The Flemish in Wisconsin: De Vlamingen in Wisconsin

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The Flemish In Wisconsin - -· ..

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by Jeanne and Les Rentmeester

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De, Vlaming1e n In Wisc·o nsin

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 88·090775

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by Jeanne and Les Rentmeester

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PUBLISHED BY~ Howard-Suamico Historical Society, Inc. 605 Maywood Avenue Green Bay, :Wisconsin 54303

First printing 1985 Second printing 1988 Third printing 2010

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

©. 1985 Jea~ne and Les RenLmeester ©. 2010 Howard-S uamico Historica l Society

Direct correspondence to: Howard -Suamico Historical Societ y, Inc. 605 Maywood Avenue Green Bay, Wisconsin 54303 www.hshistoricalsociety.org

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We recived help from many people during the writing of this story. Our Flemish cousin in Belgium, Jules Rentmeesters, f urnished us with information from European sources which we never could have obtained otherwise. He has spent many years of research for his book, RENTMEESTERS, which traces the family back through recorded h.istory, thus he is familiar with all of the sources of data used in this type of a study. He was bitten by the genealogy bug when he helped to trace Flemish roots for American researchers. t:""\.

-

As you can see from the many names listed below, a large number of people sent us fami ly histories or helped us in other ways in writing this book. We are grateful to them for their enthusiasm and support. Because so many people did offer to help , we may have missed someone inadvertently. If so, we offer our humble apologies. Gertrude Allen Sister Mary Arnold Sylvia Gilling Benham Joyce A. Boehm Minnie Allen Boehm Florence Wery Brown Dr. Dolores Bultinck, Moline,

IlL

Margaret Buntin Florence Laes Burrows Lucille Engels Busch Robert J. Busch Carole Cathersal. Seattle, Wash. Mrs. Clement (Virginia) Collard Rev. Robert J. Cornell , O. Praem. Marie Coppens Crabb Mrs. Clarence Cropp Dianne Mommaerts De Both Gladys Willems De Coster Mary P..nn Defnet Pam De Grand Mary Larnal De Greef Mrs. James (Amelia) De Keyser George De Leers Rev. Vincent De Leers Zita and Jake De Leers Edna Rentmeester Delfosse Vi.ckie De Main Rev. Karel Denys. Detroi t D:i.ane De Vroy Dan De Witt, Kaukauna

Henry Dictus Jean and Mark Dobereiner, Wauwautosa Rev. Jean Ducat, Belgium Margaret Poels Duchateau Ruby Williquette Dunks Micheline Gaudette, Holyoke, Mass. Marian Gould, Univ. of Wis/Green Bay

Norbert E. Greatens Patricia Huisman Hansen Joanne Phillips Hansford Irene Nicks Hanson Mary Jane Herber, Brown Co. Lib. Dorothy VanGheem Hoffman, Menasha Fabian Horkman Wayne Huisman Betty Rioux Jerry Sharon Peters Karow Lois Kerin, Green Bay Press-Gazette Ann Kesler Mildred Crabb Kl i me k Helen Vanderwegen Klubertanz Robert G. Kornowski Catherine Van Ark Krausert Josephin e Brunette Lafever Clifford Lamal Raymond Lamal Vada Lantz, Tecumseh, Kansas Col. Norman Le Mere (U.S.A., Ret.) Regina Vervaeren Le Mere

Susan Lemere Eleanor Lindsley Sister Brideen Long , Archivist. Diocese of Green Bay

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS continued. Evelyn Massanet Lorraine Mommaer ts Massey Godelieve Mathijs, Heverlee, Belgium John H. Mer tens, Kewaunee Harol d Miller, Wis. Hist. Soc. Marie Motiff Miller Mrs. Joan Mulliga n Catherine Basteyns Myers Mrs. Glen (Lorrai ne) Naze Margaret 0 1 Leary Nemetz Mrs. Al (Mae) Netols Margaret Crabbe Nickodem Dr. Ken Nockerts Eli zabeth Olson. Howard (Wis) Library Roger Paeps, St . Joris - Weert, Belgium Mrs. Arch ie (Arleen) Pamperin Bruce K. Paulson, Suri ng, Wis. Carl Pansaer ts, Walshouten, Belgium Eileen O'Leary Peters Mabel Phi 11 ips Mrs. Anthony (Dolores) Pierquet Clarence Pierquet Joseph Pierquet Mrs . Cla rence (Evelyn) Peels Joyce Huben Powers Madeline Brunette Prestine Myrtle Tilkens Pri ngle Donald L. Quatsoe Tom Rei tz . Univ. of Wis/Green Bay Elizabe th Hof f man Remick Del la Ren ier Victoria Ronsmans Reni er Mrs. Anton (Gladys ) Rentmaster Sister Andrea Rentmeester,CSJ Hubert A. Rentmeester Kenneth R. Rentmeester Myrtle Gonion Ren t meester Norbert and Mary (Loy) Re nt mees ter Raymond F. a nd Rita (Marte) Rentrneester Ruth Rentmeester, St. John the Baptist Church. Vill age of Howard. Wis.

