My name ...
What kind of name is Dutchover? It's a long story. The short version is: In 1842, a young man in Antwerp, Belgium, named Anton Diedrick, witnessed a murder. He was kidnapped so he could not be a witness to the crime and was taken aboard a ship. He was held prisoner for several years until he finally managed to escape in Galveston, Texas.
He joined the American army in the U.S.-Mexican War. The recruiter asked Anton what his name was. Anton kept repeating his last name, Diedrick. He didn't speak English and the recruiter did not speak Flemish so there was a misunderstanding. Finally, the recruiter said, "Well, he is Dutch all over. We'll call him that." He was enlisted as Diedrick Dutchallover. Eventually, he dropped the "all" and became simply "Dutchover."
He lived in Fort Davis, Texas, and died there on March 12, 1904. Most Dutchovers are found in the Southwest and there's a heavy concentration of descendants in West Texas (Marfa, Fort Davis, Balmorhea, El Paso) and New Mexico. If you're ever driving to Big Bend, stop in at the Dutchover Cafe in Balmorhea.
A few links:
Belgian
Texans
includes a picture of Dietrick
Fort
Davis (The Handbook of TexasOnline)
Deitrick is mentioned in the first paragraph
Jeff
Davis County (The Handbook of Texas Online)
brief mention in the fourth paragraph
Diedrich
Coffee (Fine and Rare Coffees of the World)
includes Diedrich family coat of arms
The
DUYTSCHAEVER Theory
Was Deidrick's name really DUYTSCHAEVER?
"This name very much looks like a family name we have here: DUYTSCHAEVER.
Pronounced in the local dialect, it sounds like DUTCHOVER."