VAN ESSEN Genealogy - Van Ussen Monument

In 1999, I located the final resting place of my great-great-grandparents, Cornelius Van Ussen and Hermina (Wilhelmina) Schuurmans , in the Catholic cemetery near Oconto, Wisconsin.

The task was made all the more difficult because the plot was unmarked. I had to go back to the church office twice to get more detail on where the plots were. The records also showed that an adjacent plot was the burial place of their daughter, Anna (see my Image Gallery for a picture of her).

So, for less than a coupla grand, I commissioned a monument to mark the final resting place of all three. I had located the birth records of Cornelis and Hermina in their home town of Oss, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands, so I was able to use accurate names and birthdates on the monument. Their deathdates are from the Oconto and Brown county records. Anna's birth and death dates are from the Oconto church records.

The monument was installed in the summer of 2000. It is 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall. Here is a picture:

The phrase "RUSTE IN VREDE" is Dutch for "REST IN PEACE".