Hendrik Kruys

His father Claas Kruys (1802-1877) was Mayor of Vriezenveen from 1852-1870, and a merchant at the firm Jansen, Joost & Co in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

[3] The Rusluie, mostly traders and merchants, originally came from the town of Vriezenveen in the Netherlands and included members of the Kruys family.

According to a description in the diary of Hendrik's uncle Jacob Kruys (1812-1852), the journey by covered wagon led through Osnabrück, Berlin and Riga and took 15 days.

[6] In 1884, he started his own trading house ‘Java’ on Grosse Morskaya 38, where he sold Dutch coffee and cocoa, tea, spices, liquor, Delft pottery and other products.

Customers visiting Hendrik's store were offered a cup of hot cocoa by his Russian sister-in-law Katarina Awdejewa (1854-1921), the wife of his half-brother Bernardus Kruys (1840-1911).

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Hendrik visited Vriezenveen and made donations to contribute to the reconstruction of the town.

[8] Hendrik also recorded the first Russian Revolution of 1905 in his diary:[3] “A lot of commotion in the city and people shot by soldiers.

Many shops were looted, but thankfully Java was not damaged.”As his health deteriorated, Hendrik eventually left Saint Petersburg to join his family in Vriezenveen.