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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Any Jewelry, post: 4310385, member: 2844&quot;]Unfortunately the left hand part of the letter is missing, which includes some relevant information.</p><p>From the inclusion of the odd Indonesian word it looks like the writer is Dutch-Indonesian, Indisch in Dutch. Soerat, for instance, means letter in Indonesian.</p><p><br /></p><p>The writer introduces himself as the youngest son of someone the adressee knows. He is engaged and has children.</p><p>Having children out of wedlock wasn&#039;t that unusual in the Dutch East Indies. &#039;Illegitimate&#039; children were usually the result a relationship between a European or part-European man and a native Indonesian woman, generally of a lower class (servant, shop assistant).</p><p>The children could be formally recognized by the father, thereby legitimizing them, and raised by him and a future wife. Sometimes the father would marry the mother of his children.</p><p>In the case of the writer it is clear that he has officially recognized his children, and they are going to be part of his new family.</p><p><br /></p><p>I get the impression that he is looking for sponsorship from the addressee to come to the US.</p><p>He says he has a modest stipend, so he has his own income.</p><p><br /></p><p>The addressee is certainly Indisch, she is Mrs W. Hondius van Gessel, which means she was married to Willem Hondius van Gessel, a plantation owner on Java. Her maiden name was Leonora Dumas. Both families were Indisch.</p><p><br /></p><p>Genealogical info on Willem Hondius van Gessel, in Dutch, but it shouldn&#039;t be too hard to follow:</p><p><a href="https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-dumas/I500676.php" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-dumas/I500676.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-dumas/I500676.php</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a studio photo of his children:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.memorix.nl%2Fams%2Fthumb%2F640x480%2Fbeffb518-e08c-dec4-a30e-9d09c6785c20.jpg&amp;sp=1631794792T69c061664ca0799b712fabcf81aa0afd66e5ed55d4234bbb1b8d0668899dd6e3" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/detail/0106faca-995e-b134-d86c-77a5a3066951" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/detail/0106faca-995e-b134-d86c-77a5a3066951" rel="nofollow">https://archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/detail/0106faca-995e-b134-d86c-77a5a3066951</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Below is a portrait of Willem and Leonora&#039;s daughter Ellen Hondius van Gessel. It looks like she is wearing a Javanese &#039;kebaya&#039; (blouse worn with a sarung) and Javanese hair jewellery.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie49" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Indisch people lived in two cultures with great ease. So much so that foreign visitors were surprised by the level of education and European style sophistication many of &#039;these mixed race people&#039; had.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/rolleyes.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie51" alt=":hilarious:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos.geni.com%2Fp13%2Fe1%2F9b%2F4b%2Fb8%2F53444844e52d61a7%2Felly_hondius_van_gessel_large.jpg&amp;sp=1631794792Td9adf7f86ff8d58b7a5558c5f587039ba235e42e2e0b9af49dd7b3e9d718ffab" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://www.geni.com/people/Ellen-Emily-Alice-Hondius-van-Gessel/6000000005611531147" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.geni.com/people/Ellen-Emily-Alice-Hondius-van-Gessel/6000000005611531147" rel="nofollow">https://www.geni.com/people/Ellen-Emily-Alice-Hondius-van-Gessel/6000000005611531147</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I prefer to use the Dutch term Indisch instead of Dutch Indonesian, because many Indisch people had no Dutch or even Indonesian ancestry, but European and Asian.</p><p>An example is the addressee, Leonora Hondius van Gessel-Dumas, who clearly had French ancestors.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/wink.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=";)" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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