Dear Whitesiders, May years ago I was given a personal history that was found in the estate of my maternal grandfather. The 'autobiography' was written by Paul. K. Dam(e), whom I recently found out was a cousin of my grandfather. The sixth of eight articles tells of the time his family spent in Fulton, Illinois, and may be of interest to some on this list. Prior to that (in Art. 4) he wrote a brief paragraph that fixes this story to a date. I'll be 'publishing' the whole story in 8 installments on the Dutch-Midwest list starting next week. Reading this Dutch translated to English articles is sometimes confusing at first read because of the irregular punctuation. I've reproduced it exactly as it was recorded. --------------- Excerpt from Article 4: We had an auction on April 12, 1894; left Broek April 15, came to Antwerp April 17 and left the same date. Came to Canada May 1. We were in a hospital 18 days, left May 19 and came to Fulton May 21. I was appointed "voorzinger" Aug. 26. Dec. 5, 1894 elder, ordained Jan. 20, 1895. Left Christian Reformed Church Dec. 1, 1898. Article 6 UIT DE OUDE DOOS I said in my last article that we arrived in Fulton, Ill. The train stopped as we had to get out. We were told that we were in Fulton. There we stood with 6 children. We were asked who we were and as soon as we had given our name, friends came and welcomed us. We said, old friends, for a reason since Fulton was full of Groningers, and there were many friend whom we had known in the Fatherland. We were brought under roof and we were glad that we had reached the place of destination. The day following a house was sought so we could as a family be together again and that felt good. We had a stormy trip, 14 days on sea and 18 days in the hospital. We longed for the end of the journey which you can understand. And now we had to look for work, and that was difficult for there was not much to do. It was the year of the World's Fair in 1893. Many were out of work, and here I was, with no knowledge, when English was spoken, we did not understand. If we were told to go forward we would go backward, and if we were told to go backward, we went forward. Therefore, no one could do anything with us. The employers in Fulton were Americans, and although Fulton was full of Hollanders, most of them were workingmen. I have been asked whether we ever were sorry that we came to America and my answer always was "No." We saw soon that the people who had been here a few years were better off than those in the Fatherland and we said that if we take hold and the Lord blesses us this condition is meant for us and in this we were not out to shame. I worked now for this one and now for another. We did everything, now for farmers in the field. Then here a week and then elsewhere, until finally I got a job in the sawmill. The boss, an American, had to use mouth and hands and feet to make clear how I had to do things for I did not know anything, but he saw that I was willing to work and he had patience and I was glad that I could earn money for the family. I forgot to say that after we had been in Fulton for a few days the boxes with our clothes came so that we could provide for our needs. It is such a great blessing to see the hand of God in all things. God rules and our life from the cradle to the grave is fixed if we only have an eye to see this. What a blessing it is for us and for our children that we went to America. Some say it was lucky for us, but I do not believe in luck. God directs all things, and going from one country to another is under his direction this we usually see later. Fulton was a poor town then. There was not much to do and most people belonged to the working class. We saw no cement roads, no cement sidewalks. They were all of wood and we all had to be careful lest we fall, especially at night. I said that I worked a the sawmill and that wood was cheap. The houses were all of lumber. Seldom did one see a brick house. Rent was cheap. I recall that we rented a whole house for $3 per month, later a half dollar was added and that made it $3.50. Not a flat, but a whole house and a woodshed with it. That was necessary for wood was used in the stove. The sawmill was a big help for workingmen, and if there was no work in Fulton, then men would cross the river to Clinton where many sawmills were. It was a great help but it was unfortunate that sawmills operated about 5 months in the year, sometimes 6. That was much. The lumber came from the north and floated down the Mississippi River, but at the fall the river froze in the north and the logs did get loose and float and the mill closed. During the long winters the men earned nothing. The owner of the mill had a grocery store and people bought on credit and those who had the biggest bill got the job first for the owner had to get his money. That stands to reason, it was fine of the owner that he helped people in the winter. Now you can see that the workers never got on top, the winters were too long, the bills at the store too big, and so they worked all summer to get paid up and then when fall came, they were just where they had been before and the would again buy on credit. Now my fine wife did not believe in credit. If she could not pay for it, she did not buy and we would go without, and that went well too. That being the situation, some went to a farm as soon as they could, renting land for $3 or $4 per acre. Some charged more, but then they cried murder and fire saying that the man could never make it. It made a big difference who handled the situation. This is true in every sphere. Well, I never farmed for I was not fit for it. I could see what a cow or horse was. Yes, I could distinguish between a sheep and a hog but that was all. This shows how fit I was for farming. ------------------ Randy Bosma [email protected] -------- RootsWeb listowner: Dutch-MidWest Researching STAAL OLTHOFF BOSMA BLIJSTRA/BLYSTRA