Dutch settlements have never been numerous in America or in any other
country not flying the Dutch flag. The Hollanders, unlike their German
and British neighbors, have no natural inclination to roaming and
adventure; and being strongly attached to their native soil they have
preferred attempting to improve conditions at home to hazarding their
fortune in a foreign country. This love of country has changed the
Netherlands from a boggy land to a beautiful, productive country with
an intelligent, industrious, and artistic people now numbering about
six millions.
Unusual conditions, political, economic, and religious, have, however,
from time to time caused Hollanders to emigrate to foreign lands, and
during the decade 1840-50 many set sail for the United States. After
the fall of Napoleon the Netherlands had changed from a republican to
a limited monarchical form of government. Belgium reunited with
Holland under the name of Kingdom of Netherlands, with William I, son
of the former Dutch stadtholder, as king. The union was not
successful, and the rebellion of 1830, which resulted in the
separation of Holland and Belgium, necessitated large armies which
William I kept up for years in the hope of reconquering Belgium. Then
in 1825 an inundation of the ocean swept away the dikes, devastated
the land, and left thousands homeless and without resources. With the
abdication of William I and the accession of his son, William II,
conditions did not improve. War and flood turned the thoughts of the
suffering lower and middle classes to emigration, and the period from
1840 to 1850 saw the great exodus of Dutch to America.
[Illustration: PETER DAAN
Pioneer Dutch Settler in Oostburg, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin]
Religious difficulties arising at this time also caused the emigration
of several distinct groups. With the separation of Holland from Spain
came separation from the civil and religious rule of the Catholic
Church and the adoption of the Reformed Church by the State. The Dutch
Reformed Church was Calvinistic in doctrine and Presbyterian in
government. German philosophy and French liberalism gradually
influenced the lives of members of the State Church; and the monarch
and other governmental officers being friendly toward the new thought,
the church synods permitted certain changes in the service and
doctrine. Again and again the orthodox party tried to overthrow the
new order, and after many failures in such attempts left the
established church to form a separate ecclesiastical body called the
Free Separate Reformed Church.
The civil government, fearing that civil revolution would follow this
religious upheaval, opposed the new church, forbade meetings, and
fined ministers. With the accession of William II the organization was
recognized as a corporate body, but many restrictions were imposed
upon it and financial aid, granted other denominations, was refused
it. A large number of the Separatists gladly accepted the terms
imposed, but others, smarting under the restrictions and foreseeing no
relief in the near future, resolved to emigrate to America.
Three separate parties, each under a prominent minister, were formed
for the purpose of founding settlements in the United States. Rev. R.
C. Van Raalte led his people to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan,
where they founded settlements which later came to be among the
prosperous communities of Michigan. Among them are Holland, where Hope
College was founded, Grand Haven, Muskegon, and Grand Rapids.
Under Rev. H. P. Scholte a party of Dutch immigrants went to southern
Iowa and settled a large tract of land purchased from the government.
The city of Pella, where Central College is located, is the center of
a number of communities, all of which have prosperous industries and
beautiful churches of the Reformed faith.
The party led by Rev. P. Zonne secured by purchase from the government
a section of country bordering on Lake Michigan, some twenty miles
south of the present city of Sheboygan. The settlers arrived in the
spring of 1847 after a stormy voyage across the Atlantic, making the
journey inland by way of the Hudson River, Erie Canal, and Great
Lakes. In settling this region the Zonne party had been preceded by
other Dutch families. In 1844 Lawrence Zuvelt and his family settled
in a locality four and one-half miles northwest of what later became
the Zonne settlement, and in 1846 they were joined by G. H. Koltsée
and John Boland and their families.
A tragic event marked the growth of this settlement. In 1848 the
_Mayflower_, filled with immigrants to Wisconsin, including many
Hollanders, had proceeded as far as Sheboygan when fire was
discovered. When, in spite of the crew’s efforts, the flames seemed to
be gaining headway, a panic ensued, and many lost their lives in the
fire or in the water. Others were landed in pitiful condition on the
shores of Wisconsin. Three Hollanders, Wilterdenk, Oonk, and Rensink
by name, were among those rescued. Wilterdenk had lost his wife and
six children in the catastrophe.
The Zonne community rapidly overtook the earlier settlement in size
and development. Cedar Grove was the name given it by Reverend Zonne,
because cedar formed the greatest part of the forest near by, in
portions of which the Indians still lived. The land was ideal for the
painter, poet, and hunter, but the matter-of-fact Hollanders, though
belonging to a race which had produced great artists, writers, and
explorers, had not come to dream, paint pictures, or follow the chase.
The land was valued by the settlers as a means of material
improvement; the forest was an obstacle and had to be removed. The
work of destruction went on systematically from season to season, and
in a short time large clearings could be seen on which were planted
maize, wheat, and barley. All of these grains gave rich return, for
the soil was fertile and not easily exhausted.
