Gezinsblad
Jan Cornelisse Steketee, geb. te Borssele 17 apr 1803, ovl. te Holland, Ottawa, MI, US 4 mrt 1878, begr. te Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Zeeland, Ottawa, MI 6 mrt 1878, zoon van Cornelis Andriesse Steketee en Paulina Cornelia Westpla(a)te
Jan Steketee emigreert in 1847 vanuit Borssele met vrouw en 9 kinderen naar de VS.
Reden: Godsdienstijver, daar uit voortvloeiende zucht tot verandering en daarstelling van eene op zichzelve staande gemeente, tevens gepaard met groote verwachting op rijkdom of verbetering van bestaan.
Jan woont in 1870 in Holland, Ottawa, MI, US.
He and his family founded the ZEELAND-community in Michigan.

Emigration:
The ship the Barque Wilhelm von Wolgast, also known by just the name Wilhelm. The "Wilhelm von Wolgast" left Antwerp and arrived in New York on June 18, 1847. The trip was 63 days at sea. At Zeeland, Michigan these earlier settlers were Dutchmen from the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. The ships captain C.D.Schultz, however, listed them as Germans. The original group of Zeelanders was composed of 452 people. Of these, 425 left for the state of Michigan, 26 died before leaving their native land, one cancelled out, and 4 died at sea. Following is part of the total group; and this was one of the 3 ships carried them to our shores. The Wilhelm von Wolgast left first, of the 3 ships.

Gehuwd te Borssele 23 sep 1830, @N1395@ met:
Maria Janse Fraanje, geb. te Borssele 18 aug 1812, ovl. te Holland, Ottawa, MI 4 aug 1879, begr. 6 aug 1879, dochter van Jan Fraantje en Janna de Kloet
1) Cornelis Steketee, geb. te Borssele 27 jun 1831, ovl. 27 okt 1899, Muskegon Chronicle, Saturday, October 28, 1899:
Funeral of Cornelis Steketee From His Home This Afternoon.
All the Surviving Brothers and Sisters Present - Services Conducted With Marked Simplicity - A Profusion of Floral Offerings Attested the Affection and Esteem in Which Deceased Was Held.



The funeral of Cornelis Steketee took place at one o?clock this afternoon from the residence, 141 Peck street. The services were conducted by Rev. R. Bloemendal, pastor of the Second Reformed church. In harmony with the quiet simplicity of Mr. Steketee?s life and in accordance with the wishes of the family the simplest form of service was used, consisting of prayer, the reading of the scriptures and remarks. ?The funeral was private and was attended only by relatives and near friends. All the seven surviving brothers and sisters were present with as many of their children as could leave their homes, and other relatives and friends from outside the city. These were: ?John Steketee with his son, Jacob and daughters, Miss CatherineSteketee and Mrs. B. A. Beneker; Mrs. John M. Steketee, Mrs. Paul Steketee, Mrs. C. Dosker, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Steketee, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Steketee, John P. Steketee, Mr. and Mrs. George G. Steketee, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Steketee and Mr. Ondendyk, all of Grand Rapids; Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Steketee, Mr. and Mrs. Bastian Steketee, Mrs. Benjamin Van Anroy and Mrs. Ellen Hoffman, all of Holland; Rikus Steketee, of Shelby; A. G. Van Hess, of Zeeland; Mrs. David DeVree, Michael DePuit and daughter Mrs. Hiram VanderVeen, all of Jennison; and Mrs. Mary Wolters, Mrs. Fisher and daughter Mrs. Fisher, all of Grand Haven; also four friends, Adrian Johnson and A. J. Welmers, of Grand Rapids, and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Seymeyn, of Holland. ?Mr. Bloenmendal spoke with fine appreciation of Mr. Steketee as a husband, father, a friend and a true Christian man. For the closing part of his remarks he read a number (of) passages from the Psalms that had a touchingly appropriate significance. These were passages that were found indicated by turned leaves in Mr. Steketee?s well used Bible the day after his death. As he had never been accustomed to turn down leaves it was plain that he designed in that way to mark these passages as some that had been especially precious to him and which he had been accustomed to read probably during the wakeful periods of his nights of suffering. The theme presented was Trust in the Lord. There was also marked in this way a prayer for the sick. ?The interment took place in the family lot in Oakwood cemetery. I. P. Newton, William Neil, H. E. Langeland, Garret Wagner, Peter Mulder and James Mulder were the pall bearers. ?The profusion of beautiful flowers, tributes from many tender friends, wasall the more fitting because of the love which Mr. Steketee had for flowers and the care he had given to his garden. Most touching was the bouquet, which as the last act of his life he had given as a birthday offering to the wife of forty-eight and a half years. These were the only flowers placed on the casket. ?Nearby stood a large floral offering from the children - a broken circle and sickle - marked ?Father.? Two large wreaths of roses, chrysanthemums and passion flowers, one marked ?At Rest? and the other ?Brother,? came from the brothers and sisters. ?A pillow of pink and white roses, with the words ?At Rest,? was from employees of The Chronicle office. The Ladies? Aid Society of the Second Reformed church sent a spray of pink and white roses; the Y. P. S. C. E. a spray of pink chrysanthemums and violets; the young ladies? club, the ?Y.E. C.? a spray of pink roses; and Miss Mary C. Steketee?s Sunday school class, a spray of pink chrysanthemums. From Dr. and Mrs. John Vanderlaan came a star of pink and white roses; from Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Dana, white roses; Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Langeland, pink and hite roses; Mrs. Louis Kanitz, yellow roses; Miss Caroline Pew, pink carnations; Mr. and Mrs. N. G. Vanderlinde, a wreath of roses, and Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Malloch, white roses.

