Articles about emigration

Over the centuries, many people have left the Netherlands to try their luck abroad. Most of those people ended up in the United States. These articles give background information about the emigration from the Netherlands, with the focus on the 19th century emigration to the United States.

Winterswijk Dutch reformed emigrants

Most of the people who emigrated from Winterswijk in the middle of the nineteenth century belonged to the Dutch Reformed religion. This religion kept records of it's members. The records also contain a list of people who emigrated to America. Please keep in mind only part of the emigrants were officially unregistered. … [Read more...]

History of the Phoenix disaster

In the middle of the nineteenth century a lot of people from the East of Holland emigrated to the US. One of the most popular destinations was Wisconsin. In 1847 a group of those emigrants were on the propellor Phoenix, which would bring them from Buffalo to Sheboygan and beyond. In the early hours of November 21, 1847 the propellor burnt. About 25 people rescued themselves using two lifeboats, while a few other were saved by another ship, the Delaware. … [Read more...]

The passengers

The passengers of the Phoenix consisted almost exclusively of Dutch emigrants. Most of them came from Afgescheiden (seceder) backgrounds, following in the footsteps of Van Raalte. They came mostly from the eastern part of the Netherlands. … [Read more...]

1997 sesquicentennial commemoration

In November, 1997, a group of Dutch genealogists attended the Phoenix sesquicentennial commemoration in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We met lots of Phoenix survivor descendants there. This made me realize what an impact the Phoenix had on the community of Sheboygan, and how much larger this influence could have been if all of these people had settled there. … [Read more...]