Henri Carel Beer was the fourth of the six children from the first marriage of Nathan Hermanus Beer (1836-1921) and Clarisse Beer (1846-1879). Henri Carel was born in Amsterdam on 10 June 1875. His mother died just under four years later on 11 April 1879, just after the birth of her sixth child Betje, as a result of “maternity sickness”. Betje, who was born on 8 April, died also after seven days on 15 April. Clarisse Beer was 32 years old when she was interred in the Jewish Cemetery at Muiderberg.
Before Henri Carel Beer married, he lived with his parents, brothers and sister at various addresses like in Weesp and Amsterdam, including at Nieuwe Zijds Voorburgwal 206 and at Jacob van Campenstraat 83. He was also accepted on 15 December 1894 for the National Militia and on 5 March 1895 he was conscripted into the 7th Infantry Regiment. On 31 July 1910, Henri was finally discharged from service.
Henri/Hendrik Carel Beer was a diamond cutter by profession and therefore also a member of the ANDB, the General Dutch Diamond Workers' Association. In 1898 and 1916 he worked in section 2, brilliant cutting. As a diamond polisher, Henri Carel Beer stayed in Antwerp several times. The first time was on 15 February 1897 until 1899, when he stayed at Breughelstraat 65.
Henri Carel Beer married Clara Josephina Pinkhof on 25 September 1906. She was 27 years old at the time and was born on 18 September 1879 in Antwerp as a daughter of Salomon Meijer Pinkhof and Regina Clauwaert. But before Henri returned to Antwerp on 24 July 1906, he still stayed in New York at 216 83 East Street for some time.
After the marriage of Henri and Clara was concluded in 1906, they both lived till 1910 in the Mireaustraat 28 in Antwerp. They moved to Berchem then, where they lived till 1914 in the Veldstraat 6. Other addresses where the Beer family has resided was the Damhouderstraat 10 in Antwerp and the Mechelse Steenweg 97 in Contich.
Henri and Clara had three children, namely: Clarisse Regina Paulina, born in Antwerp, on 25 June 1907, and Sally Maurice on 14 May 1912, born there too. The third child, Regina Clara, was born in Amsterdam on 5 November 1920. Despite the fact that the youngest daughter was born in Amsterdam, she still has Belgian nationality, according to notes in the Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp, no. 88735.
From December 1924 the parents lived with their children at Fourmentstraat 4 in Antwerp and at the time Henri Carel Beer passed away on 24 June 1940 at Boomgaardstraat 131 W.Z. As far as is known, the widow Clara Josephine Pinkhof and her three children survived the war, but nothing else is known about them.
Sources include the City Archive of Amsterdam, register of the National Militia/Henri Carel Beer; membership card ANDB (Dutch Diamond Workers Union with Henri/Hendrik Carel Beer; the Dossier of Foreigners of the City of Antwerp no. 88735 and the certificate of death for Henri Carel Beer no.238I - made out in Antwerp on 28 June 1940.