Navorska tree » Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema (1897-1978)

Personal data Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema 


Household of Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema

He is married to Iva M. “Ivy” Hider.

They got married on August 19, 1953 at Mitchell, Marion Twp., Lawrence Co., IN, he was 55 years old.


Notes about Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema

Peter Henry "Pete" Bontsema

Sources: Author: N.N. (anonymous), Title: "Peter Henry "Pete" Bontsema," (Publication location: Lehi, UT, Publisher: Find-a-Grave, Publication date: xxiii May MMXIII), Repository: The Cloud

Link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111069723/peter-henry-bontsema

"Photo[graph of a man] added by 5O (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) G3N!3
Picture of [of a man with mouth agape sitting at a piano. Caption: Pete Bontsema "Pete"] Added by 5O (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) G3N!3
Picture of [Al Cameron & Pete Bontsema. Caption transcribed below] Added by 5O (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) G3N!3

Peter Henry "Pete" Bontsema Birth 4 Dec 1897 Netherlands Death 4 Feb 1978 (aged 80) Punta Gorda Isles, Charlotte County, Florida, USA Burial Unknown Memorial ID 111069723

He was born 125 miles north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and immigrated to America in 1903 and settled in Kalamazoo, Mich.

1917-1918 WWI Draft Registration Card for Peter Henry Bontsema.

In 1923, he organized the Peter Bontsema and his Hotel Teller Orchestra. They played at dances and recorded records on the Gennett Label. Peter had a 15 year partnership with Al Cameron, and was the well known radio team called Al and Pete during the 1930s. Previously, they were known as Bill and Henry. As Al and Pete, they recorded such golden oldies as "Piccolo Pete", "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me" and "Shuffle Off To Buffalo". Also, Peter and Al composed a song entitled "When the Flow'rs are Blooming in the Springtime" in 1932. Pete played the piano. He was also with Fleet Wing gas programs, broadcasting from Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Al and Pete are included among Chicago's radio pioneers. (source IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana).

He married his first wife, Julia E. Pitts, on Jan 28, 1924, in Kalamazoo Co.

He married his second wife, Ruth Eleanor Chaney, on Dec 24, 1934, in Jefferson. Co., Oh.

He married his third wife, Genevieve Schleisman, on Oct 16, 1939, in Steuben. Co., Ind. In the 1940 census, they lived in Lansing, Mich. He was a salesman. She was born in 1905 in Iowa.

He married his fourth wife, Iva Hider Moore, on Aug 19, 1953, in Mitchell, Ind. They lived in Florida. There is the Peter and Iva Bontsema Memorial Scholarship through the Kiwanis of Charlotte Co., Fla.

Peter was known in his retirement as Mr. Christmas in Punta Gorda Isles because of his elaborate Christmas decorations.

Info from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Feb 6, 1978, and familysearch.org

Parents
Photo[graph of stone shared with Zwaantje Bontsema] Harm Bontsema 1857-1940
Photo[graph of stone shared with Harm L. [or I.] Bontsema Zwaantje Groendijk Bontsema 1861-1934

Spouses

Photo[graph of a woman] Iva M. Hider Moore-Bontsema 1895-1995 (m. 1953)
Photo[graph of her stone] Julia Ester Pitts Beare 1903-1970

Siblings

Photo[graph of stone shared with Reinder Meulman] Martha Bontsema Meulman 1888-1956
Agnes Bontsema Somers 1891-1979

Created by: 5O (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) G3N!3 Added: 23 May 2013 Find a Grave Memorial 111069723"

Caption below photograph of Al Cameron & Pete Bontsema:

"Many Andersonians will recall the famed "Al and Pete" show of early radio days. It's stars were Alan Cameron, left, and Pete Bontsema. Cameron's friends will remember him as John Brodhead. Another photo on Page 5.

Pete Bontsema, right. Added by: 50 (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX) G3N!3 on 23 Aug 2013"
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Timeline Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema

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Ancestors (and descendant) of Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema

Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema
1897-1978

1953

Iva M. “Ivy” Hider
1895-1995


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Historical events

Birthday December 4, 1897

  • The temperature on December 4, 1897 was about -2.3 °C. The airpressure was 76 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 87%. Source: KNMI
  • Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • Regentes Emma (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1898 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • In The Netherlands , there was from May 9, 1894 to July 27, 1897 the cabinet Roëll, with Jonkheer mr. J. Roëll (oud-liberaal) as prime minister.
  • In The Netherlands , there was from July 27, 1897 to August 1, 1901 the cabinet Pierson, with Mr. N.G. Pierson (unie-liberaal) as prime minister.
  • In the year 1897: Source: Wikipedia
    • The Netherlands had about 5.1 million citizens.
    • February 1 » Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
    • May 26 » The original manuscript of William Bradford's history, "Of Plymouth Plantation" is returned to the Governor of Massachusetts by the Bishop of London after being taken during the American Revolutionary War.
    • August 2 » Anglo-Afghan War: The Siege of Malakand ends when a relief column is able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand states.
    • August 31 » Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.
    • September 1 » The Tremont Street Subway in Boston opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
    • September 10 » Lattimer massacre: A sheriff's posse kills 19 unarmed striking immigrant miners in Lattimer, Pennsylvania, United States.

Day of marriage August 19, 1953

  • The temperature on August 19, 1953 was between 8.6 °C and 21.3 °C and averaged 15.1 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain. There was 7.0 hours of sunshine (48%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the south-southwest. Source: KNMI
  • Koningin Juliana (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from September 4, 1948 till April 30, 1980 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • In The Netherlands , there was from September 2, 1952 to October 13, 1956 the cabinet Drees II, with Dr. W. Drees (PvdA) as prime minister.
  • In the year 1953: Source: Wikipedia
    • The Netherlands had about 10.4 million citizens.
    • March 1 » Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later.
    • April 29 » The first U.S. experimental 3D television broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.
    • July 17 » The largest number of United States midshipman casualties in a single event results from an aircraft crash in Florida, killing 44.
    • August 12 » The 7.2 Ms  Ionian earthquake shakes the southern Ionian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 445 and 800 people are killed.
    • August 22 » The penal colony on Devil's Island is permanently closed.
    • November 30 » Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda is deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda.

Day of death February 4, 1978

  • The temperature on February 4, 1978 was between 0.4 °C and 3.3 °C and averaged 1.3 °C. There was 0.6 hours of sunshine (6%). The heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the south east. Source: KNMI
  • Koningin Juliana (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from September 4, 1948 till April 30, 1980 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
  • In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, December 19, 1977 to Friday, September 11, 1981 the cabinet Van Agt I, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA/KVP) as prime minister.
  • In the year 1978: Source: Wikipedia
    • The Netherlands had about 13.9 million citizens.
    • March 2 » Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
    • April 17 » Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking a communist coup d'état in Afghanistan.
    • August 26 » Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.
    • September 25 » PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 and crashes in San Diego, killing 144 people.
    • October 21 » Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
    • November 27 » The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is founded in the city of Riha (Urfa) in Turkey.


Same birth/death day

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Wikipedia


About the surname Bontsema

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The Navorska tree publication was prepared by .contact the author
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin:
David Allen Navorska, "Navorska tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/navorska-tree/I43505.php : accessed May 2, 2025), "Peter Henry “Pete” Bontsema (1897-1978)".