The "New Page"

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New E-mail addresses
Peter Begeman begeman.p@pi.net Netherlands
Bert (Lammert) Begeman begeman@worldonline.nl Netherlands
Arnold Begeman STAT-ABE@stoas_dronten.agro.nl Netherlands
Some E-mail addresses have fizzled or are incorrect, Please notify me for any changes, deletions or additions.

More details on Ellen Begeman, from the mystery B's page --
from a letter from my aunt
Margo (Ellen) Begeman whom Vincent wanted to marry around 1884-85. She was one of five daughters whose father had a weaving factory in Antwerp, the Hague. After the father died, the son ran the business and the family with authoritarian vigor. The son/brother disapproved of Vincent and forbade the marriage. In the biograph. "Dear Theo" which contains most of the correspondence of Vincent to his brother, Theo, Vincent hinted that he and Margo (Ellen) had been intimate. She was subsequently sent away to a "rest home" which is what would happen, had she become pregnant out of wedlock. In later letters, Vincent expressed his moral and financial obligation to her and requested that Theo give her specific paintings to keep, expecting that their value would increase after his death; which, in truth, did happen, thus providing Margo with a nest egg for her old age. I don't recall she married and no direct mention of whether there was a child. There is a touching letter about her last visit with V. prior to her being sent away. They met in the city park, where she told him she had tried to poison herself and forthwith, fainted. In those days, women took strong purgatives to induce miscarriage. Sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, it didn't. My speculation is - if there WERE a child, it would be sent to the relatives to be raised in anonymity. Of course, relatives in America would be considered favorably, since they were furthest away and least likely to leak information about the child's origin. And, the child would be able to grow up with the stigma of "orphan" rather than "bastard" yet retain the Begeman name.

Peter has sent me two color pictures of the Begeman Coat of Arms.

Coat of Arms.jpg

For the graphic artist who would like to work on a large version of the coat of arms crest scan (jpeg 2.06meg). A black and white dot matrix image with a little more detail, but needs a lot of work, and some color. Anyone feeling artistic?