Marion Ren tmeester Ripp Ronal d Rodaer Margaret Roets-Pattyn, Genealogy Soc. of Flemish-Americans,Detro it Joan Roskom

Pauline Nys Roskom Fern Brunette Schaaf

Beverly De Witt Schmirler Rosella Leitermann Sconzert Mrs . Milton (Rosell a) Sorenson Lil lian Swaerts Steeno Jan Vander Linden Strei Earl Vanden Avond Edmund Vanden Busch Donald A. Vander Kelen Carl Vande Walle Mar garet Hussin Van Erem Frances Wallenfan g Van Hoof Henry A. Verslype, Mishawaka. Ind. Beatr ice Rentmeester Weidner Joyce Verstoppen Weye nberg Anthony and Berni ce (Lannoye) Williams Edna Willi quette Frances Williquette Mae Williquette Gordon A. Wolf, Willard. Wis. Jessie Wood Ray Wouters Made line Van Ark Wright Gertrude Sinclair Yarberry, Chul a Vista, Cal. We also want to thank the pastors and of f ice staffs of the various parishes where we obtained research material. We are grateful fo r the gracious and courteous assistance that they extended to us: Holy Martyrs of Gorcum St . John the Baptist St. J o hn the Evangelist SS. Peter and Paul St. (.Ji 11 ebrord s and the A1-chives Office the Di ocese of Gree n Bay .

of

** * * **** * * * ** * * *

Jean R. Rentmeister, Fon d du

Lac Rev. Robert E. Rhyner

ii

PREF A CE

While researching some for ~ ·

our

book,

Brown County,

Memories Of Old Duck Cr eek,

Wisconsin

records

we were surprised to

find that over one-fourth of ·the early families living in that Later, as we continued our area during 1860-1880 were Flemish. res,e.arch,

we

found

other are as.

This,

similar

percentages

to quote

from

Al ice

of

Flemish

famil:i. es

In Wonderland,

in

made us

-"curiouser and curiouser'' about the Flemish settlements in Wisconsin. · To many people, the Flem i sh are a small and relatively unknown group. Quite often, when the name is heard, one thinks of the famous Flemish painters or of the poem, In Flanders Fields, which was so popu lar during the First World-War period.

Bay,

Some people who were raised in the area eas t of Green which was almost solidly Flemish, remember a culture that

in retrospect, was unique and special.

They remember, for instance:

hearing the Flemish language used widely in the area. Andrew W. Rentmees ter and Anna Vander Kelen Rentmeester (parents of author Les Rentmeester) both spoke Flemish befor e they spoke English, although their parents came to Wisconsin around 1856 . the wooden shoes. f'Jany of the children wore wooden shoes for the first two generations of Flemish-Americans. (Anna Vander Kelen Rentmeester wore them. ) the celebrations. The Flemish brought thei r customs over with them, such as the visit from Saint Nickolas who was called Sinterklas s; the long Kermis celebration; the pensenkermis, etc., thus retaining their identity as an ethnic group for some time. the ethnic pride. The Flemish didn't think of the ms elves as Belgi ans. When asked where their folks came from, t hey generally gave the name of the province, e.g., Brabant. (Many of the early Flemish settlers were born before the Kingdom of Belgium was established.) the commons ,

a cow pasture.

Joannes Park in Green Bay was named for

iii

. ~

a prosperous Flemish f amily and was used by the p eopl e of Green Bay years ago, as a commons. to provide pasture for their cows in the s ummertime. When asked t h e reason for this, . Andrew Rentmeester answered , "That's the way the y did it in the Old Country."