Muskegon Chronicle, Saturday, October 28, 1899:
Muskegon Chronicle, Saturday, October 28, 1899:
Cornelis Steketee died suddenly at his home, 141 Peck street, Friday afternoon a few minutes after four o'clock. He had just returned from a short drive with his son John when he was taken with an attack of spasmodic asthma, a disease from which he had suffered for several months. Dr. John VanderLaan, the family physician, was summoned by telephone, and, responding promptly, administered the usual treatment which had afforded relief in a number of previous attacks of a similar nature. This time, however, it failed to produce the hoped for result. Mr. Steketee failed rapidly and passed into a condition of unconsciousness which quickly terminated in death. Supported in the arms of his son, William J. Steketee, who had been summoned from his place of business, and in the presence of Mrs. Steketee, his oldest son, John, the two oldest daughters, and his granddaughter, Miss Nina VanZanten, he peacefully passed away.
?The funeral, which will be private, will be held from the residence at one o?clock Monday afternoon, the services being conducted by Rev. R. Bloemendal, pastor of the Second Reformed church. The remains will lie in state at the residence from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Monday. Cornelis Steketee was born at Borssele, province of Zeeland, kingdom of the Netherlands, on June 27, 1831. He was the oldest in a family of ten children, all of whom were born in the ?old country? except the youngest one. In April, 1847, the parents, with their nine children, came to America and with others settled at Zeeland, in Ottawa county. The family was the first one to locate in that township. In 1848 he was one of the first three to leave the Holland colony and go to work among the Americans at Grand Rapids. He started in driving wagons, and drawing stones out the Grand River. For the following sixteen years Mr. Steketee made his home at Grand Rapids. There, on April 27, 1851, he was married to Miss Kryntje Wolters, who was also born in the Netherlands where she had lived until she came to America and to Michigan in 1849. The ceremony was performed by Rev. C. VanderMeulen, pastor of the Second Reformed church of Grand Rapids, the church which has this week celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its organization. On September 27, 1861, Mr. And Mrs. Steketee came with their children to Muskegon where they have since lived. Here for a number of years Mr. Steketee was employed by Marsh & Foss, lumbermen, and later for many years by the well known lumber firm of Ryerson, Hills & Co. His occupation was chiefly that of a scaler. His fine penmanship, his accuracy as an accountant, his energy, fidelity and integrity made him a man of exceptional value in such work. In the spring of 1880 Mr. Steketee was appointed one of the directors of the poor. He was reappointed seven times in succession to the same office, thus holding it for a period of eight years, the longest anyone has held it in the history of the city. Under the system followed, the bulk of the work in this dual office fell to him. How carefully, conscientiously and successfully he discharged the difficult duties of this position is still so generally within the knowledge of the people of this city as to call for little comment here. While previous to and since his terms the office had been regarded as a political one, to be disposed of as such, it is a significant tribute to Mr. Steketee?s official record that he was repeatedly appointed by officials of a different party from his. To Mr. and Mrs. Steketee were born seven children all of whom survive. They are William J. Steketee, one of the proprietors and publishers of The Chronicle, John, Peter P. and Henry J., and Misses Mary C. and Cornelia Steketee, all of this city; and Mrs. Alexander VanZanten of Muskegon Heights. Miss Cornelia Steketee was visiting relatives at Jennison, near Grand Rapids, at the time of her father?s death, and arrived home this morning. Henry is a sophomore at Hope College and came home on the late train last night after receiving the sad message sent to him. Of the large family of the brothers and sisters, Mr. Steketee is the third to die. Thefirst was the oldest sister, Mrs. Michael Dupuit, who died at Jennison, March 9, 1898. The second was Paul Steketee, the well known dry goods merchant of Grand Rapids, whose death occurred at his home in that city March 13, 1899. The brothers and sisters who survive are John Steketee, George G. Steketee and Peter Steketee, of Grand Rapids; Mrs. David DeVree, of Jennison; Andrew Steketee, Mrs. Jacob Hoffman and Bastian Steketee, of Holland. Mr. Steketee?s decline in health began over sevenyears ago, following an attack of the grip. For nearly a year he had had serious trouble with asthma. During the last two or three months this had grown worse, taking the form of spasmodic asthma, a peculiarly distressing disease. Mr. Steketee was a man of a singularly deep and tender nature. Beneath a plain and rugged exterior there was a heart whose warm affection and tender sympathy needed only to be known to be admired. He was one of the most sincere and conscientious of men. He possessed a nature deeply religious, and his home has been a model for piety, pure and unpretentious, after the highest standards of a people who left their native land and came to America for greater religious liberty. For a great many years he hasbeen a faithful member of the First Reformed church of this city. Few if any families have been more closely bound together than his by the ties of tenderest affection; and his death, the first to break the happy circle, is felt as only such a loss can be in such a household. Most touching and pathetic, as we now view it, though so characteristic that ordinarily it would have caused no special notice, was the last act of his life. It was Mrs. Steketee?s birthday, and the occasion was to be observed in the evening by a family gathering to be attended by all the children at home and by the four grandchildren. It was a very happy day for all, and Mr. Steketee had remarked several times how well he was feeling. He had taken a short drive with his oldest son and on the way home had visited the green house where he got a handsome bouquet of asters and other flowers. Returning home he entered the house and, greeting his wife, presented her with the flowers in honor of the day, with an affection as true and tender as that with which over forty-eight years ago he had claimed her as his bride. Then he stepped out into the yard to gather the seed of some flowers that he had been tending with special enjoyment during the autumn. His love for flowers was remarkable and he was planning for next season. In a very short time he returned to the house in much distress and asked that the doctor be called. A few moments more and the end had come; and the flowers he had presented as a memento of his love are doubly precious now.

