Jacob Wilhelm SCHEERES

• info from personal knowledge of Aafje H. Scheeres-Stamps - Scheeres family register in my possession I remember my Opa very fondly. He was always very kind to me. Never would I guess that he was very firm with his own boys. I remember his farm-house in Warren, Michigan. It was a two-story, yellowish, woodsided home. Opa would give me lots of pink or white pepermints and plenty of my favorite Holland Rusk, a kind of Holland toast. Next to him, lived Arie and Rena and their family. I didn't always like it there; especially after Opa died. Mom explained that it had something to do with tante Rena.... Mom told me about how part of her family moved to America. She set sail with her mom and dad. Evidently, some of mom's brothers were already living in America - John, Bill and Arie. The rest stayed behind and suffered during World War II. The ship they crossed over on was later destroyed during the war. The Nazi were never forgiven for that or the other things they did. *** Opa had a dream or vision of the chaos to come. He urged his family to move with him to America. They also needed money, but could not sell their house due to the way in which they were "tied" to their property. (I suspect this was due to Opa's having a "coat of arms" above his shop and a royal license to sell to the Crown. During a particular winter, a boy went through the ice while skating.Opa dived into the water and pulled him out and brought him back to life--using techniques not yet developed. As it turned out, the boy was the son of the local notary or attorney. In gratitude, the notary took care of the entanglements on the property; and Opa was able to take the money from the sale to come to America with his family.

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