Copyright 1935
Back to Genealogy home page
In the first place, these people making up this Colony were mostly all young people, the men folks did not average over 33 years and the women folks not over 28 years of age. In this group were sixteen men and fourteen women. There were twelve families with thirty-four children between them, ranging from one month to about twelve years of age, one man a widower and three young men not married. In all there were sixty-four souls in this Colony, including the children, there were four of the adults and thirteen of their children died on board of the ship, and were buried in the sea immediately after death.
The reason why these people wanted to go to America was simply this: They were mostly all farmers on small patches of ground. Many of them owned their own homes and land, but saw no prospect of ever increasing the size of their little farms and with growing families of from two to eight children already, what would their future be in Holland. Well, they got glowing reports about a Colony from South Holland that had emigrated two years previous to America. So they decided that they would organize a large colony which they did, and they were mostly all related to each other either by marriage or otherwise. As America seemed to be the land of promises that would solve their future problems, they held nightly meetings in their little homes to do the necessary planning for their voyage. Certain men were appointed to investigate and get all necessary expenses entailed with the trip, the possible length of time it would require to make the trip. After all necessary information was gathered some more meetings were held. It was then decided that all their property must be sold for cash money, and when the required amount was figured out for voyage and expenses and laid aside, the balance or surplus of their money was all to be exchanged into twenty dollar gold pieces. These gold pieces were all placed single file tight against each other in a canvas belt sewed fast, and were worn on each man?s bare body right under the arms fastened with large hooks and eyes. They kept them on during the entire voyage, a period of over sixty days. This precaution was taken against robbery. Sufficient money for the trip was carried in their purses or otherwise. One man in their group had $800, a few of them had $600 each. My father and several more of them had $500 each and the others had less. Approximately between all of them they had $6,000 after they landed in America.
All the immigrants were routed at the same time with bag and baggage and placed on the Frisian Barge for Rotterdam where they took a steamboat for Havre, France, remaining there for four days. During those four days a baby was born by a member of their group. The entire colony then boarded an American sailing vessel named Boston. Board was not included in the fare for the trip, so they had to buy provisions for the entire trip and that was some speculation for an unforeseen journey. They also took with them a large barrel of wine. The boat crews were all rough and vulgar Frenchman and utterly disregarding the immigrants had soon emptied the barrel of wine. Mr. Peter DeJong being a schoolteacher had provided himself with a dictionary in the Holland and English languages with was of great assistance to the colony.
After the third day out on the ocean, they discovered the Asiatic Cholera among the passengers. This disease was the most dreaded, most filthy and destructive sickness that they ever had to deal with on a tossing vessel. The epidemic was so contagious that it passed through the entire colony in a few days and almost everybody went down with it. Mothers and Fathers, many of them sick themselves tried to wait on their crying and dying children who were begging for help while raving and choking in the greatest of agony. Many of them were doomed to die regardless of age, even four of the parent died.
Besides our own colony, there was still another colony of Hollanders on board headed for another location who also suffered a still greater loss of life of their colony. Thirty-eight of their group died on board of ship and seventeen of our group making a total of 55 deaths on this voyage. Whenever the Doctor pronounced a patient dead, the helpers would at once take it away, wrap it in a piece of canvas and slide it down the shoot into the ocean for the sharks to devour who were following the ship. They were being fed every day. For Mothers to weep and wail at the sight meant nothing, they were told hands off, the dead belong to you no more. This dreaded disease must be disposed of as fast as possible. One broken-hearted mother said ?I wish that we had stayed in Holland, we would still have our dear children.? Yes, they all wished that. How they were ever going to live this down and forget did not seem possible. The fathers all bore up well and tried to comfort their broken-hearted wives with a brighter future before them, but it was all yet so far away and no guarantee for it.
Finally they reached the shore of that great America after 48 days on the way, and after a speedy inspection they were placed on board a steamboat up the Hudson River to Troy where they were put on the Erie Canal boat to Buffalo, where they took the steamboat Key Stone State, through the Great Lakes to Chicago. The entire trip took 60 days, and then on as the History tells you,
In regards to getting started on High Prairie now called Roseland, they all bought their little farms along Michigan Avenue between 103rd and 111th Streets. The Chicago Road started in Chicago on State Street as far as 22nd Street, curved around South Englewood and back on State Street at Eleven Mile house then on to Riverdale following the edge of the ridge and running right through the middle of their farms. This was the only road and was used by all farmers living ten or fifteen miles south of Roseland. During the rainy seasons it was almost impossible to haul a load through this bottomless road, so in 1881, the contract was let to Mr. Henry Myrick for a stone roadbed from 95th Street to Riverdale. A trench was dug 14 feet wide by 12 inches deep in the middle of the road. The bottom layer was large pieces of bed rock about four inches thick covered with eight inches of coarse crushed rock with a two inch finer top dressing. This was the first road the pioneers enjoyed. They built all their homes on the West side of the road and most of their barns on the East side. They were prosperous and honest, and very helpful to each other.
These Pioneers arrived too late in 1849 to do any farming, so they built all their building, cheap frame houses and their out buildings were of cane break and swamp hay roofs fastened on posts and rails which they got free of charge. They were surrounded by thousands of acres of open prairie which they could use for pasture and making hay free of charge. Many of them prepared for dairy farming, as cows were very cheap, also pigs and chickens. They put up a lot of hay also some fuel which they got from the Pineries, so in the Spring of 1850 they were started with their farming. A small frame Church was built as they were very religious and always held that in the foreground. They paid cash for everything they bought and did not waste a penny and held onto their twenty dollar gold pieces as long as possible. The bulk of the Pioneers landed during the first four years, then in the following twenty years all remaining brothers, sister, relatives and friends kept gradually coming over until they were finally all here.
Roseland and South Holland had much in common, many of them were related to each other. The new comers always had the choice of either settlement, their language, religion and Gospel Preachers were all the same. Much business was transacted between the two villages until the Pullman Car Co. Located here in 1880, which brought a great change to the entire Calumet Region.
Back to the Eenigenburg family
