Brief history of the family name Nibbelink

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T = Twente (part of the Dutch province of Overijssel)

A = Achterhoek (part of the Dutch province of Gelderland)

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Distribution of the name Nibbelink in 2007

  1. The – so far – oldest written Nibbelink record is from 1279 (copy in Latin language available):
    1. Place: Sinderen near Varsseveld (Achterhoek, province of Gelderland)
    2. Date: April 1279
    3. Act: Winrik van Wesenhorst (knight and nobleman) sells the Nibbelink farm estate (“Nythboldynck”) at Varsseveld to the Bethlehem convent in Doetinchem, 12km/7.5miles west from Varsseveld.
  2. Early 14th century farmers with the name Nibbelink/Nythboldynck did possibly leave Varsseveld and went some 40km/25miles to the north to a place called Azelo (today belonging to the town of Delden in Twente, in the province of Overijssel) and started farming at a ‘second’ Nibbelink estate (“Nytboldingh” – 1346). That Azelo farm-estate does not exist anymore. After possibly being merged with another farm (Wilmink/Willeminck) in around 1832 it is assumed to have been destroyed by fire in around 1894 and was demolished in 1898.
  3. The names Nythboldynck/Nytboldingh/Nibbelink find their origin in the Old Germanic person’s name of “Nithbold” of which the two composing Germanic words “Nith” and “Bold” resp. mean “Wrath” and “Brave”. The endings “ynck/ingh/inck/ink/ing(etc)” did mean “belonging to” which usually was a family or father’s name but was sometimes also a certain location (like house, farm, river, etc).
  4. Sometime between 1605 and 1625, the eldest Nibbelink estate (at the village of Sinderen and some 5km/1.5miles south-west from the center of Varsseveld) with an arable farming land of some estimated 10ha was split into two smaller estates:
    1. Groot Nibbelink (groot = large) with the original farm house and an arable farming land of some 7.5ha. This farm house was destroyed by fire spring 1723 and rebuilt in that same year. Today, that farm house is a romantic kind of restaurant with children play grounds and with overnight-stay bungalow http://www.koffieboerderij.nl; the web site is in Dutch, English and German and shows several self-explanatory photos – for one of them, see below.
    2. Klein Nibbelink (Klein = small) with a new farm house and an arable land of some 5ha
  5. Persons:
    1. with the family name “Groot Nibbelink” are all descendants of families who were farmers at the Groot Nibbelink farm and of whom several members have emigrated to the USA in – till now known – three ‘waves’: 1863 (Michigan), 1883 (Iowa) and 1899 (Iowa)
    2. with the family name “Klein Nibbelink” are all descendants of families who were farmers at the Klein Nibbelink farm and of whom only a few members have emigrated to the USA in – till now known – a single ‘wave’: 1867 (Wisconsin)
    3. with the family name “Nibbelink” are descendants of:
      1. families who were farmers at the Nibbelink estate in Azelo (of whom – till date – no persons are known to have emigrated to the USA)
      2. families who were farmers at the Groot- and Klein Nibbelink estates but of whom members ‘lost/abandoned’ the suffixes Groot and Klein after they left the Achterhoek/Varsseveld area (to settle in other places in the Netherlands or abroad – mostly in the USA).
    4. Practically the whole village of Varsseveld (not Sinderen) was destroyed by fire within 2 hours on 1723.09.14 – 54 houses, 6 barns and some distilleries. Also the Laurentius church from the year 1245, its 4 church bells, the clock and all its up to centuries old records (birth, marriage, death) of persons who lived in the Varsseveld-church ‘covered’ area till that day got lost.

Picture Varsseveld 1695

(Varsseveld in 1695 and at the time of the “big fire”)

So, most (if not all) recorded Varsseveld-church-based family tree branches begin with persons, born after that day, where data about their ancestors (incl. their parents) and elder brothers and sisters can mostly be estimated/guessed only.