: -.

the s tories. Talk abo u t the "Ol d Country" - Flanders - was a common subj ec t of discussion . The questi on was often asked, "When are you going to visit the Old Country?" Many did. However, many were li ke the Vanden Bernes, who responded, "Never!" Their memories were still vivid of the severe storms at sea, the b r oken masts, the fights over food, the cooking and sanitation conditions that were suffered enroute. the use of patronyxns. addressed, year s ·ago, by the father's f irst name )

Andrew Rentmeester and other Flemi sh men were their patronym (the person' s fir st name a nd

the Flemish pastors. A parish pri e st, who was a graduate of t he Flemish University at Louvain*, sowed ambitions in the minds of his massservers to go to The University Of Louva in. Pari s h Priests gave sermons in Flemish to congregations at St. John the Baptist, Holy Martyrs of GorCU'!J\, St. Willebrords and other churches u ntil the turn of the century.

The memories of the ear ly Flemish se ttlers in Wisconsin are fading and it is difficult to find many of their de scendants who still speak the Flemish language. immigrants came o ver

The last wave of Flemish

just before the First World War.

They were

esc orted to the trai n-station in Be lgium, often to the mus ic of the local band, and they were given a hearty welcome by their re latives

as

they arrived safely on

this side of

the

Atlantic.

Those who hol d the memories of these exciting times are disappearing from the scene. Thus, we are writing a history of those people to record the Flemi sh stories before they are lost forever . The American

melt ing pot homogen izes the vari ous cultures in such a way that . the uniqueness, c ustoms, language and characteristics of each ethnic group

is

soon gone and

left

on l y

to history.

Al though

many stories have been written in the past about the Walloon Belgians, we have seen only a few accounts written about the Flemish. In particular,

we tried to collec t

anecdotes from those

*This is the French spell ing , the Flemish spell it Leuven.

iv

n

who remember what it was like to be Flemish in new Ameri can surroundings. . We have combined these interviews with the data from official records and hi s torical data in an effort to produce a readable, interesting narrative. In order to keep the ~tory from becoming too long, we have tried to limit the content to events that occurred before 1900. Readers were invi ted, through the media, to gj.ve us comments, additions a nd corrections in order to make this Flemish history more accurate and complete. The response was overwhelming. Scores of people haye provided us wit h fami l y histories. anecdotes, mass-cards, photographs and other treasures . We hope that we have done justice to the Flemi sh heritage which we share with these wonderful people. This story is dedicated to all of those ~lerni sh pioneers who have contributed to this country's greatness and in particular to Anna Theresa Vander Kelen and Andrew William Rentmeester .

* * * * * * • * * * * * ** * * *** * * * * *

-----·

··-·- ....- --·-··· ..

A FLEMISH CUSTOM

--·----- ...

· :.-.:-.·· ·- -- -- Th e traditional Flemish brea kfast on Christmas morn i n g .... -·--··· ... (pork· sausage) and was pensen , . - - -... ··-- - ·s moutebollen (ra ised doughnuts). The srnoutebollen were fried in deep, hot fat in a cast- iron _.__.....,---· ----- kettle on the old wood stove . ~~Ii~~~~-~ Children were fascina ted as they watched each doughnut flip itself over when one side was cooked; then, after the doughnuts had been placed on a platter to cool, the youngsters waited impatiently --~ '-''--

_____ ---·-·- -

..

!!~~~~~~~~~~~ - fo to.r

1

------

the off delicious small cakes cool enough to be eaten. There were many Flemish families from Holland in Wisconsin. Their name for raised doughnuts was fastnachts or fees tnachts.

v

.~ -

L I S.T

OF

FIGURES

Page Figure Number 5 1. Flemish Immigrants To Brown County, Wisconsin------10 2. Map of Belgium The Lion Of Flanders

4.

5. 6.

Watermolen - W a t e r m i l l - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18 Villages In The Dyle V a l l e y - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21 Home Villages In Brabant Province, Belgium, Of Some Early

7. 8.

Flemish Families 26 Cross-Section Of The Ship 27 Part Of Title Page "Guide And Consultant For Emigrants,, - - 27

9. 10.

Vander Kelen Stone Bottles Vanden Borne Irrunigrant Trunk

28 29

11.

34

36

13.

Steerage Compartment Sailing Ship Part of 1856 Passenger List - - - · - - - -- - - --

14.

Castle Garden Emigrant Landing D e p o t - - - - -

39

15.

22.

