Not just Van Cootens
I know its been quiet here for a while, but that doesn’t mean that nothing has been happening on the family history research front. Over the next little while I’ll catch up with some of the progress that I’ve made on Maggie’s side of the family – Edwards, Gormans and Lacks. Stay tuned.
My great grandmother (Anna Van Kooten)’s grandfather was a planter named Van Kooten in British Guiana. Her father was named Johnny Van Kooten and he was the product of a black woman (slave, free woman, who knows) and the Van Kooten planter. His father sent him to India to become a trained pharmacist and once he finished his training he returned to Guiana and opened up his own pharmacy.