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This is the seventh of twelve articles about the early immigrants to Pella that Kor Postma contributed and Thys de Jong has now translated for us.
Besides the already named emigrants from Dantumadeel there were also some emigrants from Oostdongeradeel and Westdongeradeel abourd the Pieter Floris. They were Sjoerd Aukes Sipma and his wife Jantje Sjoukjes de Vries, Gerrit Gerbens van der Weit and his wife Wypkje Jacobs Kuipers and Abraham Paulus Buwalda and his spouse Aaltje Jans Havenga. The van der Weit traveled with 4 kinderen and the Buwalda family with 5. In the 7th and 8th articles we will look at them and their connection with the Roorda family from Dantumadeel
We begin with the best known of the three, namely Sjoerd Aukes Sipma.
Sjoerd Aukes Sipma was born on August 17, 1812 at Bornwird in the municipality of Westdongeradeel. He was a son of Auke Sipkes Sipma and Yttje Ritskes Reitsma, his occupation was farmhand and market gardener. On March 1847 he married in Westdongeradeel with Jantje Sjoukjes de Vries. She was born on June 6, 1819 at Engwierum in the municipality of Oostdongeradeel a daughter of Sjoukje Ruurds de Vries. The birth record of Jantje reads: Jantje, daughter of Sjoukje Ruurds de Vries, labourer, "having been born out of wedlock." Shortly after the wedding they left on April 3, 1847 to go to America in search of a better life. After a successful ocean voyage the arrived in Baltimore on June 11, 1847 and on August 31, 1847 in Pella.
On September 23, 1848 their first child was born and named Yttje (later Edith). In 1850 a son was born and named Auke, and a second son was born on January 1, 1852 who received the name Jan (later John). Again the family was blessed with the birth of a 3rd son who was named Sipke; where and when he was born is not known. The other 3 children were born in Pella. The family descended into mourning when 2 year old Auke suddenly died in 1852. A few years later Sjoerd's wife, Jantje died, which was a great los to him. She died before October 13, 1857 for on that date Sjoerd was remarried, this time to Boukje Boonstra.
Boukje (or Baukje later known as Bertha) Boonstra was the widow of Tjeerd Tjeerds Bruinja (Bruinia). She was a daughter of Tjeerd Dirks Boonstra and Geeltje Hoekes de Haan and was born on June 7, 1830 in Bergum (she was also a niece of Wopke Hoekes de Haan who appears in an earlier article). On May 10, 1850 in Tietjerksteradeel she had married Tjeerd Tjeerds Bruinja (or Bruinia), son of Tjeerd Pieters Bruinja and Trijntje Sijbes Kuipers. Tjeerd Tjeerds was born on June 28, 1824 at Eestrum, Tietjerksteradeel. From Boukje's first marriage 3 children were born: Geeltje, Tjeerd and Trijntje Bruinja were their names.
Tjeerd and Boukje arrived on June 11, 1855 in New York from Rotterdam. The ship they crossed the ocean on was named the Tarvlinta. In Pella a daughter was born Carrie (Trijntje) on September 6, 1856. Tjeerd Tjeerds Bruinja died before October 13, 1857.
From her 2nd marriage with Sjoerd Aukes Sipma 7 more children were born: Auke (Oscar) on October 8, 1858; Geertje (Kate) on May 19, 1862; Hiltje (Lillie) on November 28, 1864; Sipke on February 1867; Richard on October 17; 1869; Annie on July 29, 1872 and John, whose birth date is unknown. All 7 Children were born in Pella.
Boukje Boonstra (Bruinja) Sipma died on July 12 or 16, 1884 in Orange City, Sioux Co, Iowa. She was buried in West Lawn Cemetery.
It seems Sjoerd Aukes Sipma could not do without a wife because he married for the 3rd time on June 7, 1893 in Orange City, Sioux Co, Iowa, Kaatje de Boer. Kaatje was born in Zwartsluis (Overijssel) on April 25, 1835, a daughter of Peter de Boer and Hendrika Derks Toetert. She was also a widow having been married with Berend Hendrik Isaac Mulder from which marriage she had 3 children. Kaatje probably arrived in America in December 1881.
Sjoerd's 3rd marriage did not last long, for he died on January 16, 1896 in Orange City and was buried in West Lawn Cemetery.
After Sjoerd died Kaatje de Boer married for the 3rd time Wobbe Siebes Steensma. Wobbe was born on September 21, 1820 at Hallum, Ferwerderadeel and was the son of Siebe Klazes Steensma and Antje Wobbes Boonstra. He was the widower of Antje Tjeerds de Boer, daughter of Tjeerd Pieters de Boer and Antje Rinderts Lelia, and already had 5 children from that marriage. Wobbe Siebes Steensma died on July 11, 1911 in Orange City; Kaatje de Boer died on April 4, 1914 in Bon Homme County, South Dakota.
What happened to the children of Sjoerd Aukes Sipma?
