Hollanders in the United States
The Hollanders played by
no means an insignificant part in the early history of the United
States. They first appeared in this country at the beginning of
the seventeenth century. Holland has the distinction of being
one of the smallest of independent European countries (12,648
square miles). Though it was in an almost continual conflict
with Spain from which it sought complete freedom, and though the
scene of constant religious dissensions, it enjoyed at the same
time a world-wide reputation as a maritime power, whose
commercial enterprise, especially in its colonies was everywhere
acknowledged. In June, 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman in the
service of the Dutch East India Company, sailed in his ship "De
Halve Maan" (The Half Moon) to the new continent and was the
first to ascend, as far as the site of Albany, the river which
now bears his name. Hudson, however, was not the discoverer of
this grand river, for, eighty-five years earlier, the Florentine,
Giovanni da Verrazano sailed on what is now called New York Bay,
and in 1525 another Catholic mariner, Estevan Gómez,
explored part of the same beautiful river, which he called Rio
San Antonio, under which name it appears on the Ribera map
designed in 1529.
The reports of Hudson stimulated
the commercial activity of the Dutch, who laid claim to the
territory along the river. In 1614, a number of Hollanders, most
of whom were agents of the trading company, established
themselves on Manhattan Island. Other Dutch settlers, realizing
what great resources were at stake, erected several trading
posts, beginning at Albany (Fort Nassau; Fort Orange) and
extending as far south as Philadelphia. The territory between
these two points was called "Nieuw-Nederland" (New Netherlands).
Through the influence of William Usselinck, a Holland West India
Company obtained from the States-General a charter granting them
a commercial monopoly in America and a part of Africa for the
term of twenty-four years. The members of the company collected
a fund of 7,200,000 florins ($2,880,000) which they divided into
1200 acties (shares). The entire government of the colony
was in the hands of the company, with this restriction, that the
States-General delegated the nineteenth member to the general
convention, and that it was to sanction the appointment of the
governor. From 1624 to 1664 the colony was ruled by four
governors: Peter Minuit (1624-33); Wouter van Twiller (1633-38);
William Kieft (1638-47); Peter Stuyvesant (1647-64). Peter
Minuit purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians for the sum of
twenty-four dollars (which was paid in merchandise) and there
laid the foundation of the city of Nieuw Amsterdam, which
extended as far north as Wall Street in what is now New York
City.
In order to encourage emigration,
the West India Company (1629) issued its charter of "privileges
and exemptions" by virtue of which any member of the company who
within four years should plant a colony in New Netherlands of not
less than fifty persons of over fifteen years of age, should
obtain absolute title to a tract of land extending sixteen miles
along the navigable river, or eight miles if on both shores, and
so far into the country as the situation of the occupants would
permit. These proprietors, called patroons, held great
political power as well as judicial power over the settlers.
Other grants were given to colonists in 1640, which suppressed
the external practice of any religion other than the Dutch
Reformed, was revoked the next year. But although no laws
existed by which the religious convictions of the immigrants were
restricted, the Dutch population was nevertheless predominantly
Protestant and belonged chiefly to the Reformed Calvinistic
Church. In 1628 Joannis Michaelius organized the first Dutch
congregation in New Amsterdam, and by the year 1664 thirteen
other Protestant missions had been formed. As only a very small
percentage of the Dutch immigrants were Catholics, history does
not take notice of them, nor does it record the establishment of
any Dutch Catholic parish or institution in that community. The
French Jesuit, Father Isaac Jogues (martyred 18 Oct., 1646), was
the first Catholic missionary to the New Netherlands, and
exercised his ministry principally among the Indian tribes.
The actual number of inhabitants in
New Amsterdam in 1664, just before the English took possession of
it, was nearly 1200; that of the entire colony about 10,000,
divided among English, French, Bohemians, and Dutch, with the
Dutch predominant. On 4 September, 1664, the English, unjustly
disputing Holland's claim to the New Netherlands, appeared with a
fleet before New Amsterdam, and the Dutch, realizing their
powerlessness to offer any effective resistance, reluctantly
surrendered. Again taken by the Dutch under Cornelius Evertsen
in July, 1673, during a war between Holland, on the one side, and
France and England, on the other, it was restored to England
under the treaty of 1674. Thus the rule of Holland in America
came to an end; Nieuw Nederland became an English possession, and
Nieuw Amsterdam received its present name of New York, in honour
of the Duke of York, afterwards James II. Very few of the Dutch
returned to their native country. The majority stayed and for
many years carried on a bitter struggle with the English
Government for the independence of their Church. This was
guaranteed to them by charter in 1696. In 1698 they had forty
congregations.
