VanderStoep, Klaas 1858-1927 & Neeltje Noteboom Family

VANDERSTOEP, NOTEBOOM, HARBERS, VANDERMEER

Posted By: Wilma J. VandeBerg -volunteer (email)
Date: 12/17/2024 at 06:59:04

Vander Stoep, Klaas 1858-1927 & Neeltje Noteboom Family

This story was taken from pages 515-517 of the Maurice Centennial Book (1891-1991). The story was transcribed for this BIOS by Beth De Leeuw of the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society. Some research notes were added by Wilma J. Vande Berg .

Klaas Vander Stoep was born in Marion County, Iowa, near Pella, on March 16, 1858. His parents, Andreas and Johanna (Harbers) Vander Stoep, along with older brothers and a sister had come from Holland several years earlier. They soon migrated to Sioux County and purchased land a few miles west of Orange City.

Neeltje (Nellie) Noteboom, born October 13, 1860, the future bride of Klaas Vander Stoep, was also born in the Pella vicinity. Her parents and grandparents were among the earlier immigrants from the Netherlands, and quickly joined a wagon train on the Old Oregon Trail and headed for the west coast. After several years and many pioneering hardships, her parents and grandparents had died, leaving a family of eight orphans. The oldest of the brothers found cheap transportation on a clipper freight vessel headed for New York. These were the days before the Panama Canal, which meant sailing south around the tip of South America, and up the coast of two continents north to New York. Weeks more of transportation by both land and water finally brought them back to Pella, where they joined the maternal side of the family, the Vander Meers. Some of the Vander Meers were among the first emigrants to Sioux County, and now others, including the Noteboom orphans made the legendary trip.

Events transpiring during the next ten or twelve years missed reliable historic exposition. Anyone’s guess would be discounted by another’s baseless facts. So we shall now quickly revert to the beginning of this scenario and its original intent.

Klaas Vander Stoep had purchased 80 acres of prairie, legally described as the north half of the northeast quarter of Section 4 in Sherman Township, located two miles northeast of Maurice. At age 21 he married Neeltje (Nellie) Noteboom on her nineteenth birthday. All ten of the Vander Stoep family were born on this farm. they were: Johanna, September 8, 1880; Peter, October 28, 1882; Andrew, September 7, 1884; Mary, January 7, 1887; Tena, February 10, 1889; Alida, April 3, 1891; Hattie, October 26, 1892; Eva, January 10, 1898; Arie, September 11, 1900; and Gerrit, February 3, 1903.

A common bond, love for music, was one of the factors that made this a very closely knit family. Each one of them played one or more musical instruments. The girls all had piano lessons, and three of them eventually taught piano to other youngsters. Klaas and Nellie did not play instruments but joined in the family group singing, which was a common way of spending evenings, especially during the winter months. Before pianos were generally available, the pump organ was the choice instrument. After the piano, which was mainly for the girls, came other instruments for the men and boys. A violin, cornet, accordion and harmonicas would join in with the organ and singing. Hymn books, school song books, and contemporary sheet music supplied the family to keep them all singing and playing. Before the last piano playing family member left home, Klaas purchased a self-playing piano for continued musical entertainment. Neighbors spent evenings together listening to an ample supply of cylinder records played on the “talking machine”.

When Klaas considered the fact that he had two sons who would soon be able to help with farm work he started an expansion program of putting up more buildings, and buying more land. Eventually he added the southeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 9, also in Sherman Township, adjacent to the home eighty.

With increasing land ownership and a growing family, his building requirements expanded rapidly. Fortunately Klaas was a hand-i-craft man with virtually unlimited skills. A new home, the third one built on this farmyard, had ample space for sleeping a dozen or more people. The vacated homes, with slight remodeling, were easily adapted for other general use. His barns, granaries and general purpose storage sheds were always built with plans for future expansion.

At age 18, Johanna, the first born, married John Van Roekel, and moved to one of several Van Roekel farms just three miles south of the Klaas Vander Stoep farm. Peter and Andrew, now at the age when they were taking over most of the farming activities, along with such hired help as needed, soon felt it was time for them to start planning individual futures. Father Klaas had anticipated this and was already building a complete set of farm buildings one half mile north of the home place. This location gave line fence access to the east half of the northwest quarter and the north half of the southeast quarter of Section 9. Andrew was the first of the two older boys to be married and was soon settled on the new location. Father Klaas then rented the home eighty and the south eighty acres of the southeast quarter of Section 9 to Peter, in the meantime building another complete set of buildings on Section 9 approximately one-eighth of a mile west of the home place, for Peter and his new bride. Klaas kept approximately five tillable acres and some pasture for his own personal use, renting out the rest of the land on a share basis.

