Vande Brake, Eibert 1840 and Petertje Den Herder family

VANDEBRAKE, DENHERDER, DEBRUIN, BONESTROO

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 4/26/2021 at 09:03:00

Vande Brake, Eibert 1840 and Petertje Den Herder family

This family story was taken from the Sioux Center Centennial Book of 1991 page 603 & 604; submitted by Priscilla Van Putten. Transcribed for this Bios by Wilma J. Vande Berg with some research additions.

Eibert was a son of Hendrik and Jentje Vande Brake. He was born Oct 13, 1840 in Gelderland Netherlands. Petertje Den Herder was a daughter of Gerrit Den Herder. She was born August 13, 1851, in Gelderland, Netherlands.

While in Holland they lived in Gelderland. The Province was located in southeastern Netherlands adjacent to the German province of West Phalio. His occupation was farming. Eibert and Petertje immigrated from Gelderland to Alto, WI. They were married by the Justice of the Peace in the town of Alto, in Fond du Lac County in Wisconsin on Jan 6, 1870. While living there, their first baby was born on Oct 25, 1870. They named her Jentje (Jane or Jennie).

Eibert and Petertje and three other couples (all relatives) decided to take four covered wagons pulled by oxen, and travel to Sioux County. Their daughter Jennie was nine months at the time of the trek to Sioux County. She was the only child in the group. They took a cow with them so there would be milk for the little Jentje. They traveled all day and stopped for the night. When stopping, they tried to be near a sod hut so they could trade some milk for bread. To protect the group from the danger of Indians and wolves at night they arranged the wagons into circle and took turns sleeping.

They never traveled on Sunday but had their own church service. After walking several miles the cow stopped and could go no farther, due to her sore feet. So they bound a donkey shoe and broke it in half and put these two pieces on the two front feet of the cow. What a Victory! The cow could walk again, so they traveled on. When they came to the Mississippi River, they stopped to take a ferry boat and got across on that.

When they came to Sioux County, Eibert and Petertje homesteaded south of Sioux Center where the Sioux Preme Packing Company is located today. The Homestead Deed signed by Rutherfrod B. Hayes, who was President of the United States from 1877 to 1881. After first living in a sod hut for awhile, Eibert decided to build a wooden house. So he went to Le Mars with the bottom part of the wagon to get lumber for the house. Mouw of Orange City built the house. This was the first wooden house that was built on the west side of West Branch.

They were members of the First Reformed Church. Eibert served on the consistory both as a deacon and an elder .

Eibert and Petertje had eleven children. According to age they are as follows:

1.Jentje born Oct 25, 1870, in Alton WI, and died Feb 5, 1913 in Rock Valley. IA
2.Gerrit born May 10 1872 in Sioux Center, IA, and died Dec 1, 1882
3. Willemtje ‘Winnie’ born Feb 1, 1874 in Sioux Center IA and died Oct 1, 1877.
4.Gijsje ‘Grace’ born Jun 14, 1876 in Sioux Center IA. She married Beert Den Herder and died Feb 20, 1951
5.Hendrik ‘Henry E.’ born March 14, 1878 in Sioux Center. He married Rena Mulder and died Oct 7, 1918.
6.Willem ‘William, ‘ born Sept 13, 1880, in Sioux Center IA, and died in infancy.
7.Willem ‘Willie’ born May 8, 1882 in Sioux Center IA and died in infancy.
8.Gerrit E., born Feb 8, 1884 in Sioux Center. He married Agnes Mulder and died Jan 2, 1975
9.Willemtje ‘Winnie,’ born July 14, 1887 Sioux Center IA. She married Wm. Lammers and died Nov 14, 1972.
10.Willem ‘William E.’ born Jan 14, 1890, in Sioux Center. He married Pearl De Zeeuw and died Oct 19, 1920
11.Eibert ‘Bert’ born Sep 28, 1892 in Sioux Center IA. He married Johanna Ellerbroek and died Nov 21, 1926.

