An article in the Holland City News, entitled,  The Van Raalte Colony and Its Influence on Holland at the Present Time,  by Mrs. H. D. Post, of Holland, (widow of Henry D. Post). Contains references to A. C. Van Raalte. Also,  His wife was a noble helpmate worthy of a place in history along with him. The remembrance of home and kindred often intruded itself, and Mrs. Van Raalte often spoke of the trial of leaving early, and still well remembered friends, but she always added, \u27It is the Lord.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1900s/1002/thumbnail.jp

Post, Mrs. H. D.

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Hope College Hope College Digital Commons Van Raalte Papers: 1900-1909 Van Raalte Papers 1-30-1903 An Article in the Holland City News, Entitled, "The Van Raalte Colony and Its Influence on Holland at the Present Time," by Mrs. H. D. Post, of Holland, (Widow of Henry D. Post) Mrs. H. D. Post Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1900s The original documents are held in The Joint Archives of Holland. This digitized material is intended for personal research/study only. The original documents may not be reproduced for commercial use in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from The Joint Archives of Holland. Recommended Citation Post, Mrs. H. D., "An Article in the Holland City News, Entitled, "The Van Raalte Colony and Its Influence on Holland at the Present Time," by Mrs. H. D. Post, of Holland, (Widow of Henry D. Post)" (1903). Van Raalte Papers: 1900-1909. 3. https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/vrp_1900s/3 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Van Raalte Papers at Hope College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Van Raalte Papers: 1900-1909 by an authorized administrator of Hope College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@hope.edu. /9x -72- ALE NAVE January ? 30, 1903 An article in the Holland City News, entitled, "The Van Raalte Colony and Its Influence on Holland at the Present Time," by Mrs. H. D. Post, of Holland, (widow of Henry D. Post). Contains references to A. C. Van Raalte Also, "His wife was a noble helpmate worthy of a place in history along with him. The remembrance of home and kindred often intruded itself, and Mrs. Van Raalte often spoke of the trial of leaving early, and still well remembered friends, but she always added, 'It is the Lord." Original in the Archives of Hope College, the Philip Phelps Scrapbook. Lit COLONY IM.11~da42gisift*Mi,63  2 I Holland the Present l'ime.FLs, . nfluence  Y. MRS'? FI; D.'•Pog?,..91,'HoLLANi).' ,, 1-6ele,'•-beek - twiny': fitst Meeting with Dr.. -Van' Raalte—hei triendg, with no beard—and recall the striking incidents of :.,:gita[easli sticcessiveyear, the faces that were, familiar, and •'nevi-passed away, the changes 7and progiessi and improve- 1 Nyeto-t e present day, it seems, to tny mind a wonderful pan- if was in winter of '47 that :' Dr. Van  Raalte  .first visited 'Ol-aOti"d'irhéré'bur City no* stands. ihive been told by a • ho was with him when he first.alooked at the land, that he alnIt e snowan, ,prayed for guidance and direction from t f. ,' -e ti ,.Cle-elt for a moment, at the prospect before him. The -4-;-,titil3-ánetvered not only with snow, but with a most magnificenceff  vith:tifftitest trees of immense size, sugar maple, oak:, hemlock,, a tt7vOt ety?'"rnany of them 6 feet in diameter. frf.,r  dwonni itnhieesee, g(raesawt  et p34ca,  lled him Theyhinknj el lisiod- pithe trnlgio  'hadaboucto moi%tpvpi w th chop ing do  ell : enf wind mills store-keepers,' carpenters, tailtni ' -role» sig eezitng ers, and when Insked,my neat neighbor his' vdcation lie 'iïiBiisselmaker" meaning brysh maker. The Dominee knew ain tetref/ hiá people; knew they were active, steaay, -tpersever-CO.  Old:learn. They were also actuated by the same motive b. -"brought•their leader here. So the beautiful forest did not iltint ftetri•histptiffiese:-',Hecame not.to this wilderness.:to: seek ;.gti,n;: - tjiititáèeure any possible worldy advantage. The motiVe that ,SSO-ght:111 at Were Was a noble one, that he-might enjoy rnore. religious .}It-was on the occasion cf the marriage of his eldest sop, at we e,fe-ast, that the dominee related among other reminiscences, When 1-he:bridegroom was. an infant, hè, the dominee, was thrown pc-riánnInt,i(Preaching contrary to law. He chose America as the '7oPliflideption" because- here- he cold enjoy perfect religious 1 .. . de-.1.7:».-̀'7Tliere were great trials and privations to be endured ',but in l'ilailtegAiiiii(lie Seemed to see with prophetic eye the future suc--7OE,Meittibti. rs.. :I .have -heard him say, whew we were passing agh`ithr ,the.',:darkest days: :If my he,a,d laid low the place would ago'n:ilt;41'yly:werk,ean not be in vain, because I have built ,in faith." qvifei át*ribble:  helpmate tverthy;of it.place in history along w,ith Yernertibrance of home' and, kindred often Untrudéol2Itselr, igli,./7faalie7often spoke of the trial' of leaving..early, and still ettTrierads,,,but Iálié always added, "It le„thel.tord.