Rijsdam, Gerrit 1806-1880 & Magdalena Van Velzen Family

RIJSDAM, RYSDAM, VANVELZEN, VANDERKOLM

Posted By: Wilma J. VandeBerg -volunteer (email)
Date: 2/24/2025 at 13:11:18

Rijsdam, Gerrit 1806-1880 and Magadalena Van Velzen Family

This biography of the Gerrit Rijsdam / Rysdam family was composed by Wilma J. Vande Berg of the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society. The narrative was made from various sources including records from the web site www.iagenweb.org/sioux ; family reports and vitals collected from ancestry.com records and public member trees; Find A Grave index and various local archives, books and publications.

Disclaimer: Names, dates and places may very form one source to another, but have been stated in this biography as presented in the source. Family data taken from ancestry.com public member trees is subject to the accuracy of the submitter of data to ancestry.com and was not verified by this submitter. Information was cross checked from other sources where possible. The sources for information on the Oregon Wagon Train were passed on to the author of the book ‘Story of Sioux County’ by Charles Dyke in personal interviews in 1939 with grandchildren of the some of the families in the movement, published in 1942.

Gerrit Rysdam family was involved in a Wagon Train that left Pella Iowa in 1864 and six months later arrived in Oregon after a grueling over land trip enduring many hardships. Our web page www.iagenweb.org/sioux has set up a page with accounts of that journey. See ‘Onsite Resources’ go to Biographies ‘Wagons Ho’ the 1864-1870 Oregon Trail, to read about what this family and others who experienced the wagon trip endured. There are actual transcriptions of vivid accounts of the Oregon Trail experience on pages 402-414 and pages 429-430. In the page 429-430 it mentions “in the group were families of Leendert Van Der Meer, Dirk Van Den Bos, C. Newendorp, Dirk Van Der Meer, Lutje Mars, Wopke De Haan, Hannes Klein, also other names on this trip have been lost and our three informants, Mr. John Ellerbroek, Mrs. H. B. Bogaard and Mrs. Mary Ellerbroek-Hornstra, can recall only the following: ,Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Jongewaard and three children; Mr. and Mrs. Geert Jot; Mr. and Mrs. Theunes Burggraf;  Mr. and Mrs. Lutje Mars and step children Isaac De Vries, Peter and John and Mary Ellerbroek, and children Simon and Alida; Mr. and Mrs. John Stoutenburg; and  Mr. and Mrs. Rysdam. Just found! WikiTree on line has a site entitled ‘Iowa Dutch Immigrants on the Oregon Trail’. Check it out!

Although a good many of the original band that made the Oregon Trail trip 1864-1870 came back to the Pella, IA area in late 1860s. One can guess that the reason was those families missed their past home land in the Pella area and the civil war was over so they would not have to serve in the military. Also, it was determined the soil in the area they settled in Oregon was wet and swampy leading to complications in health and agriculture.

Some of the family of Gerrit Rysdam, however, did stay in Oregon so consequently, did not ultimately end up in Sioux County IA. The family of Gerrit Rydam has been included in this BIOS section as the family was intertwined with relationships and prior connections with that band of pioneers on our Sioux County IA BIOS web page relating to the Journey from Pella to Oregon by way of the Oregon Wagon trail.

RESEARCH Notes: Several Excerpts found on site on line regarding the Gerrit Rysdam family:
Rysdam, Gerrit born 23 Sep 1806 Kamerik, Woerden, Utrecht, Netherlands died 13 Apr 1880 at Island City, Clackamas, Oregon.
From www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog/358506
Includes index.
Biography of Gerrit Rijsdam (1804?-1880), who had married Magdalena Catherina van Velzen, and with their six children, immigrated in 1847 from The Netherlands to Pella, Marion County, Iowa. The family changed the spelling of the surname to Rysdam. Even before Magdalena's death in Iowa, and the establishment of most of their family in and around Pella, Gerrit and some of the family moved to Oregon in 1864. He returned briefly when Magdalena died in 1869, and then returned to LaGrande, Union County, Oregon. Includes family trees between 1575 and 1984, together with biographical sketches of other members of the family. Includes transcripts of the 1847 passenger lists of four ships that carried the religious group (to which the Rysdams belonged) from The Netherlands to Baltimore, Maryland.

