The Van Duin (Van Duyne) Story

By Margaret Van Duyne Baskerville Guyney (b1/20/1901)

My father, Pieter Van Duin, a teacher in America, changed the family name to Van Duyne. Born February 6, 1860, in Opdam, Holland. Married Margaret Klaver on May 1, 1881, in Opdam. They had 19 children – 3 died in infancy. (John, Richard, and Margaret.) Peter had one sister named Jocoba, a stepbrother named Dick De Jung and a sister named Alie De Jung.

Pieter’s father, John Van Duin, was born in 1835. He had married twice, once to Marie Wester in 1856 who died in 1871, and later to Kay (Decker) De Jung. John died August 29, 1891, in Holland. Pieter died September 12, 1924, in Wilmington. Pieter’s wife, Margaret Klaver, was born February 8 in Obdam and she died on December 24, 1941. 

Pieter Klaver (Margaret Klaver’s father) was a dairyman in Heer Hugo, Holland. Birthdate approximately 1837. He married Katherine Hof in Obdam. Came to America in 1886. Lived near Chicago and worked for the railroad. Later he lived and farmed around Wilmington. Died in 1907. Katherine died in 1910.

My parents, Pieter and Margaret Van Duin (both 32 years old) left Holland April 10, 1892. (Six months after Pieter’s father had died.  They landed in America May 1, 1892. They left Holland from Antwerp. It took four days to get the shots before they were allowed to leave. Their home had been in Heer Hugo Woard, Holland. The name of their ship was Edam, 4^th class. The journey took 15 days.

Pieter worked in the kitchen (galley) and by doing that he acquired food on the journey for the family. Seven children born in Holland were brought to the USA. (The youngest, Bill, was only 7 months old and the oldest, John, was near 8 years old.)

They landed in New York, and it took 3 days to go through customs at Ellis Island. They made the rest of the journey by train; it took 3 days to get to Chicago. They changed trains to get to Wilmington and landed there in the biggest thunderstorm that they had ever been in their lives.

Brophy’s Carry All, pall bearers wagon, met them at the depot. Two uncles, Pete and Case Klover, rented the P.B. wagon to take them to  grandpa Klaver’s house.

The storm was so terrible that the men had to take the children and parents out of the carriage to Dennis Van Garen’s home.  They fed them before they arrived at granddad’s. Pieter Klaver’s farm was at the far end of Lakewood Shores.The river was raging and the water was 20 feet higher than it is now. The lightening and thunder frightened the horses so bad that they reared up, spread apart, and broke the harnesses.Two days later after landing here they moved into a house on Starvation Hill. (Easton owned it.)

My dad worked for Schulz, who was a gardener, at $.50 per day. Later, he went farming on Brown’s farm for Joan Franklin, Sr. whose wife was Mamie Brown.

50 lbs flour $.98

20 lbs sugar $1.00

They rented the Brown’s farm. Later, they moved to the State’s Farm north of Wilmington. From State’s Farm they moved to the Kahler farm, four miles south of Symerton. From the Kahler farm they moved to the Perry farm on the Kankakee River, four miles south of Wilmington.  From that farm they moved to Miss Rodger’s farm near Elwood.From there they moved to the Channahon farm, which they purchased 160 acres, From there they moved to a very nice brick home. They sold out in 1911.They then moved to Wilhelmina, Missouri where they bought 300 acres of undeveloped land for $15 per acre. (Jacob met and married Eula Stewart 12/20/1914 there.)

Five years later they moved back to Wilmington. Grandpa Pieter Klaver bought the farm from son John 1.5 miles south of Wilmington (31 acres of land). Pat, Herman, Margaret, and Cornelia (Cele) all went to work and paid for the farm ($150 per acre – 31 acres.