I have not yet come upon a connection
between myself and the royal family - but once in a while I come close to
a relationship with a famous person.
I this case it is a linkage to the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - it may be far-fetched, but non-theless very worthy of mentioning.
(Baukje Hoekstra - daughter of Jan Romkes Hoekstra 
son of - Antje Baukes van der Woud daughter of -
Trijntje Folkerts de Boer daughter of -
Neeltje Justus Crans  daughter of - (Joost) Justus Klases Crans 
son of - Dieuwke Klases Heixan daughter of - Klaas Jansen Heixan,
son of - Jan Carels Heixan, son of  - Siouckjen Vallinc (Valkia), daughter of - Hester Johannes van Loo, daughter of  - Jan (Joannes) Boudewijn van Loo (abt 1563-1600)
Hester Johannes van Loo was my mother's 9th great-grandmother.
She was one of 8 children - among her siblings a  brother Gerrit Johannes van Loo, which would then be my 10th great-grand-uncle. Gerrit, or also Gerard van Loo, was a lawyer and secretary in the grietenij Het Bildt.
On Sept. 23, 1627 Gerrit entered into his second marriage with Hisck (Hiskje) van Uylenburgh, a daughter of Sjoukje Ozinga and Rombertus van Uylenburgh, who was a top lawyer, a town mayor, and one of the founders of the University of Franeker.
In 1624, after the death of his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Gerrit became the guardian of his wife's underage siblings, Titia Uylenburgh, Edzert Ulenburgh, Saskia Uylenburgh, who was 12 years old at this time, and who later married the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, who was the son of a wealthy miller from Leiden.
In 1631, in the company of the Mennonite painters Govert Flinck and Jacob Backer, Saskia traveled to Amsterdam. Supposedly Saskia Uylenburgh met Rembrandt there, at the home of her uncle, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, a painter and art dealer. Rembrandt produced paintings and portraits for Uylenburgh's Amsterdam clients. In turn Rembrandt travelled to Leeuwarden, where he was received by the painter Wybrand de Geest, who had married Saskia's niece, Marina Watts.
For a while Saskia  lived in Franeker when her sister Antje was ill. After Antje's burial, Saskia assisted her brother-in-law, the Polish theology professor Johannes Maccovius, until she married Rembrandt in 1634.
Saskia and Rembrandt were engaged in 1633, and on 10 June 1634 Rembrandt asked permission to marry in Sint Annaparochie. He showed his mother's written consent to the schepen. On 2 July the couple married. The preacher was Saskia's cousin, but evidently none of Rembrandt's family attended the marriage. That Saskia fell in love with an artist who was socially no match for the daughter of a patrician and that she pressed for a speedy betrothal against all conventions certainly shows that she was a very strong and independent character. In 1635 the couple moved to one of the posh streets in Amsterdam, the Nieuwe Doelenstraat, with prominent neighbors and a view of the river Amstel.
Rembrandt gained financial success through his artwork, and decided in 1639 to buy a house in the Jodenbreestraat, next to the place where he worked. A year before, by July 16, 1638, Saskia's Friesian relatives complained that Saskia was spoiling her inheritance. Rembrandt asked his brother-in-law Ulricus van Uylenburgh, also a lawyer, to help them out, confirming he was successful and able to pay for the house.
Three of their children died shortly after birth and were buried in the nearby Zuiderkerk. The sole survivor was Titus, who was named after his mother's sister Titia (Tietje) van Uylenburgh. Saskia died the year after he was born, aged 29, probably from tuberculosis. She was buried in the Oude Kerk.

So I am not really related to Rembrandt - but there is a connection.
Some of our kids are quite artsy, but they did not get it from one of the most well known Dutch artists.

A Piece of Unidentified Farm History

We went for a drive yesterday, and we found this piece of old-time farm machinery. It stood among an old plow, a hay rake, a mower and a few other pieces. Even my husband, a farmer, was unable to identify it. Any Ideas??