
Willibrordi Cathedral in Wesel. This is the church my ancestors here would have attended. The town including the cathedral was almost totally destroyed by bombing in World War 2 and has been completely rebuilt since the war.
(Pictures from tourism web site.)
Town Web Site Tourism Web Site FaceBook
(Pictures from tourism web site.)
Town Web Site Tourism Web Site FaceBook
Westhofen
Peter Heinrich von Gorkum (son of the above Peter Heinrich, grandson of Johannes) "inherited" the Schaben Mill (or Schabenmühle) in Westhofen in 1654. This was following the Thirty Years War that devastated much of Europe. The history says he "inherited" it but it is more likely that he was given the title by the rulers of the area with the previous owners having disappeared during the war. Peter remained in Westhofen just two years and returned to Wesel leaving his two sons, Johann (Jan) and Peter, in charge of the mill.
Johann and Peter apparently had financial difficulties and ran up a significant debt. Peter left for the East Indies about 1659 and managed to acquire a fortune during his five years away. In 1664 he returned and paid off the debt. Peter appears to have gone away again as his name no longer appeared on the mill. We do not know what happened to him thereafter.
In 1698, Johann's son, Johann Heinrich von Gorkum, is now the owner of the mill. By 1707 there was a partner as half the mill was now owned by another person. Johann Heinrich died in 1731 leaving his half to two of his three sons, Heinrich and Wilhelm. The older son, Johann Hermann had his own mill at that time. Heinrich died leaving Wilhelm as sole owner of that half of the mill. Court records show that Wilhelm could not get along with his partner resulting in a judge ordering that each partner run the mill exclusively on alternate weeks. In 1746 Wilhelm sold his half of the mill. He remained in Westhofen until 1750 after which he disappeared from the records there. That was because he and his brother Hermann and their families left Germany in 1752 to come to Nova Scotia.
In 1698, Johann's son, Johann Heinrich von Gorkum, is now the owner of the mill. By 1707 there was a partner as half the mill was now owned by another person. Johann Heinrich died in 1731 leaving his half to two of his three sons, Heinrich and Wilhelm. The older son, Johann Hermann had his own mill at that time. Heinrich died leaving Wilhelm as sole owner of that half of the mill. Court records show that Wilhelm could not get along with his partner resulting in a judge ordering that each partner run the mill exclusively on alternate weeks. In 1746 Wilhelm sold his half of the mill. He remained in Westhofen until 1750 after which he disappeared from the records there. That was because he and his brother Hermann and their families left Germany in 1752 to come to Nova Scotia.
Westhofen is about 300 kilometers south of Wesel. Just over three hours drive today but in the 1600's by horse and wagon it would probably have taken about a week to travel that far. A horse is estimated to travel about 8 kilometers an hour or about 50 kilometers a day.
Old documents indicate the Schabenmühle was located on the Seebach river not far from the intersection with the Altbach river. The drawing here is what the mill looked like in 1906. The second picture below is located above and slightly to the right of the roundabout in the picture above. The rivers are small and hidden by trees but the Seebach is the red line below (originates from a spring off picture to the left) and the Altbach is the blue line. The Schabenmühle is indicated by the red arrow and the next two pictures zoom in closer. My thanks to Mayor Fehlinger of Westhofen for identifying the location of the building.
The Google Maps coordinates are 49.703500, 8.250354.
The history of the Schabenmühle was printed in the book Von Westhofener Häusen und Leuten (Westhofen Houses and People) by Christoph Julius Johannes Grünewald in 1984. The book is in German and I have translated as best as I can the chapter on this mill into English. You can get a PDF of my translation here.
The last Gorkum to own the Schabenmühle was my 5th Great Grandfather Johann Wilhelm Gorkum who sold in 1746 and came to Nova Scotia in 1752. Wilhelm's brother, Johann Hermann Gorkum, accompanied Wilhelm to Nova Scotia but died on the voyage. Hermann also was a miller and in 1726 he built his own mill, called the Neumühle (or New Mill). I don't know the exact location but it was somewhere outside of town to the east. Unfortunately it was in a poor location and not profitable and he sold it in 1745. The history of that mill was also in Grünewald's book and I have an English translation of that available here.
Finally would you like to know about some of the shenanigans going on in Westhofen at that time? This short item (titled the Westhofen Hooligans), also from Grünewald's book is about one such incident that involved Hermann Gorkum! See here.