When Petertje was going to have one of her babies, she walked seven miles to her aunt to have her baby, but her aunt said, ‘You can’t have your baby here,” so they walked seven miles back to her house.

Submitted by Priscilla Van Puten.

Research notes: (added by transcriber)

www.wiewaswie.nl Birth record of Eibert Van de Brake born to Hendrik van de Brake 44 and Jentje de Bruin 42, on 13 Oct 1840 Ermelo, Gelderland, Netherlands.

www.wiewaswie.nl Birth record of Petertje den Herder born to Gerrit den Herder 46 and Willemtje Bonestroo 44 born 13 Aug 1851at Ermelo Gelderland Netherlands.

OBIT of Eibert Vande Brake
From the Sioux Center Nieuwsblad, August 6, 1913: In Dutch
Na reeds eenigen tijd ziek geweest te zijn geweest, verwisselde Mr. Eibert van de Brake Zondagavond het tijdelijke met het eeuwige. De begrafenis zal heden, Woensdagnamiddag plaats hebben, onder leiding van Ds. Lubbers. Ds. Lubbers bezorgde ons de volgende korte levensschets van Mr. Van de Brake.
Eibert van de Brake is Zondagavond om half acht overleden. Mr. Van de Brake is geboren in Nunspeet, Geld., Nederland, 13 Oct. 1840, en was dus 72 jaar 9 maanden en 21 dagen oud, bij zijn overlijden.
In het voorjaar van 1865 kwam hij naar Amerika en heeft eerst 6 jaren vertoefd in Alto, Wis. In Jan. 1870 is hij daar gehuwd met Pietertje den Herder, uit welk huwelijk 11 kinderen geboren werden, waarvan nog zes in leven zijn, n.l. Mrs. B. den Herder, Sioux Center, Henry van Sioux Center, Gerrit, van Carnes, en Winnie, Willem en Bert nog tehuis. Mrs. Harmelink van Rock Valley, ging hem l.l.[?] November in den dood voor.
In 1871 kwamen Mr. en Mrs. Van de Brake naar Sioux Center en vestigden zich op hunne farm 2½ mijl Zuid van Sioux Center. Ze waren dus van de eerste nederzetters mede en hebben de wederaardigheden van die eerste jaren meegemaakt.
Mr. en Mrs. Van de Brake zijn leden van de 1e Geref. gemeente, welke Gemeente Mr. Van de Brake 35 jaren in haren kerkeraad heeft gediend. Eerst 7 jaren als diaken waartoe hij verkozen werd in 1878 en daarna 28 jaren als ouderling. — Verleden November werd zijn verzoek om als ouderling te mogen rusten ingewilligd en een ander in zijne plaats gekozen. Beide, Mr. en Mrs. Van de Brake waren voor vele jaren onderwijzers in de Zondagsschool.
Translation:
After having been ill for some time, Mr. Eibert van de Brake exchanged the temporal for the eternal. The funeral will take place today, Wednesday afternoon, led by Rev. Lubbers. Rev. Lubbers gave us the following brief life sketch of Mr. Van de Brake:
Eibert van de Brake died Sunday evening at half past eight. Mr. Van de Brake was born in Nunspeet, Geld[erland], Netherlands, 13 Oct. 1840, and so was 72 years 9 months and 21 days old when he died.
In the spring of 1865 he came to America and for the first 6 years resided in Alto, Wis. In Jan. 1870 he was married there to Pietertje den Herder, from which marriage 11 children were born, of whom six are still alive, namely Mrs. B. den Herder, Sioux Center, Henry of Sioux Center, Gerrit of Carnes, and Winnie, William and Bert still at home. Mrs. Harmelink of Rock Valley preceded him in death 11[?] November [actually, February 5, 1913].
In 1871 Mr. and Mrs. Van de Brake came to Sioux Center and settled on their farm 2-1/2 miles south of Sioux Center. So they were among the first settlers and also experienced the niceties[?] of those early years.
Mr. and Mrs. Van de Brake affiliated with the 1st Reformed church, of which community Mr. Van de Brake has served 35 years in the consistory. First 7 years as a deacon to which he was elected in 1878, and then 28 years as an elder. This past November, he asked to be allowed to retire as elder and another was elected in his place. Both Mr. and Mrs. Van de Brake were for many years teachers in the Sunday school.
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Froom the Alton Democrat, August 9, 1913: Sioux Center news:
Last Sunday evening E. Van Der Brake was summoned Home. He was one of our early pioneers, coming to Sioux county in 1871. He was very highly respected, being a deep religious man and had served for more than thirty years as elder of the First Reformed church. The funeral Wednesday afternoon was attended by a great concourse of people. Words of comfort were spoken by the pastor, Rev. F. Lubbers, and Rev. De Pree.
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FindaGrave.com shows him born Oct. 13, 1840 in Ermelo, Ermelo Municipality, Gelderland, Netherlands; died Aug. 3, 1913 in Sioux Center; spouse Petertje Den Herder Vande Brake (1851-1921); children Jennie Vande Brake Harmelink (1870-1913), Gijsje Vande Brake Den Herder (1876-1951), Henry Eibert Vande Brake (1878-1918), Gerrit E. Vandebrake (1884-1975), Winnie Vande Brake Lammers (1887-1972), and William Vande Brake (1890-1920).

