History of Hendrick Jan Somsen (1801 – 1862) & Johanna Berendina Rensik (1811 – 1863)

1. Hendrick Jan Somsen (1801 – 1862) &
Johanna Berendina Rensik (1811 – 1863)
Keith Somsen’s Great Grandparents on his Father’s Side
NETHERLANDS
The flag of the Netherlands is a horizontal tricolor of red, white, and
blue.
It harks back to Charlemagne's time. Variants of the flag have been in use
since 1572 and in 1937 the flag was officially formalized as the national
flag of the Netherlands and of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is the
oldest tricolor flag.
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/dutch-treat
Lay of the land
The Kingdom of the Netherlands (literally, “lowlands”) lies on the North Sea in the northwestern corner of
Europe. The Netherlands is roughly twice the size of New Jersey, and a quarter of it lies below sea level. The
country has 12 provinces, but the two most populous—North and South Holland—include the national capital
(Amsterdam), the governmental seat (The Hague) and the largest port in the world (Rotterdam). Perhaps
because the Holland’s existed as a single province until the 1840s, the Netherlands is still commonly (and
mistakenly) referred to as “Holland.” The remaining provinces are less populated.
Tides of history
The Netherlands has a long history of relationship issues with its neighbors—and not just those next door,
Germany and Belgium. In the 1500s, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V ruled the Dutch
territory. His insistence on all things Catholic prompted William of Orange to lead a Protestant rebellion in
1568, and in 1579, the Netherlands declared its independence.
A golden age followed in the 1600s. The Netherlands dominated on the sea, in financial markets and even in the
art world. Amsterdam quadrupled in population and became a major port. The Dutch East and West India
Companies expanded Dutch influence globally—including to the New Netherlands in North America.

2. Eventually the Dutch spread themselves too thin, and their influence waned abroad and at home. The French
occupied the weakened country in the early 1800s; Napoleon set up a puppet government with his brother at the
helm. When Europe reorganized itself under the Congress of Vienna, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
was born. The Netherlands regained independence and received the consolation prizes of Belgium and
Luxembourg. (Belgium escaped Dutch rule in 1830; Luxembourg broke off in 1839.)
The Netherlands remained neutral and free during World War I, but wasn’t so lucky during World War II.
During a five-year occupation by Nazi Germany, nearly 280,000 Netherlanders died, and a third of the victims
were Jews. (Anne Frank wrote her famous diary in Amsterdam.) The country was physically and economically
devastated, and the Dutch left by the boatful for many destinations, including the United States.
Immigrant waves
Dutch immigration to the United States waxed and waned. Three high-water marks were the 17th-century
commercial expansion, the immigration free-for-all of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and an influx following
World War II.
In the early to mid-1600s, the Netherlands’ colonization efforts included a region along the Hudson and
Delaware River valleys in what’s now New York state. New Netherland came to include a Dutch outpost on
Manhattan Island known as New Amsterdam.
New Netherland grew slowly, by modern standards. Its settlers were merchants drawn by commercial
opportunities, and the “tired and poor”: religious refugees, the rural poor, orphans and the unemployed.
About 40 years into its history, New Netherland had a population of about 7,000 Dutch (and 3,000 others).
When England conquered the region in 1664, New Netherland became New England; New Amsterdam became
New York. But the Dutch colonists remained—and multiplied. Their descendents followed rivers and newly
blazed trails west through New York and Pennsylvania, and south through New Jersey to Maryland. By the
1790 census, 100,000 Americans claimed Dutch ancestry; 80 percent of them still lived within 50 miles of New
York City.
Dutch immigration picked up again in the 19th century
(1801 – 1900). A quarter-million working-class families,
mostly from rural areas, entered the United States in the
mid-1800s. It began with a trickle of families and
individuals in the 1830s, lured by the promise of prosperity.
By the mid-1840s, the Dutch were arriving en masse—
entire neighborhoods and congregations. They came in
response to a potato crop failure, in religious dissent from
the Dutch Reformed Church (particularly Jews, Roman
Catholics and Secedes), and inspired by the example of
neighboring German group migrations. Many of these Dutch
communities put down their US roots inland, in Holland,
Mich;, Pella, Iowa; and Wisconsin’s Fox River Valley.