40 View Of New York Harbor Transferring B a g g a g e - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - 42 1851 Milwaukee Advertisements---------------- 44 45 Advertisement For Daguerreian Gallery Steamboat Advertisement 45 1857 View Of Washington Street In Green Bay, Wisconsin~~ 50 Scraping Tool 51 Surveyor's Bench-Mark 55

23. 24.

Verloren Land Old Style House In Flanders

57 60

25.

Pottowatami Arrow And Spear Heads

61

26.

Mary Watermolen's Wampum Belt The Indian Hole Shingle Bench Maple Tree Tap

62

70

31.

Boiling Maple Sap Well Sweep - ... - -.

71 73

32.

Cradling Gra.in---- -

33.

Christopher Watermolen's Citizenship Papers - - - - - - - - 7 5

34.

Donati' s Comet----·- - -- -·----- - - · - - - - - -- - -- -

12.

16.

17. 18.

19. 20. 21.

27.

28. 29.

30.

F

15

3.

vii

37

62

67

77

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

Page

iii vii 1 FLANDERS FROM

10

FLANDERS TO WISCONSIN

LIFE IN THE NEW W O R L D - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - -- - -

23

47

THE FLEMISH SETTLEMENTS 49 THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD 80 THE POST WAR PERIOD 91 TOWARD THE END OF THE CENTURY - - - · - -- - - - - -- - - - 100 THE LAST PHASE OF THE M I G R A T I O N - - - - - - - - - - - - 111 THE

RELIGION OF THE FLEMISH-AMERICANS - - - - - - - - -- - ------------------~

122

~-------------------

136

------------------~

143

FLEMISH-AMERICAN COOKING SOME FLEMISH STORIES

116

EARLY FLEMISH FAMILIES

REFERENCES - - ---···-·- . . ---..- --..- -- - - - ·- - - - - -- - -- - - 395 INDEX -------·~-------------------APPENDIX A.

405

FLEMISH COMMUNITY CATHOLIC PRI ESTS - - - - -- - A-1

n

INTRODU CTION

-

In

t he Royal Art Museum at Antwerp,

Belgium,

there

a famous painting of Flemish emigrants by Eugeen Laermans}

is

titled

De Landve rhuizers (The Emigrants), .which s hows a determined, unsmi ling horde of people with their fac es turned toward Antwerp and t he promise of the New World. a lmost desperately poor,

They all

the port of look poor,

with many in t h eir f a rn i 1 iar wooden-shoes

a nd one man is even walking barefoot,

carrying his l eather shoes

to make them last longer. The women are wearing sombre clothes, with kerchiefs and shaw ls o n t heir heads, t h e nondescri pt coats and

trousers

of

the

men

are

patched

and

the

littl e

girl s

wear

bonnets and aprons.

One man in wooden shoes has a p a ir of lea ther

shoes

h is

dangling

from 2

neck by

their

laces,

dog on a leash. This painting reflects of the Flemish migrat ion to Amer ica.

and has a

l ittle

the mood and character

The first prominent Flemish person to come to the Wisconsin area was Father Louis Hennepin,

a Fran c :lscan Recollect friar .

wh o was a me mber of the La Salle expedition of 1679. Father Hennepi n is best known for his discove ry of the upper Mississippi River and Minnesota and he spent but little time in Wisco nsin.3 in Minnesota and a townsh i p in Il 1 i no is are na med his honor. Father Hennepi n recorded i n h is Journa l met three fur -traders in Wisconsin who were F lemish.

A county

Hennep in

in

that he had

These fur - traders were probably descendents of the early Flemish pioneers who settled in t he New York area in 1624, ing the voyages of Henry Hudson.

The fou nd er of the Wes t

follow Indian

Company, which sponsored the settleme n t, was a Fleming named Will iam Usselinx. One of these settlers, Michael de Pauw, bought

1

Staten

Island,

New York;

Hoboken,

New Jersey; and Jersey City, The father of Peter Minu it, New Jersey for a basket of trinkets.

governor of the colony, was from Ohain, Brabant Province. The son of a F lem ing father and a Mohawk I nd ian mother became a famous Indian chief, known as THE FLEMISH BASTARD, who was a leader in the hostilities waged by the Iroquois Indians against the French and Algonquins, 1666,

starting around 1630.