OBIT of Petertje Den Herder Mrs. Eibert Vande Brake
From the Rock Valley Bee, April 1, 1921:
Mrs. VandeBrake, mother of druggist Bert VandeBrake, died at her home in Sioux Center Monday afternoon. She had been sick for about two weeks with pneumonia. Funeral services were held at Sioux Center Thursday afternoon. The deceased had reached the age of seventy years, and had always enjoyed good health, until last fall, following the death of her son, Will VandeBrake. She never seemed as well after this great shock. Her husband died several years ago. The deceased was the mother of eleven children, seven of whom are living. The bereaved children have the sympathy of many friends in their great sorrow.
[Her son was shot to death in front of his place of business by an unknown assailant. See his obituary, posted separately.]
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From the Alton Democrat, April 9, 1921, p. 8: Sioux Center news:
Mrs. Eibert Van de Brake died in town here last week at the age of 64 years. She had lived in this community for about fifty years, and therefore endured with the others privations as well as enjoyed the prosperity of Sioux County. Her husband had passed away a number of years ago and she is survived by four adult children, Mrs. E. E. Den Herder, and Miss Winnie of Sioux Center, Gerrit a farmer south of town and Bert a druggist at Rock Valley. In addition thereto she leaves a large number of grandchildren. Three of her children died in this county during the last few years, each of them leaving a family of children. They were Mrs. John Harmelink of Rock Valley, Henry E. Van deBrake of Sioux Center and William foully murdered at Rock Valley last fall. Few of our people have thereto felt the hand of Providence with heavier weight during these last years than the descendent Mrs. Vande Brake. The funeral services were at the First church of which she had for many years been a faithful and active member. Her remains were laid to rest in the silent little city of the dead just to the south of town.
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A message of thanks from her family published in the Sioux Center Nieuwsblad, April 13, 1921 confirms her death date as Monday, March 28, gives her birth name as den Herder, and says she died at age 69. No actual obituary was located in this newspaper.
The Sioux County Cemetery Index has Vande Brake, Petertje, b. 1851 d. 1921, Memory Gardens Sioux Center IA.
FiindaGrave.com has Petertje Den Herder Vande Brake, born Aug. 13, 1851 in Ermelo, Ermelo Municipality, Gelderland, Netherlands (no source given for this information); died Mar. 28, 1921 in Sioux Center; spouse Eibert Vande Brake (1840-1913); children Jennie Vande Brake Harmelink (1870-1913), Gijsje Vande Brake Den Herder (1876-1951), Henry Eibert Vande Brake (1878-1918), Gerrit E. Vandebrake (1884-1975), Winnie Vande Brake Lammers (1887-1972), and William Vande Brake (1890-1920).

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