A Petition to the Senate and House of Representatives for the, Improvement of the Outlet of North Black Lake, Near the Holland Colony.

A petition to the Senate and House of Representatives for the improvement of the outlet of North Black Lake near the Holland Colony. Not less than 5,000 souls have landed on the shores of Michigan, and most of them are now comfortably settled in their homes....The past season, we have been blessed with abundant harvests, and our people have already begun to develop the rich resources of the land of our adoption....There are now within our limits, two water Saw Mills, one steam Saw MIll, and one wind Saw Mill; three custom grinding mills, one ashery and soap and candle manufactory, one tannery, one brick yard, and one boat yard. We have eight places of worship, and eight schools, four of them taught by American teachers....A charter for the proposed plank road has already been secured,... The petitioners are A. C. Van Raalte, Vander Sling, A. Ver Horst, T. Schrader, B. Grotenhuis, and J. Binnekant.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1840s/1226/thumbnail.jp

The Formal Petition of the Holland Colony to the Senate and House of Representatives for Funds for The Construction of a Secure Harbor.

The formal petition of the Holland Colony to the Senate and House of Representatives for funds for the construction of a secure harbor. The committee making the petition is composed of A.C.V.R. and the five men who are the proprietors of the village, Vander Sling, Ver Horst, Schrader, Grotenhuis and Binnekant. The document gives a good description of the Colony: There are now within our limits, two water Saw Mills, one steam Saw Mill, and one wind Saw Mill; three custom grinding mills, one ashery and soap and candle manufactory, one tannery, one brick yard, and one boat yard. We have eight places of worship, and eight schools, for of them taught by American teachers. The document also claims that Not less than 5,000 souls have landed on the shores of Michigan, and most of them are now comfortably settled in their new homes.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1840s/1225/thumbnail.jp

Poem to Dear Pastor Leraar

A brief poem is addressed to Dear Pastor (Leraar). There is no indication who the Pastor is, but the document is found in the Van Raalte Collection at Calvin College. Apparently the signers are students in a class which Rev. Albertus C. Van Raalte or someone close to the family taught. The names of the students are appended as well as the date. The students are: J. Wakker, J. Kroes, N. Kanters, A. Phanstiehl, L. Binnekant, R. Struik, G. Wakker, and K. Plugger, all familiar Holland names of that period.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1860s/1189/thumbnail.jp