Dear Leo and Ben

For Leo, you said:

"19 Nov. 1921. Johannes Adrianus Dirven, born in Ginneken (Noord-Brabant), 35 years old, sergeant first class, living in Malang, previously having lived within six month in Ngawi, divorced husband of Maria Catharina Defilet, son of the married couple Sebastiaan Dirven and Catharina Martens, living in Ginneken; and the native woman Darsinah, born in Meester Cornelis, estimated 34 years old, living in Malang, daughter of the native [man] Arsin, deceased, and the native woman Rakinem, living in Walikoekoen, department Ngawi. Witnessses:  [unrelated].

At the marriage, daughter Alberta Johanna, born Ngawi 22 Febr. 1921, is recognized and legitimized as theirs.

[Source: Civil Registry Malang, additional marriage register 1921, entry nr. 24 / LDS-film 1357944. frame 99]"

However, my mother once told me:
1. My mother was born in 1962 and grew up and lived with Darsinah until Darsinah died in 1980 (at that time my mother was pregnant with her second child)
2. Darsinah told my mother that she was a descendant of the Ooms family and Darsinah's father's grave is near my house, the headstone reads L.Ooms.
3. In 1945 Johannes died during the war and in the same year my grandfather Martin (Darsinah's last child) was born. So, when Johannes died, my grandfather was still in Darsinah's womb.
4. Johannes and Darsinah got married in Malang but they moved to Ngawi and stayed there until Darsinah died (my eldest sister was one year old when it happened).
5. My mother told me that Rakinem has the blood of Jogjakarta's Palace but not sure from which descendant, about who Arsin is, just now I asked my mother but she didn't recognize who Arsin is.

For Ben, can you send the photo you just sent to my email?

Thank you,

Aga

The document (passport request) was already available for you in your one drive map, but I also will sent you by e-mail a copy.

Kind regards, Ben

Ben

Thanks again for your response

Aga

And one thing I still remember.
When I was little, my neighbors used to call me “the great-grandson of Dirven and Ooms from the Netherlands”.

It can be concluded that my neighbors knew that the Ooms were Darsinah's parents and Dirven was the family name of Darsinah's husband. And they knew that my both ancestors from the Netherlands.

I also don't understand why facts like this are not recorded in state documents.

About L. Ooms: all available information about mr Ooms is in this string.

His stambook: hier 

I don't know when Arsin died? May you can find it. May be mr Ooms was a kind of stepfather?

There a not an official certificate of birth of Darsinah according RA (the Regeringsalmanak, see site Roosje Roos – Genealogisch onderzoeksbureau) and also no recognition of Darsinah. 

kind regards, Ben

ps "I also don't understand why facts like this are not recorded in state documents."

We can discuss a long time about this, but officially mr Ooms was not her father and Darsinah does not mentioned his name in her request. And there are no birth papers.

I'll find out tomorrow. here at my place, it's already 3.56 AM. thanks Ben for the information.

I have been watching this topic from a distance. Bottom line is that the oral history doesn't seem to match the recorded data. But then, also the recorded data may not always be the truth. Hence my small contribution to try to fact-check and verify the recorded data, or at least determine the plausibility.

First, the person of Lambertus Ooms. There is no question about when and where he was born (1871, Schijndel, the Netherlands), who his parents were, and when and how he came to Indonesia (with SS Soembing from Rotterdam, september 14th 1895 to Batavia/Jakarta, october 22nd 1895). Also, since he was 'afgegaan' (left military service) in 1907 in Ngawi I think it is at least plausible that the person buried under the headstone marked 'L. Ooms' in Ngawi is in fact this Lambertus. There appears to be nothing to contradict this, and recorded facts do support this conclusion.

