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This is the sixth 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.
Who was this man and what were his motives and beliefs? What follows is a short biography about this special man who led many Friesians from Dantumadeel across the ocean to America.
Hendrik Pieters Scholte was born on August 25, 1805 in Amsterdam. On December 20, 1832 he married Sara Maria Brandt. She was born in Amsterdam on January 17, 1806, the daughter of Daniel Brandt and Sara Koopman. Into this marriage 5 daughters were born of whom 2 died at a young age: (1) Sara Johanna born at Doeveren (Noord-Brabant) on November 9, 1833; (2) Maria who was born and died in Amsterdam; (3) Sara Maria who was also born and died in Amsterdam; (4) Sara Maria, born in Utrecht on June 6, 1839 and (5) Sara Johanna Suzanne born on June 3, 1842 also at Utrecht. Sara Maria Brant died on January 23, 1844 in Utrecht, a year and a half after the birth of the youngest daughter. Hendrik Pieters Scholte was certainly not spared from sorrow. Still there was joy when, on June 13, 1845, he was married again, this time to Mareah Henrietta Elizabeth Kranz [Maria Hendrika Elisabeth Krantz].
Mareah was born on March 16, 1820 at Maastricht, Limburg, daughter of well-off parents, Johannes Justus Krantz and Maria Theodora Christoffels. Mareah was a good singer and very brainy [The word Kor used is 'Knap,' which may also mean very good looking. In light of the reference later to her spending much time making herself look her best, that may nbe the meaning he intended here]. She had lived a good life for 2 years in Paris. From this marriage a son was born who, sadly, only lived 3 days. In 1847, shortly after the birth and death of this son, Hendrik Pieters Scholte, his second wife Mareah Kranz and the three daughters of his first marriage left the Netherlands to go to the United States. They started their voyage in Liverpool, England where they boarded the SS Sarah Sand bound for Boston, Massachusetts. From here the 5 traveled to Albany, New York. After this Hendrik went alone to Washington (Maryland) because much had still to be organized. From there he went to Baltimore, Maryland to welcome the immigrants that had left from Rotterdam. Mareah journeyed, alone with the 3 children, from Albany through the state of Connecticut to New York from where she took a train to Baltimore.
There she was reunited with her husband and the immigrants, among them the Frisians from Dantumadeel so often mentioned in the first 5 articles in this series. Together they continued their journey via Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to the Ohio river where they stepped into canal boats and continued traveling through the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. These small and mostly dirty boats were filled to overflowing with passengers so that mostly there was not enough room to lay down to sleep which they could only do with the boats anchored in a harbor. This tiring part of the trip took 2 weeks, after which they found a better boat so that the next step over the Mississippi river in Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri became a pleasure cruise. After a short stop in St. Louis they continued along the Mississippi river to Keokuk, Iowa.
In Keokuk most immigrants purchased their own transportation for the last miles of their journey. One bought a horse, another a wagon, others a span of oxen to haul their belongings. Scholte hired a coach. It was not an easy trek. On the prairie their road often led through rivers and creeks over which there were no bridges. Fortunately they had beautiful weather during this last stage of their travels. As evening approached on the 5th day after leaving Keokuk they came to a small block house. Near it was a pole upon which was written: PELLA. "But pastor where is Pella?" asked Mareah. "O child, we are going to build a beautiful Pella!" Scholte answered his wife. But Mareah was depressed for days. Was this where she had to live, she who was used to a luxurious life? Scholte was faced with the fact that his wife was totally unsuited for the life of a pioneer, and understood that he had to be ready at all times to help her. On the one side there was the joy of Scholte, who finally saw the fulfillment of his life's dream; on the other side, his crying wife who wanted to return to the Netherlands What a contradiction became public here.
Before leaving from St. Louis Scholte had contracted with some Americans to build 50 blockhouses. When they arrived not one was ready. Luckily there was plenty of wood ready so the immigrants could build their own homes. In April 1848 the large new house of the Scholte family was complete. When unpacking their many crates it was found the Delft blue dinner service was a ruin of broken plates and bowls, with those shards a path was later made in the garden. Scholte had people make him a very large garden; after all there was room enough, hundreds of trees were planted and an entire vineyard. The Scholte family rejoiced with the birth of another 8 children of which only three survived beyond infancy: Henry Peter was born on November 30, 1846/1848 at Pella; Jan Willem David (commonly called David) was born in 1852 in Pella; and Theodora Maria Johanna was born on November 23, 1858 in Pella. Hendrik Jan Justus was also born in Pella in in October 1862 but died at a very young age, he is the only one of the 5 infants of Rev. Scholte and Mareah whose name is known.
