Person:Gerrit de Vries (22)

Gerrit de Vries was born in the Netherlands near the city of Ten Post. His father's name was Klaas Jans de Vries who was a farmer and his mother's name was Jantje Gerrits Boer. He had 4 sisters: Helen (Hillechien), Jennie (Jantje), Fanny (Fenniggien) and Kate (Trientje). He also had 2 brothers: John (Jan) and Herman (Harm).

When Gerrit was 19 years old he married Anje (Anna) Hoving on May 20, 1875. The first two or three years they did not have any children, but then had 14, including 3 in a row that were stillborn. Their names were (in order by age)Grace, Jennie, Fanny, John Sr., Nick, Nellie, Katie, Henry, 3 Babies, John Jr., Helen, and Clara.

While in Holland, Gerrit worked as a trainer of horses and as a horse dealer. He may have also worked as a farmer. About 1891 he and his family emigrated to the United States. Some or all of his brothers and sisters and his wife's brother, Peter also came about this time. Gerrit leased a 20-30 acre farm near 91st and State Street in Chicago, IL. The area, a Dutch community was known as Oakdale. The address was 9057 Holland Road, Chicago, IL. There his last 3 children were born. All other living children were born in the Netherlands. The house on the farm was one of the oldest buildings in Chicago and the history of the house was written in one of Chicago's newspapers when the house was torn down in about 1955.

Gerrit raised vegetables on the farm with the help of his eight older children. All the children had to work hard on the farm. The farm yielded a good income and Gerrit and his family were relatively prosperous. Gerrit and Anna were good Christian people and members of the 2nd Christian Reformed Church at 106th and Perry Ave. in Roseland, IL.

Gerrit and Anna went back to Holland to visit in 1905. In 1906, Gerrit was hit by a train and was never well after that. A year later, on August 3, 1907, Anna was killed by a train near her house. She had been walking along the tracks and was struck. She could not hear too well and this may have helped to cause the accident. In 1909 Gerrit moved to Harrison, SD with the three youngest children to be near his eldest married daughter, Grace. He left the farm in Oakdale in the care of his sons Nick and Henry. Daughters Nellie and Katie stayed on the farm to keep house for them.

1. ↑ Gerrit DeVries, in Find A Grave.
2. ↑ Illinois, United States. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947
   1918.

   "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3WH-M45 : accessed 12 Apr 2014), Gerrit Devries, 14 May 1918; citing Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1852619.

3. ↑ Geboorte, in Ten Boer, Groningen, Netherlands. Burgerlijke Stand
   Aktenummer 65, 22 Jun 1854.

   Ten Post gem. Ten Boer
   Gerrit de Vries
   Vader: Klaas Jans de Vries, 37
   Moeder: Jantje Gerrits Boer
   
   Geboorteregister Ten Boer 1854 Aktenummer 65