Levie van Straten was married in Rotterdam on 19 September 1917. On 30 July 1924 he took a job with the Holland-America Line as a musician. In November 1926 he went to work for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. He sailed between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, on the ships Indrapoera, Sibajah, Baloeran, Patia and Slamat. Although his main instrument was the violin, he also played the piano on bo…