The afgescheiden (separated, seceded) preacher showed he could do almost anything and was engaged in many businesses. He owned a large farm, saw mills, stone quarries and lime ovens; he was a land agent, banker, notary public and lawyer; and owner/publisher/editor of the weekly newspaper: The Pella Gazette. He wrote all the main articles and decided in the paper the questions that arose in Pella and the surrounding area. He was also school inspector and post master and agent for a life insurance company, something many did not agree with because they were opposed to life insurance. [This opposition to life insurance I still remember from my youth. For many this seemed an indication of lack of faith in God.]
How different was the life of Scholte's wife! She led an untroubled life and was seldom seen out of doors. She followed the latest fashions such as the hoop skirt (she had the largest collection of these in all of Pella). Each day she received her breakfast in bed and then was busy till noon to make sure she looked as beautiful as possible.
What happened to the 3 daughters of Rev. Scholte's first marriage?
Sara Johanna Scholte married in Pella on February 24, 1853 Benjamin Franklin Keables, son of Michael Keables and Nancy Bromley. He was born on November 30, 1828 in Elba, Genesee County, New York. The family of Michael Keables arrived in Pella in 1852. Benjamin and Sara Johanna had 5 children. Benjamin died on May 8, 1911 in Pella and his wife Sara Johanna Scholte died on October 18, 1914, also in Pella.
Sara Maria Scholte married in Pella on December 1, 1864 Pierre Henri Bousquet, son of Abraham Everardus Dudok Bousquet and Henriette Marthe Chabot. He was born on December 23, 1835 in Zaltbommel, (Gelderland). The family of A. E. Dudok Bousquet arrived in Pella in 1849. Pierre Henri and Sara Maria Scholte had 2 children: Anna Caroline and Sara Maria. Sara Maria Scholte died on January 14, 1876 at Pella and her husband Pierre Henri died there on February 14, 1908. They were buried there in the North Cemetery.
On Pella on April 30, 1864 Sara Johanna Suzanne Scholte married John (Jan) Nollen, son of Hendricus Nollen and Mrs. H. Nollen (This could be Zwaantjen Jongbloed; she married Hendricus Nollen in 1837. Hendricus Nollen's father was Jannes.) He was born in 1828 in Didam, Gelderland, the Netherlands. The family of Hendricus Nollen came to Pella in 1854. John and Sara Johanna Suzanne Scholte had 5 children: Henry, John, Sara, Gerard and Hanna. John died on May 31, 1914 in Pella and his wife Sara died in 1928 in Des Moines. They are buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.About the other 3 children of Rev. Scholte the following is known:
Henry Peter married October 30, 1878 in Pella Leonora Rose Keables, daughter of Henry Erastus Keables and Harriet N. Rose. She was born in Michigan on March 27, 1860. The family had 3 children, all born in Pella: Elizabeth, born September 22, 1879, Henry Paul, born October 5, 1882 and died in 1950; Robert Pierre, born January 29, 1892 and died in 1957. Henry Peter died on October 26, 1918 and his wife Leonora Rose died in 1943.
Jan Willem David married with Maria Paige, where and when is unknown. the couple were childless. Jan Willem David died in 1920 and when Maria died remains unknown.
Theodora Maria Johanna died young at the age of 11 on May 22, 1870.
Rev. Hendrik Pieter Scholte became ill in the summer of 1868 and on the warm afternoon of August 26 he died, 21 years after arriving in Pella. As he lay dying he sang "Gelooft zij God met diepst ontzag" [This would have been a psalm; I no longer have a Dutch psalmbook but would translate it as "Praised be God with deepest adoration." The text he lived by and made his own was "In Deo Spes Nostra et Refugium" ["God is our Hope and Refuge" (Psalm 46:1).] Rev. Scholte was 62 years old when he died.
After the death of her first husband Mareah married Robert Beard on July 2, 1870. From this union no children were born. Mareah died in September 1892 at the age of 72. As she lay dying she said,"I die as a stranger in a strange country." Rev. Henry Peter Scholte and his second wife Mareah Kranz are buried in the Oakwood Cemetery. Their enormous tombstone is hard to miss and is for many a beloved object to photograph. The much younger Robert Beard, who was born on October 4, 1846 in Detroit, Michigan, died on October 31, 1920 in Mercy Hospital, Des Moines. After Mareah died he married Kate Frances Keables.
