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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An Account of the History and Struggles of the Dutch Immigrants Who Came to America with Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte
A. C. Van Raalte and Nella Kenendy
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.)
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A Letter of the Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte to the Rev. John H. Karsten
A. C. Van Raalte and Simone Kenendy
A letter of the Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte to the Rev. John H. Karsten, pastor of the Alto Reformed Church, Waupun, Wisconsin, a prominent minister in the Reformed Church in America, graduate of the Holland Academy, Rutgers College, and the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick, New Jersey, in which Van Raalte discusses several issues with Karsten. One is concerning a check from the Alto Church which was made payable to the General Synod rather than the Treasurer of Hope College. There is also an issue in the Classis of Wisconsin concerning the education of older men who wish to enter the ministry. Should their course of study be shortened? [Check the minutes of the Classis of Wisconsin of that year to determine the exact nature of that discussion.] Another issue is the apparent desire of the Classis of Wisconsin to train ministers in the Dutch language because they will be serving the Dutch immigrant congregations. V.R. responds: "The administrators should realize that the transition to English will soon happen among our young people, and if we are unable to train ministers who can preach sound sermons in English—especially the American towns—the young will quickly lose their respect for our ministers." V.R. who knew Karsten well, signs his letter as Brother A. C. Van Raalte and adds the postscript, "My wife's health has not improved. It is a lengthy and wasting suffering..."
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A Document in the Handwriting of Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte
A. C. Van Raalte and Nella Kennedy
A document in the handwriting of Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte is very difficult to read. It may deal with the Ebenezer Fund. The word Ebenezer is written on a page that is apparently the proposed cover for a brochure. One page consists of columns of figures on which the above date is written.
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Essay Written by A. C. Van Raalte
A. C. Van Raalte and Nella Kennedy
This document, in Albertus C. Van Raalte's handwriting, is arbitrarily dated. The subject of the essay is the doctrine of grace. The translator indicted that Van Raalte may have translated an English language prose poem into Dutch.
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Old Van Raalte Letter Published in De Hope in 1904
A. C. Van Raalte and Nella Kennedy
The editors of De Hope visited Rotterdam, Kansas and received from the minister there an old Van Raalte letter which they transcribed and published in their periodical. It was a "discovery that made the trip worthwhile." Jas. F. Zwemer speaks about the importance of the letter.
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A Report Written by the Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte on This Date and Published in De Hope on September 28, Entitled, "Education: Report by the Committee for School and Education for the Fall Session of the Classis Holland."
A. C. Van Raalte and Simone Kennedy
A report written by the Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte on this date and published in De Hope on September 28, entitled, "Education: Report by the Committee for School and Education for the Fall Session of the Classis Holland." V.R. urges all Christian citizens to use their influence to maintain the reading of the Bible in schools. He also urges the churches to support and press for higher education. Rev. Roelof Pieters will take responsibility for all higher classes in the Catechism and Peter Moerdijk in the lower classes. Apparently these men will advise the congregations on the practice and promotion of catechism teaching.
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A Letter of A. C. Van Raalte to Philip Phelps
A. C. Van Raalte and George Scholten
A letter of A. C. Van Raalte to Philip Phelps, who apparently is in New York. A.C.V.R. reports that he had to sell the female education grounds to the railroad, 12 lots in the "Southern Block" for $4,000. Wrote about matters in Holland. "If we shall not see enthusiasm for the work, we will sink away in worldly mindedness."
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A. C. Van Raalte Said a Prayer at the Graveside Service of Elizabeth Vander Meulen
A. C. Van Raalte and Henry ten Hoor
At the graveside service of Elizabeth Vander Meulen, wife of D. C. Oggel, in early May, Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte offered the prayer. Van Raalte is quoted to have said: "Corn must remain in the field a long time, endure much: rainstorms, rough winds, hailstorms, much bad weather; but through all this it ripens for the granary where it is safe."
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![William Verbeek P[ost] M[aster} ? Received $1.32 for Postage Evidently for Several Periodicals That Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte Received by Wm. Verbeek P.M.](https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1870s/1022/thumbnail.jpg "William Verbeek P[ost] M[aster} ? Received $1.32 for Postage Evidently for Several Periodicals That Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte Received by Wm. Verbeek P.M.")
William Verbeek P[ost] M[aster} ? Received $1.32 for Postage Evidently for Several Periodicals That Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte Received
Wm. Verbeek P.M.
William Verbeek P[ost] M[aster} ? received $1.32 for postage evidently for several periodicals that Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte received. The publications were: New York Observer, Christian Intelligencer, Prophetic Times, and Harpers Weekly.
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A. C. V. R. Gilmore, the Son of Rev. William and Christine Gilmore, Wrote a Letter to His Grandfather, Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte, Expressing His Concern That Grandpa Was Ill
A. C. V. R. Gilmore and Erica D. Heeg
A. C. V. R. Gilmore, the son of Rev. William and Christine Gilmore, wrote a letter to his grandfather, Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte, expressing his concern that grandpa was ill. The assigned date is uncertain. His parents lived in Amelia from 1869 to 1873. Even by 1873, it is doubtful that this child could have composed this letter in his own hand.
