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L E E N D E R T SPAANDER born 18 September 1855 in Nieuwendam, died 5 July 1955 in Edam. After marine training in Nieuwediep, he was employed in the merchant navy. In 1873 he bought the tjalk (spritsail barge) 'De Zulu' with which he, twice a week, transported people. On the other days he
transported freight.
Leendert too was a sociable fellow and gained the trust of his co-villagers and in 1894 became a
member of the town council. As managing committee member of the 'Vereniging tot Bevordering van de Nederlandse Visserij' (Association for the promotion of the Dutch Fishery), he founded, together with the head of the public school, B DEMMER, a school for the fishery. He was also Verger of the Reformed Church in Volendam.. See note 22) Appendix 1, page 113
Because of an exhibition of paintings in London (with paintings of Volendam) Volendam became known to artists. Leendert, who was good with languages, could often help the foreign visitors. He and his wife Aaltje saw opportunities and on Aaltje's urging in 1881 they bought the coffee-house at the Palenbuurt from Pieter Steur. Vollendam got its own hotel for the artists when another floor was build onto the
coffee-house. Leendert continued with his transport business, but soon it became clear that extensions were necessary and that he had to assist his wife in the running of the hotel. At first the guests consisted mainly of English artists, but after 1900 one could also meet artists from a variety of countries, who through their exhibitions of Volendam scenes in European and American cities, got other artists (and non-artists) interested in going to Volendam. These artists often came with their pupils (sometimes 20 or more) to 'Hotel Spaander', which made it necessary to upgrade the accommodation to almost 100 beds. Leendert said of the artists : "their appetite makes me poor, but their thirst makes me rich". Payment for lodging was often difficult and was therefore often made by donation of a painting, which is the reason that almost all the walls in the hotel are covered with paintings.
In 1919 Leendert and Aaltje moved to Edam, where a few years later Aaltje passed away.
Leendert was in 1926 appointed as a Notable Member of the Reformed Church and in 1929 as
churchwarden. Besides that he was a member of the restoration commission of the church and through his work in that field discovered that till well into the 19th century many families had a 'huismerk'
(hallmark, refer page 5). These hallmarks of strokes, crosses, flags, etc were also used to distinguish ownership of materials and tools in the fishing industry and on farms. Because of these hallmarks Leendert has been able to reconstruct many family relations. Unfortunately the registry of those hallmarks and the notes about them were lost after he passed away.
(Does anyone know where they are ?).
Volendam did not forget Leendert Spaander as can be evidenced from the fact that in 1979 one of the new streets was named after him, viz. the "Leendert Spaander laan" (lane).
On 13 February 1876 Leendert wed
AALTJE KOUT born 17 August 1856 in Warder, died 27 August 1921 in Amsterdam. She was the daughter of Klaas KOUT and Willempje KRAMER. As can be seen from the story above, Aaltje was not only a good business woman, but also must have been a good cook.
On 18 April 1923, after the death of Aaltje, Leendert wed
ELISABETH DE BOER born 4 April 1871 in Edam, died 24 August 1946 in Edam. She was the
daughter of Willem DE BOER and Maretje GROOT. This was the third marriage for Elisabeth. She had been married previously to K HEITMAN, born 12 February 1871, died 7 August 1911 and later on to Hendrik VAN ESSEN Tz, born 6 April 1854, died 3 November 1918, who was the widower of Aaltje SPAANDER (see blz 49).
C h i l d r e n : see page 51.
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