The Martinus and Grietje De Jong family

Name                      Occupation       Date of Birth         Birthplace            Date of Death       Notes                                                                                   

Martinus               Farmer                 April 30, 1836      Arkel                       Mar 24, 1876       Buried in Black Oak                                                                   Cemetery  with his mother.

Grietje                   Housekeeper  Mar 31, 1837       Oosterwijk            Mar 23, 1899       Buried in Black  Oak Van Rooden                                                                                                                                                        Cemetery

Pieter Jakob       Son                        Dec 17, 1863        Hoogblokland     March 1938         Buried in Graceland                                            Cemetery, Pella, IA

Arie                         Son                        Nov 13, 1864        Hoogblokland      April, 1866           Died at sea of cholera

Arie Cornelius  Son                        Aug 16, 1866       Marion County    Feb 17, 1938       Died of a stroke at 8:30      p.m. in the family home. Buried in Peoria Cemetery.

Albert                    Son                       Nov 3, 1867         Mahaska County  Feb 27, 1901       Buried in Black Oak                          Cemetery

Antonie                Son                      Jan 14, 1869        Mahaska County   Feb 8, 1936          Buried in Black Oak            Cemetery

Gysbertje            Daughter         Jan 4, 1870           Mahaska County   Feb 10, 1944     

John                       Son                      Nov 23, 1871       Mahaska County   Feb 19, 1893      Buried in Black Oak                                                                                                                                                                                                                Cemetery

As required by law, Martinus registered for military service in 1855 at age 19. He received lottery number 16. Like his father before him, he engaged the services of a replacement, a plaatsvervanger, who enlisted on Dec 15, 1855 in the second regiment of the Dutch infantry. The standard enlistment period was five years and Martinus’ replacement was discharged on Dec 15, 1860, thereby completing Martinus’ military obligation.

Grietje’s past included the birth of a son out of wedlock. She created a great deal of unrest in her own family by returning home to Oosterwijk and giving birth to a son, Hendrik Van Rooden on January 7, 1862. She refused to name the father. Birth records do show the name of the father. It was not Martinus De Jong. It is not known if Grietje knew Martinus at this point in time. Hendrik Van Rooden was raised by his Van Rooden grandparents, Arie Van Rooden and Annigje de Keijzer of Oosterwijk. 

On January 9, 1863 Martinus De Jong and Grietje Van Rooden went before the mayor of Oosterwijk, Hugo Bel, and formally declared their intention to be married. This marriage declaration was formally announced by the mayor at 11:00 AM on Sunday, January 11 on the steps of city hall. A written notice repeating this declaration was posted on the front door. A marriage declaration was also posted at the city hall in Arkel on January 11 and again on January 18. 

Martinus and Grietje were officially married on January 24, 1863 in Oosterwijk, Zuid-Holland by the mayor of Oosterwijk, Hugo Bel. In those days, the official marriage ceremony was a civil act performed by a local government official. 

Martinus and Grietje settled in Hoogblokland, Netherlands in May 1863. They and their oldest son, Pieter J De Jong, left Hoogblokland for Pella on March 24, 1865. Due to his young age, their youngest son, Arie, remained in The Netherlands, presumably in the care of his grandparents. Tragically he died on the journey to America the following year.

Arie C. De Jong was born in Marion County in 1866, indicating the family lived in or around Pella at that time and had not yet moved to Mahaska County. All the younger children were born in Mahaska County.

Martinus and Grietje farmed in Black Oak Township, Mahaska County. Martinus purchased 80 acres of land (the original farm) for $800 in December of 1868. His brother-in-laws, Willem and Antonie Van Rooden, also purchased 80 acres of land next to Martinus. Together, they financed their purchase through a mortgage for $1200 at 10% interest. The mortgage was to be paid in full in three years. The lender was Willem Van Vark of Pella. This mortgage was eventually paid in full in 1877.

The Van Gorp family now owns the original farm. The farmhouse is well over 100 years old and is likely the same house the Martinus De Jong family lived in.

