A Family Tree

1866 was three years after her husband Gerrit Mulder died, and one year after she remarried. It was also the year that Maatje (Koster) Mulder and her new husband Aart van 't Groenewoud decided to emigrate to America with their children, including 7-year-old Jacob. In September they said goodbye to family and friends in Putten in the Netherlands, made the long voyage by boat, and settled near South Olive, MI.

1822-1863

Gerrit Mulder
Maatje Koster

1820-1894

Ten children. Imagine leaving your home and moving to a new country with ten children. In 1868, that's what Hendrik Pul and Dirkje van Putten did. They could never have imagined that disease would break out onboard the ship, taking seven of those children, one after another. An eighth died soon after their arrival. How do you create a new life in the new world after that kind of nightmare? Somehow, they kept moving forward, settling south of Zeeland, MI, farming the land. The only surviving daughter, Mary, eventually married into the Mulder family.

1828-1899

Hendrik Pul
Dirkje van Putten

1829-1904

Their long journey began in Wilsum, Germany, where he was a weaver and farmer. Hendrik Arens and Geziena Tyink packed up their four children and belongings, traveled to Bremen, and boarded the 400-ton ship Coriolan with 236 other passengers. The voyage had a cost. Their sons Johann and Herman died at sea and were slid down a plank into the ocean. The family arrived in New York on May 7, 1855, then ultimately made their way to Graafschap, MI.

1815-1887

Hendrik Arens
Geziena Tyink

1818-1905

Geert Broene was a lay-preacher in Uelsen parish, Germany, who left the Reformed (Hervormde) Church because it was too liberal for his taste. He started holding his own illegal religious meetings, boldly signed a document stating his intent to withdraw from the State Church, and was imprisoned as a result. When he died in 1865, his son Harm Hendrik Broene finally felt free to make his own future. A friend wrote him about good land found in Michigan, and assured him that the American Civil War did not endanger that area. So he, his wife Jennechien Dyke, and their nine children made the giant leap to America. They bought a farm near Graafschap Christian Reformed Church, where Harm Hendrik's catechism book is still on display.

1817-1890

Harm Hendrik Broene
Jennechien Dyke

1830-1908

1790-1877

Harm Gruppen
Zwenne Hesselink

1799-1862

1803-?

Jan Harm Baarlink
Jenna Luchies Ter Bahne

1809-?

1820-1889

Johannes Hessels
Hindrikje Koopsingraven

1814-1885

1817-1880

Hendrikus Bouwkamp
Geesje Boerman

1823-1903

Alle Cornelis Kaper
Lijsbert Jans van Dijk

1823-1870

1829-1886

Albert van der Ploeg
Hendrikje Dijkstra

1832-1907

Three months. That's how long they were on the ship. What did Jan Hendrik Rotman and Dina Jansen do every day on board? What mixture of fear and hope filled their minds? What was that experience like for their four kids? When they arrived in America in 1857, the Rotmans were among the first settlers in the Holland, MI, area, buying 40 acres from the government at $3.75 an acre. Restarting their lives from scratch, out of dirt and raw courage.

1814-1881

Jan Hendrik Rotman
Dina Jansen

1825-1897

For so many who came to America, all we have are a pile of facts and no real knowledge of the people behind them. We know Adriaan van der Bie and Jannechie Por boarded the ship Carolina at Rotterdam in 1855. Their infant son died before they reached New York. They lived near Ypsilanti, MI, before buying a 40-acre farm south of Graafschap, MI. They had eight more children. In 1880, the farm included two horses, 10 cattle, 14 pigs, and 30 chickens. Facts hint at the real lives of these people but ultimately tell us very little about who they were.

1829-1876

Adriaan van der Bie
Jannechie Por

1824-1888

1812-1900

Warse Walkotte
Gese Havedink

1820-1899

Religious belief is a powerful motivator for many immigrants. In mid-19th-century Holland, the only legal church was the official state church, and for many orthodox Calvinists, it was becoming way too liberal. Roelof Koppelman, like many others, joined the Afgescheiden movement and seceded from the church. As a result, they were persecuted by the government and their neighbors. Soldiers were quartered in their homes, fines and imprisonment were common, they couldn't be hired or sell their farm goods, their children were shunned. Migration to America started in the 1840s, and in 1866 Roelof, his wife Jenneken, and their four children left for Overisel, MI. It wasn't easy, but it was a chance to start over and worship as they saw fit.

1825-1911

Roelof Koppelman
Jenneken Tijsselink

1833-1906

1797-1880

Jan Harm Tukkers
Telle Logten

1802-1837

1798-1866

Berend Eersink
Gese Marrink

1806-1891