Includes transcripts and photocopies of original documents.
Includes Case, Eaton, Striker, Synhorst, Taal, Van Blokland, Webster and related families.
Bibliography: p. 205-207.
(Gerrit …. A Dutchman in Oregon by Toni Rysdam Shorre.

Www.wikitree.com Biography
Gerrit was born and baptised in 1806 in Kamerik as son of Wijnand Rijsdam Neeltje van der Kolm, original named van der Collum.[1]

1. Magdalena, 1808-11-04, Kamerik,[2]
Gerrit Rijsdam living at Weesp, 27, married Magdelena Catrina van Velzen, born and living in Amsterdam, 23, in Amsterdam on 23 April 1834. He was born in Kamerik to parents Wijnand Rijsdam and Neeltje van der Kolm.[3] [4][5]
Gerrit made Meerschaum pipes and was the family was quite well-to-do.[6] He was the single largest contributor to the Association, after Scholte.[7]
The family emigrated from Rotterdam in 1847 on the Kath Jackson, landing in Baltimore on 22 May.[8]
Gerrit Rysdam
Magdeline Cath Rysdam
Neeltje Rysdam 11
Gidias Johannes Rysdam 9
Wynandaljuarda Elisab Rysdam 7
Adriana Aletta Rysdam 5
Leentje Rysdam 4
Elisabeth Rysdam 1

1850 Lake Prairie, Marion, Iowa, United States[9]
Gerrit Ryrdron M 44 Netherlands
Magdalena Cranvelzen F 40 Netherlands
Neeltje Rysdam F 15 Netherlands
Lyidius J Rysdam M 13 Netherlands
Wynanda G E Rysdam F 11 Netherlands
Adriana J Rysdam F 9 Netherlands
Magdalena C Rysdam F 7 Iowa
Elizabeth J Rysdam F 2 Iowa
Arie Rysdam M 0
Adriana A Scholten F 64 Netherlands
On 11 Apr 1855, Gerrit was formally naturalized.

1860 Pella Lake, Prairie Township, Marion, Iowa, United States
Gerrit Rysdam M 54 Netherlands
Magdalena C Rysdam F 49 Netherlands
Adriana J M Rysdam F 19 Netherlands
Magdalena C Rysdam F 17 Netherlands
Elisabeth Rysdam F 13 Iowa
Arie Rysdam M 11 Iowa
Johanna Rysdam F 7 Iowa
Gerritje Rysdam F 1 Iowa

The Rijsdam family was part of the Iowa Dutch Immigrants on the Oregon Trail "On October 1, with autumn upon them and winter fast approaching, the Rijsdam family group separated from the main convoy. They stopped in northeastern Oregon to settle permanently in the Grande Ronde Valley in Union County, but the other Pella Dutch continued on." (p.130) "Note that Gerrit Rijsdam, 57, and his son Arie, 15, accompanied his two daughters and their husbands to Oregon. Mrs. Rijsdam and three minor daughters remained in Pella, perhaps intending to relocate later. In 1866, however, Mrs. Rijsdam died, causing Gerrit and Arie to return to Pella in 1869 to attend to family matters. Gerrit then went back to Oregon in 1870 with two minor daughters still single. Arie stayed in Pella and married, but relocated to Oregon in the late 1870s. Two older married sisters and their families from Pella ultimately resettled in Oregon also." (p.139)[12]

1870 Oregon, United States[13]
G Rysdom M 65 Holland
H Rysdom F 16 Iowa
G Rysdom F 10 Iowa

The Gerrit Rydam family did not come to Sioux County. Because of the significance of the movement at the time the family BIOS has been included. Many of his close related family did end up in Iowa therefore this information was supplied on our site.

Picture from the public member family site from ancestry.com Gerrit Rysdam taken 1869.

Sioux Biographies maintained by Linda Ziemann.
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