The second son of Jan Claessen and
Margaretha Claessen was born in Deich-und Sielrott on 15 October 1785. He was named Jacob Janssen, the son of
Jan. His early life was spent in and
around Deich-und Sielrott and the nearby sea port Nessmersiel. During his adolescent and young adult years,
Jacob received carpentry training along with his brother. Though two generations had been labeled
arbeiter by profession, Jacob and his brother worked as carpenters.
On 3 May 1810 and at the age of 24,
Jacob Janssen married Greetje Claassen on 3 May 1810. Greetje was seven years his elder (born 2
February 1778). By 1811, Jacob Janssen’s
father Jan Claessen adopted the Dröst surname and so, Jacob Janssen himself
became Jacob Janssen Dröst. Jacob held a
new surname that he would be required to pass to his children. Yet, Dutch tradition still managed to
influence the names of the Jacob Janssen Dröst children. As a middle name, they would receive their
father’s first name with an added “s” to denote that they were children of
Jacob.
Jacob Janssen Dröst known
children:
Margrete Jacobs Dröst, (female child, records exist)
Ettie Jacobs Dröst, (female
child, records exist)
Jan Jacobs Dröst, born 29
November 1822 Deich-und Sielrott
The Napoleonic Wars ended in 1813
as the Jacob Janssen Dröst family was beginning. After 1813, citizens of Deich-und Sielrott
were, once again, part of the Kingdom of Prussia. However by 1815, Prussia ceded East Frisia to
the newly formed independent Kingdom of Hanover, the fourth largest state in
the German Confederation (which also included Prussia). While
Jacob Janssen Dröst’s country changed, so did his life. Though his family was growing in one regard,
it was shrinking in another. His mother
had died in 1812 at the age of 64. Soon
after, his father Jan Claessen Dröst died in 1815 at 67 years of age. They were both living in Nessmersiel while
Jacob and his family were in Deich-und Sielrott.
Jacob Janssen Dröst lived and remained
in Deich-und Sielrott until his death on 10 December 1848 at age 63. His children were raised and grew up as
citizens of the Kingdom of Hannover.
Greetje remained a widow after her husband’s death and at some point
moved to Nessmersiel. On 23 June 1862,
she died in Nessmersiel, still a citizen of the Kingdom of Hannover. Though Nessmersiel had been under the rule of
Hannover for nearly 50 years, Frisians were becoming nervous about Prussian
aggression in Europe. Of particular
concern was the aggressive actions of the Prussian general Count Otto von
Bismarck.