Kempers, Gerrit 1841-1929 and Dena Renskers Family

KEMPERS, RENSKERS, HESSELING, GREVINK

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 8/31/2021 at 05:57:21

Kempers, Gerrit 1841-1929 and Dena Renskers Family

This Story was taken from the Sioux Center Centennial book of 1991 pages 392 and 393 and was submitted to the book by Dr.John R. Kempers. It was transcribed for this BIOS by Beth De Leeuw and research notes were added by Wilma J. Vande Berg.

The Kempers family history in Sioux Center begins with grandfather Gerrit Kempers (1841-1929) now great-grandfather to others and great-great to a still larger generation. Dinxperlo, Holland was his birthplace. It seems that the part of town where he was born was German soil but his contacts and relationships were with the Dutch people, which leads one to question by how close a margin he could have been considered German.

Gerrit was eighteen years when he sailed to America. What education he had is not recorded but we know that he learned the tailoring business. The many days on board ship gave him time to discover and to fall in love with Dena Renskers also on board traveling to America. Marriage followed in 1867 and some years of residence in Waupun, Wisconsin, where the Renskers and Ten Clays, our relatives, live on.

What promises of better living lured them farther west we do not know but Greenleafton, Minn. was tried for a while. It was there that Barney (1869-1963), the first son was born. Relatives remained there as is evidenced by the Kempers residing there to this day. Others moved as far west as Prairie View, Kansas. Gerrit, Dena and Barney made a long westward trip by ox-drawn prairie schooner to the Sioux County area. John (1872-1946) was born in primitive housing two miles north and three west of Orange City. In later years when John would make weekly buggy trips to Orange City to pick up son John R. at the Academy for weekends at home, he would sometimes veer from the usual route to view with nostalgia his birthplace. Grandpa Kempers built his permanent home on farmland a mile east of south Sioux Center. There Simon (1875-1935), Gerrit (1881-1909) and James (1886-1968) were added to the all-boy family.

Grandpa had the reputation of being wealthy. How he was able to acquire much additional land as well as to lose sums of money loaned to “friends” in need without documentation, raising farm crops, is puzzling but when sons Barney and John had married Rozeboom sisters there was a 200 acre farm of rich Sioux County soil for each to raise new families.

When much later, he purchased his first automobile the Sioux Center Nieuwabladt thought it newsworthy and added the snide remark “Paid for in cash, no doubt.”

The Kempers had membership in the Christian Reformed Church, the Rozebooms in the Reformed Church. The children were too timid to inquire why John Kempers chose to join Annie Rozeboom in the Reformed Church while Lillian Rozeboom joined Barney Kempers in the Christian Reformed Church. Judging by their future denominational loyalty it is no doubt that each made the right decision.

Barney was the conversationalist. Although there always was work to do on the farm he could find excuses to make frequent trips to town for enjoyable hours of news-hunting and story-telling. Those trips were always observed by the hardworking younger brother whose farm Barney had to pass on these trips.

From twenty to twenty-five gathered round the Thanksgiving dinner table each year. The younger element was totally unaware of the amount of kitchen work involved. Grandpa in or out of his “bromstoel” was man of few words. Even when there was conversation the grandchildren were not included. There was a pile of farm journals to peruse. Outdoors near the kitchen door there was a huge mulberry tree to admire. On either side of the lane leading from the country road there was an extensive area of all kinds of apple trees. These trees, like the fruit trees on the John Kempers farm, were owed to Lammert Wensink the itinerant acquaintance from Greenleafton days, who peddled young fruit trees ala “John Appleseed.” The John Kempers farm had fewer but a wide variety of fruit trees and a considerable area of black cap juicy berries.

Tailoring learned in the Netherlands gave way to carpentry skills acquired in Waupun. Grandpa passed these skills on to son John who built his own farm buildings, a skill carried on through John R. who was up on the barn roof laying shingles for his father at the age of eight. That made it easy for him to adapt Mexican homes for family use, make some of the furniture and design and help construct nine large church buildings during his missionary career.

After the marriages of Barney and John, Simon and Gerrit and James continued to help grandpa on the farm. Gerrit was the first to die, after years of suffering, at age 28 from a bone disease in the knee. Always we had seen him limp with a bent leg. Simon was somewhat mentally retarded from sunstroke, it is thought. He died from appendicitis in 1935.

Gerrit Kempers and Dena Kempers had five sons. Additional generations have increased the clan into the hundreds but, as of today, 1980, only twenty-six males carry the Kempers name.

