Geertruij was born on October 20th, 1800 in Brakel and her baptism took place there on October 26th, 1800. Geertruij's father was Jacob Valk and her mother was Anneke van Wijnen. Her paternal grandparents were Jacob Valk and Geertje Haasakker; her maternal grandparents were Willem van Wijnen and Wijntje Brugmans. She had a brother named Willem. She was the older of the two children. She died at the age of 39 on March 17th, 1840 in Zuilichem.