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Archiver > DUTCH-MIDWEST > 2003-12 > 1072536028


From: Randy Bosma <>
Subject: Re: [Dutch-MW] 1908 James TEN EYCK biography
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 08:40:28 -0600
References: <3FE86F5C.6080605@stipak.com><007701c3c994$d8380a80$6601a8c0@kc.rr.com><3FE9DE61.2040703@stipak.com><3FECF06F.3020601@stipak.com>
In-Reply-To: <3FECF06F.3020601@stipak.com>


Hello Alice

At 08:37 PM 12/26/2003, Alice Stipak wrote:
> Hi All,
>.....
> TEN EYCK, James.--Among the old residents of Fulton County, Ill., .....

A great write-up. Thanks for transcribing it for us. I was amazed that
his father, Peter, walked from Chicago to Peoria, a distance of 164 miles
that is today an easy 3 hour ride in your car. FYI for those who may be
wondering: Fairview is a small town west of Peoria and southeast of
Galesburg on IL route 97.

Fairview has been discussed on this list before, and has a significant
connection to Holland, Michigan -- Larry Klaaren told us this story in
March of 2000:

>Subject: [Dutch-MW] Old Dutch Reformed Communities in Illinois
>Resent-Message-ID: <>
>
>Hi list,
>
>I spent some time talking with pastors and lay members in our RCA classis of
>Illinois about the oldest Dutch Reformed communities in Illinois. The
>information I have is from Clarence Liang who is the pastor at Fairview,
>Illinois.
>
>The oldest is at Fairview (forty miles west of Peoria) and was organized in
>the 1830's. The settlers were of Dutch descent and moved out from New
>Jersey. A group of them moved farther west and founded Raritan. Those are
>the two oldest RCA churches of Dutch descent in Illinois, but they are not
>immigrant communities.
>
>The church at Fairview is an exact replica of a church in the Netherlands,
>and there are six others exactly like it in New Jersey. The church recently
>"unremodeled" the building, and restored the painted and paneled over native
>wood wall coverings and furnishings to their original condition. The
>original pipe organ was restored to working condition. The whole property
>is a real treasure.
>
>The immigration from the Netherlands really got going in 1847 when Roseland,
>Fulton, Munster/Lansing and other communities were founded. The reason for
>immigration was secession from the state church in the Netherlands, which
>led to persecution and excessive taxation.
>
>The immigrants were anxious to start a college and seminary. The General
>Synod of the RCA purchased eighty acres at Fairview, Illinois and the
>Fairview church donated their parsonage to the effort. It was felt this was
>a good thing because Fairview was an established community, and there was an
>approximately equal distance between Holland, Mi, and Pella, Ia., as well
>as the Illinois settlements to provide students. The name "Hope College and
>Academy" was chosen.
>
>However, the principle advocate moved back to New Jersey when his wife got
>bored on the frontier, and Albertus van Raalte, who was a strong
>personality, got the project moved to Holland. You can read about this in
>the Hope College publication called "A Century of Hope".
>
>Larry Klaaren
>ICQ# 30949993

So there you have a few more threads for the fabric of Dutch immigrant
history in the US.

Randy Bosma


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