As the years went by the four daughters born between the years 1887 and 1898, all married and settled on respective family farms in the vicinity or in boundary states. In the meantime, farming operations had gone through several depression episodes and Andew and Peter both had sold out, finding more promising futures in business activities. Klaas, who had suffered from hay fever and asthma most of his life, considered it time for his retirement. Eva, the youngest daughter was planning on marriage within a year and was promised the home place with the eighty acres on which to start her career.

It would be unfair to relegate Klaas Vander Stoep to retirement without a brief review of his extra curricular activities. The country school house had been built on the corner of the section just east of the farm place. It was customery for the farmer living nearest the school to be selected as the school director. Duties of the director included hiring the teacher, responsibility for the maintenance of the building, and keeping a supply of furnace fuel for winter use. Hiring the teacher also meant supplying living quarters if necessary. Rooming and boarding the teacher was never considered a menial chore by Klaas and Nellie Vander Stoep. The close association established by considering her part of the family established enduring friendships, not only with the teacher, but also with their families.

In time of need, neighbors, as they still are now, were always helpful. A climatic moment arrived when Klaas was hurried to his neighbor one fourth mile north, to help remove Mr. Gustafson from a grain grinding hopper into which he had fallen while he was trying to remove whatever was clogging the grinder roller. The horses supplying the power had heard the order to stop, but it was too late. Mr. Gustafson’s arm was caught in the rollers. Klaas hurriedly sized up the situation. The machinery was not built to run in reverse. Amputation was the only alternative. Members of the family soon had sharp knives and saws, and serviceable positioning boards for Klaas to work from, and with knife and saw he amputated the arm just above the elbow. An emergency trip to the doctor at Maurice, soon had the patient on the sewing up table and recovery from shock and loss of blood. (No mal-practice-practice suit was brought against Klaas Vander Stoep.)

Readers must occasionally be reminded that events and conditions are historical. All field machinery was horse drawn. With a half section of land to maintain, a correspondingly large number of draft horses were needed. Klaas generally had six to eight teams, including one or two good breeding mares. Most of his horses were from “home-grown” stock. His road horses were quite different. He was known for his special road ponies. They varied in colors from roans to buckskins, to dapple greys and even pure whites. He had a horse trader in a nearby community who was constantly on the search for the unusual buggy horse. Klaas was one of his regular customers.

Klaas Vander Stoep was one of the organizers of the Dutch Reformed Church in Maurice. He served as a member of the consistory from its beginning until his health ended his ability to attend services or meetings. During many of these years he served as church treasurer.

A brief reference to the time when Eva, the youngest daughter was contemplating marriage, recalls the fact that Klaas was now ready for retirement, away from the farm activities. He hired carpenters to build a new home on property he had purchased in Maurice. Since he had purchased a new Model T Ford in 1913, he built a large double garage on this property for storage of such items as he wished to take with him. Eva and her husband took over the old home eighty to start their career.

Since there were no farms left, and the two youngest sons still too young to start out for themselves, Klaas and Nellie decided to give them an opportunity to go to school. Klaas lived to see their college education completed and both at work in the education field. Because of his health problems he spent part of his last years in a Denver Sanitarium, but came back to Maurice for his last few months of life. He died on January 1, 1927, at the age of 69.

The home he built in Maurice, the third house north of the Reformed Church, has stayed in the family. It is presently the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Munroe. Mrs. Monroe is a great granddaughter of Klaas and Nellie Vander Stoep.

Nellie Vander Stoep was left a widow at the age of 67. She later married Frank Popma, Sr., who preceded her in death by several years. She died on April 7, 1951, at age 90. At this writing the two sons, youngest of the family are still living.
(end of family story in the Maurice book)

Note: See the Biography of the parents of Neeltje Noteboom, Pieter Noteboon 1829-1865 and wife Maria Van der Meer www.iagenweb.org/Sioux -BIOS for more family information. Also, for more insight into the Oregon Trail experience read the BIOS such as that of Lutje Mars and others soon to be submitted. The book Story of Sioux County by Charles Dyke has some interesting accounts of the colony that went on the Oregon Trail in 1862 on pages starting on pages 402 and 429.

