Blankman Family

Greetings from Florida, or, if you are Dutch "Groeten uit Florida!"
My initial thought was to establish a site where those interested in the Blankman and allied families could post information and/or inquiries, or just get acquainted. Although family research is the primary impetus, I expect this "Blog" to include anything of interest to the participants. A little background on myself might be in order.

My name is Don Blankman. I'm a retired banker having retired from SouthTrust Bank where I was Vice President in charge of Special Assets for Southeast Florida. My wife Betty is a Florida Registered Land Surveyor, and she recently retired from the South Florida Water Management District where she was, at various times, the Director of the Surveying and Engineering Division, and of the Real Estate Division. We were living in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, but after retirement we opted for a change and moved north to The Villages, a large golf-oriented community of 45,000 (and growing) about 25 miles southeast of Ocala, Florida.

One of my life-long hobbies has been genealogy. For a few months I also did family research professionally. My first version of "The Blankman Genealogy" was a type-written manuscript comprising 87 pages. It sought to trace all the descendants of one Pieter Blankman, who lived in Oudesluis in the Zijpe in North Holland about 1565. In 1981 I did a supplement, and since then, using computer programs, I have compiled two greatly enlarged versions. With Genealogy one is never done. New information is always surfacing, and some family members die, as others are born. At some point in time, of course, one should publish, and I am working to that end. In this regard, I hope this site will serve as a focal point for those whose interests coincide with mine.

My current concentration is on the descendants of my great-great grandfather's brother Hendrikus (Henry, Henri) Arnoldus Blankman born 7 August 1787 in Amsterdam, North Holland. He died 28 September 1862 in New Providence, New Jersey, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. He had 13 children, some born in Holland, some in up-state New York and some in Philadelphia. Some of the boys became attorneys in New York City and California, and others became dentists and physicians in Fredericksburg, VA and California. I am still gathering facts about their lives, and would appreciate any additional information from any sources. I will go into the details on these children of Henry in future posts.

Aside from Genealogy, my interests are quite varied. I do weight training and aerobics three time a week at the "Villages Wellness Center," a euphemism for a fancy Gym. Last year I took a physics course at the Villages College, and am currently taking photoshop and a Cosmology course wherein we are learning about the universe we live in. Betty and I do a lot of reading. I just finished last night a biography of General Daniel Sickles called "American Scoundrel" by Thomas Keneally. He also wrote "Schindler's List." It seems that General Sickles' mistress at one time later became the first wife of Edmon Blankman, one of Henry's (see above) lawyer sons. It was very entertaining. I was a student in Austria after the Korean War on the G.I. Bill, and lived in Europe a few years. Consequently, I enjoy reading novels in French, German and Dutch, as a way to keep these languages up. (I have two granddaughters who were born in Berlin, and are growing up in Worms, Germany.) Classical music and Jazz are my favorites. I played the drums and trumpet while growing up. Betty and I enjoy playing golf, and it is good that we do for there are over 300 holes of golf available to us in our community. I spend about three hours a day on the computer. We love to travel, and did two extended driving trips north this year already, plus a week in Cancun on the beach. We do a lot of European trips too.

I would welcome comments, and look forward to meeting new people on this site. Don.