For all the members of the family
Leeuw-DeLeeuw-Lyon

Dear American, Canadian, South African and Australian members of our family,

After many years of research, talking about it, writing and so on, the book of the Leeuw-De Leeuw-Lyon genealogical tree (a real family book!) became ready in 2007. In a sense, genealogy research never ends. However at some point in time an end must be established. My cousin Andries (Dries) de Leeuw was already busy with the family tree of our family since 1988. Because the family DE LEEUW (Leeuw, De Leeuw and Lyon) (the family of my mother, and there-fore also mý family) appeared to be so enormous I decided in 2004 to help cousin Dries and to write a book about it. Cousin Dries de Leeuw and I (Kees de Boer) finished the searching for the genealogical tree on December, 31 2006. After that I have worked at the family book and have completed it on may, 1 2007. The family is complete now, from our ancestor Jacob Jans Leeuw (ca.1692-ca. 1769) until the very last generations. And the story about the history of the family and also the stories about so many members of the family I have written down as good as possible. Based on historic data and on the information I got from the most members of the family, inside and outside the Netherlands, I am reasonably convinced of correct facts which has re-sulted in a splendid and voluminous book containing 816 pages, with more than 820 photos from all branches of the family and different other illustrations. Due to the emigration of several family members to countries as the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa almost ten percent of the family is living outside of the Netherlands now. For them the family book contains four chapters, written in English (so as an English preface, a chapter about the history of the family and a chapter about all the emigrants in the family). The amount of photos and stories send to me by members of the family all over the world was so enormous so that I had to made choices.

The most of the family gave my cousin Dries de Leeuw and me during about 18 years all the information, photos and stories we have asked for. This large amount of family information is now in the book. I will thank you all for it, especially cousin Samuel Tunis (Sam) Lyon in Brandywine, Maryland (USA) who helped me during the last two years to find the last missing members of the family in America.

I presented the family book on a family day. This very special day (for the whole family) was on Saterday September, 22 2007 in the little town Vollenhove in the region where our ancestor Jacob Jans Leeuw lived. More than 520 members of the family came to this very unique day, from seven different countries: from the Netherlands of course, but also from Belgium, Germany and Switzerland and even from America (USA), Canada and Australia. Among them: Sam Lyon and his sister Sue Lyon Koller from The United States of America, Henry and Rika Kranenborg from Canada and Anneke Salwegter-de Leeuw from Australia. They made a large trip to see their family here in the Netherlands and to receive their ordered books. As all the others of teh family they where very happy with our fantastic family reunion.
Because he did a lot of work during many years for my cousin Dries de Leeuw and me to complete the genealogical tree of the family in America, Sam Lyon was one of the four members of the family who got the very first book from me (Kees de Boer).

The book I made earlier about my fathers family (De Boer), which appeared in the year 2000, also on a family day, became a great success. Now, with the De Leeuw book it happened again. As a matter of fact the Leeuw-De Leeuw-Lyon day on September, 22 2007 was an unforgetable day for everyone who was there, including for my cousin Dries de Leeuw and me, who have worked on the genealogical tree of the family since 1988.

"It was worth while to write the familybook, while it gives so many joy to so many members of the family. This gives me a satisfied feeling". Kees de Boer. If you want to contact me, my e-mail address is: kees.de.boer@home.nl



Some pictures of Sam Lyon, Brandywine, Maryland, USA
on the Familyday in Vollenhove, the Netherlands in 2007:

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