RESEARCH Notes: From a family report on ancestry.com public member trees submitted by other than this submitter. Local archives on this web page such as obits.

Klaas Vander Stoep was born 16 Mar 1858 Pella Iowa died 1 Jan 1927 Maurice Sioux Iowa. His parents were Andries Vander Stoep 1830-1908 and Johanna Harbers 1830-1901. He married Neeltje Noteboom Oct 13, 1879 Maurice IA.

Neeltje Noteboom was born 13 Oct 1860 Pella Marion Iowa died 7 Apr 1951 Maurice IA. Her parents were Pieter Noteboom 1829-1865 and Maria Vander Meer 1833-1865. On this web page see the BIOS of her parents on this web page which give account of the Oregon Trail experience and of the sad death of her parents in Oregon which left eight children as orphans. Klaas and Neeltje had the following children.

CHILDREN: Information found from local archives on this web page, ancestry.com public member trees done by others, Find a Grave index.
Disclaimer - Information given as best devised by the submitter due to the location of the children during various times of their lives and deaths.

1. Johanna Elizabeth Vander Stoep born 8 Sep 1880 Maurice Sioux County IA. Died 3 May 1952 Maurice IA. She married John Herman Van Roekel 1878-1964. Their children were Clarence Van Roekel 1905-1972, Harold Peter Van Roekel 1909-1983, Nelson Van Roekel 1912-1991, Bernard G. Van Roekel 1913-1982, Willis Van Roekel 1917-1980. See her brief obit on this web page as Van Roekel Johanna Mrs. John E. 1881-1952. Easier to search by name Vander Stoep.

2. Peter Vander Stoep born 28 Oct 1882 Sherman Twp, Sioux County IA died 14 Sep 1968 Alton IA. He married 1919 to Cora Vander Stouwe born 1883 . Two children were Hermine M. Vander Stoep 1917 ad Lavonne A. Vander Stoep 1919-1999. Wife #2 of Peter was Helen Ernissee. See Peter’s obit on this web page.

3. Andries Vander Stoep born 7 Sep 1884 however, obit states Sep 9, 1886, death record has birth 7 Sep 1884., Holland Tsp Sioux County IA died 1/8 Aug 1962 Iowa City IA buried Orange City IA He married:
Wife #1. Wilhelmina ‘Minnie’ Blom 1887-1918. married 27 Jan 1909. They had children- Nelvina C. Vander Stoep Mrs. Pete Haarsma 1910-1995, Ruby Magdalene Vande Stoep Mulder Field of Terrance CA. 1914-2003, Alvin John Vander Stoep 1911-1995, and Marcia Vander Stoep Mrs. Victor Jensen Independence MO 1916. In the 1920 census Andrew was a widower 36 yrs, Nelvina 9, Elvin 8 and Ruby 5. There are further child listed Claude Vander Stoep 1921-1996,
Wife #2. Johanna Schaap born 9 Aug 1889 New Holland SD, married in 1953. died 24 May 1998 Orange city
Wife #3.Gertrude Gastma 1888 -1947 ; child Gladys Leona G. Vander Stoep Livinson born 1923. Submitter found this family hard to piece together with several wives and children among them.

4. Maria Vander Stoep born 7 Jan 1887 Sherman, Sioux, Iowa died 27 Jan 1977 Groton, SD. She married Gerrit Vande Brake 1883-1954. Their children were Bertha Vande Brake 1888, Edward James Vande Brake 1907-1972, Nellie Vande Brake 1909-1997, Claud Vande Brake 1912, Jessie Vande Brake 1915, Robert Vande Brake 1919-1970 and two others not named.

5. Trentje Helena Vande Stoep born 10 Feb 1889 Sherman Sioux IA died 20 Nov 1970 Tillamook, OR. She married Cornelis ‘Neal’ Ellerbroek 1886-1964, Viola Ellerbroek 1909-2002, Wendell Dames Ellerbroek 1914-2005, Pearl Edna Ellerbroek 1915-1962, Elmer C. Ellerbroek 1918-2000, Helen B. Ellerbroek 1919, Harvey Lyn Ellerbroek 1922-1984, Fayetta Laverne Ellerbroek 1924-2014 and possibly one more.

