Frederik Hendrik Adolph Oosteveen was born on August 5, 1862, in the city of Purmerend in the Netherlands, the son Harm Oosterveen and his third wife, Frederica Julia Lampe. He immigrated to Mexico about 1880, married Ruperta Barrera of Mier, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1883, and ultimately settled in Rio Grande City, Texas in 1884. They would eventually become the parents of nine children.

There is a colorful family story about how he left the Netherlands to avoid military conscription. His mother dressed him as a girl and paid a ship's captain to smuggle him out of the country. The ship allegedly sank off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico and only Adolph, the captain and first mate, survived only to be captured by hostile Indians. One day, as the men of the tribe left on a hunting expedition, the captives convinced a young girl to cut their bonds and let them loose. The Indians had cut their feet with knives to hamper their escape, forcing the men to crawl for many miles until they happened upon an old farmer's house. The farmer treated their wounds and built a makeshift travois. With that, he transported the men to the nearest road, the trade route to Mexico City. They met a merchant by the name of Francisco Barrera, who then took them into the city. Adolph went to work for Barrera and a year later married his 14-year-old daughter, Ruperta. After the birth of their first child in Mier, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the family emigrated to Starr County, Texas. According to the story, Adolph studied law and became a lawyer and then a judge.

This story is highly questionable when compared to the actual record. His probable point of entry was Tampico, a large port city and there seem to be no recorded Indian depredations in Tamaulipas in 1880. There is no record that he ever studied law, became a lawyer, or a judge. He was a clerk and eventually a tax assessor and ultimately a Justice of the Peace.

Randell Tarin (great-grandson)