Around

he moved his tribe to Montreal and sued for peace with the

fo'rench~

His people became involved in the fur-trade i n Wisconsin;

for instance, in 1686, a trading expedition was sent ·(to Michigan a nd Wisconsin) by the "flemings and the English of New York . 115 Flemish soldiers served in the Revolutionary Army under George Washington. Charles De Pauw from Ghent, Belgium, accompanied

La Fayette

a genera l

De Pauw,

to America

to

help

in Washington's army.

the

Americans;

(His grandson, Washington Charles

was the originator of plate-glass manufacturing and gave

his name to De Pauw University in Indiana.) in

the

he served as

Revolutionary

War

were

Van

Other Flemish officers

Gaesbeeck

and

two

Van Etten

brothers. Small col on ies of Flemish famili es appeared on the East Coast,

starting

near

Massachusetts,

Vermont

came

eastern

from

the

New

York

and

City,

with

Pennsylvania.

provinces

of

other Most

Belgium,

settlements of

near

these

in

people

Antwerp,

the

seaport that beckoned adventurous souls to explore the New World. There was communication between these Flemish groups and some of them la ter moved to join other Flemish groups. As an example, the Town of New Flanders was established in Elk County, Pennsylvania in 1846 by a colony of Flemish families who were sponsored, jointly,

by

the

Belgian

government

and

a

private

entrepreneur. 6

When t he business of the community became unprofitable, the farnilies left for other settlements. There were a number of communities of this type in Pennsylvania; the Heyrman brothers tried two

of

them

in

1855

before

becoming

2

discouraged

and

moving

on

7 to Wisconsin. One of the projects that t hey worked on was the clearing of a large tract of land near Wilkes-Barre, just west of

the

Susquehanna

River,

for

to sponsor a Flemish colony;

an

American

firm

which

intended

there were probably many such burst-

bal loons in an era of wild land speculation. In

1833,

two

Flemish

priests

arrived

eleven skilled workers to serve as mi ssionar i e s

in

Detroit

with the

with

I nd ians

a nd t hi s was the start of a large and thriving Flemish settlement. 8 The

first

Flemish

priest

ordained

in

America

was

Florimond

J.

Bonduel, who was born in Komen and studied in Roeselare, West Flanders, where most of the Detroit Flemish originated. Father Bonduel h ad an outstanding career; he became one of t he fi rst pastors of a Green Bay Catholic church in 1838 and served Green Bay

parishioners and Menominee A Flemish

1841,

a n d,

1843,

he still

letters

bi s hop,

Indians unti 1 his death

Paul

Lefevere,

although Green Ba y was no longer

back

came

to

in

1861 .

Detroit

in his diocese after

had great infl uence on Flemish immigration .

to

Belgium

have

careful

in

instructions

to

His

travelers

regarding how much to pay for goods and services and wh i ch trains a nd boats should be taken from New York to Detroit. He helped to

establish

the

American

College

at

the

F lem ish

University

of

Louvain, which was to provide so many priests f or American missionary work. Flemis h

i mmigrants

trickled

westward

f rom

Detroi t

the records show several com ing to Green Bay every year, in

1845,

but most were

trans ients .

A Flemish family

and

starting headed

by

Charles De Srnedt settled in Wiscon sin in 1844 and sent optimistic letters back to Flanders. 9 In 1847, a Fleming by the name of Ca llewaerts bough t

land and s ettl ed in northern Outagamie County.

It is like ly that this fam il y, plus other Flemish newcomers, were part of the migrat ion of Ho llanders to the area . By 1849, some Flemish fa m.i.lies were reported in Wrigh tstown, which is located in southern Brown County _ lo

Young 3

Flemish

men,

like

Gu illaume

Horkmans,

scouted the area before returning to Flanders

to br i ng

their famil i es to America. The Flemings, as we shall see l ater, spoke a Dutch pato i s t here

were

Flemish

families

living

in

Holland

who

migrated;

other Flemings were related to the Dutch Catholics from North Brabant, Holland and to the Dutch refugees who settled in Flanders. 11 Many of these Hollanders heard about Wisconsin fro m Father Vanden Broek who came to Little Chute in 1834, to minister to the Menominee Indians. In 1847, he returned to Amsterdam and wrote an open letter,

which was

circulated

throughout

Holland,

offer i ng

homes

and employment on the Fox River water way for four hundred families 12 at Little Chute. By 1850, eleven hundred and fifty-seven Dutch i mm igrants had come to the Wisconsin area and they were spreading nort h, up the Fox River to Green Bay and Bay Settlement . The German immigran ts also influenced the Flemish newcomers because they could understand each other's language and some 13 of the familie s knew each other i n Europe. The first ten German fa mi lies arrived in 1842;

by 1845,

there were German settlements

at "Der Faenger " on what is now the Finger Road and at New Franken. 14 Starting around

1850,

the

Flemish,

Germans

and

a

sprinkling of

Hollanders moved eastward from Green Bay until they found a land to their liking; there they started small farms. 15 The Flemish-Dutch immigration was also spurred by pamphlets in t h ei r language. which were financed by t he State of Wisconsin.