___..t rat1a-easily<- 7he filled with reminiscences' of ' thoSe early ; knee :.triOt suffiCe-  to show' the contrast between our lieges" (t'atisl,these,enjoyed by the early settlers, Our mail in .iday5itflOnlYL tondo-  a - week, oh Thursday afternoon.' How y. kffiliettl.kr.,Viouw7Notting to conie.with the' mail bag on 1-fet.- IMAintad'-would - go to Manlius in-Allegan-County and 7..7 , b tAss,7171,S tack to his home in Graafschap. .tHe' would be 'xis 'goo Wile would then bring it the last three miles to 'itd ifrequently assisted my husband in opening and making  tentai  ',in:thosedays. There were not as many love letters writ- enild p 11;ltilziestage Was higher. As yet we had neiroads. ''Now jeáll:ne4 • -• 7 ,eyery few,hours,,but we do net appreciate it; . ap 'when , ''-77. • ''t • --F;''' . : ' Fne:-'dtily""entie a. week: , ll-'; ., , 7.  - ''''detjteftain froni'alluding to our system of lighting at that '"elaSed:7thetallow candle. My husband thought I mnstlearn 41 etniiildt•fneridles so in, one of his journeys to Allegan .he purchased ..,' et'andtemelds --I filled in:geed orthodox, order, a WiCk in thq 8i±itte- -7arid,tredluil of hot tallow. , I put them out door' -againse a ,7:6-e--,7tiee-,clo- i-iyishe'cloist;'.‘I'Vetia'soon Iheard the rustlIng of leaties '; ,.414."'ffiatnitilia-slootr - usEirttié to. see a 'littrigry looking In.dian.dog as a clitireEiVilh-the candle molds atianandles-in his 1rP"Pliill"..;eIvItitow:Vtiti-tnlást éuhat,itnis useless te.,,thinka of ;:persuing 'him .»thitti ....-„, ,_ snel*.a.gffitpfiOdititè: on the light that -.filled. «That - waá- the .". tealit of :other- ays.-,-4'. -. •-• :a . .7 ,:.Tlie,supplrof miIk for thefamily items a trifling thing hut in nSedayálttinveltied it deal 'ef• labor. Our milk man was' a milk ',..71nialti,-;:t;;Werdidarlet have7the cow brought to' the door and Imilked in tr, Preseneenáleticine in our "New, possessions" but good Vetinw ns-6041E1hp 'milk in pails which hung from a yoke WhicKwas 0,,Sylltei;gttévfircl9rs", I Would say,-"Good-Morning, Vrouw Ardns, ,are ti'welie,-ned,l'plte, while-She •-was -dipping out • my supply -of. milk 7teld7tc.;:pped77t-cuinY,ffiquiry thus,,  "Beter hoeft het niet te' lyézen," :fre'il'ilinj, it: deed not be-any 'better, hut .i t Was better after ii'while for she ;Otailorse'-nrid,Wagon. ' .. • .• , ,, . . , it.7,Wes-7 er;thefrqn'arter • centennial unniversary of this 'settlement 7at';Dt--.:7Vati Raalte paid a tribute' to the citizens of the Unite,d States alte.-recnitfedniid<•Olde,d the colo . , among the names he mentioned ykt t ;OáiGentLetkis,-"Cass,Dr. Wyko f Albany, Judge Kellogg" Of Alle-an, Uncli;manintore names I have forgotten. But it was Gen.:Robert 5-1-6314tn,l'Ateli.',Who first directed his attentionto—dre-TOes- rleaar, tt1rt"-7--Hig:.7'ohject:kártrgd6i"ffrrSit-é-fcTr-htaeTy—Erfèlieous .„people *ffiriiinta torm a centre oréatication andliligiori:—The ESE church ittnená-Wer- Itehtr frillirciti-eir-oirrIrtffiáratrffila near where 'the an Ráalte-, 1 Dine:now stands. A place cleared by the falling trees and  inning n'ino letv:áquare. A person who was present said it was a etittiftikkiet6, ret 7-7 This Was in May of '47. In the Autumn 'of that eat:die:first-70*h was built of logs: It was -not till 71.8,56, that a ti,i'-±éh Siii*'w,;g•lirt,;,,i-g the, ,city The log church was near wheretheceme- ow ii. the emigrant was education, and steP• by'step erMaliE pios sk  ' r.:Ïéijool to the Academy, and now Hope College which as-7ánamenna-n7Place among the colleges of our land. Dr. -Van Reline ádndblehe).  ersj"-lont,„to, him belongs the honor of laying the7founda-ti;  the' of Dominee lieiers,' Dr. P,helpá n ,klepes drio"-t•;40,7P7•W ite 17ffireen tát-4'.'ins, iden. ap,t...7.,:;Stewart, 'Bellt,7Scott, all -faithful men pho-T, have aiSettiiYay inapt' our lathers,'Whereare they?, '  -As recalahe inciad011 of those yearly. ays, it 'seems'  like the stories of the original settlement at Plymouth, the voyage across the sea, the forest life, the great sickness and privation of those days, the religious zeal and strong faith of those Holland ,pilgrims. Hope Col-lege and the Theological Seminary crowntithe educational system which is the outgrowth of their religious faith. 