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This is the fifth of twelve articles about the early immigrants to Pella that Kor Postma contributed and Thys de Jong has now translated for us. Notes from the translator are enclosed in brackets.
[In translating these articles I'm struck by the fact that the village of Driesum appears to be the place where the 6 families from Dantumadeel came from. I think it highly likely that they all belonged to the Afgescheidene (Separated, Seceded) church in Driesum, which was the first and probably at that time the only, Afgescheidene church in Dantumadeel. It's now a Gereformeerde (Christian Reformed) church. In the history section of that church's website we find the following:
On December 14, 1840 the Rev. F. de Haan from Wanswerd co-operated in the founding of an Afgescheiden church for Driesum, Wouterswoude and Dantumawoude (the 3 villages were close to each other). The meeting was held at the home of Jacob Jans Slot. The first "consistory was just 1 elder and 1 deacon; the elder is of interest to folks in the U.S.A. He was Reinder Gerbens van Wieren originally from Oenkerk in Tietjerksteradeel, he had been heavily fined and imprisoned and all his property was sold to pay the fines in 1836-37. Reinder, with his wife and 3 children, also emigrated to America and died on August 14, 1858, two weeks after arriving at his destination of Holland, Michigan.
In the Netherlands the custom is that the father goes to "city hall" to notify authorities that a child has been born. The birth records of the first 2 children of Jacob and Maaike, who were born out of wedlock, state that Jacob acknowledged being their father. Later the children were acknowledged by both parents when they finally married. The word used for that was "wetteging," which means legalizing. Having one or more children born before marriage was quite common in those days. There exists, or existed, in the Netherlands a custom called "ondertrouw," which was like a legally enforcable promise to marry; some call it a marriage contract. Often after that had been done couples lived together as though they were already married.]
Jacob Jans Slot was born on November 11,1800 (baptized in the Reformed church on November 18, 1801) at Akkerwoude. He was the son of Jan Pieters Slot and Beitske Hendriks van der Werff. Jacob married Maaike Tymens Kooistra in Dantumadeel on February 28, 1829. She was a daughter of Tymen Symens Kooistra and Lijsbert Symens; she was born in Dantumawoude on November 18, 1795 [and baptized in the Reformed church in Driesum on January 3, 1796]. The family was blessed with 5 children, all born at Driesum, 2 of whom died at a young age: Jan was born December 26, 1825. Jacob acknowledged, when he married Maaike in 1829, that he was Jan's legal father. Lijsbert was born on January 10, 1829 and died at Driesum on June 3, 1830 (she was also acknowledged when her parents married in February that year). Hendrik was born on July 8, 1831. Lijsbert was born on October 6, 1834 and died on December 16, 1838 at Driesum, and Beitske was born on August 9, 1838 at Driesum.
This family also left Driesum and Dantumadeel to go to America. Father Jacob and mother Maaike with the 3 children Jan, Hendrik and Beitske. Under the leadership of Rev. H. P. Scholte they boarded the Pieter Floris in 1847 and set their course to the United States of America. Among them were many Afgescheidenen who had seceded in 1834 from the Reformed church [Nederlands Hervormde Kerk]. They were persecuted by the government and their denomination--later de Gereformeerde [Christian Reformed church] was not acknowledged by the government.
They often met in private homes until the government ordered them not to on the grounds of article 94 in the book of punishable deeds that was in place then. The government was afraid that meetings at which more than 20 people were present would disturb the public peace and meted out stiff fines. Because of the Afscheiding many were persecuted by the Reformed church and were even called saboteurs. Many Frisians fled from fines and prison to the great and free land of dreams and wishes. Together with many other Frisians they founded Pella, which is located between the Des Moines and Skunk rivera. Pella means a place for those who fled and at the entrance to the new village a sign was placed with the words: In Deo Spes Nostra et Refugium [I think this is Latin for a well known verse of scripture: The eternal God is your refuge]. This means that the inhabitants placed their hope in God. Maaike Tymens Kooistra and Jacob Jans Slot were both buried on their own piece of ground at the Oakwood cemetery in Pella; the exact dates are unknown to me.
Here are three excerpts about the Afscheiding from A. and H. Algra's book Despereert Niet [Despair Not: 20 centuries of Dutch History]1: The constitution of 1815 guaranteed freedom of religion. King Willem I of the Netherlands chose to interpret that as only applying to denominations that were already in place at that time.
