Aaltje Post, was born on 22-12-1864 in Hoogeveen and died on 01-11-1931 in Hoogeveen. She married on 24-02-1883 in Hoogeveen with Jacob Post he was born on 24-09-1857 in Ruinen, was a skipper by profession and died on 21-12-1932 in Hoogeveen. Both are buried in the old cemetery in Hoogeveen.
Jacob and Aaltje Post had 11 children. A twin who died after birth because they were born too small, five sons and four daughters lived to adulthood, one son died at the age of twenty and one lived to be a hundred and four.
Skippers
Jacob and Aaltje first sailed on the inland waterways with a ship of about 80 tons, later they bought a Rhine barge.
Sailing on the Rhine was not always easy and in case of difficulties they had to be towed because at that time they had no engines on board. The Rijnkasten, as they were called, went to Russia via Germany. In Russia the women were not safe to go ashore and they had to stay on board and inside.
Six Rijnkasten were sometimes towed at the same time and in doing so the tow rope between the ships sometimes broke which was very dangerous because of the current in the Rhine. The ships were also sometimes tied together two by two and they went up and down. They were towed by steam tugs.
School time
It was very difficult for the children of a skipper to go to school and that is why Aaltje went to live on the shore in Amsterdam.
She was a good businesswoman and bought a small bread shop. Behind the doors of the shop lived the family. She had made beautiful curtains for the doors so that no one could see what was behind them. Behind these curtains they lived on boxes (Spanish furniture).
She was very good with her hands and went to the market to buy old postal trousers.
A woman who came into the shop taught her to make trousers for the boys from the back of these trouser legs. In this way she made the clothes for the children late in the evening. Financially it was very difficult.
Back on board
Jacob earned too little in shipping and therefore Aaltje had to earn her own living to take care of her children. After the oldest children finished primary school, Aaltje went back on board. The oldest sons later went to sail as skipper’s servants on other ships when they were old enough.
The youngest daughters, Marchien and Aaltje, went to board with relatives in IJmuiden because they were old enough to go to school. Geesje was the oldest girl on board.
Back to Hoogeveen
At the end of the First World War, Aaltje and Jacob went ashore in Hoogeveen, they settled at Schutstraat 24.
On August 15, 1918, Aaltje started a manna-work shop with a knittingmachine, She learned to knit on the machines that were supplied by the Firma Knegt from Amsterdam.
At that time, everything had to be knitted by hand, there was no ready-made clothing. The knittingmachine was highly appreciated. Five girls were trained to operate those machines. Everything went faster and better by machine. Sweaters, vests, skirts, stockings and hats were knitted, it became a busy business.
Johannes Akkerman married Geziena Post, the youngest daughter. He had been trained in manufacturing at the Gebroeders van Zuiden, (De Zon). Aaltje and Jacob moved to Schutstraat 32 to retire and Johannes Akkerman took over the shop. In 1952 the knitting machines were bought back by the Firma Knegt Amsterdam. The haberdashery shop was taken over by the Fam. J Voerman around 1960. When Aaltje died, Jacob went back to Schutstraat 24 and lived there for thirteen months until his death.
Sisters Post
Three of the four Post sisters lived in Hoogeveen for many years
- Aaltje Post married Cornelis H. Rijnvis. He had a messenger service in Groningen until 1948 because he had taken over his father’s shipyard.
In May 1952 the Rijnvis family left for Australia. Aaltje died there on 21 August 1983, aged 82. - Geziena Post died in 1995, aged 90.
- Marchien Post went into nursing and became a midwife. She worked in The Hague and married Pieter Hoogweg from The Hague. And later they lived at Schutstraat 32 for many years. In March 1952 she left for America as a widow and married Roy Mackey from Idaho on March 14, 1953. She died there on August 10, 1984 in Los Angeles at the age of 89. Roy Mackey died on April 25, 1989 in Los Angeles