The

State

Legisla ture,

shortly

after

the

1848 statehood,

had authoriz ed this advertising campaign i n Eur o pe,

offering cheap

l and to immigrants.

In 1851 and 1852, the number of Flemish com i ng 16 to Brown County increased. I n 1851, another Flemish prie s t, the

Reverend Edward Daems of Schaffen,

Belgi um,

was

assigned to

the Bay Settlement church. He spent 185 2 at Little Chute, was reassigned to Bay Settlement . In

1853,

Walloon

neighbors 4

of

the

Flemish

in

t hen

Brabant

I""'\

read the Dutch-Flemish pamphlet concerning t h e cheap land in Wisconsin and joi ned the migration,

which resulted in the large Bel-

gian

Wisconsin.

settlement

in

northeastern

The

largest

number

of Flemish came to

the Green Bay area in the years 1855 through

1857,

with another

large

there

was

of

a

surge

group emigrat i ng around 1870,

newcomers

towards

the

end

of

and

then

t he century

- as shown in the followin g graph: Figure 1.

FLEMISH IMMIGRANTS TO BROWN COUNTY, WISCONSIN.

-

200 Number of Flem ish Households.

100

·----

1850

SOURCE:

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

Year of Immigration.

Intent To Be Naturalized applications filed by Flemish l.mmigrants. The numbers shown

in

the graph only go up

1914, when immigration stopped almost completely .

to the year

The above graph

can only furnis h a rough guide as to total number of Flemish immigrants

because:

(1)

almost no women filed

many of the older people never applied; errors made during the filing process. 17

and,

for citizenship;

(2)

(3) there were many

The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives the following figures on over a 11 migration:

"Al together, Belgian immigration

from 1820 to 1910 reached about 104,000;

5

fro m 1910 to 1950, about

62,000;

a nd since 1950 to 1976, about 10,000 - our present modest

quota of

1,350

is usually never filled."

About

135,000 of

the

Be lgi an newcomers were Flemish and most of this g roup (111, 864) 18 came during the 1882-1924 cycle of immigra tion . Wisconsin received many of

the Flemish-speaking

rural-type

immigrants during

the first cyc l e of resettlement, but later new-comers were artisans and industrial workers, most of whom went to other Flemish settlements i n America. In 1860, the United States Census recorded 4,647 Belgians in Wisconsin. 19 This figure is much lower than unofficial estimates from other sources. The Boston Pilot newspaper reported that

Father

spent two

Daems

years

returned

to

in Belgium,

Green

and

Bay

that

in

12, 000

1856,

after he had

Belgians came

with

him.

Another author says that an esti mated 15, 000 Belgians came 20 to Wisconsin before 1856. Our resear ch reveals that about 19% of the Brown County popu l ation of approx i ma tely 12, 000 in 1860, were Flemish,

with the greatest concentrations in Humboldt

(52%;

Bellevue (33%), Eaton (28%), Howard (27%) and Preble (17%). By contained

1 870,

the

according

largest

to

official

statistics ,

Wisconsin

Belgian

population in the United States 21 Wisconsin had the third at 4,8 04; next was Illinois with 1,076. l argest Dutch population, with 5, 900 . Both the Flemis h and their Hollander cousins were mostly farm peopl e ,

.l i.ving outside of

the

cities. There Civil

War,

was

some

out-migration

from Wisconsin

largely to Flemish settlements

in states

after

the

to the West

and in Superior, Wiscons in . There were large groups of Flemish settlers in the southern counties of Minnesota, fol lowed by the Ghent colony in 1880 and the Crosier Fathers' settlemen t in 1905. 2 2 Large numbers Illinois

from

of

Flemings

came

to

the provinces of East and West

the heartland of lace-making.