Second, the person of Darsinah (Ooms). Her last name Ooms is recorded nowhere in the official data, but comes from oral history. The official data we have comes primarily from the marriage certificate (1921) and the passport application (around 1950). Now we stumble upon a discrepancy:

(19 Nov. 1921, thanks to Leo for digging this up at the LDS) "[...] and the native woman Darsinah, born in Meester Cornelis, estimated 34 years old, living in Malang, daughter of the native [man] Arsin, deceased, and the native woman Rakinem, living in Walikoekoen, department Ngawi" Official data, which allows simple mathematics to roughly calculate Darsinah's year of birth to 1921-34 = 1886/1887. (B.t.w. Johannes Dirven's stated age of 35 matches his year of birth 1886)

Now, if/when we believe the estimated age of 34 year to be approximately true, then Lambertus Ooms cannot be her father, since Lambertus must have been 15 or 16 years old, a schoolboy living with his parents in Schijndel, the Netherlands.

However.....,

There is also the passportapplication dated around 1950. And there Darsinah's year and place of birth are recorded as '1897 in Djatinegara' which DOES allow for Lambertus to be her father. 10 years difference. Hmmmm....

Both official documents do state that 'Arsin' is the father of Darsinah. Which fully contradicts the oral history. Now is there any data to further conclude what is the truth? Yes, there is, but unfortunately it doesn't all point in the same direction and is not conclusive at all. First, there is Darsina's passing in 1980: "My mother was born in 1962 and Darsinah died around 1980 (right when my mother was pregnant with her 2nd child)." That makes her age at death about 84 or 94. Both possible, with - of course - 84 more likely compared to 94. And then, there is her photo on the passport application. Which - to me - does look as an Indonesian woman of about 55 years old. But 'looks' can be deceiving.

So when I have to guess, I think Darsinah would have been born in 1897 as the daughter of Arsin and Rakinem. With Lambertus Ooms possibly being her 'stepfather' after Arsin either died or left Rakinem. But that is a guess; no more.

Some more checking. I quote:

"My mother told me, she only knew that Darsinah had sisters named Mariah Ooms and Aminah Ooms.
When Rakinem was still alive, my mother stayed at her house several times (Rakinem and Darsinah's houses were still in the same block).
Rakinem lived with Aminah and Mariah moved to Madiun."

And:

"Darsinah's younger sister, Aminah Ooms, died when I was still in elementary school."

Maybe? Darsinah married in Malang...

but more likely this couple are the parents of Maria Johanna:

I cannot find a person 'Aminah Ooms' in roosjeroos. Maybe a Mariah Ooms (see above) but I doubt if she is Mariah Ooms Aga is telling about.

from passport requests of Darsinah and her children. Ooms didn't mentioned.

regards, Ben

Thanks, Bart

To expand upon Ben's entry d.d. 11 apr 2025 - 15:23:

Regerings-almanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië, 1914:

Regerings-almanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië, 1915:

Regerings-almanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië, 1916:

His occupation in those years apparently was prisonguard, beginning March, 1913

And to add a little bit more to the fact-checking: having read the content of the 1921 marriage certificate: "[...] oud naar gissing 34 jaar [...]" I think we can safely discard the birthyears 1903, 1906 or 1909 for Darsinah, since she would have been a teenager at the wedding, recognizing a child, which would have been very obvious, and the recorded estimated year of birth would have been nothing less than deliberate fraude. 

@ Bart,

May be a marriage-contract of one of her children can give relevant information. But I don't believe that's the real solution.

mvg-Ben

Bart and Ben
For a while, i also concluded that it was probably Darsinah's stepfather. but my family or my neighbors who live in Ngawi never knew who Arsin was, they only knew Ooms was Darsinah's father and Johannes was her husband when Darsinah moved to Ngawi or most likely when Darsinah moved to Ngawi, L. Ooms was already married to Rakinem? So, is it possible if all my neighbors at that time only knew that Ooms was Darsinah's father not Arsin in their point of view? And for Maria/Mariah Ooms is Darsinah elder sister (maybe L.Ooms real daughter before married with Rakinem) and Darsinah's stepsister? And for Aminah is their littlest sister (Mariah and Darsinah). But in fact, Aminah's face is a mix of Dutch and not a native face, because I lived in Aminah's house for several years before she died and I have never met Mariah, but Mariah's biological daughter (my aunt) also has a face that is not purely native. I haven't had the chance to go to L.Ooms' grave to make sure what year he died on his tombstone. Later, when I've been to his grave, I'll take a photo and upload it here.

