Moving Midwest, 1844-1846
Prior to even leaving the Netherlands, Jan Willem and Willemina likely already recognized that their destination was a strange and far-off place somewhere in the Midwest. In the early 1840s, some of the earliest Dutch settlers in the United States wrote back to share that the lands near Lake Michigan were especially well-suited for farming.
By the spring of 1845, after spending the winter in Clymer, the Loomans family packed their belongings and traveled another 600 miles west to the Wisconsin territory.
The Final Leg of a Two-Year Journey
The Loomans family’s method of travel remains unknown; however, it seems reasonable to suggest that the family boarded a vessel in Buffalo or Erie and traveled by water through the Erie Canal to Detroit and traversed lakes Huron and Michigan via the Mackinaw Straits, gradually making their way south toward the Chicago area.
This was a common method for ‘shipping’ immigrants to the Midwest in the late 1840s and 1850s. Given that train tracks connecting New York to Chicago were nonexistent until the 1850s and that travel by foot drew out the total travel time (not to mention the risks), hopping a steamer at the shores of Lake Erie was likely their best option.
While in Clymer, the family may have stayed with friends or relatives who previously migrated. Because the season was entirely unconducive for farming, Jan Willem and his oldest sons likely had to find local work until the spring came.
Their wages earned over those six to nine months while living in Clymer were best saved for the purchase of land and basic necessities when they arrived to their final destination and for future travel accommodations.
“The total fare per person on a steamer winding through the Great Lakes from Buffalo to Chicago ranged from $8 to $18 depending on the exact departure and arrival ports.”
Their journey continued and brought them to Milwaukee in the spring of 1845 where they stayed for another year before finally finding their way to a small, unincorporated township inside the future perimeter of Fond du Lac County. Obviously with no records of the family’s reasons to stop in Clymer or Milwaukee for such extended periods of time, it is best to remain skeptical and interested in the true nature of their journey.
One theory may be that Jan Willem first brought his family to Clymer for the purpose of farming but found the land to be unsuitable. Comparatively, he may have simply wanted to stop in Clymer and Milwaukee to break up their journey and make some money prior to settling down or to send back to Winterswijk for his siblings such as Garrijt Jan and Janna Berndina Lomans (both of whom arrived after July 1844, but also died in Clymer).
Another potential rationale for stopping was due to illness—if a member of the family became sick it was often easier to stop and allow them to heal prior to moving on.
Selecting a New Homestead
Dutch historian Robert Swierenga notes that soils are a key to understanding the patterns of Dutch emigration to the United States in the 1800s. Swierenga observes that there are three primary types of soil in the Netherlands: clay, sand, and peat, each concentrated in specific regions of the country.
For example, in the Achterhoek part of the Gelderland province the most common soil type is of sandy-silky mix, which also happens to be the predominant soil in the farmlands in and around Alto Township. The one-to-one comparison of soil types was common for many immigrant families given the importance of selecting the right land on which to build their farm and homestead (and which to stake their future wealth).
In the late 1840s, Dutch clerics such as Albertus van Raalte and Hendrick Scholte emigrated with their congregations to the United States—a move that underscores the influence that religious secession had on emigration patterns.
Each of their trips led to the subsequent founding of Holland, Michigan and Pella, Iowa. After his congregation’s arrival in New York in 1846, Van Raalte was convinced that Wisconsin would be the most ideal lands for his followers, having heard of their relative fertility prior to his departure. The winter ultimately forced the group to stay in Detroit until the weather improved.
By the next spring, Van Raalte had changed his mind and purchased a large piece of land in western Michigan that he named after their home country. Holland, Michigan largely consisted of people from Gelderland and Overijssel provinces, with new arrivals to the region founding other villages that mimicked the names of their homelands (Overisel, Zeeland, and Noordeloos both sit within 10 miles of Holland and are named for their respective regions in the Netherlands).
Around the same time, a group of Dutch emigrants from the Utrecht region, led by Minister Scholte, settled in Marion County, Iowa—a small prairie town they called Pella. Arrivals often built sod huts, clustering the shabby houses among friends and other members of their family.
Many of these communities that became widely known for their preponderance of Dutch families attracted others with Dutch descent, even a century after their founding.
Of course, Dutch emigrants not only found themselves in places like Clymer, Holland, or Pella. Some traveled onward from Wisconsin to the lands of modern-day South Dakota and Minnesota. Others made their final stop in Wisconsin, with Alto, Waupun, Sheboygan, and Oostburg being the most popular communities for Dutch settlers.
The stories of these individual communities are equally fascinating, given the significant influence the Dutch exerted on them following their arrival. Even today these areas retain much of their traditional Dutch heritage, a consistent set of nods to the motherland that sat thousands of miles away from the new homes of these immigrants.
LEARN MORE:
Place Mattered by Robert P. Swierenga, Van Raalte Institute, Hope College (1998): Link Here