In Spring 1844, Jan Willem and Willemina [Oonk] formalized their plans to leave Winterswijk and emigrate to the United States with their seven children.

Their journey across the Atlantic Ocean sat at the forefront of the mass migration of Dutch families that began in the mid-1840s. Unlike the migration triggers that commanded quick thinking, such as the Irish who fled from famine or Russian Jews that escaped religious persecution, many Dutch emigrants had the opportunity to plan their path to the United States. 

The period of significant Dutch emigration, and from Winterswijk specifically, began around 1844 and continued into the twentieth century, with the most prominent peaks occurring between 1845 and 1847, from 1854 until 1856, and once again in the 1880s. During this period, entire towns quite literally packed up their necessary belongings and traveled to the port city of Rotterdam where vessels carted families to the eastern seaboard of the United States.

In all, from Winterswijk alone, it is estimated that between 4,000 and 6,000 people emigrated in the period from 1840 to 1920 — an astounding number given the average population of Winterswijk during that time was less than 10,000 people. 

The City on the Hill: Manifest Destiny

Just 40 years before Jan Willem led his family to the American Midwest, a country still in its infancy struggled with the challenges of a growing nation. The American Revolution left the colonies bankrupt and soldiers protested over their unpaid wartime wages. A nation founded on liberty and justice for all was on the brink of administrative disaster, with some even calling for a return to monarchy. The vision of its leaders, however, would drive the United States into its next challenge: the American West. 

Prior to 1804, little was known (or documented) about the countryside west of the Mississippi River. An inspired Thomas Jefferson, fresh from the defeat of his once good friend John Adams in the general election of 1801, turned the country’s attention to the image of a nation on the move.

In what was territory used only by Native Americans, Jefferson negotiated an ambitious deal with Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France to purchase a large swath of land that extended from the Mississippi River Delta to modern day Idaho. The historic Louisiana Purchase was swiftly finalized, adding more than 828,000 square miles of land to the United States. 

The ensuing Corps of Discovery, led by famed explorers Lewis and Clark, stretched westward in a grand multi-year journey with hopes of finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean. While the expedition came up empty handed in finding the continental waterway, Jefferson’s ambition inspired one of the most critical tipping points in American history that defined much of the next half-century. The concept of manifest destiny enthused millions from around the world to take advantage of the bounty and opportunity of America.

It is one of history’s most profound examples of how contagious ideas spread like wildfire. Manifest destiny was by many measures a belief instilled in the minds of Americans that the United States settlers were destined to expand across North America and spread the principles and special virtues of the American institution.

The fulfillment of this mission, many reasoned, was to accomplish an essential duty that came with remaking the western part of the continental divide in the image of the United States. The concept was not without its controversy, especially along party lines in which many notable Americans of the day such as Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant detested the idea for its blatant representation of imperialism, a policy that they argued held little consensus, and its impact to Native Americans.

Nonetheless, the spirit of manifest destiny and the nation’s ideals for expansion became a central enforcer of the democratic way throughout the nineteenth century. In retrospect, the series of events that emerged during this period well positioned the United States to lead the world’s warming to democratic republicanism.

By 1840, families living east of the Mississippi were traveling in droves to claim their part of the new frontier. Similarly, immigrants from nearly every corner of the world began making plans to find refuge in the United States—whether it was along the widely developed East Coast or traveling inland to the prairies and farmlands of the Midwest. Cities like San Francisco sprang up in the West as herds of people flocked with the prospects of discovering gold. Other communities, like Chicago and Buffalo, became major hubs for commerce and transportation, supplementing New York and other metropolitan depots.

It is for these reasons (manifest destiny, the economic prospects of westward expansion, a strong brand perception, and quality transportation networks inland, among others) that the United States became this shining city on the hill for many economically disadvantaged or persecuted foreigners living in Europe and Asia.

As news spread of the great opportunities in the United States, families began more seriously considering the financial and non-financial costs of making the journey. During the 1840s when Jan Willem and his family traversed the North Atlantic, conditions aboard ships were incredibly poor and the trip itself, while greatly improved since the first voyages to the New World, remained dangerous.

Nonetheless, the promises of a new life in a new world were all that mattered for many, including Jan Willem and his family.

Special Note: It would be undutiful not to acknowledge the vast array of issues and consequences of this period in the history of the United States and the dark side of manifest destiny. Chiefly, Westward Expansion led to the destruction of Native American lands and peoples, the genocide of thousands in land illegally claimed from Mexico, elimination of countless natural resources, and reduction of animal species across the region.

