The Van Roodens

Name                  Occupation         Date of Birth      Birthplace                Date of Death    Notes                                              

Arie                      Farmer                   Dec 17, 1806      Oosterwijk            May 17, 1880      Arie's parents were

Van Rooden                                                                                                                                                       Arie Van Rooden and       x                                                                                                                                                                                Dirkje Vander Leedon

Annigje               Housekeeper    Mar 3, 1803        Schoonrewoord   Nov 26, 1878      Anneigje's parents were   

De Keijzer                                                                                                                                                          Willem De Keijzer and         x                                                                                                                                                                               Dirkje Sterk

Paulus                 Son                          Aug 24, 1828      Oosterwijk             Jul 14, 1872

Willem                Son                          May 1, 1830        Oosterwijk             Feb 17, 1879         Immigrated to America in March of 1865.   Several   years later returned to the Netherlands

Grietje                 Daughter             Jul 14, 1831        Oosterwijk             Jan 6, 1833

Dirk                       Son                          Dec 1, 1832         Oosterwijk             Jul 30, 1901

Arie                        Son                          Jun 20, 1834       Oosterwijk             Feb 11, 1897

Grietje                  Daughter             Mar 31, 1837      Oosterwijk            Mar 23, 1899

Dirkje                    Daughter             Sep 24, 1838       Oosterwijk             Oct 5, 1906

Kornelia               Daughter             June 6, 1842        Oosterwijk             April 1866            Married Dirk De Jong. Immigrated to America on  March 23, 1866. Died at sea of   cholera.

Peter                      Son                           Dec 19, 1843      Oosterwijk            Dec 16, 1918

Antonie                 Son                           Mar 31, 1845     Oosterwijk            Aug 10, 1898      Left Oosterwijk and immigrated to America on March 23, 1866.   Buried in West Lawn Cemetery, Orange City, Iowa.

Arend                     Son                           Aug 1, 1847        Oosterwijk             1929

Arie Van Rooden and Annigje De Keijzer were married on August 16, 1828. 

The Van Roodens were farmers. They lived near the village of Oosterwijk, Zuid-Holland. Willem emigrated with Martinus and Gysbert De Jong in 1865. Kornelia married Dirk De Jong, Martinus’ brother, on January 27, 1866. She and her younger brother Antonie left Oosterwijk on March 23, 1866 and immigrated to America with the rest of the Pieter De Jong Sr. family. In what turned out to be a cruel twist of fate, both Kornelia and her new husband, Dirk De Jong, died at sea of cholera on their way to the New World.

Willem and Antonie purchased an 80 acre plot of land contiguous to that of Martinus and Grietje De Jong. Willem returned to The Netherlands on Jan 31, 1869 possibly due to health reasons. Antonie stayed in America and played an instrumental role in assisting Grietje financially, after the death of Martinus. 

Antonie sold his (and Willem’s) 80 acre farm in 1873. I’m not sure what he did at this point.

After the death of Martinus De Jong in 1876, Antonie purchased 40 acres from the estate of Martinus De Jong, thereby preserving the original 80 acre farm for his sister Grietje. It appears he lived with the De Jongs for a number of years. Since the De Jong children were still very small, I assume he actually did the farming.

In the fall of 1881, Grietje purchased the 40 acres back from Antonie. In the spring of 1882 he purchased 160 acres in Sioux County, in northwest Iowa, near Orange City.   Sioux County, and more specifically the town of Orange City, was settled by a contingent of Hollanders from Pella, Iowa in the late 1860s. The chief reason was that land was cheaper. 

In the Oct 4, 1888 issue of the Vrije Hollander newspaper, a list of Dutchman who had applied for US citizenship that week was published. Among the names was Antonie Van Rooden. The article went on to explain that this was the largest number of applicants to-date for a single week in Sioux County. The number totaled 72 of which 39 were Dutch. 

Antonie eventually moved to town and retired. He boarded at the home of Klaas Hiemstra.

On September 20, 1894, the Vrije Hollander newspaper published the following letter to the editor. The original was in Dutch. So here, in his own (translated) words is Antonie Van Rooden:

On September 11 in the newspaper Vrije Hollander came a story about the escape of a certain Van Dalen out of jail, where it is stated that Toon Van Rooden and his landlord Hiemstra, saw the prisoner climb over the fence.  This is a nasty lie. The whole thing is nothing more than slander, that Toon can prove. What the editor has against him is a mystery to me. As far as I know, I’ve never put anything in his palm, nor have I said anything anything mean to him. But it is true, what does it matter to a crazy bulldog who he bites, as long as he gets rid of his poison. I never saw Van Dalen until he was two blocks away from the jail. Although I have absolutely no obligation to the deputy sheriff, I still warned him. I can prove this and will end this letter remembering the proverb “He who hangs around with a vagabond, has to expect lice” and on top of that a multi-colored dog is dangerous too.            Antonie Van Rooden

Antonie died on or about August 10, 1898 of diabetes at the age of 53. Newpaper accounts report he had been living a life of ease for several years. His death came after a brief illness and was as a surprise to all but a few of his friends as few knew of his illness. He was buried in West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City, Iowa. The religious ceremony was conducted by Rev. Kolyn.

Probate records show his estate bonded at $3000. I’m told this was a fairly sizeable sum in those days. He left the bulk of his estate to his nieces and nephews. No wife and children were mentioned. I’ve not found any record indicating Antonie ever married. 

It is clear from the records available that the De Jong family owes a great deal to Antonie Van Rooden. He came to his sister Grietje’s aid in her time of need. Certainly he did so with some sacrifice to himself for a number of years.