John Grooteboer (1822 – 1876) & Bernadena Berring (1824 – 1889)

John Grooteboer (1822 – 1876) & Bernadena Berring (1824 – 1889)

Keith Somsen’s Great Grandparents on his Father’s Side

NETHERLANDS

The flag of the Netherlands is a horizontal tricolor of red, white, and blue. It harks back to Charlemagne's time. Variants of the flag have been in use since 1572 and in 1937 the flag was officially formalized as the national flag of the Netherlands and of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is the oldest tricolor flag.

http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/dutch-treat Lay of the land The Kingdom of the Netherlands (literally, “lowlands”) lies on the North Sea in the northwestern corner of Europe. The Netherlands is roughly twice the size of New Jersey, and a quarter of it lies below sea level. The country has 12 provinces, but the two most populous—North and South Holland—include the national capital (Amsterdam), the governmental seat (The Hague) and the largest port in the world (Rotterdam). Perhaps because the Holland’s existed as a single province until the 1840s, the Netherlands is still commonly (and mistakenly) referred to as “Holland.” The remaining provinces are less populated. Tides of history The Netherlands has a long history of relationship issues with its neighbors—and not just those next door, Germany and Belgium. In the 1500s, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V ruled the Dutch territory. His insistence on all things Catholic prompted William of Orange to lead a Protestant rebellion in 1568, and in 1579, the Netherlands declared its independence. A golden age followed in the 1600s. The Netherlands dominated on the sea, in financial markets and even in the art world. Amsterdam quadrupled in population and became a major port. The Dutch East and West India Companies expanded Dutch influence globally—including to the New Netherlands in North America.

Eventually the Dutch spread themselves too thin, and their influence waned abroad and at home. The French occupied the weakened country in the early 1800s; Napoleon set up a puppet government with his brother at the helm. When Europe reorganized itself under the Congress of Vienna, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was born. The Netherlands regained independence and received the consolation prizes of Belgium and Luxembourg. (Belgium escaped Dutch rule in 1830; Luxembourg broke off in 1839.) The Netherlands remained neutral and free during World War I, but wasn’t so lucky during World War II. During a five-year occupation by Nazi Germany, nearly 280,000 Netherlanders died, and a third of the victims were Jews. (Anne Frank wrote her famous diary in Amsterdam.) The country was physically and economically devastated, and the Dutch left by the boatful for many destinations, including the United States.

Immigrant waves Dutch immigration to the United States waxed and waned. Three high-water marks were the 17th-century commercial expansion, the immigration free-for-all of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and an influx following World War II. In the early to mid-1600s, the Netherlands’ colonization efforts included a region along the Hudson and Delaware River valleys in what’s now New York state. New Netherland came to include a Dutch outpost on Manhattan Island known as New Amsterdam. New Netherland grew slowly, by modern standards. Its settlers were merchants drawn by commercial opportunities, and the “tired and poor”: religious refugees, the rural poor, orphans and the unemployed. About 40 years into its history, New Netherland had a population of about 7,000 Dutch (and 3,000 others). When England conquered the region in 1664, New Netherland became New England; New Amsterdam became New York. But the Dutch colonists remained—and multiplied. Their descendents followed rivers and newly blazed trails west through New York and Pennsylvania, and south through New Jersey to Maryland. By the 1790 census, 100,000 Americans claimed Dutch ancestry; 80 percent of them still lived within 50 miles of New York City.

Dutch immigration picked up again in the 19th century (1801 – 1900). A quarter-million working-class families, mostly from rural areas, entered the United States in the mid-1800s. It began with a trickle of families and individuals in the 1830s, lured by the promise of prosperity. By the mid-1840s, the Dutch were arriving en masse—entire neighborhoods and congregations. They came in response to a potato crop failure, in religious dissent from the Dutch Reformed Church (particularly Jews, Roman Catholics and Secedes), and inspired by the example of neighboring German group migrations. Many of these Dutch communities put down their US roots inland, in Holland, Mich;, Pella, Iowa; and Wisconsin’s Fox River Valley.

