BACK IN TIME: Roelfke Tuinman (1884–1957)

Antoinette’s maternal great-grandmother; Susan’s maternal great-great-grandmother

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From the late nineteenth century into the twentieth, the world moved from horse-drawn transport to rockets orbiting the Earth, while Europe endured two world wars, economic crises, and profound social change.

Roelfke Tuinman was born in Leek, Groningen, Netherlands on Sunday, 22 June 1884, under the star sign Cancer in the Chinese year of the Monkey. She belonged to the Lost Generation, the generation that came of age during World War I and was often characterized by disillusionment, cynicism, and a questioning of traditional values.

She was the fifth of eight children and fourth daughter of her parents, Jan Tuinman (1850) and Geertje Veldhuis (1847).

The year 1884 stood firmly in the age of empires and industrial progress. Across Europe and beyond, nations were expanding their influence, building railways, factories, and modern cities. In November of that year, representatives of fourteen countries gathered for the Berlin Conference, where European powers negotiated the rules for colonizing and dividing large parts of Africa. The conference formalized ‌the “Scramble for Africa”, shaping the political map of the continent for decades to come. Those decisions would influence the lives of millions of people across Africa and Europe alike for generations.

From a rural childhood in Groningen to witnessing the dawn of the Space Age, Roelfke Tuinman lived through a lifetime in which the world changed faster than any generation before her.

Important events during Roelfke’s life

• 1890s – During the 1890s, the Netherlands experienced a significant acceleration in industrialization and modernization, characterized by the rise of “second industrialization” industries, the expansion of the railway network, and rapid urbanization. While starting later than in neighboring countries, this period marked a crucial transition from a primarily agrarian and commercial economy to a more industrialized one.
• 1884 – 21 June: Alexander, Prince of Orange, dies of typhoid fever, leaving King Willem III without a male heir. The monarchy faced public criticism and calls for abolition, with republican sentiment rising, led by figures like Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis.
• 1890 – 23 November: King Willem III dies, ending the personal union with Luxembourg and leading to the regency of Queen Emma for the young Queen Wilhelmina.

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After the death of William III of the Netherlands in 1890, his ten-year-old daughter Wilhelmina of the Netherlands became queen. Because she was still a minor, her mother, Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, governed the country, serving as regent from 1890 until 1898. During these eight years, Queen Emma acted as head of state, representing the monarchy and ensuring political stability during the young queen’s childhood.

Emma was 32, a woman (in a time when women couldn’t vote in the Netherlands), and of German origin, starting her regency with low expectations, yet she quickly won over the public and proved to be a careful and capable regent.

She worked closely with the Dutch government, respected the country’s constitutional system, and avoided political controversy. Her calm and dignified leadership strengthened public confidence in the monarchy when the Netherlands was modernizing and expanding economically.

Emma also focused strongly on preparing Wilhelmina for her future role as queen. She ensured her daughter received a thorough education in history, politics, languages, and statecraft, while gradually introducing her to royal duties. When Wilhelmina turned eighteen in 1898, she was formally inaugurated as queen in Amsterdam.

The regency of Queen Emma is often remembered as a period of stability and careful preparation, helping to secure the Dutch monarchy during a time when many European royal houses were facing growing political pressure.

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• 1885 – 13 July: The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam opened.
• 1901 – Dutch Compulsory Education Act is introduced, making it compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 12 to attend school. Besides giving children an education, this law also combats child labor. Only about six decades earlier, the grandfather of Roelfke’s husband had been in the penal colony of Veenhuizen where he earned money for labor at the tender age of five.
• 1903 – 17 December: Wright brothers’ first flight.
• 1905 – 23 September: Marries Marten Kuiper in Roden, Drenthe, Netherlands.
• 1906 – 4 September: Birth of son, Jan, in the Roderveld quarter in Roden.
• 1908 – 3 September: Birth of daughter, Geertje, in Roden.
• 1910 – 7 June: Birth of daughter, Tjipke, in Roden.
• 1912 – 1 October: Birth of son, Kornelis, in Roden.
• 1914 – 5 July: Birth of daughter, Jeepina.
• 1914 to 1918 – World War I.

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During World War I, the Netherlands remained officially neutral. While fighting devastated much of Europe, the Dutch government under Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and successive prime ministers worked carefully to avoid being drawn into the conflict. The country mobilized its army to defend its borders and prepared for the possibility of invasion, but it did not take part in the war itself.

