Local history keeping me busy
My recent surge of interest in genealogy has also led me to revisit the history of Erp, the town where I was born and lived for the first 19 years of my life. I have a copy of a book on the history of Erp, written by the town’s priest A.P.M. Meuwese in 1955. This book is an excellent account of some of the most important archival documents regarding the town. Of course, as it is written in 1955, it mentions “heathens” and portrays the handful of Protestants in the town as rather pesky folk. It makes it all the more interesting, as the book itself becomes a good view back in time.
Slowly but surely, I am translating parts of the book and adding more information to parts that I feel can be extended. The first written accounts about the region around Erp, yet not mentioning the town by name, stem from the Roman Empire. This part of the town’s history is only briefly mentioned by Mr. Meuwese, so I wanted to elaborate. My sources here are Julius Caesar, Pliny the Elder, and Strabo.
From the Romans to the twelfth century, there is not much in written records that I will be able to find. Mr. Meuwese found that the earliest mention of Erp specifically was in 1134. It was noted as “Erthepe” in one abby’s documents.
Erthepe is also the name of the historical society of Erp. I hear they are working on their own Web site (which would be www.erthepe.nl), but so far I haven’t seen anything live yet. I will be keeping an eye out for that one, though, as I am curious to see what they will bring.
In the meantime, I will keep working on the English version of the history of Erp. It’s amazing how interesting a small town can be, but mostly, how it fits in the world’s history.
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