Celia Bidloo - She ran her own business in shipping
On this website, historical women from the maritime sector share their stories. This is the story of Maria (Marietje) Teegelaar.
About Maria (Marietje) Teegelaar
- Lived: 1911–1992
- Employer: She ran her own business
- In which maritime sector did she work? Shipping
What kind of work did she do?
She began her maritime career in the 1930s as a secretary at the Rijn Transport & Handel Maatschappij. After her marriage to Willibald Johann Böhmer (1905–1948) in 1937, she had to resign. It is not known what education she received, but it is certain that she gained a great deal of practical knowledge. It is likely that she was actively involved in the coastal shipping company W. Böhmer’s Scheepvaartbedrijf, also known as N.V. Reederij Nautiek, which her husband founded in 1938. One of the first ships was named after her: the Marietje Böhmer (I). After his death in 1948, Maria Teegelaar ran the shipping company on her own for three and a half years. From the early 1950s through 1954, the ships of N.V. Reederij Nautiek were chartered to the KNSM; they sailed from Northwest Europe to France, the Mediterranean, the Levant, and North Africa. She was deeply involved with her ships and the crew; for instance, she always visited the ships whenever they were in port. She continued to lead the shipping company (then jointly) with her second husband, Leo Koole, whom she married in 1952. Under their joint leadership, the fleet grew.
What else is there to say about her maritime life?
The couple had three children.
*In the exhibition