Although many of the Dutch
intermarried with other races, yet there were a goodly number who
remained faithful to their nationality, so that at present the
element of Dutch extraction in the Eastern States is
considerable. Some of the descendants of the old Dutch settlers
who gained renown in political and economic activities were: Van
Cortland, from whom Van Cortland Park, in New York, derives its
name; General Stephan Van Rensselaar, the New York statesman;
Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the U. S. From the end
of the seventeenth till the beginning of the nineteenth century
the emigration from the Netherlands was small. That of the
nineteenth century had two principal causes, the first of which
was the religious strife among Protestant denominations in
Holland during the reign of William I. Dutch Protestants
professing the Calvinistic creed established large colonies in
Iowa and Michigan. The other cause of emigration was the
unfavourable economical conditions in their native country.
These conditions were brought about by the defects of social
legislation and by the limited opportunities for business
enterprise in a country so densely populated as Holland is. This
is particularly true of the southern provinces, where the
inhabitants are almost exclusively Catholic, where the soil is
less fertile, and where a large portion of the productive land is
in possession of the wealthier class. Of late, however, Catholic
social organizations have ameliorated conditions somewhat; hence
emigration from these provinces is decreasing.
DISTRIBUTION
According to the twelfth census, that of
1900, there are about 105,000 foreign-born Hollanders in the
United States (one per cent of the entire foreign-born
population). These are distributed over the different states as
follows:
California
Illinois Indiana Kansas
Massachusetts Michigan New Jersey
New York Ohio Pennsylvania South Dakota
Utah Washington Wisconsin |
1,015 21,916
1,678 875 993 30,406
10,261 9,414 1,719 637
1,327 523 632 6,496 |
The number of Hollanders in the
States not mentioned above is very small. It will be noticed
that in the North Central Division alone, there are 79,000; this
being over seventy-five per cent of all foreign-born Hollanders.
Of the larger cities, New York had a Dutch population of 2600;
Chicago, 18,500; Milwaukee, 600; Cleveland, 800; Paterson, 5000;
Rochester, 1000; Grand Rapids, Mich., 13,000; Philadelphia, 300;
St. Louis, 400. These statistics do not include the Hollanders
born on American soil from foreign parentage. The Census Bureau
gives no account of them. Of late the immigration from the
Netherlands is between five and six thousand persons every year;
of these nearly two-thirds are men, and one-third women; while of
the entire number almost four per cent are illiterate.
Catholic colonization began in
1848, when Father Th. van den Broek, a Dutch Dominican, after a
missionary career of seventeen years among the Indian tribes in
the Middle West, returned to the Netherlands, where he published
a booklet on conditions in America. This booklet explained what
bright prospects were in store for Catholic colonists. The
result of his efforts was that, in March, 1848, he set out from
Rotterdam with three shiploads of Catholic Hollanders. The
vessels bore the names "Maria Magdalena", "America", and
"Libera". All who accompanied him settled in the Fox River
Valley, a fertile and beautiful, but at that time an uncultivated
and uncivilized, part of Wisconsin, between Lake Winnebago and
Green Bay. This region, at one time (1630-75) the missionary
field of Fathers Marquette, Ménard, Allouez, André, and
Silvery, became the territory of these settlers. Many Catholic
Dutch colonists followed those of 1848, and they have, after
years of privation and thrift, established several prosperous
settlements. The Fox River Valley, called the "heart of the
state", still remains the centre of Dutch Catholic colonization
in the United States.