Chicago and Moline , Flanders,

\·Jh ic h

is

It is esti mated that twelve thousand

6

people of Belgian birth and origin live in western Illinois.

23

The

first group to arrive in the 1850s were farmers; the larger group, which came around the turn of the century, were artisans and smallbusiness types simila r

to those who settled in Wisconsin at that

time. The Flemish people of Mishawaka, in significant numbers around 1875. 24

Indiana started coming

They

are

predominantly

from East Flanders and make up about eighteen percent of the population. A second Flemish settlement at South Bend, Indiana, has produced sever al prominent people. There the nation: Ontario; Los

are

other

scattered

Flemish communities around What Cheer, Iowa; Eton County, Michigan; Delphi, Angeles, Ca lifornia; San Antonio, Texas; St. Mary

Settlement, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; etc. There were several Flemish newspapers ava i lable nat i onw i de, such as De Volksstem of De Pere, Wisconsin; Gazette Van Moline and the Gazette Van Detroit; the last one, a weekly, is now the only jlemish language 25 newspaper. There are also several e nthusiastic genealogy societies which do research on Flemish family trees : Researchers in Holyoke, Massachusetts which Laces, edited by Miche line Gaudette; ( 2) The of

Flemish

Flemish

Americans

American

in

Detroit,

1-Ieri tage

Michigan,

(Margare t

Area Genea l ogy Society i n Green Bay,

C1)

The Belgian publishes Belgian Genealogy Society

which

publishes

the

Roets,

Secretary); (3) Bay Wisconsin (Mary Ann Def net,

Newsletter Edi tor), which publishes the Gems Of Genealogy; and (4) Center for Belgian Culture, Mol i ne, Illinois, where the Gazette Van Moline was published Consul of Belgi um). The Flemings for several generations,

(Dr.

Dolor es

in America have

Bultinck,

President

tended to live

and

in groups

yet contributed their part to the social,

econom i c, and political sectors o f American life. They became government officials, lawye rs , doctors, f armers, priests, saloonkeepers,

bakers,

-

pra cti c all y any occupation that can be named.

7

Wisconsin inventors produced the lawn-mower and "Strike-Anywhere" match; other Fl e mi ngs invented the electric trolley -car, designed and built the Panama Canal, provided the head Archeologist at the Smithson ian Institution, and treated the l epers at Molokai. 26 One of the Flemish-American c hemists, inventor acid and amber;

of bakel i te,

wh ich

formaldehyde

this was

is a

used as

a

Leo Baekeland,

Dr.

chemical

was the

synthesis of carbol i c

substitute for h ard

the start of the plas tics industry.

rubber and One of the

authors of this story probably owes his li fe to another FlemishAmerica n

inventor,

Father

Jul ius

Nieuwland

of

Notre

Dame,

who

invented neoprene (sy ntheti c rubber). During 194 3, the Flying Fortress that Le s was piloting over Germany was hit by a string of cann on shel ls

from

a

Messerschmi tt

fi ghter.

One or more of

the shel ls exploded in the gasoline t a nks inside the left wi ng of the aircraft, which instantly became a wall of fla me. However, the

tanks

were

lined 1.-1ith self-sealing

neoprene

and

in several

minu tes, the tanks quit leaking, the fire wen t out and the aircraft made it safely back to the friendly coast of England. In

th is

i ntroduc tion

we

have

discussed

the

background

of the Flemish immigration to Wisconsin. Next, we wi 11 look at the homeland of Flanders to find out more about its people and why

they

made

surroundings. World,

the

this Then,

probl e ms

momentous we that

wi 11 were

decision

to

describe

t heir voyage

encountered

their a dventures in their new environment. study is came,

to fin d out more abou t

this

how they dealt with problems,

leave during

thei r to

the

the

Ne w

trip,

a nd

The objective of this

group of people,

and,

familiar

in gener al,

1r1hy they

what makes

In doing thi s study, we followe d unusual a nd ~ CLOTI-IING S'l'ORE,;

~.£>JEUIBIT£®Jm M~F&lilllmo

&=3

220 East Water-St, (six dours below U. S. Hotel,) MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

Coni;lc.ntly on hnnd

One two Horse Buggies, Rockaways, &c., &c.1

Cloths, Cassi.meres, Sati.netta1 Vestings, Hendk'fs, Shirts, &c.,

Also for snlo, all kinds of

Cheaper \hon at any other E1t.abli1hment in town.