Clearing the ground for the first crop, however, was a difficult
process. How to remove the trees after they had been felled with such
difficulty was a problem. The settlers could not use all the wood for
fuel nor could they convert the tree trunks into lumber. To dispose of
the superabundance of wood, these pioneer farmers had to set it on
fire, being careful to remove the immense pile to a safe distance from
the forest and from the buildings already erected. The hardwood tree
stumps remaining in the fields after the trees had been cut were a
great obstacle to cultivation of the ground. Digging the stumps out of
the field was a long process, and explosives or machinery for doing
this work were not then available.
The forest, however, was a help as well as a hindrance. From the logs
were made houses and barns, agricultural implements, wagons, and, to
some extent, furniture. The forest possessed an abundance of game,
wild blackberries, strawberries, wild grapes, and maple trees from
which the settlers secured their sugar. Autumn brought a harvest of
hickorynuts and walnuts. Cattle thrived in the woodland, and in
certain parts flocks of sheep could be kept. From the wool the
housewife knitted stockings and wove the homespun for the family
clothing.
Communication with other settlements was extremely difficult. For many
years the Indian trails and the pathways blazed by the settlers were
the only roads, tortuous at all times but almost impassable in winter.
The principal trading posts, such as Port Washington and Milwaukee,
were far distant from the Zonne settlement--Milwaukee being forty-five
miles away--and under the best circumstances the slow-moving oxen made
a long journey of it. Often the wagons broke down in the middle of the
forest and the men would have to leave their loads in the road and go
back home or to the trading post ahead for assistance. The lack of
communication was felt most during sickness and especially epidemics,
for many a time the physician, after a long, hard journey, would
arrive to find his patient dead or beyond help.
Such were the difficulties with which these Dutch pioneers contended
during the first years of their colonization. Their energy and
perseverance, however, defeated one after another. Gradually the farms
were cleared, the newly established sawmills turned out lumber for
better houses and barns; water power was utilized for the running of
flour mills; and stores were established within easy distance.
Artisans joined the settlements, although blacksmiths had been found
among the original settlers. As the forest gradually disappeared, old
trails were widened, roads were laid out, villages sprang up, and post
offices were established.
But in the midst of their growing prosperity the black war cloud
gathered on the southern horizon and cast its shadows over this
peaceful community. Many of the men, whose fathers had obtained
liberty after eighty years of conflict, were aroused, and leaving
their plows took up the musket. Sad times now followed, for now and
then the news reached the settlement that some son or father had died
in battle; but after the years of sorrow the laureled heroes returned
to their firesides and a greater prosperity dawned.
One of the men who was conspicuous in the conflict and even more so in
the days of peace that followed was Peter Daan. He was born in the
Netherlands, in the town of Westkapelle, Province of Zeeland, March
26, 1835. When he was seven years of age his parents emigrated to
America and settled in the town of Pultneyville, New York. Later the
family moved to Wisconsin and bought a farm in Sheboygan County, near
the present village of Oostburg. Peter Daan was one of the first to
volunteer on the outbreak of the war, and through his influence and
effort caused many to follow his example. In 1867 he commenced his
mercantile business on the Sauk Trail, two and one-half miles east of
Oostburg. As that town developed, he moved his business there, built a
large store, an elevator, a steam flour mill, and later founded the
bank of which he became president. He held that office until his
death. The people, having confidence in his ability and good judgment,
several times elected him president of the town. For years he held the
office of justice of the peace, and because of his amicable manner of
settling disputes he won the title among the people of “the
peacemaker.”
As a young man he became a member of the Presbyterian Church, and
later was made an elder, an office which he held until he died.
Several times his presbytery elected him delegate to the higher
ecclesiastical councils. In 1873 he was chosen a member of the
Wisconsin legislative assembly. His death occurred June 14, 1914.
After the Civil War the settlements entered a period of prosperity
greater than any experienced before; in fact many of the farmers,
receiving high prices for their products during the war, laid the
foundation of their wealth in this period. The villages of Oostburg
and Cedar Grove expanded, and the new town of Gibbsville was founded
three miles west of Oostburg. There a large flour mill, driven by
water power, was built, and remains in operation to this day. East of
Cedar Grove, on the lake shore, was built a pier where the great
vessels could land. The settlement of Amsterdam, which developed here,
became an important trading place for a time but was abandoned when
the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad entered the territory. Oostburg
and Cedar Grove, in both of which stations were erected, received the
benefit of the improved communication. Grain elevators and business
houses of all kinds were erected, and residences increased and
improved. In the country better farmhouses and more spacious barns
rapidly replaced the primitive log buildings. The acreage of land
cleared, fenced in, and cultivated, increased, and the herds of cattle
and flocks of sheep became more numerous. Along the lake shore a
profitable fishing industry was developed. Everywhere the result of
hard work and thrift was seen. _Luctor et emergo_ (I struggle and rise
higher), the motto of the Province of Zeeland from which these Dutch
settlers had come, represented the achievements of these people as
well as those of their sturdy ancestors.
In the midst of their hard struggle for material improvement these
people had not been neglectful of religious matters. Upon their
arrival, under the leadership of Reverend Zonne they had organized
themselves into a church and united with the Presbyterian
organization. In the following year, 1848, Reverend Zonne built a
house of worship on his own estate and gave it to his congregation.