In 1873, Martinus was granted power of attorney by Willem Van Rooden of Oosterwijk, Netherlands. Willem was Grietje’s older brother. Martinus used this power of attorney to sell 80 acres owned by his brothers-in-law, Willem and Antonie Van Rooden, to his sister and her husband, Gerrit and Maria VanDer Haar.

In 1874, Martinus purchased an additional 80 acres for $2,250, increasing the size of his farm to 160 acres. He financed this purchase with a mortgage loan for $2150 at 10% interest. The mortgage was to be paid in full in seven years. The lender was John Thomassen, the owner of the land.

After Martinus’ death in March of 1876, Pieter Jr., Martinus’ brother, was appointed the administrator of his estate on April 24 by the court of Mahaska County. Based on what we know about Pieter Jr., he spoke fluent English and had a very good head for business. He was likely the family’s choice to be the administrator for these reasons. However, settlement of the estate would take over two years and pit Pieter Jr. against Grietje in court. In June of 1876, Pieter Jr. filed the following appraisal of Martinus’ assets with the court:

Team of horses $100 

Harness  $20

Wagon  $50

2 cows and calves  $70

6 hogs and pigs  $70

3 sheep  $7

Chickens  $11

Farming tools  $83

Corn and wheat  $67

Furniture  $95

Stack of hay  $12

3 horses  $90

Harness  $15

8 cows   $124

9 head of cattle  $405

Set of hogs  $85

In October of 1876, Pieter Jr. obtained a ruling authorizing him to sell whatever portion of Martinus’ land he deemed necessary in order to settle the estate. The court records show this case went before the court as “ Pieter De Jong vs. Grietje De Jong……” with the names of the children also listed in the court records. Neither Pieter Jr. nor Grietje were present during the court proceedings. In fact, the court records indicate Grietje was summoned three times and failed to appear. Pieter was represented by his lawyer, N. J. Gesman. According to his biography in the “Souvenir History of Pella”, published in 1922, Mr. Gesman was a self taught lawyer of impeccable moral character in the Pella community. He was the long-time adult Sunday school teacher at Second Reformed Church and was elected Mayor of Pella in 1882. Grietje and the children were represented by some sort of guardian, J. K. Johnson, assigned by the court to represent the children. The court ruled in favor of Pieter Jr. 

In addition, Gerrit VanDer Haar, Otto Pothoven, and Gysbert De Jong were ordered to appraise Martinus’ land for a fair market value.

On the surface, it appeared to be a family feud played out in court. It doesn’t seem that Grietje actively fought the ruling. She may have felt the decision was a foregone conclusion, or she didn’t understand what was happening. She likely spoke little or no English. 

What we do know is this. The final outcome of the settlement couldn’t have turned out any better for her. Though it took another year and a half, as the administrator, Pieter Jr. was able to reach a settlement, which allowed Grietje to stay in her home and keep 40 acres of land to farm. And as far as I can tell, she was free of debt. 

The 80 acres purchased from John Thomassen in 1874, was sold back to him in late 1876. In 1877, 40 acres was sold to Grietje’s brother, Antonie Van Rooden for $1000. The court records indicate this was actually more than the property was worth. This was likely an attempt to keep the farm and family intact.

Finally, in March of 1878, a settlement of all claims against the estate of Martinus was reached. Only two claims were paid in full, one being Dr Guthrie, a Marion Countyphysician, with a claim of $14. All other claims were settled at 21 ½ cents on the dollar. This fact was not lost on Martinus’ father, Pieter Sr. When making out a will in 1884, Pieter Sr. inserted a provision which called for repayment, using proceeds from his estate, of all claims against his son Martinus, even though the court had ruled them settled in full in 1878. It appears to have been Pieter Sr.’s intention to clear his son’s name. 

For several years after Martinus’ death, Grietje’s brother Antonie Van Rooden lived with her and the youngest children. Peter J and Arie went to work for their room and board at neighbors’ farms. Peter J. lived with the Evert Tysseling family. Arie lived with the Lambert Overbergen family. When the boys became older, they moved back home and all the brothers ran the farm themselves. Antonie Van Rooden’s assistance enabled Grietje and the family to remain together. 