3. Hendrick Jan Somsen (1801 – 1862) &
Johanna Berendina Rensik (1811 – 1863)
Keith Somsen’s Great Grandparents on his Father’s Side
1800’s Netherlands 1851 Sheboygan
Hendrick Jan Somsen (1801 – 1862)
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jsomsen&id=I575
Birth: 15 JAN 1801, Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands
Death 28 Oct 1862, Gibbsville, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Married: 12 May 1837, Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands
Johanna Berendina Rensik (1811 – 1863)
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jsomsen&id=I576
Birth: 24 JAN 1811, Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands,
Death 1863 Probably Wisconsin

4. http://southeastgelre.com/old-st-helens-church/
Dutch Reformed Church, St. .Helena, Aalten, NETHERLANDS
Old St Helen’s Church
Sits in the centre of Aalten, on the main road, on an elevated site, overlooking the town square. The tower,
made from stone imported from the Eiffel region in Germany, was built in the 12th century. The oldest known
record of the existence of a church dates from 1152. The church itself was uilt in stages throughout the 15th
century, when the tower was heightened. Inside the church many frescos were painted on walls and ceiling, only
to be covered over after the reformation.
CHILDREN
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jsomsen&id=I575&style=TABLE
1- Jan Willem Somsen 1839-1909 Born: Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands.
2- Elisabeth Somsen 1843- 1924) Born: Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands
3- Gareet Jan Somsen 1842-1912 Born: Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands
4- Arent Jan (Aaron John) Somsen 1848-1930 Born: Aalten, Gelderland, Netherlands
MARRIED Antonia or Jane Grooteboer
5- Henry John Somsen 1852-1936 Born: Oostburg, Sheboygan Co., Wisconsin
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http://www.somsen.org/Reunions/Reunion1997Aalten/pictures/npaper05.html
http://genealogytrails.com/wis/sheboygan/history_towns.html
In the year 1847, a colony of pioneers from the Netherlands located in eastern Wisconsin, about forty
miles north of the city of Milwaukee. Here, with tireless energy, unceasing toil and persevering zeal, they
labored to clear the heavily-timbered land and build their homes. They found the soil to be very fertile, and in
time Providence rewarded their diligence, answered their prayers, and blessed them with prosperity and peace.
The settlement grew rapidly in numbers and extent, until at present it embraces almost all of Holland Township,
as well as other parts of Sheboygan County, and comprises the villages of Cedar Grove, Gibbsville,
Hingham and Oostburg, while also a goodly number of Hollanders live in the city of Sheboygan.
The inhabitants of these communities, true to their wholesome Dutch breeding, have ever been a God-fearing
and God-serving people, and have always been deeply interested in bringing up their children in quiet Christian
homes, with a firm adherence to sound religious convictions and principles. They have also cherished the desire
to educate their children to the best of their ability, and soon realized that their resources for higher Christian
education were inadequate. Whatever resources along this line were at their command, were largely neutralized
by their remoteness, so that the need for a home school became more and more evident and pressing.