Gehuwd te Grand Rapids, MI, US 27 apr 1851 met:
Catherine (Krijntje) Wolters, geb. te Abbenbroek 27 okt 1827, ovl. te Musketon, MI, US 16 dec 1916
2) Jannis (John) Steketee, geb. te Borssele 13 jan 1833, ovl. te Grand Rapids, Kent, MI, US 11 jun 1900
In April, 1884, Mr. Steketee was selected by the government of the Netherlands for the position of its vice-consul for Michigan. This office imposed upon him many matters of a confidential nature in behalf of his former countrymen, who had located in great numbers in western Michigan, and especially in Grand Rapids. In the execution of these various duties, always of a more or less delicacy and interest, Mr. Steketee displayed such good judgment, sincerity and generosity, that it endeared him greatly to all those who required his advice and official aid. This office he now holds, and will probably continue to do so to the end of his life. In recognition of his wise and valuable aid, during his consulship, to the men and women of Dutch birth, the loved and beautiful Wilhelmina, upon attaining her sixteenth birthday, conferred upon Mr. Steketee the Knighthood of Orange-Nassau, one of the highly honorable, noble and select orders of the Netherlands. Two years later, when the young queen attained her majority and ascended the throne under so many promising auspices for the Dutch nation, Vice-consul Steketee sent the following hearty cablegram to her.
"To Her Majesty, Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, The Hague.
Congratulations from one hundred thousand Hollanders residing in the state of Michigan.
May God’s blessing rest upon your Majesty and people.
John Steketee, Vice-consul of the Netherlands at Grand Rapids, Mich., U.S.A. and Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau."

