Kleinheksel Family

Archive

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Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

Kleinheksel home ca 1910.jpg 2MB: Caption on back: Mr & Mrs H.H. Kleinheksel - son Gerrit. Origsize: 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" G.g. Mr. Herman Kleinheksel On the porch of the 140th Avenue house about 1910 (from right) Hiram H., his wife, Jennie (Deters) and their son, young Gerrit J. Kleinheksel. Seated at left is Hiram's brother, Herman. In front are Hiram's parents, Gerrit J. and Henrikje Kleinheksel. Digital file on Jack Sheridan Drive 2021.72.02
Kleinheksel home ca 1910.jpg 2MB

Caption on back: Mr & Mrs H.H. Kleinheksel - son Gerrit. Origsize: 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" G.g. Mr. Herman Kleinheksel On the porch of the 140th Avenue house about 1910 (from right) Hiram H., his wife, Jennie (Deters) and their son, young Gerrit J. Kleinheksel. Seated at left is Hiram's brother, Herman. In front are Hiram's parents, Gerrit J. and Henrikje Kleinheksel. Digital file on Jack Sheridan Drive 2021.72.02

Name/Title

Kleinheksel Family

Entry/Object ID

2007.12.09

Scope and Content

Photo of Kleinheksel family sitting on the porch of their farmhouse, ca. 1910 with caption on back "Mr & Mrs H.H. Kleinheksel - son Gerrit." Text and some images from SDHS newsletter insert (pages 441-444) titled "The Kleinheksel Legacy."

Context

Goldie Kleinheksel was always interested in history. She lived her entire life in a small farmhouse on 140th Avenue in Fillmore Township, but in 1986 when an advertisement in Saugatuck's "Commercial Record" announced the formation of the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society she attended an early meeting and was a charter member. She rarely missed a meeting and was a volunteer at the museum when it was organized in 1994, enlivening the summer days by setting off the alarm in her attempts to disarm it at the beginning of a shift. When Goldie died in the fall of 2006, she provided in her will that the contents of her house go to the Historical Society. This contributed to the Society in two ways. First, it helped preserve the history of her family, early settlers in Overisel and later Fillmore townships, and, second, the antiques and other items in the house which had no direct connection to area history could be sold by the Historical Society to raise money for the museum, the recently purchased old schoolhouse in Douglas, and other Society projects. She even left instructions with the will's executor that the estate be responsible for transporting the items wherever the Society wanted them moved. From boxes of research here, and boxes of photos there, what follows is a brief, illustrated history of the Kleinheksel family. According to an old family genealogy the name was originally Kenning, but by order of the King of the Netherlands it was changed to Kleinheksel at some point before 1848 when Mannes Kleinheksel, his wife, Jane, and son, William, joined the Reverend Seine Bolks and others from the province of Overijsel, 152 in all, for a trip to the new world with a view to settling in Michigan. Hendrik Kleinheksel, brother of Mannes, is not listed among the official passengers on the original trip. His family may have followed later. According to family tradition they traveled by sailing ship and took nearly three months to cross the ocean. They landed in New York City and spent nearly a year in New York State before traveling up the Erie Canal to Buffalo, where they boarded a boat which took them around the Great Lakes to Grand Haven, and then by coastal steamer to the mouth of the Black River near Holland, Michigan. Although the Reverend A. C. Van Raalte and others in Holland, who had arrived the previous year, aided the new settlers, the newcomers decided to move south and west in Allegan County. An 1 880 history reports that the Hendrik Kleinheksel family was the first to settle in what would become Overisel. The men had built a rude structure to live in during the week, while they were building homes. On weekends they would rejoin their families boarding in Graafschap and Holland. Hendrik and family moved into the rude structure, or "tavern" as it was called to assist with provision for the workers, and became the first settlers. It was here their son, William, was born.

Collection

Kleinheksel Estate, SDHS NL Inserts, Family History

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2007.12

Source or Donor

Kleinheksel Estate

Acquisition Method

Donation

Location

Box

122 Kleinheksel Collection

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Kleinheksel, Goldie 1923-2006, Kleinheksel, Gerrit John 1908-1977, Kleinheksel, Jennie (Deters) 1880-1963

General Notes

Note

There are two copies of the family home photograph. Text was OCR text scanned from SDHS newsletter inserts. Binders of original paper inserts are in the SDHC reference library.

Create Date

August 20, 2007

Update Date

January 9, 2024