Simon van Daelen, born in Vlaardingen on 24 May 1861, was a son of Hendrik van Daelen and Suzanna van Wessel. On 1 September 1886 he married in Rotterdam at the age of 25 the 24-year old Adriana van Stroom from Rotterdam, a daughter of Israël van Stroom and Cornelia Samson. The couple had five children, namely Hendrik in 1887, Isidoor in 1889, Andries Samson in 1891, Leonardus in 1893 and Cornelia Suzanna in 1894.
After their wedding, Simon and Adriana lived in Vlaardingen, where during those years their four sons were born. On 1 May 1894 the family moved to Rotterdam, were that same year their daughter was born. Simon lived there with his wife and children at Delftschestraat but still moved a number of times in Rotterdam.
Since May 1924, Simon and his wife lived at Spoorsingel 32b in Rotterdam, were his wife Adriana van Stroom passed away on 22 November 1932; she was interred in the Jewish Cemetery Toepad in Rotterdam. Simon’s and Adriana’s children were all married between 1911 and 1923 and have left their parental home long ago. Two years later, the then 73-year old widower Simon van Daelen remarried in Rotterdam on 17 October 1934 the more than 35-year younger Fronica van Straten from Alblasserdam, a daughter of Jacob van Straten and Elisabeth Nathan Frank.
Fronica van Straten and her sister Johanna runned a lunchroom in Nieuw Lekkerland since 24 April 1925, where also her brother Alexander van Straten was employed as a waiter. When Johanna passed away in March 1931, Froncia left for Den Haag and Arnhem as housekeeper, arrived in March 1933 in Rotterdam and moved in with Simon van Daelen at Spoorsingel 32b. Simon and Fronica moved from Rotterdam to Den Haag, Gentschsestraat 14 and their last known address became Harstenhoekweg 97 in Scheveningen.
On 27 October 1942 Simon and Fronica were taken from their address in Scheveningen, deported to Westerbork and put on transport to Auschwitz on 30 October 1942. The transport with 659 deportees, stopped shortly in Kozel, where 200 men between 15 and 50 years of age forcedly had to leave the train, to be employed as forced labourers in the surrounding camps of Auschwiz. Those, who remained in the train were transported onwards to Auschwitz, among them also Simon van Daelen and his wife Fronica van Daelen-van Straten. On arrival there on 2 November 1942 they all were immediately killed.
Sources: City Archive of Rotterdam, family registration cards of Simon van Daelen and Fronica van Straten; website wiewaswie.nl/marriage Simon van Daelen/Adriana van Stroom; website hetstenenarchief.nl/Grave Adriana van Daelen-van Stroom; the file cabinet of the Jewish Council, registration card of Fronica (Veronica) van Daelen-van Straten and the wikipedia list of Jew transports from the Netherlands; the certificates of death A 1641 and A 1642 dated 23 August 1948, made out by the Municipality of Den Haag for Simon van Daelen and Fronica van Straten.