Benjamin van Gelder was a son of Israël van Gelder and Anna Stofkooper. He married Antje de Leeuw from Almelo-Stad on 21 June 1895 in Borne, a daughter of Abraham Marcus de Leeuw and Betje Fuldauer. The comple had seven children: 3 December 1895 Agatha Betsij was born; 7 May 1897 Betje; 6 September 1898 Israël, 11 May 1900 Roosje;’27 October 1901 Anna; 9 August 1903 Abraham and 3 March 1905 Izak Philip.
All children had their own families and they lived not anymore at home. Agatha Betsy was married 4 August 1927 in Hengelo to Wilhelmus Jacobus Maria Moers; Betje van Gelder married Wouterus Gijsbertus Cousijnsen on 8 August 1929 in Enschede; Israël van Gelder married Sara Mooij on 4 February 1926 in Hengelo; Roosje married Theodorus Lünding from Epe (Germany)on 9 February 1926 in Losser; Anna married Benjamin van Gelder in Hengelo on 19 April 1928; Abraham van Gelder married in Maastricht Bela van Spier on 29 August 1928 and Izak Philip van Gelder married 1 March 1929 in Zutphen to Carolina Polak.
Of the seven children, only Israël and his sister Anna have been killed in the Holocaust. Izak Philip van Gelder, his wife Carolina Polak and their son Benjamin survived the Shoah; they have been registered in Hengelo again in 1948. Most likely the other four children and their families too have survived the war.
However, the parents, Bejamin van Gelder and his wife Antje de Leeuw were killed in the Shoah. They have been sent 9 April 1943 to concentration camp Vught and after one month transferred to Westerbork where they were registered 9 May 1943. Two days later, on 11 May they were both put on transport to Sobibor where on arrival on 14 May 1943 they were immediately killed.
Sources: website wiewaswie.nl; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration cards of Benjamin van Gelder, Antje van Gelder-de Leeuw; Israël van Gelder; Anna van Gelder, Izak Philip van Gelder and an addition of a visitor of the website.