5. Gibbsville settlement.
In the fall of 1840 Rev. Isaac Lewis held religious services at the Gibbsville settlement. The first birth to occur
in the town was in 1839. The child was a daughter of John D. Gibbs. In 1842 James H. Gibbs married Clarissa
Terry. The first school taught in Lima was at the residence of J. D. There are no incorporated villages in Lima.
The town has two hamlets, however, Gibbsville, the original settlement of the Gibbs brothers, which is located
on the old stage road from Milwaukee to Green Bay. It has general stores, flour mill, cheese factory and shops.
Hingham is in the southwest corner of the town and has a flour mill, hotel and stores. There is also a
schoolhouse and church located here, both of which are well attended.
Hendrick Jan Somsen & Johanna Berendina Rensik and four children
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jsomsen&id=I575
• DEPARTURE Emigration: 25 JUL 1851 Aalten, GE, Netherlands
• ARRIVAL Immigration: ABT SEP 1851 Oostburg, Sheboygan County, WI, USA
Lima is a town in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The unincorporated communities of
Gibbsville, Hingham, and Ourtown are located in the town.
Gibbsville is a census-designated place in the town of Lima, Sheboygan Co., Wisconsin, United States.
Gibbsville is located on Wisconsin Highway 32, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northwest of Oostburg.
During 1851 the emigrant couple Hendrick Jan
Somsen & Johanna Berendina Rensik and four
children joined a large number of fellow
emigrants. Within three years period, ten percent
of the population of Aalten fled from poverty,
high taxes, bad harvests and religious disputes.
The Somsen’s settled in the upper Midwest along
the Fox River at Gibbsville, Sheboygan,
Wisconsin. Gibbsville is a village just south of
Sheboygan and Oostburg to Gibbsville about 3
miles
“Hendrik Jan Somsen (1801-1863) and Johanna
Berendina Rensink (1811-1862) departed during
1851 from the Japikshuis with four young children
to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In 1852 another son was
born there.”
Sheboygan Wisconsin: A study of names of the first pioneers established them to have been of English
ancestry or so-called "Yankees" from New England. First came trappers, then surveyors, followed by
businessmen. They were followed in the 1840's and 50's by large migrations of Germans, Dutch, and Irish
who came directly from Europe.
The Settlers started clearing the land and raising crops--the work they had learned in their native land. With the
increased interest in agriculture, dairying emerged as a principal industry in the county. These hardy immigrants
faithfully carried on the work that the American Pioneers of New England stock had begun.
Cheese-making moved from the farmhouse and dairy barn in 1858 with the first cheese factory being located on
the Fond du Lac Plank Road, two miles west of Sheboygan Falls. By 1875 there were 45 factories producing
over 2,000,000 pounds of cheese. At one time there were 116 factories in the county.

6. Many factories contributed in making Sheboygan County a prosperous manufacturing center almost from the
beginning. A wealth of natural water power from lakes and streams flowing generally south-easterly into Lake
Michigan attracted numerous saw mills and flour mills. Many of the immigrants were artisans with skilled
trades and with the abundant supply of raw materials, it was natural that early manufacturing utilized the
abundant forest resources. In the 1850's implements and engines were being made in Sheboygan and a tannery
prospered.
Various immigrants had their cultural and economic effect on the community. Thrifty and industrious, they
earned and saved money with which to build homes and communities of which they can justly be proud. Great
music lovers, they also formed singing societies and these groups still conduct festivals and dances.
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In the fall of 1840 Rev. Isaac Lewis held religious services at the Gibbsville settlement. The first school taught
in Lima was at the residence of J. D. There are no incorporated villages in Lima. The town has two hamlets,
however, Gibbsville, the original settlement of the Gibbs brothers, which is located on the old stage road from
Milwaukee to Green Bay. It has general stores, flour mill, cheese factory and shops. Hingham is in the
southwest corner of the town and has a flour mill, hotel and stores. There is also a schoolhouse and church
located here, both of which are well attended.
http://www.histopolis.com/Place/US/WI/Sheboygan_County/Gibbsville_Cemetery
Gibbsville Cemetery, Lima Town,, Sheboygan Co, Wisconsin
Hendrick Jan Somsen (1801 – 1862) & Johanna Berendina Rensik (1811 – 1863)
Burial is not based on cemetery records, is based on information from other genealogy records.
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SON: Jan Willem Somsen - immigrated to Wisconsin with his parents and brothers
Birth 14 Feb 1839, Aalten, Geld., Neth.
Burial 1909 Oostburg, Sheboygan County, WI
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Daughter Elizabet Somsen Born 1843 and immigrated to Wisconsin with her parents and brothers
Death: Fillmore, Minnesota
Married Abt 1865
Johannes Boland Birth 6 April 1839 Dinxperlo, Gelderland, Netherlands
Death 11 August 1904 Spring Valley, Fillmore, Minnesota, United States
Spring Valley Fillmore, Minnesota is 18 miles west of Carimona Twp., Fillmore, Minnesota
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