Geni - Darsinah Ooms (c.1897-1980)- Manguharjo

Johannes Adrianus Dirven : Family tree by Rienus DOMENIE (domepalm3) - Geneanet

From these two sites, why did the Dutch give her the name Darsinah Ooms if she was not the biological child of L. Ooms (according to the name on her grave) even though her biological father was not recorded in Dutch documents?

Re: "[...] biological child of L. Ooms (according to the name on her grave)"

A photo of Darsinah's grave with the headstone stating 'Ooms' would be some kind of proof, and for that matter one of the more reliable sources of information. So if you also have the opportunity to also take a photo of her headstone that would be benificial to more people.

...Or do I misinterpret your words?

And of course a photo of the headstone with 'L. Ooms' written and hopefully the year of his burial would be helpfull too.

"From these two sites, why did the Dutch give her the name Darsinah Ooms if she was not the biological child of L. Ooms (according to the name on her grave) even though her biological father was not recorded in Dutch documents?

• from oral history 
• from memories

But try to contact the persons of these sites.

I have not found any request of a Lambertus Ooms relative that has sent a passport request (see CBG Zoeken)

Hello Aga,

I've been following this discussion from the beginning and have some thoughts on it that I would like to share with you:

If Mariah is an older sister of Darsinah, it does not make sense that she would be a daughter of L. Ooms. Lambertus arrived in Indonesia at the end of 1895 and Darsinah was probably already born in 1897. So there is very little time between arrival and the conception of two children by one woman. 

A possibility: Rakinem and Arsin had two daughters, first Mariah and then Darsinah. When those daughters were still very young, Arsin died. Rakinem then married (or lived with) L. Ooms. With him she had a daughter Aminah (hence the somewhat more European appearance). The other daughters were therefore his stepdaughters, but it's possible Rakinem never told her eldest daughters that Lambertus wasn't their biological father. Also the next generation of relatives and neighbours didn't know Arsin and assumed that Lambertus was the father of all three girls. 

Of course, this is only a possibility, the truth could also be very different, but I personally don't find this a strange line of thought. So keep it in mind. It would also explain why Darsinah looks really native (in my western eyes) and why her children, although they have a Dutch father, for me also look quite native.

By the way: All the children fill in on their passport application that Darsinah is Indonesian, except for one child, who fills in that Darsinah is Dutch by marriage. If Darsinah had a Dutch father, wouldn't she have been Dutch by birth???

Anneke,

That could well be the case.

Leo

Have Darsinah and her sisters been baptized and does the family also know in which church? May be that can give some additional information.

Kind regards, Ben

Bart

A photo of Darsinah's grave with the headstone stating 'Ooms'
 

I will collect photos of the graves of Darsinah and L.Ooms as soon as possible, I will try. But as I remember, Darsinah's grave was called Darsinah Dirven

Ben

But try to contact the persons of these sites.
 

I've contacted them but no response at all.

Have Darsinah and her sisters been baptized

To my mother's knowledge, Darsinah adheres to the ancient Javanese faith. But my mother doesn't know if her Indonesian ID card says Christianity? My aunt (Mariah's daughter) is a Christian and Aminah is a Christian as well. While Martin (Darsinah's son) and his children and grandchildren (including me) are Muslim.

Anneke

A possibility: Rakinem and Arsin had two daughters, first Mariah and then Darsinah. When those daughters were still very young, Arsin died. Rakinem then married (or lived with) L. Ooms. With him she had a daughter Aminah

I think I agree with your point of view. most likely L. Ooms is Aminah's biological father because Aminah's face is not purely indigenous (unlike the faces of Darsinah's children who still look indigenous).

If Darsinah had a Dutch father, wouldn't she have been Dutch by birth?

I think this statement also makes sense

Regards,

Aga

The parents of Maria Johanna Ooms are indeed Franciscus Josephus Ooms and Elisabeth Johanna Keulemans, according to the entry in the Malang birth register of 1904, entry nr. 1.