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Penn, William H. Papers, 1829-2002.

 Collection
Identifier: H02-1477

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials inherited by William H. Penn from his pioneering Dutch-American immigrant ancestors and those with whom they interacted. These ancestors include Cornelius Kuyper (Kuijper), John Brandt (Jan Brand), Jacob Pen, Annigje Stobbe, and Maartje Dalenberg. The majority of the papers come from the Roseland, Illinois, and Calumet County area near Chicago, where Cornelius Kuyper was an important settler. There is correspondence with relatives and friends in the Netherlands. Also includes early (1850-forward) correspondence with Dutch immigrants in America, in such places as Kansas and Kalamazoo. Correspondents include Jan Bos and Cornelius Hillegonds. Many materials relating to genealogy and the family trees of Brandt, Kuyper, Eenigenburg, Dalenberg, Ton, de Jong, and Penn (Pen).

Dates

  • Creation: 1829 - 2002

Creator

Biography

William Henry Penn was born in 1917 to Ettie Brandt and Henry Penn. William’s maternal grandmother was a daughter of Cornelius Kuyper.

Henry Penn was born in Steenwijkerwold, Overijssel, the Netherlands in 1887. In 1890, he came over with his parents to America where they settled in Chicago. An avid baseball fan and player, Henry played in professional leagues for seventeen years. He was a large man for his time—six foot one, two hundred and fifteen pounds. Scholastically, he received his B.S. in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois and went on to become a professor in that field at the Armour Institute of Technology and later the District Engineer for the American Institute of Steel Construction.

Cornelius Kuyper was born in the village of Schoorl, near Alkmaar, the Netherlands, in 1816. He married Martje Daleburg in 1840. He was the only one of his family to emigrate when he left for America in 1849 when he moved to Roseland, near Chicago. There he founded a general store. A strong Republican, Cornelius supported the Union and aided the Underground Railroad. He became an upstanding, well-known and respected citizen who served as County Constable and helped organize the Dutch Reformed Church in Chicago along with aiding the general growth and development of Chicago. He died in 1913.

Extent

4.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Dutch; Flemish

Abstract

The collection consists of materials inherited by William H. Penn from his pioneering Dutch-American immigrant ancestors and those with whom they interacted. These ancestors include Cornelius Kuyper (Kuijper), John Brandt (Jan Brand), Jacob Pen, Annigje Stobbe, and Maartje Dalenberg. The majority of the papers come from the Roseland, Illinois, and Calumet County area near Chicago, where Cornelius Kuyper was an important settler. There is correspondence with relatives and friends in the Netherlands. Also includes early (1850-forward) correspondence with Dutch immigrants in America, in such places as Kansas and Kalamazoo. Correspondents include Jan Bos and Cornelius Hillegonds. Many materials relating to genealogy and the family trees of Brandt, Kuyper, Eenigenburg, Dalenberg, Ton, de Jong, and Penn (Pen).

Provenance

William H. Penn

Photographs

Family Photograph Album (Box 1)

Source

Status
Completed
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Hope College Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Van Wylen Library
53 Graves Place
Holland Michigan 49423 United States
616-395-7798