6. Allida Vander Stoep born 3 Apr 1891 Maurice Sioux Iowa died 2 Aug 1963 Corvina Los Angeles CA. She married Jacob Douwes Kuiken 1887-1933. Their children were Grace Rosella Kuiken 1912-1994, Clarence Donald Kuiken 1914-1970, Dewey Francis Kuiken 1015-2002, Nellie Louella Kuiken 1918-1963 and Allen Eugene Kuiken 1929-2001.

7. Hentje Vander Stoep born 26 Oct 1893 Sherman Sioux Iowa died 15 Aug 1984 Orange City IA. Brief Life History of Heintje Hattie
When Heintje Hattie Vander Stoep was born on 26 October 1893, in Sherman Township, Sioux, Iowa, United States, her father, Klaas Vander Stoep, was 35 and her mother, Neeltje Noteboom, was 33. She married George B Van Roekel on 29 January 1913, in Maurice, Sioux, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 4 daughters. She died in 1984, at the age of 91, and was buried in Maurice, Sioux, Iowa, United States. Children - four daughters, Mrs. Vernon (Verna) De Kock of Sheldon, Mrs. Irwin (Mildred) Reinking of Maurice, Mrs. Howard (Esther) Mieras and Mrs. George (Shirley) Dykstra, both of Sioux City; a son, Howard Van Roekel of Maurice; See Hattie’s obit on this web page as Hattie Mrs. Rudy Van Pelt.

8. Eva Magdalena Vander Stoep born 10 Jan 1898 Maurice Sioux IA, died 26 Oct 1965 Bellflower CA. She married Rudolph Edward Van Pelt 1895-1987. Their children were Roy Alfred Van Pelt 1917-1999, Dale Van Pelt, Arlene Van Pelt Duistermars 1923.

9. Arie Francis Vander Stoep born 11 Sep 1900 Maurice IA died 6 Dec 1993 Orange City IA. He married Leona Smith 1900 -1993. They had a daughter Corene (Mrs. Arie) Koole of Sheldon
See the obit of Arie on this web page.

10. Gerrit Klaas Vander Stoep born 3 Feb 1903 Sherman Sioux Iowa died 16 Dec 1992 Tucson AZ. Children not named. Wife Magdalene Kuyper 1902-1992. In 1950 census Gerrit C. Vander Stoep born 1903 Iowa was living at Pittsfield IL. Wife Magdaline and two children Janice M. 15 and Linda K. 2. Find a Grave’s obit states he had four children.

OBITUARY OF KLAAS VANDER STOEP
Source: Alton Democrat (1-07-1927) Born: March 16, 1858 Died: January 2, 1927
MAURICE PIONEER RESIDENT GONE
Klaas Vander Stoep, prominent retired farmer of Maurice, died Sunday noon at his home.
Mr. Vander Stoep was born March 16, 1858 at Pella, son of Andries and Johanna (Harbers) Vander Stoep and came to Sioux County at an early age. Funeral services were held at the Reformed Church on Wednesday afternoon.
The children surviving are Mrs. John Van Roekel, Edgerton, Minnesota; Peter Vander Stoep, Orange City; Andrew Vander Stoep, Maurice; Mrs. Gerrit Vanden Brink, Andover, South Dakota; Mrs. Neal Ellerbroek, Okaton, South Dakota; Mrs. J. Kuiken, Maurice; Mrs. Geo Van Roekel, Mrs. Rudolp Van Pelt, Arie Vander Stoep all of Maurice, Gerrit Vander Stoep of ??, Iowa.
Note: He was married to Neeltje Noteboom in 1879.

OBITUARY OF NELLIE VANDER STOEP
Source: Sioux Center News (4-12-1951)
Funeral services for Mrs. Klass. Vander Stoep Popma, 90, who died here Saturday at the home of her son, Mayor A. F. Vander Stoep, will be Wednesday afternoon at the First Reformed Church at Maurice, Iowa.
Rev. John Roggen, pastor of the church, will officiated, assisted by Rev. John Straaks of Orange City, a former pastor of the church. Burial will be in Maurice Cemetery under direction of the Van Etten funeral home of Orange City.
Mrs.Neeltje Popma, an early day resident of Sioux County, was injured in a fall a few days before her death. She had spent most of her life at and near Maurice since 1879. In recent years she had made her home with a son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. John Van Roekel at Maurice.
Survivors are 10 children, 52 grandchildren, 109 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Picture from page 515 of the Maurice book - Klaas Vander Stoep and Neeltje Noteboom.

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