Klaas Koornwinder was born in 1859 in Bodegraven and it appears as though he stayed in Bodegraven until 1883, when he moved to Maartensdijk.  He was the first Koornwinder to move this far North and it is unclear as to why he moved here.  As a timmerman (carpenter) there presumably wasn't any more or less work in Maartensdijk than there was in Bodegraven where his family resided.  Historical records do not provide any insight to the reason for this move.

His wife, Wilhelmina Jongeneel was from Koudekerk, a community close to Bodegraven.  They married in 1883 so it is natural to assume that this was the impetus for the move to Maartensdijk since they moved in the same year, but there is no direct evidence to indicate this. There are Jongeneels in Maartensdijk around this time, but they are merely remote aunts and uncles of Wilhelmina, her immediate family was in Koudekerk.  In fact, Wilhelmina had at least 8 sisters and 2 brothers who appear to have settled in the Koudekerk region.

Whatever the reason for moving to Maartensdijk, Wilhelmina did not get to enjoy her time there.  She died in child birth on May 8th 1886, just 8 days after giving birth to Greeth Johanna on April 30th.

Greeth didn’t survive the ordeal but we do know that Wilhelmina had had a son, Arie, a few years earlier and possibly another son who might have survived. Klaas tended for his young child(ren) by himself for several years, but in 1896 he decided to take a second wife and Geesje Bomas joined the family. Geesje was far more successful in child birth and enlarged the family with 9 more children!