Henry Peter Scholte's parents belonged to a Restored Lutheran congregation. He was a born speaker and began to study letters. At the age of 22 he lost both his parents and his only brother in a short period of time. Now the serious and rich young man was totally free to spend his life in any manner he chose. He sold his father's factory and in 1829 began to study theology in Leiden. He ate his meals in an historic inn where he met all types of students. One of the topics the theological students discussed was the question of whether it was possible to separate the church from the state. The theology students formed a club they named the "Scholte Club." Well-known members of this club were Anthony Brummelkamp, Simon van Velzen, Georg Frans Gezelle Meerburg, and Albertus Christiaan van Raalte (van Raalte would lead people to Holland, Michigan). There was much discussion about whetter it was good that the state ruled the church. At the time all church property belonged to the crown. In 1832 Scholte became pastor of the three point charge of Doeveren, Gansoijen and Genderen. He was a beloved preacher who preached 'from his head," i.e. without notes. He refused to let hymns be sung. [One of the so-called reforms in the Reformed church enacted in 1816 was the introduction of hymns. These were not accepted by many who had always just sung the Psalms. Rev. de Cock (see the next paragraph) termed them whore's songs.] Scholte also refused to ask the infamous communion questions.
Problems arose when he made a trip to Ulrum where Rev. Hendrik de Cock had been removed by the provincial synod because of disobedience to the then current church rules. That was the fuse in the powder keg. Rev. Hendrik de Cock and part of his congregation signed the "act of separation and return" [That is, the separation of the Hervormde (Reformed) church as it had been named in 1816 and the return to the Gereformeerde (Reformed) church as it had existed before 1816.] Scholte was not the man to wrestle with the denominational institutions and reform the church from within. He and his congregation made the decision to separate as well and throughout the country this example was followed. Out of the "Hervormde" (Reformed) church they founded the "Christelijk Afgescheiden" (Christian Separated) church. With this the separation of 1834 became a fact. The Separation of 1834 was not accepted by the government. Freedom of worship was allowed, but not for new denominations. The "Scholte club" began to be persecuted. They had soldiers quartered in their homes, were badly treated, and suffered many fines and imprisonment. [Articles in It Klankboerd, the sounding board, of the Protestant church in Oenkerk, Tietjerksteradeel make clear just how high these fines were. One person had fines totaling 1110 guildres, which for a workman at the time was about 5 1/2 years wages.]
A year after the start of the Separation Scholte founded a separated congregation in Amsterdam. Shortly thereafter many Separated congregations were founded. Sadly inside the Separated churches things did not go as they should have; a quarrel between the brethern took place. Scholte himself was removed by the Separated synod, not because he did anything against God's word, but only because he acted against the denomination's rules. This was a hurt that he deeply felt. All his experiences with the dangers of religion freedom and his being removed by the synod led him to consider founding a colony some place where he could freely preach. South America and the East Indies were not feasible because the government would not be able to grant him freedom of religion and education. [This is a reference to the Dutch colonies, now Indonesia, Surinam and the Dutch Antilles.]
In August, 1846 Rev. Scholte founded the Christelijke Vereniging tot bevordering der Landverhuizing [Christian Association for the Promotion of Emigration]. Not only the church difficulties but also the poverty in the Netherlands that followed the war with Belgium (1830), the potato famine (the great Irish potato famine of 1845-49 was felt on the continent and in the Netherlands potato crops also failed), bitter unemployment and the scarcity of money all played a part. In the Netherlands there was much sneering at the Separated people. There were reasons enough for a number of Frisians to cross the ocean with the Rev. Scholte in 1847, fulfilled a long treasured wish of this self-willed preacher.
In 1855 Rev. Scholte, from his own pocket, had a new church built in Pella, where he preached until his death. Scholte´s ideas about the church were brought to the fore here: Every rest-day there was communion. Scholte only preached in the afternoon service (very long) with long applications. Scholte accentuated the duties of believers; there was no catechism, no Christian schools were founded and he did not busy himself with missions. Propositions that were held in high esteem in the beginning were later discarded. At the end of his life he complained often about how few people came to his church. He never regretted the Separation of 1834.
Not only Rev. Henry Peter Scholte came to America but also Rev Albertus Christiaan van Raalte, Rev Marten Annes Ypma, Rev. Seine Bolks, Rev. Cornelis van der Meulen, and many other pastors and groups. They settled not only in Iowa but also in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Indiana and North and South Dakota. Scholte's home (built in 1848) has been preserved to honor the Rev. Henry Peter Scholte, founder of the City of Pella, and for many vacationers it is now a memorial well worth seeing. Excursions to the home draw many interested people. As much as possible it has been preserved in its original state. such as the dining room, library and bed rooms. The enormous gardens surrounding the house with many paths and flower beds are a wonderful experience for nature lovers.
If you have additions or corrections I would like to hear them.
Kor Postma
van Aernsmastraat 14
9104 HG Damwoude
Tel: 0511-422640