Emigrants from Aalten to the US
In the 19th century, thousands of Achterhoekers emigrated to the United States in search of land, freedom and new opportunities. Among them was the Haartman family from Aalten. They were among the first European pioneers to settle in the largely unexplored wilderness of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.
The Haartman family lived on the farm of the same name in the hamlet of Haart near Aalten. The family consisted of father Derk Jan Haartman, mother Hendrika te Bokkel, five sons and a daughter. In 1846 they left Rotterdam for America on the ship Hector . The crossing lasted 46 days and on September 17, they arrived in New York City.
After a short stay of six weeks in Rochester (New York), the family traveled via the Great Lakes to Milwaukee in Wisconsin. There, Derk Jan Haartman bought sixteen hectares of uncultivated land. Shortly afterwards, fate struck: illness struck the family, and mother Hendrika, three sons and the daughter died.
Sheboygan County Establishment
Together with his two remaining sons, Evert and Derk Jan jr., Derk Jan sr. on to Sheboygan County. In Wilson Township, they bought a piece of forest land in Section 32, for three dollars a hectare. The land had never been inhabited by white settlers before and had to be reclaimed from scratch.
The pioneer life was hard. They had little to eat, hardly any clothing, and no comfort at all. The family’s first home was a simple log cabin with a wooden floor and a stove pipe as a chimney. Many Native Americans still lived in the area, who usually did not cause a nuisance, but sometimes came to beg.
Wilderness survival
Milwaukee was the nearest trading center, but at the time it had only five hundred inhabitants. Sheboygan had three small shops and there were no churches or schools yet. The area consisted of dense pine forests and the roads had to be literally cleared by the settlers.
The colonists regularly needed provisions. Evert Haartman once walked to Milwaukee with the money he had collected in the neighborhood. With this he bought three barrels of flour, some meat and buckwheat flour. On his return, these foodstuffs were distributed sparingly among the inhabitants of the settlement. The only merchandise they could offer themselves were ash and cedar shingles, which they exchanged for food in Milwaukee.
Family and descendants
Evert Haartman, born on May 15, 1824, married on May 12, 1855 in Wilson Township with Janna Berendina (“Jane”) Beskers, born on July 25, 1830 on the Haverland farm in Henxel near Winterswijk. They had ten children; two sons and eight daughters. The family lived on a farm of almost 100 hectares, located four kilometers from the village of Oostburg and thirteen kilometers from Sheboygan.
Evert was respected in the area as a man of principles and dedication. He served as Township Supervisor several times, supporting initiatives to promote education and community. The family was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church in Wilson Township, and Evert helped build three churches. His first vote as an American citizen was for Abraham Lincoln; since then, he has remained loyal to the Republican Party.
Derk Jan Haartman jr., Evert’s older brother, was born on July 18, 1821. He married on October 2, 1855 in Wilson Township with Aleida Gesiena Kortschot, born on September 20, 1838 on the Roerdink Kortschot farm (Roerdinkpoorthuis) in the Woold near Winterswijk. They also had ten children, four sons and six daughters.
Final resting place: Hartman Cemetery
Father Derk Jan Haartman died in 1860. Derk Jan Jr. died in 1889, Jane Beskers in 1896, and Evert himself in 1910. They were all buried at Hartman Cemetery in Wilson Township, a small family cemetery where other descendants and in-laws also found their final resting place.