John Grooteboer (1822 – 1876) & Bernadena Berring (1824 – 1889)

Keith Somsen’s Great Grandparents on his Father’s Side The date they emigrated from the Netherlands is not known but probably was between 1845 – 1849. They were married in Wisconsin during 1849. Their eight children were born at Alto Wisconsin between 1850 and 1865. Sometime after 1865 they moved to area of Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota where they remained.

1820’s Netherlands 1840s Alto, Wisc. 1860s-1870S Carimona Minn.

John Grooteboer Birth 22 May 1822 Holland, Netherlands Death 11 August 1876 Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States Burial: Greenleafton Cemetery, York, Minnesota Married: 1849 Wisconsin Bernadena Berring Birth 4 March 1824 Holland, Netherlands Death 15 February 1889 Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States Burial: Greenleafton Cemetery, York, Minnesota

CHILDREN: 1- Henry Grooteboer Birth 28 Aug 1850 Alto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Death 4 June 1923 Bristol, Fillmore, Minnesota 2- Bendina or Nancy Grooteboer Birth 28 February 1853 Alto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Death 7 February 1922 Greenleafton, Fillmore, Minnesota 3- Elizabeth Groteboer Birth 04 Sep 1853 Alto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Death 15 OCT 1946 , Fillmore, Minnesota 4- Antonia or Jane Grooteboer MARRIED Arent Jan (Aaron John) Somsen Birth 24 Mar 1856 Alto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Death 5 Mar 1930 Jamestown, Stutsman, North Dakota 5- George Garret Grooteboer Birth October 1857 Wisconsin Death 6 February 1941 Fillmore, Minnesota 6- Johnnes Grooteboer Birth 4 November 1859 Alto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Death 5 November 1881 Greenleafton Cem, York, Fillmore, Minnesota, 7- Della Grooteboer (moved from Wisc. To Minn. with family, married and returned to Wisc.) Birth 1862 Wisconsin Death 1930 Sheboygan, Wisconsin Married 11 October 1895 Preston, Fillmore, Minnesota 8- Benjamin Grooteboer Birth Jul 1865 Wisconsin Death 9 July 1936 Bristol, Fillmore, Minnesota ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/alto/alto.htm ALTO TOWNSHIP - Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. 1847 The town of Alto was organized on April 6. 1847 http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/alto/census/alto1847.htm 1847 TERRITORIAL CENSUS - ALTO TOWNSHIP - For the town of Alto in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin - 193 males and 145 females were identified, for a total population of 338. - 1850 The first school district was organized March 18, 1850. According to the 1880 History: http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/alto/census/1850_alto/alto_1850_census.htm THE 1850 FEDERAL CENSUS: TOWN OF ALTO, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin

The Alto windmill prior to the turn of the century. It served as Zoellner's grist mill. http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/alto/alto_dutchsettlers.htm Population Summary By 1850, only three years after it was organized, Alto was already heavily settled. The largest contingent in the township--representing 35 percent of the town's population of 613, exclusive of the 51 children born in Wisconsin--were born in New York. Immigrants from Holland, the Dutch, were the next largest group, comprising 25% (138) of the total. Scots ranked third with 7%. Canadians and English each accounted for 2%. The average age was 22.5. A total of 115 children had attended school within the previous 12 months

ALTO FIRST REFORMED CHURCH The first church organized in the town of Alto was the First Reformed, or Ebenezer church. In 1856 land was bought in section 23 for a church ediface, on which the building was erected. It was organized as a Reformed church, with forty-seven members. The first trustees were: N. Mensink, F. Beeuwkos, M. Duven, G. Duitman, G. Stilsel, C. Landaal, L. Sligster and J. W. Kastein. This church, as will be noticed from the names of the members, was composed mostly of Hollanders. They first began settlements in the town in the later part of 1845. These people first held religious services in private houses but in 1848 erected a log church, 16x26 feet, which also served as a schoolhouse. A second Reformed church was subsequently built, mainly at the expense of Henry Bruins; also a Methodist, Episcopal and Congregational church were built.