2: In some provinces (Holland and Utrechtm, for instance) the highest court, the Appeal court, tossed all lower court convictions and fines out on the basis that the law did not apply to religious meetings. Friesland was not that fortunate.
3: Willem II became king in 1840. He did not agree with his father on this issue and anyone who appealed the punishment given him because of religious issues was automatically granted clemency; this had the effect of lessening the persecution, which stopped completely after the passing of a new constitution in 1848.
Jacob Jans Slot was traveling to Pella when he died in 1847 in St. Louis, Missouri, 450 kilometers from his destination. According to American sources he was buried in Pella; in all likelihood the family carted his remains the last step of the journey. About the 3 children the following is known:
Jan later named John was a farmer and traded shares [a stockbroker?]. He owned a farm, much land, some buildings and many acres of forest. John was honest and energetic and a first class farmer. He married on July 21, 1857 Marica (Maggie) Mil(l)ner. Marica was born in November 1832 and also came from Friesland. The family had 10 children, 6 of whom died at a young age. The other 4 were named: Jacob (1859-1913), Maggie (Maaike) (December 1861-?), Jane and Peter (Pieter) (March 1869). They were members of the Gereformeerde Kerk in Pella. [The Gereformeerde kerk in the Netherlands was formed in 1892 and became the Christian Reformed church on this side of the ocean. Whether there was a Christian Reformed Church in Pella at the time is not clear to me.] John died at the age of 79 on November 1, 1904 and Marica died on April 28, 1922 at Pella. Like their parents they were buried in Oakwood cemetery.
Hendrik Slot later named Henry married on April 15, 1870 in Marion County Henderika Koopman, who was 20 years younger than he. She was born in March 1851 in the Netherlands. The family had 6 children: 2 sons and 4 daughters. The names known to us: sons Henry and Jacob and daughter Elizabeth G. Of the other 3 daughters we only know their initials: D.M., M., and A. Henry died in 1901 and Henderika in 1913; both were buried at the Oakland cemetery in Pella.
Beitske Slot probably never married. She died in 1887 and was buried, like the rest of the family, in Oakwood cemetery in Pella.
Wopke Hoekes de Haan was born on January 26, 1816 at Bergum in the municipality of Tietjerksteradeel (mairie Bergum), the son of Hoeke Lammerts de Haan and Baukje Wopkes de Vries. He married Jetske Ymes Hiemstra in the municipality of Tietjerksteradeel on August 18, 1838. She was a daughter of Yme Jelles Hiemstra and Dieuwke Pyters Kiestra. She first saw the light of day on February 11, 1816 at Kubaard in the municipality of Hennaarderadeel (maire Wommels). The family had 3 daughters: Dieuwke, born July 9, 1839 in Deinum (Menaldumadeel); Baukjen, born October 2, 1841 in Drogeham (Achtkarspelen); and Ymkje, born November 16 in Driesum (Dantumadeel).
Wopke was a carpenter, according to the passenger list of the Pieter Floris, the ship upon which the family said farewell to Friesland. We don't know why they emigrated. Some reasons that were prevalent were the betterment of their position in society, religious freedom, and escaping from the the law or even a creditor. We don't know why, but Wopke and Jetske took the gamble and traveled in the company of Rev. H. P. Scholte. According to a witness of many stories told, the last farewells in Rotterdam and Amsterdam were often heart breaking. Many would never return and left their parents, brothers and sisters for ever. Some mothers held so tightly on to their sons they had to be physically removed before the sons could continue their journey. Broken hearts remained behind and broken hearts journeyed on. The hope of a new future characterized the spirit of the many pilgrims who would later found Pella. Aboard, there were daily religious meetings, which mostly consisted of singing well known psalms.
Usually the ships were dirty, but the Friesian emigrants would have tidied and cleaned their quarters long before they reached the coast at Baltimore, Maryland, and this was well known. The health services in Baltimore were so impressed that they were mostly allowed to leave without the usual health inspection. Captains of various ships let it be known that they seldom had such correct and well-mannered passengers as the Frisians. Aboard, the women and children slept apart from the men, even though families could choose to sleep together. Unavoidably some adults and children died on the journey in spite of a qualified doctor being aboard every steamship. Jetske Ymes Hiemstra died during the sea voyage in 1847 and Wopke Hoekes de Haan was alone with his 3 children. Rev. H. P. Scholte wrote that those who died did so as Christians knowing that death was their victory.