The bloodshed and subsequent ruin of many historical attributes in this historic part of North America are indeed a critical historical point to recognize as the ramifications—good and bad—of manifest destiny are discussed. The account of manifest destiny above is in no way a glorification of the period but rather a summary of the period as part of historical context.

Planning for the Departure

Emigrating anywhere was no small decision for many emigrants. Before departing the motherland, families considered several critical questions like:

• What was the most favorable time of year to make the journey, considering typical weather patterns?

• Would the group travel with other families or emigrate alone?

• Which port cities would be best to depart from, and which shipping company would be most advantageous to take?

• How much money needed to be saved? 

These questions and others were extensively considered by many emigrants, including Jan Willem and Willemina. The entire undertaking required enough planning to ensure that once they arrived in the United States the family would know where they needed to travel next or where to find work immediately.

Reasons for Dutch Immigration

While the conditions requiring emigration were not as clear as those in other parts of Europe at the same time (e.g., famine-plagued Ireland), they still included common causes including economic challenges and religious persecution. 

Jan Derk te Winkel, a Dutch farmer, teacher, and brick manufacturer, who lived in Winterswijk until 1856, kept a diary that outlined his observations in the early emigration of families from the region. He wrote in the 1840s that hail storms, hurricanes, floods and late frosts consistently destroyed crops and drove the price of food higher, creating significant problems to the local economy and expanding the total population of food insecure individuals.

Some people, he explicitly notes, became so desperate that they committed suicide. 

On May 25, 1844, Jan Derk writes that “several households left from here to North America” which coincides with the departure of Jan Willem and Willemina around the same time. In fact, they may have even been one of those ‘households’ given that the travel time aboard a sailing vessel common in 1844 was six weeks on average and that the family arrived near the end of July 1844.

Aided by Jan Derk’s accounts of this period, and what we know about the migration patterns during the mid-1840s, increasingly poor economic conditions likely played an outstanding role in the family’s decision to leave. Their early migration to the United States also indicates that the Loomans family was likely one of the first to depart Winterswijk and travel to North America.

Economic reasons alone were often not the only motive.

In Winterswijk, as is the case in many stories of emigration, religious freedom played a substantial role. One-half of those living in the Achterhoek region of the Gelderland province were Seceders; that is, they sought to move toward more progressive beliefs than the more orthodox beliefs being upheld (and consistently foundational to doctrine) by the Dutch Church.

From 1816, shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars which brought radical changes to government and structure in Europe, various regulations were introduced in the Netherlands that had an impact on religious life. 

What is now referred to as the Dutch Church remained the primary (albeit, the only) recognized protestant denomination in the Netherlands for decades. A special interpretation in the country’s Constitution regarding the freedom of religion even stated that those freedoms applied to existing denominations, effectively eliminating any rights of potential secessionists. 

Many new decrees and regulations were brought to the Dutch Church between 1816 and the 1830s when Jan Willem was progressing through adulthood in Winterswijk. For instance, the schooling and examination of ordained ministers was brought under the supervision and administration of the state. The enforced reformation was ultimately what triggered factions of the congregation to publicly secede so that they may adhere to a more progressive agenda.

Crackdowns by police on any groups of more than 20 people engaging in worship of unapproved denominations stood in the way of the intent of religious freedom upheld in the Constitution.

In the early 1840s, entire communities emigrated to the United States with a desire to worship under the guise of a Dutch Reformed Church. Collectively, they departed the Netherlands and settled in similar areas of across the United States.

The Alto Reformed Church, of which Jan Willem was a founding father, is a product of this movement, increasing the likelihood that Loomans family ancestors came to the United States at least in part due to religious persecution in the Netherlands. 

Beyond economic and religious reasons, undoubtedly two of the more popular drivers of immigration throughout history, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact motivations of individual emigrants. The concept of lotsverbetering, the improvement of destiny, was a reason often cited, reflecting how the United States was perceived as a land of opportunity and possibilities.

Given this understanding, it seems reasonable to suggest that Jan Willem, Willemina, and their family left the Netherlands to evade a combination of economic hardship and religious persecution, with the main selling point of the United States being the prospects of a future that could be uniquely their own—a fresh start for their children and the lives of generations to come.

LEARN MORE:

History of the Louisiana Purchase, Summarized by Wikipedia: Link Here

Westward Expansion Articles, Collated by History.com: Link Here

History of Manifest Destiny, Summarized by Wikipedia: Link Here

Dutch Emigration in the 19th Century, Collected by The Memory, Netherlands: Link Here

From Winterswijk to Wisconsin by Yvette Hoitink of the National Archives of the Netherlands: Link Here