7 The first lecture ever delivered here was by Dr. Phelps, and his'snbject was "Omens, signs auguries or prognostications."' It was interesting and deserves men-tion as being the first of a series given under the" auspices of the Fra-ternal Society of Hope College. The wilderness has been -dada, to blossom like the rose, a ' change has been wrought which at first thought seemed impossible. Let  ns  not forget that these people were christians and they trusted in one who heard and answered their prayers. They brolight their religion over the sea with them. I remember the first morning after my arriv-al, hearingf romithe little log houses all around us the singing of psalms, and on inquiry was told it was the beautiful custom to sing after each meal or before it. -- Now we have taken a hasty glance at Holland as it was in the be-ginning of our history, when winding paths not deserving the name of roads, through the thick forest, among the trees and over the logs, led among the scattered huts, some built of logs, sonic of boards and some of boughs and bark. I remember going to see a sick person and noticed that the bedstead upon which he lay was made of twigs of a tree with the bark on them. We were at that time surrounded on all sides by an unbroken for-est isolating us as completely from the world outside as if we were'on an island in the ocean. How different is the picture as we now see it. Our city surrounding our fine harbor, and numerous vessels and steam- • ers, engaged in a lucrative trade with the great shippinn-b  centres of Illi-nois and Wisconsin, railroads diverging in Many different direc-tions, telegraph lines giving us the means of sending messages, which contrast strongly with good  Vrouw  Notting's weekly mail, our shops ,7 and factories giving employment to a large and increasing popula-tion. Our beautiful streets lighted with electricity and lined with well,:  constructed buildings Our many pleasant homes, our churches, and our school houses—all of these go to make up our Holland of today. ..7g7 L " Sonic one has said and truly, "Holland owes her proud positioir today, by God's blessing to the careful and successful labors of those to whom the great work of organizing and, shaping the growth of the new settle- ment was committed," .t 4 7 Dr. Van Raalte was spared to see his labors crowned with success. The people who came with him from the fatherland were blessed with 17 high educational advantages, prosperous in their enterprises and com-fortable in their homes, and respected as worthy citizens of their adopt-ed country. The contemplation of this subject for a few moments is well cal- culated to fill our hearts with gratitude to Mtn Who has so blessed andl-',.? prospered us in the past that vac can safely trust the future in the lands of Him who has brought us thus far, and so signally blessed us, in spiritual as well as temporal things. Many congregations in aur western states owe their existence under Providence to this important centre. How many ministers of the gospel and -teachers have gone7,7 from among us and now laboring in distant lands. 1 ri China, Japan ,..'7, Arabia and India are noble workers among the heathen whose names are familiar to us all, Here in our college a few years ago several pal tive Japanese were educated. They mere baptized and became mem-bers of Hope-Church, and afterwards returnea to their native land to ,-;.• spread the lino.wJedge of the Gospel among their -own people. These .. influences have arthly limit but spread wider and wider until the final result can onlyibe known in eternity. The event of Dr. Van Raalte and his people settling in this locality in 1847 has had a grear influence upon the History of our country in general, sufficient to warrant my choosing this subject and calling it "A History Making Event." 76t. rEnESDA. LATE DR. PHILIF, HOPE COLLEGgi HONOR DR. PHILIP AT COLLEGE CELEE Native of Albany Founded tutlon at Holland, Mich., Its First President At the semi-centennial col the founding of Hope college, Reformed church education at Holland, Mich., which mernorated In conjunction wf nual meeting or the genera the Reformed church of Am week, honor was given the I Dr. Philip Phelps, Jr.. Cot first president of the college, for many yearn In Albany graduate of Union college. 182. flaj Dr. Phelps was born In Al 12, 1820, and got his prelim! cation In Albany schools. A graduated from Union collegr  ni pastorate at Hastings and appointed principal of Holland When the Institution was cl7 Hope college In 1866, he beta dent and served for twelve ye; he resumed past oral work  ai at ,Blenheim, Sehoharle counl he'dled September 4, 1896, Dr, Phelps' father was PhIll deputy state comptroller I< Lilly years. He was appointed Comptroller Marcy In 1826, vanced [cis deputy in 1828  ar two years. 1542-1814, served ously.,untll 1876. When a yo he practiced law In the office I Van Rensselaer. • ' C5127q 

An Article in the Holland City News, Entitled,  The Van Raalte Colony and Its Influence on Holland at the Present Time,  by Mrs. H. D. Post, of Holland, (Widow of Henry D. Post)

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An Article in the Holland City News, Entitled, The Van Raalte Colony and Its Influence on Holland at the Present Time, by Mrs. H. D. Post, of Holland, (Widow of Henry D. Post)

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