Featured Interesting letter from Surabaya 1930?

If someone who can read Dutch can post the gist of this partial letter, that’d be great. The recipient is listed on Ancestry if I need to find more on him I’ll try to find my password. The words are a bit like German so I see there’s some mention of two children.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/189102681@N07/shares/h6fH12

 

Unfortunately the left hand part of the letter is missing, which includes some relevant information.
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.

The writer introduces himself as the youngest son of someone the adressee knows. He is engaged and has children.
Having children out of wedlock wasn't that unusual in the Dutch East Indies. 'Illegitimate' 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).
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.
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.

I get the impression that he is looking for sponsorship from the addressee to come to the US.
He says he has a modest stipend, so he has his own income.

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.

Genealogical info on Willem Hondius van Gessel, in Dutch, but it shouldn't be too hard to follow:
https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-dumas/I500676.php

Here is a studio photo of his children:


https://archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/detail/0106faca-995e-b134-d86c-77a5a3066951

Below is a portrait of Willem and Leonora's daughter Ellen Hondius van Gessel. It looks like she is wearing a Javanese 'kebaya' (blouse worn with a sarung) and Javanese hair jewellery.
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 'these mixed race people' had.


https://www.geni.com/people/Ellen-Emily-Alice-Hondius-van-Gessel/6000000005611531147

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.
An example is the addressee, Leonora Hondius van Gessel-Dumas, who clearly had French ancestors.

 

Thanks much, AJ, quite informative, I checked all,the links and screensaved them.

 

You're welcome. Funny how a simple card with partial text gives us a nice glimpse into the complex Dutch colonial world.

 

Interesting detail, Willem Hondius van Gessel was both the owner of one plantation, and administrator (manager) on another.
This happened more often. My husband's Dutch great-grandfather was also owner of one plantation and administrator of another. His own plantation was on his Madurese-Javanese wife's land(), the other plantation bordered his (his wife's), and it was owned by a Dutch investment company.

 

Found another bit of info, Willem and Leonora's daughter Olga was a painter and sculptor. I wonder if the portrait of her sister could be by her.

https://www.ensie.nl/pieter-scheen/olga-edna-lettice-hondius-van-gessel
https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/15531887-olga-hondius-van-gessel-1906-1995-boats-on-the-water

And a photo of daughter Beatrice:

https://www.geni.com/people/Beatrice-O-P-S-Hondius-van-Gessel/6000000005611373159

 

Beautiful family .....great picture ! Great translation and story @Any Jewelry !

 

AJ you are amazing.

 

What a fabulous thread!. So interesting

 

You might enjoy some more Dutch East Indies family photos. Not related to the subject, but another glimpse into colonial life.

Two sons of my husband's Dutch great-grandfather and his Madurese-Javanese wife, a princess of the Setyoningrat family, Madurese regents in East Java.

First my husband's grandfather, a remarkable man of many talents.
He was a member of the Resistance on Java in WWII. He was captured by the Japanese and tortured. He came out of captivity as strong-willed as ever, and was a very loving grandfather to his grandson. (They only let him go because he was a civil engineer with the railroads, he made the trains run on time.)
It looks like the photo is just the head, but he is actually wearing a similar white suit to his brother's below.



His brother with his wife, I love the 'tropical' suit:

 

Great photos @Any Jewelry

 

Willem Hondius Van Gessel was my grandfather. By the time he was living on Long Branch in San Diego, California he was married to his 3rd wife (my Oma - Frederika Benner) who was Dutch. They met in Den Hauge and then came to the United States. Opa had 5 children with his first wife (Olga was one of these children) who was Dutch/Indonesian, 2 with his second wife (Grace and Humphrey) who was also Dutch/Indonesian and 5 more daughters with my Oma (Mildred, Phyllis, Irma, Wilhelmina (my mother) and Emily). He was indeed Dutch/Indonesian and did own a rubber plantation in Java.

 

Welcome to Antiquers @kmc512 . And thank you for the information, which will be of interest to @springfld.arsenal and others who read this thread.