The Laurentius church was rebuilt and reopened in 1728. (painting around 1730)

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  1. The eldest (in 1485) recorded ‘Nibbelink’, living at the Azelo estate is Hinrick Nibbeltinck. So far, no link with any family tree ‘branch’ could be established.
  2. The eldest (in 1574) recorded ‘Nibbelink’, residing with his soldiers in the village of Ulft (10km/6miles) south of Varsseveld) is Willem Nibbelinck, an army officer and active participant in the ’80-years’ religion-based war between catholic Spain and the protestant Netherlands (1568 – 1648). So far, no link with any family tree ‘branch’ could be established.
  3. The – till date – eldest recorded ‘Nibbelink’ from a documented family tree branch and related to the Azelo estate is Jan Nibbelink (also Nibbelinck) born around 1620 (so far, birth place unknown)
  4. The eldest – till date – recorded ‘Nibbelink’ from a documented family tree branch and related to the Groot-Nibbelink estate at Sinderen near Varsseveld is Garrit Groot Nibbelink born around 1700 at Varsseveld
  5. The eldest recorded ‘Nibbelink’ from a documented family tree branch and related to the Klein-Nibbelink estate at Sinderen near Varsseveld is Berend Klein Nibbelink born around 1700 at Varsseveld
  6. Family Crest: Since the mid-18th century, the Nibbelink family has an officially recognized Family Crest, designed and heraldically 5                                                                                                                                                     deposited/registered by Dirk Willem Nibbelink (drawing from 1747):

In Dutch books about Heraldics, the following formal description is given: “The Crest is in silver, a tree trunk of natural colour with two branches with leaves and standing on a grass field. Above the tree a flying pigeon”

  1. Information on geography and locations
  2. Achterhoek in the province of Gelderland:

Ligging Varseveld                                                                                                                                                                             Part of the Achterhoek (province of Gelderland) with the villages of Varsseveld and Sinderen, 1.5 miles apart

The thick orange line is the border between the Netherlands (left) and Germany (right)

Boerderij Groot Nibbelink

The Groot Nibbelink farm in Sinderen in 2012 (now a romantic farm restaurant with overnight staying facility

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Municipality of Wisch – 19th century: Sinderen-Binnen Heurne locations of the farms Klein Nibbelink (upper arrow) and Groot Nibbelink (lower arrow); Varsseveld at their North-East, Sinderen at their South

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Routing indicator to the Nibbelink forest near the Groot- and Klein Nibbelink farms

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Black outlining: The approx. size of 19th century Groot Nibbelink farm; at its left side: The 3 Klein Nibbelink farms

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  1. Twente in the province of Overijssel
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Part of Twente (province of Overijssel) with the town of Delden (which includes Azelo nowadays)

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Historic/archeologic location of the Nibbelink farm in Azelo/Delden (since late 19th century, the farm does not exist anymore – destroyed by fire?)

genealogy questionnaire

  1. So far, One-hundred-and-thirteen (113 till date) different spellings of the name Nibbelink (below, in alphabetical order) have been found in newspapers, magazines and clerical-, public- and company records – The 4 main forms are given in bold blue letters:

Dibbelink, Groot Nibbelink, Groot Niebelink, Hibbelink, Hibblink, Kleijn Nibbelink, Klein Nibbelink, Klijn Nibbelink, Klynibbelynk, Mibbelink, Nebbeling, Nebbelink, Nebbelinx, Nebberink, Nebbilink, Nebblink, Nebelink, Nebling, Neblink, Neboeling, Neppelink, Nepplink, Nibbdink, Nibbel, Nibbeld, Nibbelders, Nibbeldinck, Nibbelding, Nibbelen , Nibbeler, Nibbelers, Nibbelin, Nibbelinck, Nibbelincks, Nibbelineik, Nibbeling, Nibbelingh, Nibbelinghs, Nibbelings, Nibbelinik, Nibbelink, Nibbelinks, Nibbelint, Nibbelisch, Nibbeliuk, Nibbelke, Nibbell, Nibbellink, Nibbelnik, Nibbelrick, Nibbels, Nibbelt, Nibbeltinck, Nibberig, Nibbering, Nibberink, Nibbers, Nibbert, Nibberts, Nibbig, Nibbilink, Nibbilinla, Nibbings, Nibble, Nibbleink, Nibblelink, Nibblenink, Nibblink, Nibbrig, Nibbring, Nibbs, Nibbelyk, Nibeling, Nibelink, Nibelong, Nible, Niblelink, Niblielink, Nibling, Niblink, Nibolink, Nicbelynck, Nickbelinck, Nickbeling, Nickbelink, Niebbelink, Niebeling, Niebelink, Nieberding, Niebling, Niebuelunk, Niegbelink, Niettelinck, Nigbeling, Nihling, Nijbbeling, Nijbbelink, Nijbbels, Nijbeling, Nijbelingh, Nijbeling, Nijbinck, Nigbeling, Nigbelink, Nigbelt, Nippeling, Nybbeldinck, Nybbelding, Nybbelinx, Oude Nibbeling, Oude Nibbelink, Uijbelinck, Wibbelink, Wibbelinck