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Van Dam Family Cemetery
147th Avenue and 42nd Street in Overisel Township, Allegan County MI |
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| d.= Died | u.m. = Undertaker'sMarker | ae = Age | b. = Born | wf = Wife | dau = Daughter |
EMAIL ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS to the Allegan County Coordinator
| Van Dam Family Cemetery was (I don't know if it still is) located on the Gary Van Rhee farm
in the vicinity of 147th Avenue and 42nd Street in Overisel Township. |
| Many of the early settlers of Overisel Michigan
came from the Dutch province of Overisel, Holland. Overisel standing for "over the Yssel," a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch
provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. Jan Van Dam, Sr., his wife and sons were those pioneers. One of the early settlers was Egbert Van Dam, who was a Justice of the Peace and and early elector after the organization of Overisel as an independent township. Roeloff Van Dam was also an early elector for the first meeting of the township of Overisel, Michigan. The meeting was held at the school-house in district 1 on April 6, 1857. All three of the sons (and wives) of Jan Sr. (1801-1864) and Geesje; Jan Jr. (1839-1904)/Jantje (1840-1918), Egbert (1833-1892)/Klazina (1836-1908), and Roeloff (1830-1912)/Maartje (1836-1911) Van Dam are buried in East Drenthe Cemetery in Drenthe, Ottawa County, Michigan. |
| Jan Van Dam Sr. and Geesje prospered on their farm in Overisel Township. The census of 1860 provides
detailed information about the farm activities. By that date, Jan had 60 "improved" acres, and the cash value of the farm was $2,000
and equipment, $100. He had livestock valued at $400, including 3 horses, 5 cows, 2 working oxen, 1 sheep, and 3 swine. He raised
275 bushels of wheat, 180 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of Irish potatoes, 200 lbs. butter, 20 tons hay, 2 lbs. maple sugar, and 50 lbs. honey.
This certainly gives a picture of a busy farm life. Farming was apparently profitable at that time. Prices for farm products were relatively high. Roelof writes to the relatives in Harem in July 1866 that the price of wheat was $1.27 a bushel. The price in July 1993's newspaper was $2.60 and the price October 2019 was $525.74 a bushel. In any case, by 1861, Van Dam's were able to buy additional land, a total of 450 acres, enough so that Jan Sr. and Geesje could provide each of their sons with an 80 acre farm, all very close to the original farm. The north half of section 3 was a land grant to a veteran of the war of 1812, L.J. Rosecrants, who received a patent on the land on September 27, 1836, long before the Dutch settlers arrived. This land was probably for sale at this time to new settlers. In 1862, Jan Van Dam, Jr. bought the home farm from his father, only two years before Jan, Sr. died in 1864. |
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Several years ago Mr. Van Rhee graciously agreed to the placement of a 3-bar plastic vinyl fence, 21 feet x 31 feet, around
three sides of the cemetery. This cemetery was used for only a few years, specifically 1863-1875, by the Van Dam Family. It was started when
there were few other options available to the early Dutch settlers. The first person to be buried there was Jan Van Dam, Sr. himself, born in 1801 in Haren, Province of Groningen, Netherlands. In the next few years (in 1865, 1866 and 1869) three of his grandchildren were also buried there. And finally in 1875 his wife, Geesje Jans Meinders from Gieterveen, Province of Drenthe, Netherlands, was put to rest next to her husband. The details of the individuals buried in this cemetery, still legible on the tombstones, and recreated in bronze in the year 1993 when a family reunion was held at this site. |
| LAST AND FIRST NAME | BIRTH/DEATH DATE | OTHER INFORMATION | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Dam - Jan Sr. | August 23, 1801 - March 30, 1864 | hus of Geesje Meinders, son of Roelof & Engberlina | born in Haren, Province of Groningen, Netherlands, died in Drenthe, Michigan |
| Van Dam - Geesje Jane (Meinders) | May 4, 1801 - October 7, 1875 | wife of Jan Van Dam Sr. | born in Gieterveen, Province of Drenthe, Netherlands |
| Van Dam - Jan | November 19, 1865 - January 28, 1869 | grandson of Jan Van Dam Sr./Geesje | son of Jan Jr. & Jantje (Vissacher) |
| Van Dam, Jan | July 15, 1863 - August 17, 1865 | grandson of Jan Van Dam Sr./Geesje | son of Jan Jr. & Jantje (Vissacher) |
| Van Dam - Nickklaas | December 6, 1863 - October 24, 1866 | grandson of Jan Van Dam Sr./Geesje | son of Egbert & Klazina (Boer) |
| Information was from "History of Allegan and Barry Counties - 1880," and "Then and Now" in Dorr, MI |
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