Blog

All information in this post is from eenigenburg.org. Do go check it out; it includes information about the immigration of our Dutch Ancestors Jakob De Jong and Geertje Eenigenburg De Jong, as well as the town of Eenigenburg in the Netherlands, where the Eenigenburg family originated– what a find! The only reason I’m reproducing some of it here is because, well, sometimes websites disappear. Enjoy!

Update: Check out this new (2015) more detailed description presentation the Ennigenburg Museum created for its visitors: The Journey of Gerrit and Jannetje Eenigenburg to America

The Massachusetts of Boston

The party of 15 emigrant families traveled to America in 1849 on the Massachusetts of Boston. Commissioned in 1845, the three-masted sailing ship was considered one of the most remarkable vessels of its time. It was capable of beating other well-known ships by 13 days across the Atlantic.The Eenigenburg Museum will house a magnificent replica of this historic ship. Following an extensive search of shipyard archives, the original drawings were located in a shipyard in Liverpool, England. Cor Beemsterboer, chairman and treasurer of the Eenigenburg Stichting (the foundation for the museum), conducted the search, and at his own expense, commissioned a woodworker in Indonesia to craft a replica.

The ship’s replica stands two meters tall and is three meters long. It’s a stunningly beautiful, accurate copy of the original. And you can even have your own copy. Smaller hand-made models will be available for purchase in the museum.

Can’t you just imagine the scene of our ancestors, filled with hope, as they boarded the beautiful ship for new lives in America?

Massachusetts of Boston April 24, 1849 Passenger List

The 1849 emigrant party of 15 Dutch families (numbering 64 in total) from the area around Eenigenburg included the following individuals. Also listed below are the 17 who lost their lives. (Note: there was also another party on board, headed for another location, who suffered the additional loss of 38 lives.)

• Pieter De Jong, his wife, Trijntje Dalenberg, and five children
• Jakob De Jong, his wife, Geertje Eenigenburg, and eight children
• Cornelis Kuyper, his wife, Maartje Dalenberg, and six children
• Gerrit Eenigenburg, his wife, Jannetje Ton, and four children
• Hark Eenigenburg, his wife, Aaltje den Toom, and two children
• Klaas Dalenberg, his wife, Trijntje Hoogendunk, and two children
• Cornelis Dalenberg, (a widower and father of Mrs. Pieter ‘Trijntje’ De Jong, Mrs. Cornelis ‘Maartje’ Kuyper, Klaas Dalenberg, and their unmarried brother, Pieter Dalenberg)
• Pieter Dalenberg
• Cornelis Hoogendunk,(a widower and father of Mrs. Klaas ‘Trijntje’ Dalenberg)
• Pieter Oudendijk, his wife, Jannetje, and their daughter
• Jan Jonker, his wife Pietertje Veldhuizen, and two children
• Johannes Ambuul, his wife, Aaltje Van der Veen, and one child
• Jan Ton, unmarried young man of 23
• Jan Bras, his wife, Aaltje Komen, and their daughter

Joining the party in Rotterdam (from Nieuwmansdorp in the Province of South Holland) were:

Leendert Van der Sijde, his wife, Lijntje Van Steenberg, and four children

The 17 individuals that lost their lives at sea to Asiatic Cholera included:

• Cornelis Hoogendunk
• Cornelis Dalenberg
• Pieter Oudendijk
• Mrs. Klaas Dalenberg and one child
• Four children of Cornelis Kuyper
• Three children of Jakob De Jong
• Three children of Gerrit Eenigenburg
• Two children of Johannes Ambuul

Family History

It was April 24, 1849. Imagine the thrill, the apprehension, and the hope that filled the hearts of the party of young Dutch families as they boarded the Massachusetts of Boston in LeHavre, France. Having departed Schoorl on April 14th (first by canal barge to Rotterdam, followed by a steamboat to LeHavre), this courageous group headed for the new world, with visions of making a good living for their families, and the promise of religious freedom.

Three days into their 42-day ocean voyage, Asiatic Cholera broke out. It ultimately consumed 17 lives, including 13 children, from the original party of 64. The grief was unimaginable, as one-by-one, adults were stricken in their prime, grieving parents lost their children, and victims were torn from their loved ones for immediate burial at sea…all in a futile effort to contain the spread.

Mercifully, the group finally landed in New York harbor on June 4, 1849. Two weeks later, after traveling through the Great Lakes, the survivors of the 60-day, tragedy-filled voyage arrived in Chicago. On the dock, they were met by Klaas Pool, an old acquaintance who had traveled to America two years earlier. Klaas led 4 of the men, chosen as the scouting party, on foot the final 20 miles, to the High Prairie (now Roseland). On July 3, 1849, the settlers bought 160 acres of prime land for $5 per acre from 103rd to 111th Streets, and from Indiana Avenue to State Street (as we know the area today). Gerrit & Jannetje purchased 10 acres at 110th Street.

 But the hardships were not over. The country was wild and primitive, the winters were extremely harsh, and the farming was difficult. There were no railroads or wagon roads, only a primitive trail.
The new settlers were up to the task, and the land was extremely fertile. The pioneers were successful in their new community. In fact, many of them did extremely well in the boom years that followed.

The newly arrived immigrants soon organized a place for worship. In 1850 they built their first church at 10700 Michigan. In 1856 they erected a larger church, and another yet larger church in 1867. In 1887 they built again, but instead of wood, a brick, stone and steel structure that held 1,200, which from the beginning was not too large. Also noteworthy is that in 1860, Gerrit Eenigenburg built the First Reformed Church of Lansing. In fact, many new churches were built by the devoutly religious immigrants as congregations grew and to better serve people living at a distance.

We’ve come a long way from the little group of Dutch emigrants that courageously journeyed to America in 1849. While they faced tragic loss of life on the high seas and significant hardship in the new world, the adversity only strengthened their resolve – and their strong faith in God. Today, the Eenigenburg Family in America numbers well into many hundreds, many of whom still live in the Greater Chicago area.

Village of Eenigenburg

Eenigenburg, The Netherlands

Eenigenburg is located along the west coast of The Netherlands, approximately 30 miles northwest of Amsterdam and about 3 miles inland from the North Sea.

Today, there are approximately 50 farm houses, a tiny church and a café in the village…and of course, a museum!!

During 1989, the village of Eenigenburg celebrated its 700th year since Count Floris V came to power. This is considered the official “founding” of the village, although scientific findings suggest the first human contact in the area may date as early as the Stone Age.

Today, native Eenigenburgs cannot be found locally in Eenigenburg, nor elsewhere in The Netherlands, because in 1849 they all emigrated to America.

The village enjoys the Dutch equivalent of historic landmark status and as such carries strict covenants. Simply getting the necessary approvals for building the museum has been a challenging task.

The village of Eenigenburg is on a mission. The extraordinary dedication of the wonderful residents and their commitment to creating the Eenigenburg Museum is legendary. Together they have given many hundreds of hours of time, and much financial support, to realizing this vision. We congratulate them on – and thank them for – their outstanding accomplishments to date and on the much anticipated opening of the new museum.