A picture of our first church, drawn by William Gysbers from the description given to him by his Uncle Garret Gysbers, who at one time lived in the parsonage with his mother." Alto Reformed Church, Alto, Wisconsin, 1855-1955

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----------------------- "Old church Building and School. At present it is doing service as a town hall. Erected in 1856, and served as edifice until 1898." Alto Reformed Church, Alto, Wisconsin, 1855-1955 Town of Alto, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/alto/census/alto1855_census.htm 1855 STATE CENSUS: ALTO TOWNSHIP, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin The 1855 Wisconsin state census recorded heads of household, number of white males, number of white females, number of "colored" males, number of "colored" females and the total of foreign born individuals in the household on June 1, 1855. The census taker was Rufus M. Harwood, Town Clerk, who reported totals of 525 white males, 492 white females, 1 deaf and dumb, and 289 foreign born, for a total census of 1017 individuals. Micro-film of the original records is available at the Historical Society library. 1855 STATE CENSUS: ALTO TOWNSHIP, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin

HEADS OF FAMILIES

WHITE COLORED DEAF & DUMB BLIND INSANE FOREIGN

BIRTH M F M F Grooteboer, John 2 3 2

Occupationally, the township listed 156 farmers, 27 laborers, 2 carpenters, 1 chair maker, 1 shoe maker, 1 tailor, 1 tavern keeper, and 1 teamster. By 1859 it was claimed that 800 people of Dutch heritage were living in the Alto area. This may be slightly exaggerated, but according to the 1880 census Alto Township had 1430 residents, of which about three-fourths were Dutch. 1861 Following the fall of Ft. Sumpter in April, men of the town of Alto began to enlist in the army. http://www.wlhn.org/fond_du_lac/towns/alto/maps/alto_1862plat.pdf

~ 1870’s Many of the names that were once familiar in those earlier years are no longer, because as the west opened up many families moved to Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and Wash.

1880 Alto has two stores, but neither a village, nor a saloon, nor a post office; There are now seven churches in Alto, and all, save one, are well sustained. The First Reformed or "Ebenezer" Church was the first organized. The others are the Second Reformed or "Ebenezer" Church, which was recently built, mainly at the expense of Henry Bruins; the Dutch Presbyterian and the Dutch Congregational, the German Methodist and the Methodist Episcopal Churches, and one Congregational Church, in which no regular meetings are held, the society being much reduced by deaths and removals. Alto now has nine schools, of which three are in union districts.

http://www.wlhn.org/james_pond/pond_boyhood.htm "A Pioneer Boyhood. Recollections of the West in the Forties." James Burton Pond, The Century Magazine, Vol. LVIII, No. 6, 1899. His early life in Lake County, Illinois and Alto Township, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, in the 1840's and 1850's. ======================================================================== In 1848 when the Minnesota Territory was formed there were four major "white" settlements: Saint Paul, Saint Anthony (part of modern Minneapolis), Stillwater, and Pembina (now part of North Dakota). 1862 – Homestead Act grants 160 acres of federal land to those who meet specific criteria Through the Homestead Act of 1862 there was a migration toward the Great Plains as people wanted land to farm and call their own. Those farmers who could prove that they had been residing upon or farming their land for five consecutive years were granted the claim to their land. Farmers could not get more than 160 acres or work more than one claim in a lifetime. Sometime after 1865 the John Grooteboer family moved from Wisconsin to Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota. Fillmore County, Minnesota.

View of Carimona, Minnesota

Panoramic view of Carimona, Minnesota looking westward Fillmore County History Fillmore County, located on the southern border of Minnesota, is the second county west of the Mississippi River. Fillmore County is located on 865 square miles--that's 553,082 acres. At its beginning, Fillmore County included all of Houston, most of Winona and Wabasha, some of Olmsted, and a little of Dodge and Mower counties. The present boundaries were established in 1855. Fillmore County was established March 5, 1853 and was named in honor of President Millard Fillmore who was President of the United States 1850 to 1853. At the time of its statehood, Fillmore was the most populous county in Minnesota, a distinction held until 1870. Its population peak occurred in 1895 at 28,599 people. Railroads played an integral role in the development of Fillmore County. There were three major railroads in Fillmore County. The last railroad left in the late 1970's. Railroads could make or break a town; many small towns became flourishing cities due to the business brought in by the railroads. In its beginning, Fillmore County was a diversified business area. Because of its abundant water resources, sawmills, gristmills, feed mills, and woolen mills flourished. Agriculture was as important then, as it is now. According to a survey of 1,913 farms from the Census of Agriculture of 1978, approximately 483,555 acres of land were being used for farming. Due to improved farming methods, small farms have been combined into larger units. There are more acres being farmed now, but by fewer farmers. The chief crops raised are corn, soybeans, and alfalfa; the chief livestock--dairy and beef cattle, poultry, and hogs.