In 1881, Grietje purchased 40 acres back from her brother Antonie at the original sale price. In October of 1882, Grietje purchased an additional 40 acres of land next to the original farm for $1500. The size of the farm now totaled approximately 120 acres. In December of 1882, Grietje took out a mortgage on her property. The mortgage was for $1500 at 7/1/2 percent interest payable in five years. The lender was The Central University of Iowa, now known as Central College.

Mahaska County records showed the mortgage was paid in full in December of 1992. Evidently, the mortgage was extended in 1887. The release was signed by B.H. Van Spanckeren Jr., treasurer of The Central University of Iowa.

The farm was sold to Dirk De Bruin on October 1, 1897 for $5630. Apparently all the children had started their own farming operations. The last known person to actively live on and work the farm was the son, Albert. Iowacensus records from 1895 show he and his family living with Grietje. Eventually Albert and his family moved to Prairie View, KS. It is not known if this occurred before or after this sale. 

Dirk De Bruin financed the sale through a personal loan from Grietje De Jong.

Grietje used the proceeds of the sale to purchase a home in Pella on Franklin Street, eastof the present day location of Trinity Reformed Church, for a price of $335 on February 23, 1898. The home was located on the western half of Lot 1 in Block 43 as shown on the original plat of the City of Pella. The precise street address is not known.

Grietje died suddenly the evening of March 23, 1899, while visiting the home of her daughter Gysbertje Pothoven near Peoria.

Her son-in-law, Jacob Pothoven, was the Executor of her estate. She left all of her living children $500, with the exception of Arie, who had already received advances equal to this sum. The remainder of her estate was divided equally among all the living children. Her will was dated April 16, 1898.

Her named living children were Pieter J. De Jong of Peoria, Iowa, Arie C. De Jong of Flint, Iowa (a small community between Peoria and New Sharon), Albert De Jong of Prairie View, Kansas, Antonie De Jong of Leighton, Iowa, and Gysje Pothoven of Peoria, Iowa

Her assets included in her estate were listed as follows: the home located on the Western half of Lot 1 in Block 43 of the City of Pella, a note from Dirk De Bruin at 6% per annum valued at $4,130, two notes from Pieter J. De Jong at 6% per annum valued at $150 each, $13 cash received from the sale of two stoves, and $ 42.13 cash on hand at time of death. 

The household goods and furniture were distributed among the children

Martinus is buried in Black Oak cemetery. He shares a headstone with his mother Gijsbertje, who died a week after he did. 

Grietje is also buried in Black Oak cemetery next to her sons Albert and John. 

Other notes of interest:

Although she referred to herself as Grietje, her children referred to her as Maggie in United   States census records. Her baptismal record from Oosterwijk clearly shows her given name to be Grietje, not Margaret.

All of Martinus’ children, who lived to have children of their own, named one of their children after him.

Some farming statistics from the US censuses of 1870 and 1880 are provided below. They give some insight into Martinus’s farming operation.

Farming Acreage

                    Total Acreage           Improved           Woodland          Other Unimproved

1870              80                                     50                            30

                   Total Acreage              Tilled                  Pasture                Woodland

1880              78                                     56                            20                            2

Livestock

                    Horses          Milk Cows            Other Cattle        Swine        Barnyard Poultry       Other Poultry

1870              3                          3                                   3                            16

1880              3                          3                                   7                             83                          60                                    6

Produce

                  Wheat                 Corn                      Oats                   Irish Potatoes     Butter         Cheese          Hay     

1870      120 bushels     1000 bushels    80 bushels      50 bushels            400 lbs.                                 15 tons

 1880      120 bushels     1280 bushels   160 bushels    125 bushels         300 lbs.                                  6 tons

                    Hops        Molasses

1870                           20 gallons

1880                           60 gallons

                     Eggs Produced           Apples

1870

1880          500 dozen                    ½ acre of trees

The 1870 agricultural census did not ask as many questions about livestock and produce as did the 1880 census. Therefore some 1870 cells are blank. This does not mean they did not have this livestock or produce a particular crop. They simply were not asked to provide this information. For example, farmers were not asked about poultry in 1870.