Wopke Hoekes de Haan married again on July 3, 1857 in Pella with Antje van der Meer. Antje was the widow of a Mr. van Tol who also came from the Netherlands and with him had 2 daughters: Aaltje, later named Adeline, and Antje, later named Anna. Together Wopke and Antje van der Meer had 4 more children: Isaac born ca. 1858, Mary de Haan born 1861, John born ca. 1863, all three in Pella; and Henry born ca. 1867 in Sioux City [Woodbury County, Iowa].
Through the arrival of the railway in Pella in 1866 the price of land in the area had risen tenfold and research was done into eventually starting a second colony. Various committees were started and plans were made for a move to another state: Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oregon were visited, but all returned disappointed and had come to the same conclusion: Iowa is and remains the best state to live and work in. In June 1869 a group went on a research trip to the northwest of Iowa to see if a second colony could be founded there. They visited Sioux County, near the Sioux river, where a small number of pioneers had already settled, and saw a shining prairie with an abundance of natural beauty. They were so impressed that they had no doubts that this was the place to settle their families. In Sioux City the required paper work was done so that everything was legally nailed down. At the beginning of 1869 a group of 75 people with 18 wagons journeyed once more to Sioux County and stayed 3 weeks to see if this was the place to move with their families. In the end they agreed unanimously that this area should become the New "Holland."
In April and May 1870 the Frisian school teacher Jelle Jans Pelmulder led more than 64 families from Pella, among them Wopke Hoekes de Haan and his family, to Sioux County in order to found a second colony. Jelle Jans Pelmulder and his wife Trijntje Klazes Heeringa with 4 children emigrated in 1855 to America aboard the ship South Carolina.
After the first hardships that go with founding a new colony, the daughter colony of Pella grew to be one of the most flourishing areas in the United States. Locusts plagues, prairie fires, death among their cattle and an over-abundance of rain and storms in the first years were courageously endured. The first church founded was the Reformed congregation [While the translation is exact, I doubt that the meaning is simply that, but only an expert in church history and Dutch could prove that.].
Great was the joy of Wopke's family when in 1849 they could once more embrace his father Hoeke Lammerts de Haan and mother Baukje Wopkes de Vries. In May 1849 they had left for Hamburg, Germany where they boarded a ship bound for New York under the leadership of the well-off Frisian family of Worp van Peyma.
Daughter Hinke Hoekes de Haan, who had married Anne Geerts van der Meulen, and their 2 children Geert and Hoeke also traveled along. [I do not know when they arrived in America.] Hinke and Anne were married on December 12, 1844 in Tietjerksteradeel, son Geert was born in Bergum, Tietjerksteradeel on April 15, 1845 and son Hoeke was born there on October 21, 1848.
Daughter Maaike Hoekes de Haan, who had married Wytse Wygers van der Kolk, and their children Wyger, Sipke, Baukje and Hoeke also joined the moving party. (Maaike and Wytse had married on December 2, 1827 in Tietjerksteradeel. The children's birth dates were July 3, 1838; May 21, 1843; January 11, 1846; and October 27, 1848 respectively, all in Tietjerksteradeel.)
Bachelor son Hendrik Hoekes de Haan came along too.
Wopke and Antje are named in the census of 1870, but in 1880 Antje and daughter Mary are not present; hence, it may be assumed they died between 1870 and 1880. When and where Wopke is buried is unknown. At the cemetery in Orange City a W. de Haan but we are not certain that this is Wopke. Isaac de Haan died in 1941 and is buried in the Oakland Cemetery in Pella. Henry de Haan also died in 1941, but further data about him has not been found. Henry is buried in the Memory Gardens cemetery in Sioux City.
About John de Haan we know that he was buried in the cemetery in Orange City, Sioux County, Iowa but the date is unknown. About the 3 children Dieuwke, Baukje and Ymkje from Wopke's first marriage no information has been found to date. It is likely that their names were so changed in America that further research is fruitless. Last names used in passenger lists are also often at odds with those used in later American censuses.
If you have additions or corrections I would like to hear them.
Kor Postma
van Aernsmastraat 14
9104 HG Damwoude
Tel: 0511-422640