A Sinking Ship Brings The Meester’s to the U.S.
According to ships’ records and genealogical registries A ship carrying four brothers and their Father sunk outside of New York in 1868. The Father, Hinderk, age 49, has no further record from this date on. The brothers Albert, Hind, Johan, Johannes where separated when the ship sank. Two brothers went towards Minnesota and the other two ended up in Iowa/Nebraska. Both sets of brothers thought the others had died and thus lost contact with each other.
What’s in a name??
Most surnames have many different meanings, Meester for instance in some countries means “master”. However, the most prevalent usage of the Meester name appears to be occupational in origin. Our research indicates that it can be associated with the Dutch, meaning, “one who is a teacher.” Although this interpretation is the result of onomastic research, you may find other meanings for the Meester family name. If you do please fill out our Meester research form.