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Description
This arbitrarily dated document, with frequent additions and changes in the document, is an account of the history and struggles of the Dutch immigrants who came to America with Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte. People referred to in the document are an Elder de Haan, a Rev. De Klein, Pieter J. Oggel, Rev. Simon van Velzen, Rev. Anthony Brummelkamp, and Rev. Hendrik G. Klein. Van Raalte is also making a defense of the union with the Reformed Dutch Church in this country and why uniting was better than being independent. (The Rev. De Klein mentioned may be the same person as Rev. Hendrik G. Klein, the first pastor in the Graafschaap congregation, who deceded from the Reformed Church in 1857 and then returned to the RCA later.)
Date
1870
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
Van Raalte, A. C. and Kenendy, Nella, "An Account of the History and Struggles of the Dutch Immigrants Who Came to America with Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte" (1870). Van Raalte Papers: 1870-1879. 88.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1870s/88
Notes
In Dutch. The documents is nearly six pages in length. A transcription was made of it in the archives of Calvin College. Another transcription was made by Nella Kennedy, November, 2003, as well as a translation.
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.