ORGANIZATIONS
There exists in the United States a
national non-sectarian society, "De Nederlandsche Bond", which
has its head-quarters in Chicago, and forms a branch of the same
organization in other continents, and which has in view the
promotion of national feeling amongst its members. As the number
of Dutch Catholics in America is relatively small (25,000), and
as they are scattered throughout nearly every state of the Union,
there exists as yet no Catholic national society. In the Fox
River Valley, however, they have local societies for religious
and social purposes in every one of their settlements. In
January, 1907, a league of Holland and Belgian priests was
organized in Chicago for the two-fold purpose of providing for
the spiritual needs of neglected Dutch and Belgian Catholics in
such a manner as circumstances might suggest, and of protecting
and directing their countrymen on their arrival in America. This
society known as "Association of Belgian and Holland Priests" has
been affiliated with the "Church Extension Society" under the
name of "Holland and Belgian Section of the Extension". It is
still under the separate management of its own officers. As the
non-Catholic Hollanders are less scattered, it has been an easier
task to foster organizations among them. There are "Dutch
Societies" at Grand Rapids and Holland, Michigan, at Chicago, and
at Orange City, Iowa. In New York, the "St. Nicolas Society" and
the "Netherland Club" are composed of men descended from the
early Dutch colonists of the seventeenth century.
SCHOOLS
The parochial system is vigorous in all the
Holland Catholic settlements. In the Fox River Valley, for
instance, their parish schools are attended by some 1764
children, who are taught by forty-three religious teachers.
Their schools have always maintained a high standard. The Dutch
language is not taught in any of them. It is a common opinion
that Hollanders are, of all non-English speaking peoples, the
most apt at learning the language and adopting the customs of the
United States. The fact that in these schools, established by
Dutch immigrants, the rich language of the Netherlands is
entirely eliminated would seem to confirm this opinion. It may
be said that the Dutch Catholics, both at home and abroad, have
shown themselves strong advocates of Catholic education. Hence
it is that, in parishes where their number is insufficient to
form a congregation of their own, they pledge their material and
moral support to parochial institutions irrespective of
nationality, and they manifest appreciation as well as fidelity
in regard to the faith which their forefathers kept and cherished
through centuries of governmental oppression and other forms of
adversity. In 1902 the Premonstatensian Fathers from Heeswijk,
Holland, founded St. Norbert's College at Depere, Wisconsin.
This college was erected primarily for the education of young men
aspiring to the priesthood, secular or regular; but a business
course was introduced later. Although opened only seven years
ago, it is now in a flourishing condition, numbering ninety
students, fifty of whom are preparing themselves for the
priesthood. The Dutch Sisters of Mercy, at Baltic, Connecticut,
conduct an academy for young women, and have an enrolment of
ninety pupils. Of Dutch non-Catholic educational institutions
may be mentioned Hope College (1866) and the theological seminary
(1866), both at Holland, Michigan; and academies at Orange City,
Iowa; at Cedar Grove, Wisconsin; and at Harrison, S. Dakota; all
belonging to the Dutch Reformed Church, which at present is
divided into two sects, the "Christian Reformed" and the
"Reformed Church", while the Rev. Mr. Hugenholtz started a
Liberal (Unitarian) Holland Church, at present quite
insignificant, in Michigan.
JOURNALISM
There are sixteen Dutch periodicals in the
United States: one in Chicago; four in the State of Iowa (one at
Orange City, two at Pella, one at Liona Centre); seven in
Michigan (three at Grand Rapids, three at Holland, and one at
Kalamazoo); two at Paterson, New Jersey; one at Rochester, New
York; and one at Depere, Wisconsin. These journals are all
weeklies. Their subscribers, taken collectively, number about
70,000. The "Volkstem" (Voice of the People) published at Depere
is at present the only Catholic publication in the Dutch
language. The "Holland Amerikaan", issued weekly at Rochester,
New York, though non-sectarian, strongly promotes Catholic
interests; the other newspapers -- of which "De Hope" and "De
Gronwet", published at Holland, Michigan, and "De Volksvriend",
at Orange City, Iowa, are of main importance -- espouse the
cause of the Dutch Reformed Church.
COMMUNITIES AND CHURCHES
There are two Dutch religious
orders in the United States, one of men, the other of women. The
Premonstratensian Fathers, more commonly known as Norbertines,
from their founder, St. Norbert, came to America in November,
1893, from their abbey at Heeswijk, in North Brabant, Holland.
