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.
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This Document is an Indenture Made Between Samuel B. Schieffelin and Albertus and Christina Van Raalte for Some Properties in Section 28 of the Township of Holland.
A. C. Van Raalte, C. J. Van Raalte, Uleke De Vries, M. Hoogesteger, and Mary Otterness
This document is an indenture made between Samuel B. Schieffelin and Albertus and Christina Van Raalte for some properties in section 28 of the Township of Holland. A dollar amount of $500 was given.
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A Letter of Ben Van Raalte to His Brother, Dirk
Ben Van Raalte
A letter of Ben Van Raalte to his brother, Dirk. The letter is written in English. Ben tells about the kind of duty he has currently. He considers New York City "pretty lively."
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A Letter of Ben Van Raalte, to His Mother, Christine
Ben Van Raalte
A letter of Ben Van Raalte, to his mother, Christine, describing his life in the army. He thanked his mother for sending him some stationery. He has enough now and also does not need more clothing.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Beane from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. The battle for Atlanta continues. New recruits tend to get sick often.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. "I note that you are still weak You must take things a little easier—maybe you should give up preaching altogether before it is too late."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who is a sergeant and very busy. He again expresses his dislike of Doesburg. He also reports on the many soldiers and officers who are slack in their duties or go AWOL. There is no question about Ben's devotion to his duties. The regiment is on the alert because it is rumored that "the Rebs" want to take Knoxville. "This is a peculiar letter. Next time I will be more careful and write about other things."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who wrote that "The temperature is very high at present....Well, we are beginning to get closer to Atlanta....Our company now has 65 members, that is, enlisted men....P.S. What do the colony rebels think of the war now? Doesburg seems to have a poor opinion of it. Poor fellow---he talks about our basswood soldiers. I get very few letters but will write as often as I can."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who reports that "...General Sherman...is in favor of sparing his troops and does much of his fighting by flanking movements and then fortifying positions." The Confederates "use Negros to fortify their rear - last week we captured at least 800 of them....Yesterday I received your letter of the 27th of June... P.S. What a copperhead De Hollander is. They should burn his office. Capt. De Boe is in the rear. He is a sick and broken down man. The Lieutenant is also complaining."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. Dirk's name is on the list to go on the hospital train to Chattanooga. He is doing very well.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, reporting on the fighting of his company. The Rebs are experiencing heavy losses.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who expresses his dislike for officers who have no concern for the lives of their men.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, reporting on his activities and asking that "Cornelis" write him. "Those who write to me will receive a letter from me."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who reported that "We are now about two miles from Atlanta - we can see the city well by climbing trees but that is dangerous with so many bullets flying through the air....The ground is sandy here but heavily wooded. It looks like the road to Grand Haven."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. He begins by saying that "Since we were paid today I will write a letter and enclose some money.... It has now been since the 7th of May that we have heard shooting every day with bullets whistling past our ears. When one thinks about it then it is surprising that anyone should still be alive with so much lead flying about...Encl. $40.00."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. His company is on the move. Dirk has been sent back for hospital duty.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. "On election day we were cut off from our regiment so we couldn't vote. The "Hollander" was wrong when it said that the company was all Democrats. Thirty were for Lincoln and nine for Mac. Have you paid for my subscription to "De Hollander"? my intention is to discontinue."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. "You asked me what my opinion was about selling the land near Fijn etc. I cannot help you much and am not in touch with those things. Buying the swamplands might be a good thing and may work out all right if Albertus is happy with the mill. I am sometimes afraid that he feels like a man standing on ice -- unsteady. I personally do not like the mill business but, if it is handled right, a good living can be made at it."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, apparently, but the last half page has been torn from the original letter. His concern for Dirk; hopes he is on furlough by now.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who reports on the action his regiment has seen. "We lost C. Van Dam and J. Pilon is missing. We couldn't find him on the battle ground."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who begins his letter by saying, "I am happy to be able to say that through God's mercy I am in good health as He has protected our company through a thousand dangers." He again saw considerable action.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who said that the hospital would be moved to Atlanta shortly.
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben. Dirk has left for Chattanooga; Ben has rejoined his company. "I hope that Dirk may soon be home and that Abe may be re-elected by a large majority.... J. Oggel is also a partisan of McClellan but the soldiers are mostly all for Lincoln. Those who are for Mac dare not say anything about it."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who began his letter, "Last evening we received your letter of the 2nd with joy. Just at that time we were also overjoyed to have Lieut. Kramer drop in and feeling fine....He told me that you were looking very well again which made me happy. The boys then wanted to know how things were in the colony and he said that it had grown tremendously -- we would hardly know the place anymore.But in the same breath he said that the place teemed with copperheads....There are 23 men in our company, some on other duties. D. Van Raalte, hospital attendant; two Bloms are cooks; one for a captain and one Reg. Hdqrs. cook; P. De Vries and K. Dykhuis, stretcher bearers; Wilterdink, regimental butcher; H. Ter Sligter, Brig. Provo. Guard; two musicians. Total present: 33 men and two commissioned officers....If I need anything I will write for it. Mother must not send me anything unless I ask for it. Remember we carry our clothes closet on our backs. Mother may send me a pair of carrying straps..."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, who reported that "Last week we fought nearly all week but our company was lucky and didn't lose a man to the bullets. One evening we were shelled very heavily and a piece of shell hit Wilterdink in his side but fortunately he had a Testament in his pocket which save his life. It hurt him alot but he stayed with the company."
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A Letter to A. C. Van Raalte from His Son, Ben
Ben Van Raalte, Clarence Jalving, and Nella Kennedy
A letter to A. C. Van Raalte from his son, Ben, reporting on the activities of his regiment. "The Rebs are getting discouraged...One day sixty deserters came over and now there are more every day so that nearly a whole company has been taken as prisoners."