Although the Netherlands avoided direct combat, the war still had a significant impact on daily life. Trade was severely disrupted because the country lay between the warring powers of Germany and the United Kingdom. Food and other goods became scarce, leading to rationing and rising prices. The Dutch government had to balance economic relations with both sides while maintaining its neutral position.

The Netherlands also became a refuge for people fleeing the war. In 1914 alone, around one million Belgian civilians crossed the border after the German invasion of Belgium. Many later returned home, but large refugee camps were established to house those who stayed. In addition, the Dutch interned thousands of foreign soldiers who entered their territory for the remainder of the war.

Despite remaining neutral, the war years placed great economic and social strain on the country.

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• 1916 – 25 June: Birth of son, Jan Albert.
• 1917 – 22 March: Death of son, Kornelis, in Dwingeloo, Drenthe, Netherlands.
• 1917 – Dutch constitutional reform, often referred to as the Pacification of 1917, reshapes the Dutch political system as it abolishes the census-based voting system, granting the right to vote to all men over the age of 23.
• 1918 – 28 July: Birth of son, Kornelis, in Dwingeloo, Drenthe.
• 1919 – Women gain voting rights in the Netherlands.
• 1920 – 9 March: The Netherlands joins the League of Nations.
• 1920 – 25 April: Birth of daughter, Derkien.
• 1922 – 24 January: Birth of son, Albert.
• 1924 – 26 July: Birth of daughter, Aldertine, in Hogersmilde, Drenthe.
• 1926 – 17 August: Death of daughter, Geertje, in Smilde, Drenthe, Netherlands.
• 1929 – The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggers the Great Depression.
• 1932 – Completion of the Afsluitdijk.
• 1939 – 7 January: Death of husband, Marten Kuiper, in Smilde, Drenthe.
• 1939 to 1945 – World War II.
• 1940 to 1945 – The German occupation of the Netherlands (10 May 1940 – 5 May 1945) began with a rapid five-day invasion, leading to a brutal Nazi regime under Arthur Seyss-Inquart. The occupation caused severe economic decline, the deportation of roughly 70% of the Jewish population, and resulted in the “Hunger Winter” of 1944–1945.
• 1945 – 5 May: Liberation of the Netherlands.
• 1953 – North Sea Flood.
• 1957 – 4 October: Launch of Sputnik 1 begins the space age.
• 1957 – 27 March: Roelfke Tuinman dies in Rotterdam.

22 June over the years…

• 1633 – The Roman Inquisition forced astronomer Galileo Galilei to recant his support for the Copernican heliocentric model, which stated that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Labeled “vehemently suspect of heresy,” Galileo was sentenced to life-long house arrest, and his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, was banned.
• 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates for the second time after the Battle of Waterloo.
• 1906 – Birth of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author and aviator (Gift from the Sea), in Englewood, New Jersey, United States.
• 1941 – Operation Barbarossa begins when Germany invades the Soviet Union.
• 1949 – Birth of Meryl Streep, American actress, in Summit, New Jersey, United States.
• 1953 – Birth of Cyndi Lauper, American Grammy Award-winning pop singer, Emmy Award-winning actress, and Tony Award-winning composer, born in New York, United States.
• 1978 – Astronomer James Christy discovers Charon, the largest moon of Pluto.

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A history of hunger

Roelfke’s life stretched across one of the most turbulent periods in modern history. She was born into a world still ruled by kings and empires, lived through two world wars, economic hardship, and occupation, and died just months before humanity entered the space age.

But history is not only shaped by wars, inventions, and political changes. Ordinary families who endured those events in their daily lives also carried it forward. Roelfke Tuinman raised her children during years when food shortages, economic crises, and uncertainty were part of everyday life.

The hunger experienced during both world wars must have echoed older memories in the family. Only a few decades earlier, the grandfather of her husband Marten (they carried the same name) had lived in the penal colonies of Veenhuizen, where food was strictly rationed and survival often depended on hard labor. Scarcity and resilience were threads that ran through several generations.

Roelfke herself witnessed a world transform—from the industrializing Netherlands of the 1880s to the moment in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite.

Within a single lifetime, humanity had moved from steam power to space.