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Description
A document which reads as follows: The United States of America, To all to whom these Presents shall come Greeting. I the undersign Secretary of State of the United States of America hereby request all whom it may concern to permit safely and freely to pass, Albertus C. Van Raalte with his wife, a Citizen of the United States and in case of need to give him all lawful Aid and Protection. Given under my hand and the impression of the Seal of the Department of State at the City of Washington the 14th day of April A.D. 1866, in the 90th Year of the Independence of the United States. No. 25,222. William H. Seward. Van Raalte's personal description is given as follows: Age 54 Years, Stature 5 Feet 3 Inches, Forehead high and broad, Eyes blue; Nose prominent, Mouth medium, Chin small, Hair brown, Complexion light and Face, medium. A physical description of Mrs. Christina Van Raalte was not given in this official document that served as passport for their upcoming trip to the Netherlands.
Date
4-14-1866
City
Washington, D.C.
Source
The original documents are held in the Albertus C. Van Raalte Collection (M300) or the Dirk B.K. Van Raalte Collection (M301) in Heritage Hall, Hekman Library, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI. The Van Raalte material in Heritage Hall has since been reorganized.
https://archives.calvin.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=264&q=
https://archives.calvin.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=262&q=
Rights
This digitized material is intended for personal research/study only. The original documents may not be reproduced for commercial use in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Heritage Hall at Calvin University. Contact the Curator at Heritage Hall.
Recommended Citation
Seward, William H., "Protection to Travel Abroad from the Secretary of State" (1866). Van Raalte Papers: 1860-1869. 336.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1860s/336
Notes
Description of the document and reference to the collection at Calvin College Archives by Dr. Elton J. Bruins.
About the collection:
Elton J. Bruins, long-time professor in the Department of Religion at Hope College, spent years collecting documents by and about Albertus C. Van Raalte, founder of Holland, Michigan and early patron of Hope College. Documents were gathered from dozens of public and private collections, making a nearly exhaustive collection of Van Raalte's writings and reflections. It is these documents that make up the "Van Raalte Papers."
Digitizing the Van Raalte papers was supported by the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. The project was done in partnership with Heritage Hall at Calvin University, which also digitized its Van Raalte collections.