The Haselhoff Family Society was founded by the cousins Albert and Jan Hazelhoff on 31 May 1989 in the charming village of Wedde (East Groningen). Here, in the graveyard of the Dutch Reformed church, lie the 17th century graves of our common ancestor Derck Haselhoff (died 1650) and his wife Magdalena Saxenhausen. After much research it has emerged that almost all those who bear the name Haselhof(f), Hazelhof(f), Has(z)elhof, Hazelhoff Roelfzema, Haselhoff Lich and Haselhoff Lich Kasteleijn, descend from this Derck, a local magistrate within the domain of Westerwolde. His fortified manor house, Huis te Wedde, still stands and has played an important role in the lives of Derck and his descendants.

The purpose of the Haselhoff Family Society is to promote our knowledge of the family, both in the Netherlands and abroad, and to collect and preserve anything pertaining to it. One of our first achievements (in 1992) was the publication of the 560-page Kroniek van het geslacht Haselhoff, an account of eight centuries of family history (set against the background of Westerwolde, province of Groningen), accompanied by a complete family tree of all the generations succeeding Derck.

The Haselhoff Family Society is led by an enthusiastic Committee. It has several hundred donors, with whom links are actively maintained in various ways. These include the HaselhoffBulletin (which appears twice a year in May/June and December) and Family Days (a full gathering every five years, and smaller gatherings for particular branches). Further groups deal with other aspects of Society policy, such as biographies, research and the organisation of the Family Day. Anything even slightly relevant to the Haselhoffs (e.g. documents, letters, photographs, paintings, family Bibles, medals, albums of verse, birth cards, mourning cards, newspaper cuttings, books, magazines etc.) is collected and filed in the family archive.

The Haselhoff Family Society bears a coat of arms that is based on the arms of Derck Haselhoff and registered at the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie in The Hague (1990).

For question or for more information, please mail the Haselhoff Family Society secretary: Edda Rekers-Hazelhoff, email info@haselhoffstichting.nl.