By Jill Fennema –

Last week Wednesday afternoon was a trip down memory lane for several graduates of Southwest Christian High School, myself included.  Professor Robert Schoone-Jongen, a former history teacher from SWCH, gave a presentation at the Edgerton Public Library. 

Schoone-Jongen is a historian and history teacher, whose memory for dates and names makes him a great storyteller. If you were to ask any one of his past students they would probably tell you the same thing – that he was their favorite (or at the very least, one of their favorite) teachers. 

Judging by the number of people in attendance – not everyone who was there was a former student, but many of them knew Schoone-Jongen from the 26 years he taught here in town. He taught history at SWCH from 1975-2001 and at Calvin College from 2003-2018. 

His presentation was about immigration and what it was like for Dutch immigrants when they came to America over 100 years ago. He focused in on three types of immigrants and how their voyage across the Atlantic differed, while their hopes and dreams were very similar. 

The first class passenger Schoone-Jongen focused on was Theodore F. Koch. He chose this man as the subject of his dissertation and knows many details of his life. Koch was born in a  castle along the banks of the Rhine River and his father managed an estate. Later Theodor would also manage an estate before he began working with Prins and Zwanenburg, a company that was instrumental in bringing Holstein cows to the United States. 

While on his first trip to America, Koch rode alone with the cattle, his next dozen trips or so were all as a first class passenger and all that that status entailed. He would have dined in an elaborate dining room with a resplendent menu, surrounded by the trappings of elegance. His ticket across the Atlantic probably cost around $100 and when he arrived he would not have been processed through Ellis Island. Because of his ability to pay for a first class ticket, it would have been assumed that he was eligible to immigrate and low risk. 

While waiting for his cows to get out of quarantine at Ellis Island, Koch made a deal with the Milwaukee Railroad to buy land in central Minnesota. He, along with Prins and Zwanenburg (a Dutch real estate firm), would work to sell land to Dutch immigrants. Later the town of Prinsburg (a combining of the names Prins and Zwanenburg) was born. Koch’s wife, Clara, would also have a town named after her – Clara City. 

Koch, even though he encountered his own hardships (such as having to pay the substantial debts of his father-in-law) eventually realized his dream of becoming a well-to-do landowner and influential member of Minnesota history. 

Meanwhile, around this same time (the mid 1880’s) Schoone-Jongen’s great-grandfather, Jan Minnema, came to America to live out his ideals. Jan was a Frieslander whose father died when he was about 15 years old. He was a “Jack of all trades” and worked various jobs. He fell in love with a girl from a neighboring town and was nearly killed by a competitive suitor. 

Jan was caught up in the religious upheaval of those days, siding with the religious camp of Abraham Kuyper. Those who did not agree with the state church were seen as fanatics and sometimes as crooks.  Jan did not want his sons drafted into the Dutch American Army either. He sold his business and made enough money to secure passage on the Dutch American Lines for him and his family as 2nd class passengers. The tickets would have cost him about $60 per person. He also would have been allowed to bypass Ellis Island. 

These accommodations were not as elegant as those Koch would have enjoyed, but were still quite good. While the dining room did not have vaulted ceilings, it did have real tables and chairs and menus. 

Once he came to America, Jan worked his way up from being a laborer in the dye house of a textile mill. He became a peddler of goods. He eventually was instrumental in the establishment of what at the time was called the Christian Insane Asylum, but later became known as the Christian Healthcare Center in Patterson – an institution that  provides for mental health needs yet today. 

Schoone-Jongen’s final example was a man named Renze Nicolai. He was a hard worker, but changed jobs and houses frequently as a young man. Eventually he found himself with a wife and a couple of children. In 1887, he left for America, destined for Orange City, Iowa. His family was recruited as immigrants by Henry Hospers of Northwest Iowa. 

The voyage of Renze and his family would have been very different than those of the previous two men. A voyage across the Atlantic in steerage  – where all those who were not first or second class passengers ended up – cost about $30 per person. The dining area for these passengers was probably planks of wood with more planks to sit on. Sometimes the areas for sleeping and eating were combined. There were never enough washrooms and where this area was located in the ship made the ride all the more miserable – from the motion of the ship and from the exhaust and odors that accumulated. 

While Renze and his family stayed in Orange City for about three years, they soon moved to Roseland, Ill., where Renze became a house painter. He was averse to jointing the painters union and was threatened for his beliefs. But having a permit to carry a revolver saved him from certain death. 

After about 5 years in Roseland, Renze bought land in North Dakota where he settled down and farmed and his family stayed. This area started to draw people from other Dutch enclaves, including Edgerton, one of those being Teunis Vanden Berg, who married Renze’s daughter Elizabeth. 

In 1929, Teunis and Elizabeth moved to the Edgerton area where they were blessed with nine children: Henry, Richard, Arthur, Grace, James, Jacob, Lester, Henrietta, and Johanna.  

Les’ and his first wife, Janette Gelling had six children – Duane, Peter, Joann (Schelhaas), Melvin, Gene, and Janette (Clausen).  Les would later marry a widow named Beth (DeBoer) Fey, who had five children – Rick, Roxanne (Nieboer), Randy, Rolland, and Rosemarie (Kroll). 

One of Schoone-Jongen’s points was that many of us have similar stories in our family history – stories we can find and pass on. He also pointed out that not all immigration stories are success stories – many immigrants met with tragedy and heartache on their journeys and did not accomplish what they set out across the ocean to do. 

**Note – TODAY (Friday, July 15) the library will have another great speaker, Daniel Bernstrom, at 10:00 am!