HARD WOOD LUMBER, Suitable for Carriages nnd Waggons. All kinds of BEN7 STuFP-bcnt Fclocs, bent Thills, Buggy and Waggon Bows; also, Hob~ of e~·ery description. ·

Figure 17.

-~ \l.J

I j,

Garmonts mado to order, in tho beat style, and w11rrllnted lo fit.

REMEMBER. 120, EAST WATER STREET.

1851 Milwaukee Advertisements.

There were many parts of the 1851 Guide To Wiscorisi.n that were similar to the Belgian Emigrant· s Guide. It advised newcomers to get out into the country i mmediately to look for acreage. (Real estate agents provided free transportation.) The smallest quantity of land sold by t he government was forty acr es, priced at 5 sh ill ings s terling per acre (one shilling = two-b its ). The steamboat schedu les and fares to Buffalo and points in-between are given. It \varns about the sharks and thieves i n

44

'""''

New York City. It explains the Constitution and laws of naturalization, stating incorrectly that without naturalization, the emigrant has no power to hold or convey real estate or property. m· ~

Figure 18. Advertisement for Daguerreian Gallery. In Milwaukee, many of the immi grants saw a photography studio for the first time. They were intrigued by this new "American'' invention which was actually created by Louis Daguerre in France.

tfilo

LA @ lliJ

[ID

~~Q)~Nf!l~

@ 00. [Fa @ 0IA

mJ

GALLERY. ... ... No. 199 & 201 East Water-St., Milwaukee. H. S. IlRO \YN has operato~~

Equnl to any in the WorhJ-Loktttu:t:. Warra111td.

PICTURES PU'r UP IN THE LATEST STYLES OF CASES. Gold Lockds always for Sale.

TO OPERATORS. Initrumcnt.•, Plate!', C!l! floured b oard and cut with a doughnut cutter. Fry in hot fa t (375 ) un til do ne. 132

FLEMISH DES SERTS (VLAAMS E NAGE RECHT EN)

The delicious Belgian pie, which bas a combination of prune and cottage-cheese filling, was never a Flemish dish, accord ing to Flemish-Amer ican cooks. This was confirmed in a letter from Jules Rentmeesters of Belgium, who wrote t hat ''at Kermis , nearly every family made up to thirty white (cheese) and black (prune) pies. 11

PRUNE FILLING (PRUIMENVULLING) Two cups mashed, stewed prunes One tablespoon lemon juice One-half cup of sugar One-eighth teaspoon salt Three egg whites One-half teaspoon nutmeg Beat the egg whites and salt unti 1 stiff, add the sugar s lowly, then fo ld the egg whites into the prunes. Fil l the pieshel 1 and sprinkle the nutmeg and l emon over the top. Bake at 350° for twenty minutes or unt i l set.

CHEESE FILLING (KAASVULLING) Disso lve one cup of s ugar in one-half cup of cream. Add: Four bea ten eggs One teaspoon vanilla Three tabl espoons of flour One-fourth teaspoon salt Three pints of dry cottage c h eese Fi 11 the pie-shell and sprinkle nutmeg and brown sugar over the top . Bake at 350° for about one hour .

RICE POP (PAPE AU RI Z OR RI JSTPAP) Often called Papa Ree by of their favorite des serts .

the youngs ters,

this was one

Two cups of rice One st ick cinnamo n Six cups of milk Two cups o f brown s ugar Pinch of saffron Put t he rice in the milk with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a bo il, then simmer until rice is very soft. Add a strong p inch of saffron and pour i nto plates to cool. Sprinkle with brown sugar. This was a good way to use up milk wh i ch had the cream skimmed off.

BREAD-PUDDING (BROODPUDD ING) 13. White Erea.d·pudd.ing

I

- ~~~ ·

Bread- pudd i ng was an k .d • • other popular dt::.ssert and al l owed 1 F~rthLS, ta.kefour_ouocesofbutter, threem1\k-ro11ssoa ·e . "' , in milk, and from which the crUBt baa been removed, an onnce 1 the housekeeper to get rid of a.ndaho.lfofsnga.r oneounccof stoned raisinse.nd.fiveeggs. 1 stale bread. Here's a typical First stir the butter, gnduO:lly, with the yelks or the egS", recipe from Angeline Vande n to a froth, then mix this well with the bread, which ha.s b~en f • 8 60 k well squeezed out, the ·augar and the'e-drncf