Gehuwd te Grand Rapids, MI 19 dec 1851 met:
Katharina (Cathalina/Catherine) van der Boegh, geb. te Cadzand 7 nov 1833, ovl. te Holt, Muskegon, MI 9 mei 1915, Obituary of Mrs. Katherine Steketee

ANOTHER PIONEER LEAVES THIS SPIRIT WORLD

(Grandville Avenue Record, May 14, 1915, Pg. 1)

Forty-Eight Years a Resident – Her Life Work for Her Family

By the death of Mrs. Katherine Steketee, 329 Goodrich street, last Sunday morning this district loses another pioneer and a most exemplary citizen. She died on "Mother’s Day" and she will long be remembered especially among the Holland people who knew her well. Her death followed an illness that had its inception in an attack of la grippe. The deceased was 81 years old. Funeral service was held on Tuesday afternoon, Rev. H. McConnell officiating. Mrs. Steketee came from the Netherlands, more than a half a century ago, was born in Kadand province of Zee-Holland, coming directly here in 1848, following by one year John Steketee, later her husband.

For forty years of this time she was a resident of the city, the other four being on a farm near the city. Her husband died four years ago, after having been the Netherlands vice consul many years. Surviving her are the following children: Vice Consul Jacob Steketee, Miss Catherine Steketee, who made her home with her mother; Mrs. Cornelia Steketee Hulst, Mrs. Maria Wieland, Mrs. B. A. Beneker and John Steketee, all of this city; a sister, Mrs. John Fulton of this city, and a brother, Cornelius Vander Boegh of Holton.

Many stories told of her life; she liked to relate best her pioneer experiences. Mrs. Steketee prized among her keepsakes an autograph copy of a photo of Queen Wilhelmina. While she was an ardent believer in God and church work, she did not find time for intimate church work; she liked her home best.
, dochter van Mattheus van der Boegh en Marie Zonneville
emigreert op 19 mei 1849 naar Noord Amerika.
3) Paulus Steketee, geb. te Borssele 24 feb 1834, ovl. te Grand Rapids, MI, US 12 mrt 1899
Paul Steketee, a Dutch immigrant, came to Grand Rapids in 1850. In 1862 Steketee and John H. Doornich formed a dry goods operation that would become one of West Michigan's oldest retailers. The two ran the store for 10 years before a fire devastated the business. Following the fire, Doornich sold out to Steketee, who brought his family on board to help run and rebuild the operation. With the growth of Grand Rapids the family decided to build a larger 8 story flagship store on Monroe Avenue, the city's retail hub. The store opened with much fanfare in 1915. The draw of Steketee's Grand Rapids store was big enough that the family decided to expand its operations in the 1950s opening its first satellite store in 1958.

Gehuwd ± 1856 met:
Pieternella Meeuwsen, geb. te 's Heer Hendrikskinderen 29 okt 1832, ovl. te Grand Rapids, MI, US 20 mei 1905, dochter van Pieter Meeuwsen en Maartje Veerhoek
De ouders erkennen Pieternella bij hun huwelijk in 1837.
4) Gillis Steketee, geb. te Borssele 12 mrt 1835, ovl. 1920
5) Paulina Steketee, geb. te Borssele 31 mrt 1836, ovl. 1898
6) Janna Steketee, geb. te Borssele 1 mei 1837, ovl. te Borssele 17 apr 1838
7) Janna Steketee, geb. te Borssele 6 mei 1838, ovl. 1920 met:
David DeVree
8) Andries Steketee, geb. te Borssele 17 apr 1839, ovl. 1840
9) Andries Steketee, geb. te Borssele 10 jun 1840, ovl. te Holland, Ottawa, MI 18 feb 1917, begr. te Holland, Ottawa, MI 7 mrt 1917
Gehuwd ± 1860 met:
Geertje Scholten, geb. te Apeldoorn 6 dec 1840
10) Pieter Steketee, geb. te Borssele 30 apr 1842, ovl. te Borssele 12 mrt 1843
11) Pieter Steketee, geb. te Borssele 14 aug 1843, ovl. te Borssele 27 nov 1844
12) Pieter Steketee, geb. te Borssele 6 jan 1845, ovl. 1910
13) Pieternella Steketee, geb. te Borssele 17 feb 1846
14) Bastiaan Steketee, geb. te Grand Rapid, Kent, MI, US 9 feb 1855, ovl. te Holland, Ottawa, MI, US 15 aug 1928
Gehuwd te Holland, Ottawa, MI, US 11 mei 1877 met:
Ida Elizabeth Vaupell, geb. te New York 21 mei 1855, ovl. te Holland, Ottawa, MI, US 27 jan 1928
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