They came at the request of Bishop S. G. Messmer, of Green Bay
(now Archbishop of Milwaukee), Wisconsin, to take charge of the
Belgian missions in his diocese. In 1898, they canonically
erected a convent at Depere, Wisconsin. In 1901 a novitiate of
the order was also established with papal approbation. These
fathers, faithful to the motto of their founder Ad omne opus
bonum parati (Ready for every good work) have charge of six
Belgian congregations and seven missions in the Diocese of Green
Bay. They are, furthermore, engaged in parish work in the
Dioceses of Marquette and Grand Rapids and in the Archdiocese of
Chicago. They also conduct St. Norbert's College, mentioned
above. The order in America numbers twenty-one priests, three
scholastics, five novices, and four lay brothers. The Sisters of
Our Lady, Mother of Mercy, came to America in 1874 from their
mother-house at Tilburg, North Brabant, Holland. They began
their first mission at Baltic, Connecticut, in the Diocese of
Hartford, which is at present their headquarters. They also
opened two schools and a city hospital at Willamantic,
Connecticut, and one school at Taftsville, Connecticut. Since
these sisters have taken charge of missions in the Dutch East
Indies, they have declined to open any more houses in the United
States. The order in America has seventy-six professed sisters,
eleven novices, and four aspirants, while 1900 pupils receive a
Catholic education through their devoted efforts. There are in
the United States seventeen Catholic Dutch congregations and a
few smaller missions, some of which have been more or less mixed
with other nationalities, especially with the Flemish. The Dutch
are, moreover, well represented in several other parishes,
especially in the States of Michigan, South Dakota, and Montana.
The Dutch priests, secular and regular, number 137 -- a
significant indication of the strong missionary spirit of the
small Catholic population (2,000,000) of the Netherlands.
DISTINGUISHED DUTCH AMERICANS
Among the foremost of
these was the Most Rev. Francis Janssen, for whom see NEW ORLEANS, ARCHDIOCESE OF. The
Rev. Th. van den Broek, O.P., was born at Amsterdam in 1803, and
was ordained priest after entering the Order of Preachers. In
1832 he entered upon his missionary career in Kentucky, Michigan,
and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, he was one of the pioneers in the
present Diocese of Green Bay, where also he began his first
Catholic colony of Hollanders at Little Chute (1848). This
afterwards developed into seven others. He was a man of
extraordinary activity in the missionary field and of deep piety.
On All saints' Day, 1851, while speaking to his flock of the
glory and happiness of the saints, he was attacked by apoplexy
and died 5 November, 1851. He was buried in the church at Little
Chute, Wisconsin, where the Dutch have erected a magnificent
monument to his memory. The Reverend Arn. Damen, S.J., was born
at De Leur, Holland (N. Br.) 20 March, 1815. He entered the
Society of Jesus and set out for America with several others
under the guidance of Father De Smet, S.J., was made a professor
in St. Louis University, and soon after became pastor of the
college church at St. Louis. In 1857, he inaugurated a church and
school in Chicago on the spot where now stands the Church of the
Holy Family and the College of St. Ignatius. Though Father Damen
accomplished meritorious work in the line of Catholic education,
still his main achievements were the missions which he gave in
nearly every important city in the United States. He died at
Creighton College, Omaha, Nebraska, 1 January, 1890. -- For the
Rt. Rev. Cornelius Van den Ven, see NATCHITOCHES, DIOCESE OF.
Thrift, economy, cleanliness and
other domestic qualities make the Dutch desirable citizens of our
Republic. Religious indifference is, generally speaking, unknown
to them, but with an undying fidelity, they cling to their
respective beliefs. The Catholics are noted for their
faithfulness in attending services on Sundays. It is especially
in rural districts that the Hollanders have obtained the best
success in their material undertakings. Coming from a land which
is famed as a dairy country, and accustomed to labour, they have
proved themselves fit to stand the unavoidable hardships of
pioneer life. Many of them have attained a remarkable degree of
prosperity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. FISKE, The Dutch and the Quaker Colonies in America (Boston and New York, 1899); GRIFFIS, The Story of New Netherlands (New York, 1909); SISTER M. ALPHONSE, The Story of Father van den Broek (Chicago, 1907); Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration (Washington, 1908); BUREAU OF STATISTICS, Immigration into the United States (Washington, 1904); VALETTE, The Globe, VIII (New York, 1898), 318; KUYPER, Varia Americana (Amsterdam and Pretoria, 1891); VAN DER BROEK, Reize naar Noord-Amerika (Amsterdam, 1847); WILDE, Studien, XXXI (Utrecht, 1888), 1.
W.J. DE VRIES
Transcribed by WGKofron
In memory of Fr. John Hilkert, Akron, Ohio Fidelis servus et prudens, quem constituit Dominus super familiam suam.
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