"Farmland is scarce. Income is low. Seven children. Husband just died. What’s a mother to do?" It sounds like the plot of a TV drama, but in fact, it was reality in the early 1800's for Dela te Selle ten Damme. Her husband, Jan Albert te Selle, died at the age of 45, leaving Dela to raise seven young sons. Follow this family's story. If you are a TeSelle in America, there is a good chance you are a direct descendant of Jan Albert and Dela. Read more to see if their story is your story… []

In the mid-1860's, two Dutch farm boys with five older brothers had few prospects for good income or inherited wealth. They heard stories from other emigrants about abundant farmland and ample work in America. At ages 27 and 21, Jan Hendrik and younger brother Harmen Jan te Selle set off on a long, uncertain journey from Winterswijk to Wisconsin, and then to Nebraska. Follow their adventures, along with other Dutch settlers, as they seek land, opportunity, and the freedom to make prosperous new lives... []

As far as we know, everyone in the world with the surname "te Selle" is descended from Hermen Wijggers, who became Hermen te Selle about 1712 when he moved from the farm "Wiggershuisje" to the farm "De Selle". The early Dutch naming scheme is fascinating. Surnames were determined not by your father's surname, but by where you lived! Once you find your branch of the TeSelle tree, you can easily trace back your early ancestors. Are you ready to look for your branch? []