http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/search/collection/fch

PRESTON is a town about 5 miles East of Carimona, Minnesota

2013 Google Earth view of Carimona, Fillmore Co., Minnesota

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/culturalresources/pdf_files/crunit/devperiods.pdf Farms in Minnesota 1820 - 1960 CENSUS DATA: John Grooteboer Family The census taker was Rufus M. Harwood, Town Clerk, who reported totals of 525 white males, 492 white females, 1 deaf and dumb, and 289 foreign born, for a total census of 1017 individuals. Micro-film of the original records is available at the Historical Society library.

1855 STATE CENSUS: ALTO TOWNSHIP, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin HEADS OF FAMILIES

WHITE COLORED DEAF & DUMB BLIND INSANE FOREIGN

BIRTH M F M F Grooteboer, John 2 3 2 Wisconsin, State Census, 1855 https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMML-WN2 John Grooteboer household name: John Grooteboer residence: Alto, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin number of white males: 2 number of white females: 3 , foreign born: 2 line number: 22 film number: 1032687 digital folder number: 4245038 image number: 00215 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "United States Census, 1860" https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bsurname%3AGrotoboy~%20%2Bresidence_place%3A%22Fond%20Du%20Lac%2C%20Wisconsin%22~%20%2Bresidence_year%3A1855-1865~&collection_id=1473181 John Grotoboy household - Grooteboer name: John Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 36 years estimated birth year: 1824 birthplace: Holland gender: Male page: 55 family number: 422 film number: 805407 dgs number: 4298902 image number: 00176 nara number: M653 name: Bendina Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 32 years estimated birth year: 1828 birthplace: Holland gender: Female name: Henry Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 9 years estimated birth year: 1851 birthplace: Wisconsin gender: Male name: Bendina Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 6 years estimated birth year: 1854 birthplace: Wisconsin gender: Female name: Elizabeth Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 7 years estimated birth year: 1853 birthplace: Wisconsin gender: Female name: Anthony Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 4 years estimated birth year: 1856 birthplace: Wisconsin gender: Male name: Johannes Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto age: 0 years estimated birth year: 1860 birthplace: Wisconsin gender: Female name: Thomas Grotoboy residence: , Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin ward: Town Of Alto ???? age: 40 years estimated birth year: 1820 birthplace: Holland gender: Male -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MKND-N5X "Minnesota, State Census, 1875" Thomas Grooteboer household residence: Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota ???? age:55 estimated birth year: 1820 father's birthplace: Holland mother's birthplace: Holland birthplace: Holland race: White gender:Male name: Elizabeth Grooteboer residence: Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota age: 55 estimated birth year: 1820 father's birthplace: Holland mother's birthplace: Holland birthplace: Holland race: White gender: Female Household Gender Birthplace Thomas Grooteboer M Holland Elizabeth Grooteboer F Holland Hattie Wisling F Holland ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MQX8-DJ1 "Minnesota, State Census, 1885" Henry Grooteboer household SON name: Henry Grooteboer residence: Carimona, Fillmore, Minnesota age: 34 years estimated birth year: 1851 birthplace: Wisconsin race: White gender: Male family number: 1 volume: Fillmore page number: 1 film number: 000565738 Household Gender Age Birthplace Henry Grooteboer M 34y Wisconsin Anna Grooteboer F 36y Holland Anna Grooteboer F 8y Minnesota family number: 1 volume: Fillmore page number: 1 film number: 000565738 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MQ85-SZW Minnesota, State Census, 1895 George Grootboer household SON name: George Grootboer residence: Bristol township, Fillmore, Minnesota age: 37y estimated birth year: 1858 place of birth: Wisconsin race (original): W gender:Male Household Gender Age Birthplace George Grootboer M 37y Wisconsin Minnie Grootboer F 35y Wisconsin Jena Grootboer F 15y Minnesota John Grootboer M 11y Minnesota Eva Grootboer F 8y Minnesota Anne Grootboer F 4y Minnesota Owen Jones M 28y Minnesota