Submitted to the book by Dr. John R. Kempers

RESEARCH NOTES by Wilma J. Vande Berg

From a report on Ancestry.com done by others, Gerhard Johann ‘Gerrit’ Kempers was born 25 May 1841 Suderwick Nordrhein-Westfalen, Prussia (Germany) Sudereick lays on the border of Netherlands next to Dinxperloo, Gelderland Netherlands. People had children born in Suderwick and went to church in Dinxperloo, where their children were baptized.

Immigrations record has Bernard Kempers age 45 born about 1812 arrived Sep 4. 1857 New York with wife Dora daughter Gijilua1, son Gerhard 16, Son Johann 5, daughter Johanna 3.

Bernhard Heinrich Kempers was first married to Johanna Hesseling 1809-1947, Gerhard Johann ‘Gerrit’ Kempers was born to them in 1841and a son Rudolph 1844.

From a report on ancestry .com by others, lists Barnardus Kempers born 8 Apr 1812 Aalten Gelderland Netherlands died after Sep 1857 in Wisconsin. He was married to Theodora ‘Dora’ Christina Hengeveld 1816-1876 Gerrit’s step mother.

Filmore MN county census of 1870 revealed Garrett Kemper age 25 born Holland living in Carimona, Fillmore County MN, a farmer, with wife Zena age 22 and son Barney 0. There was a John Kemper born abt 1853 working as a hired man in the same place, which most likely was Gerrit’s half brother John.
Also, living there was Peter Muson/Musen 50 born 1820 Neth. and wife Dora Muson 50 born about 1820, aks as Dora Kempers prior married to Bernard Kempers. Also living with them was Hannah Kemper 14 and Cynthia Kemper 10, half sisters of Gerrit.

So it is assumed Bernard Kemper died between 1860 and 1870 most probably in Wisconsin.

OBITUARY of Gerrit Kempers 1841-1929
Source: Alton Democrat (1-11-1929)
Born: May 25, 1841
Died: January, 1929
CAME TO SIOUX COUNTY IN THE YEAR 1871---BORN IN THE NETHERLANDS
Gerret Kempers, who came to Sioux County in 1871, among the very early pioneers, died Sunday afternoon at 4:30 o’clock at his farm home east of town. Mr. Kempers was 87 years , 7 months and 12 days old. He has resided continuously for the past 47 years on the home farm and though he had retired from the strenuous farm labor, he continued active up to a short time before his death, could handle a team with the youngest of them and assisted his son in many of the farm activities. He was a quiet, unassuming man, not given to talking much of his pioneer experiences, a man of action rather than words, respected and esteemed by neighbors and many fiends during his long life time.
He was born in The Netherlands May 25, 1841 and in 1852 came to the United States, settling with his father in Wisconsin. He was married in 1867 to Miss Dena Renskers. The couple spent a few years in Minnesota., then moved to Sioux County, living for eight years on a farm half way between Orange City and Sioux Center and then moving to the present farm. In 1927 Mr. and Mrs. Kempers celebrated the 60th anniversary of their marriage. Mrs. Kempers died December 31st, 1927, a little more than a year before her husband.
He is survived by four sons, Barney of Hull, John of Sioux Center, Simon and James of Sioux Center; by eighteen grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held on Wednesday afternoon at one o’clock at the home and at 1:30 at the Second Christian Reformed Church. Reverend Ypma and Reverend Lubbers in charge of service.

BIRTH RECORD of Berendina Renskers to Jan Hendrik Renskers a farmer, age 40 and Chirstina Grevink born on 20 Dec 1848 at Ratum, Winterswijk, Gelderland, Netherlands.

OBITUARY of Dena Mrs. Gerrit Kempers 1848-1927
Source: Alton Democrat (1-06-1928)
Birth: 1849
Death: December 31, 1927
LONG TIME RESIDENT PASSES MRS. GERRIT KEMPERS DIED SATURDAY AT HER HOME IN SIOUX CENTER
Mrs. Gerrit Kempers passed away Saturday after an illness of several years duration. She was nearly 80 years of age. Funeral services were held Tuesday at the home and at the First Christian Reformed church.
Mrs. Kempers was a schoolteacher before her marriage, the family having come to this vicinity from Wisconsin about forty years ago.
She is survived by her husband and four sons, James Kempers, Siomon Kempers, Barney Kempers and John Kempers, all of Sioux Center or vicinity.
Friends here unite in sympathy for the family in the passing of a devoted wife and mother.

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