Piek, Hermanus and Johanna Catharina Bekerink

Hermanus Piek and Johanna Catharina Bekerink emigrated to the United States together with their three children. They settled in Clymer, NY. … [Read more...]

Hesselink, Gerrit and Willemina Mennink

Gerrit Hesselink and Willemina Mennink emigrated from their farm in Aalten to Wisconsin. They were relatively well-to-do and established a thriving farm that still exists today. … [Read more...]

Schreurs, Jan Hendrik and Janna Geertruid Oonk

Jan Hendrik Schreurs and Janna Geertruid Oonk came from Winterswijk and emigrated to the United States in 1846. In 1898, their descendants held a reunion. On this occasion, a short account of their lives written by their son John William, was published. Because this account gives much background information on the reasons why people emigrated, the entire account is copied here. For the sake of legibility, headings have been added (no headings were present in the original account). … [Read more...]

Kastein, Jannes

Jannes Kastein was one of the many children who left the Netherlands when their parents emigrated. He settled in Alto, Wisconsin. He was married to Engelina Gravestein who had also emigrated as a child. … [Read more...]

Geerlings, Gerrit and Aaltien de Vries

Gerrit Geerlings was a member of the Secession in the Netherlands and involved in the creation of many new Seceder churches. He emigrated to the United States together with his entire family of seven children. Unfortunately, they ended up on the vessel Phoenix which took them across the Great Lakes but perished off the shores of Sheboygan. The Geerlings family was one of the luckiest (or should we say, "least unlucky") families on board, because only two of the children were lost while … [Read more...]

Esselinkpas, Hendrik Jan

Hendrik Jan Esselinkpas was one of the survivors of the Phoenix disaster. He later settled in Michigan. His son corresponded about his father's memories of the disaster with William O. Van Eyck. … [Read more...]

Droppers, Garrit Jan and Janna Geertruid Vardink

Garrit Jan Droppers and Janna Geertruid Vardink were one of the families who decided to emigrate even though they were already middle aged. The benefit of this was that they had grown up children who could help them build a new life. Because several letters of this couple still exist, a lot is known about their experiences in the United States. … [Read more...]

Duenk, Evert Jan and Willemina Rensink

Evert Jan DUENK and Willemina RENSINK emigrated from Aalten to Sheboygan, WI. Later in life, they did not get along, as can be seen from an advertisement in the Dutch newspaper Nieuwsbode. … [Read more...]

Voskuil, Derk Antony

Derk Antony VOSKUIL and Hendrika LANDEWEERD was two of the few survivors of the Phoenix disaster. They probably met during the voyage to the United States. … [Read more...]

Woordes, Jan Willem and Johanna Dora Bloemers

Jan Willem Woordes and Johanna Dora Bloemers both worked as hired hands on the Heemink farm in the hamlet of Huppel near Winterswijk. They emigrated independently from each other and were married in the United States. … [Read more...]