This church, built about a mile north of the present site of Cedar
Grove, was the first of the Presbyterian denomination in that region.
In the course of time another house of worship was built in the
settlement later known as Cedar Grove by those who were not in harmony
with Reverend Zonne. This congregation united with the old Dutch
Reformed Church of America, founded in New Amsterdam (now New York) in
the eighteenth century. This is the oldest and wealthiest (in
proportion to size) of all ecclesiastical bodies in America.
In 1853 another Presbyterian church was built four and one-half miles
north of Cedar Grove on the Sauk Trail. Reverend Van de Schurn was the
first pastor and Peter Daan the first elder. This church with its
large membership is flourishing today under the pastorate of Rev. C.
Van Griethuizen. A Dutch Reformed church was later established at the
same place, and others of the same denomination were erected in the
settlement later becoming the village of Oostburg, and in Gibbsville.
All these churches were in the beginning unpretentious log structures;
but as the people began to amass wealth, the old churches were
replaced by substantial, attractive buildings surmounted by spires or
towers for the church bells. Comfortable residences for the pastors
have been erected on the church premises. All the congregations are
flourishing today; and although they profess far more liberal views
than their ancestors, the descendants of the early pioneers are
equally devoted to these institutions.
Of all these churches, the one founded by Reverend Zonne has always
been the most prominent, not only because it has the largest
membership but because it possesses greater historic associations. The
second edifice of this organization, a plain frame building without a
tower, was replaced in 1882 by a much larger and more attractive
building, the gift of a pioneer member, J. Lammers. The church is a
picturesque landmark whose spire can be seen for miles. The interior
has been considerably improved of late, and a pipe organ has recently
been installed. An old churchyard is at one side of the church, and
here lie the remains of the Reverend Zonne and many other early
worthies of the church.
The organization has always had a prosperous record, but its greatest
growth began in 1882 when Rev. J. J. W. Roth began his pastorate of
more than thirty-two years. Reverend Roth was born in Capetown, South
Africa. There he received his collegiate training; and, later coming
to America with his father, he studied theology at the McCormick
Institute at Chicago, where he was graduated and ordained in 1878.
After serving two small churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin, he became
pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Cedar Grove. During the first
year of his ministry the present church was built, and under his
pastorate the congregation became strong and prosperous. Since the
young people had become deficient in the language of their fathers,
the introduction of English into the services had become a necessity.
Dr. Roth, educated to both languages, preached to his people in both
tongues. On May 1, 1914, Dr. Roth was stricken by apoplexy and
remained unconscious for some days. Although he recovered
consciousness, he lost the power of speech and the use of his limbs,
and was compelled to end his active services. Since his illness he has
lived in retirement in Cedar Grove.
Dr. Roth is a man of scholarly attainment, being proficient in Hebrew,
Latin, and Greek, and an artist of some ability. The church societies,
all of which he founded, are in a flourishing condition. He was for
years the leading man in the Milwaukee presbytery, and was several
times elected its moderator and delegate to higher ecclesiastical
councils. He has been succeeded by Rev. P. Van Straten.
During the past twenty years the growth of the Dutch settlements has
been remarkable. The village of Cedar Grove has grown into a thriving
town with many prosperous business houses, grain elevators, and
factories. It has a large public school, and a classical academy which
is conducted by the Dutch Reformed Church of America. The bank of
Cedar Grove is a flourishing institution founded some ten years ago.
The deposits are over $300,000.
The village of Oostburg has likewise prospered. Peter Daan’s flour
mill has been enlarged; implement, canning, cheese, and condensed milk
factories have been built. Oostburg and Cedar Grove are connected with
each other, Sheboygan, and Milwaukee by the hourly service of the
Milwaukee Northern Electric Railway. Returns from the planting of
wheat, to which the farmers had devoted their principal attention had
gradually decreased, and barley and rye are being substituted, also
peas and beans which are sold to the canning factories. Many of the
farmers, however, have turned to cattle raising, dairying, and cheese
making as principal agricultural enterprises. In the making of cheese
the Hollanders of Sheboygan County are recognized as experts and their
brands are among the best in the state.
Always interested in intellectual progress, the Dutch settlers have
built and supported excellent schools, and many are sending their sons
and daughters to colleges. Materially these people have prospered
since the first band of settlers began to hew down the forest in 1847.
The thoroughness with which they did cut down all timber is being
regretted at present by those who possess land bare of all but a few
trees. This generation, however, is planting trees which, it is hoped,
will soon remedy that great defect.
In customs and manner of thinking the new generation differs greatly
from the pioneers who started to develop the country. Their language
is fast disappearing in public and in the homes, for only in the
church is Dutch even partly used. This may be due to the similarity
between the Dutch and the Anglo-Saxon languages which have a common
factor in the Fresian tongue.
The similarity of tongues and, in addition, of the political,
religious, and economic struggles of the Dutch and the English
settlers in America has caused the Dutch to be readily absorbed into
the earlier population. The special characteristics, in addition to
those common to both English and Dutch, make the Dutch element one of
the most valuable in the state of Wisconsin.