The picture at the top of this page is a portion of the Seebach river. That and more pictures are available at
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Seebachquelle
Old documents indicate the Schabenmühle was located on the Seebach river not far from the intersection with the Altbach river. The drawing here is what the mill looked like in 1906. The second picture below is located above and slightly to the right of the roundabout in the picture above. The rivers are small and hidden by trees but the Seebach is the red line below (originates from a spring off picture to the left) and the Altbach is the blue line. The Schabenmühle is indicated by the red arrow and the next two pictures zoom in closer. My thanks to Mayor Fehlinger of Westhofen for identifying the location of the building.
The Google Maps coordinates are 49.703500, 8.250354.
The history of the Schabenmühle was printed in the book Von Westhofener Häusen und Leuten (Westhofen Houses and People) by Christoph Julius Johannes Grünewald in 1984. The book is in German and I have translated as best as I can the chapter on this mill into English. You can get a PDF of my translation here.
The last Gorkum to own the Schabenmühle was my 5th Great Grandfather Johann Wilhelm Gorkum who sold in 1746 and came to Nova Scotia in 1752. Wilhelm's brother, Johann Hermann Gorkum, accompanied Wilhelm to Nova Scotia but died on the voyage. Hermann also was a miller and in 1726 he built his own mill, called the Neumühle (or New Mill). I don't know the exact location but it was somewhere outside of town to the east. Unfortunately it was in a poor location and not profitable and he sold it in 1745. The history of that mill was also in Grünewald's book and I have an English translation of that available here.
Finally would you like to know about some of the shenanigans going on in Westhofen at that time? This short item (titled the Westhofen Hooligans), also from Grünewald's book is about one such incident that involved Hermann Gorkum! See here.
The picture at the top of this page is a portion of the Seebach river. That and more pictures are available at
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Seebachquelle
And now ... the Schabenmühle!
Notice in the drawing that the extension on the left straddles over the stream. You can still see that extension somewhat modified in the picture above just to the right of the stairs. You can just see the curve below ... the stream runs under it along the foundation of the building. I would guess that the water wheel would have been placed just to the left of the stairs in the original mill. There is an extension on this side of the mill in the drawing which obviously was removed likely during that "reconstruction". The next picture below was taken facing the southeast corner (note the square post in the above picture) and here you can clearly see the Seebach stream below the footbridge.
Sign Translation:
Grain mill operated by the Seebach, located outside the former Fleckenmauer. First mentioned in the 16th century, but probably older. From 1698 with an additional oil mill operated simultaneously by two miller families. Co-financed by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate (The Fleckenmauer was a medieval town defense wall.) |
Some more pictures from the town of Westhofen.
Market Square is located just a few blocks west of the Schabenmühle. Here is the Evangelical Parish of Westhofen, the Protestant church which I believe may have originally been the Reformed Church that our Gorkum ancestors in Westhofen would have attended.
The church is mentioned for the first time in 1284. Burnt out in the Thirty Years' War, it was rebuilt in the 17th century, preserving its Gothic form. The later extensions and alterations in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, to which the church owes its present form, are documented by various dates and inscriptions. After a long construction period, it is completed in 1896 with the placement of the spiky Gothic helmet as a tower roof. (From https://www.rheinhessen.de/en/a-protestant-church-westhofen)
(Next to it on the left behind the trees is the Catholic Church of St. Peter and Paul.)
The church is mentioned for the first time in 1284. Burnt out in the Thirty Years' War, it was rebuilt in the 17th century, preserving its Gothic form. The later extensions and alterations in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, to which the church owes its present form, are documented by various dates and inscriptions. After a long construction period, it is completed in 1896 with the placement of the spiky Gothic helmet as a tower roof. (From https://www.rheinhessen.de/en/a-protestant-church-westhofen)
(Next to it on the left behind the trees is the Catholic Church of St. Peter and Paul.)
(The following pictures are by Michael Jung, found at https://www.wonnegau.de/westhofen-geschichte)
On the left is the Evangelical Parish of Westhofen (and the smaller Catholic church next to it on the right). On the right is the Seemühle, another mill. This is the first mill on the Seebach before the intersection with the Altbach. Note that it still has a waterwheel.
On the left is the Evangelical Parish of Westhofen (and the smaller Catholic church next to it on the right). On the right is the Seemühle, another mill. This is the first mill on the Seebach before the intersection with the Altbach. Note that it still has a waterwheel.
Major update to page, July 6, 2023.