Yttje (Edith) married Peter Hein de Jong on October, 24, 1871 in Orange City. Yttje (Edith) died on December 20, 1920, also in Orange City. Peter Hein de Jong was born on April 9, 1847 and died on December 14, 1922. The de Jong couple had 7 children:
Jan (John) married Arendina (Dina) Harmson or Harmsen on February 9, 1875 in Pella. Jan (John) died on July 26, 1931 in Sioux County, Iowa. Arendina Harmson was born around 1857 and died after May 10, 1891; the exact date is unknown, but May 10, 1891 is the date her youngest son Edward Sipma was born. Jan and Arendina had 6 children.
Auke (Oscar) Sipma married Bertha de Vries on March 26, 1888 in Boyden, Sioux County, Iowa. Auke (Oscar) died on October, 15, 1943 in Boyden. Bertha was born on August 8, 1870 in the Netherlands and died on February 20, 1956 problably in Boyden. The couple had 7 children.
Geertje (Kate) Sipma married Charles Nathaniel Sawyer on March 24, 1880 in Orange City. Geertje (Kate) died on July 21, 1913 in Hull, Sioux County, Iowa. Charles Nathaniel Sawyer was born on March 1 in Buffalo, NY and died on October 10, 1926 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kate and Charles had 7 children.
Hiltje (Lillie) Sipma married on March 16, 1885 in Orange City John Boterman. Hiltje (Lillie) died on December 18, 1940 in Hull, Sioux County, Iowa. John Boterman was born on March 28, 1859/1861 in Pella and died on June 6, 1926 in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. They had 6 children.
Sipke Sipma married on January 22, 1891 (or possibly July 22, 1890) in Sioux City with Anna Jansma. The couple divorced in 1923. Sipke died on December 18, 1933, also in Sioux City, Woodbury Co, Iowa. Anna Jansma was born in 1873 and died in 1926. Further data about her is unknown. The couple had 4 children.
Richard Sipma married Anna Baas on August 25, 1892 in Orange City. He died in September 1934. Anna Baas was born on March 27, 1874 and died on May 7, 1953. The couple left 9 children of which the youngest, Clarence Ray, was born on November 13, 1913 in Gascoyne, North Dakota; hence it's likely that Richard and Anna died there.
Annie Sipma married on August 17, 1892 Wiebe Lieuwes van der Schaaf. Annie died on March 6, 1918 in Newkirk, Sioux Co, Iowa (1938 is also mentioned as the year she died). Wiebe Lieuwes van der Schaaf was born on 23 November 1866 in the municipality of Kollumerland; he was the son of Lieuwe Wiebes van der Schaaf and Grietje Joukes van der Stee. He died at Newkirk on January 11, 1936. The couple had 7 children and are buried in the Newkirk Cemetery.
About the child John Sipma from this marriage nothing further is known
Trijntje, daughter from the first marriage of Boukje Boonstra and Tjeerd Bruinja, later used the surname Sipma. This Trijntje, later called Carrie, married on December 10, 1875 in Pella with Andrew van der Berg. Carrie (Trijntje) Bruinja died in 1931. Andrew van der Berg was born in February 1850 in the Netherlands and died on September 10, 1927. No further data about him is known. The couple had 10 children.
With this the number of named grandchildren of Sjoerd Aukes Sipma comes to 63.
Sjoerd Aukes Sipma became a leading citizen in Pella and was a co-founder of the second colony Nieuw-Holland [New Holland] later named Orange City. This place grew in a short time to around 1500 inhabitants and became as prosperous as Pella.
The first church built there was the "Gereformeerde Gemeente" [Reformed congregation?], in which Sipma served as elder. Sjoerd did fairly well in business. Besides his own farm he was involved in the buying and selling of farmland because he saw that its value rose rapidly. He never regretted his decision to leave Friesland as is witnessed in his many letters to the country of his birth. But leaving had been difficult for him.
A short fragment from one of his letters:
Now a few words for you, my elderly father, if you are still alive. For you to come here would probably not be good, you would likely not complete the voyage. Parting from you was difficult for me, much more difficult than I let on at the time. I would wish to be with you, Father, and with my brothers and sisters, but I would not wish to return to Friesland. O Father, should our names be written in the Book of Life, about which from this side of the grave we know but little, then we will see each other again in the heavenly Jerusalem where there is no mourning or tears; then all our tears will have been wiped away.
A number of these letters have been saved and those who remained in Friesland have published them in an historically worthwhile booklet. Sipma can rightfully be named as one of the most important pioneers that came from Friesland and worked so hard to build the American midwest.
Sjoerd Aukes Sipma was a full brother of Hiltje Aukes Sipma whom we met in the 3rd article and was married to Heerke Ypes Viersen.
This article came about through the cooperation of Wilma Vande Berg (USA); Marvin Knock (USA); Hans van der Woude (the Netherlands), Albert Geurink (the Netherlands) and Linda Ziemann (USA)
If you have additions or corrections I would like to hear them.
Kor Postma
van Aernsmastraat 14
9104 HG Damwoude
Tel: 0511-422640