A van den Hoogen Family History
Kim van den Hoogen
The Dutch Immigration to North America
While the recent immigration of the Dutch to North America was concentrated after 1946, there has been steady immigration to both the United States and Canada since the early 1900’s.
After the First World War, the numbers rose considerably and reached 2,458 in 1929. per year rose to the 2,458 in 1929 alone. The Prairies encouraged people from overpopulated Holland to seek new opportunities and many settled in the West.
The great depression brought an end to this first wave of immigration from Holland. Only people with close relatives or considerable wealth emigrated and in 1934, only 134 immigrants arrived from Holland.
The Second World War brought formal emigration to an end, although each year a hundred or so Dutch refugees found their way to Canada. Postwar Holland had many problems: housing, an economy with little growth, and a rapidly growing population.
While the United States had little interest in receiving immigrants, Canada altered its regulations to admit people who had skills as farmers and decided to spend more money on trying to establish immigrants in farming and manufacturing regions.
With the Second World War was just over the Dutch had become involved in a new war with Indonesia. The relationship that had developed between Canada and Holland during the Second World War encouraged people to think of Canada as a possible new home for them and their children.
By 1950, the Government was providing subsidies for people who were willing to leave Holland, because unemployment and lack of housing were manifesting as acute problems. At the same time, the Canadian Government provided an added incentive by allowing non-agriculturalists into the country. In the early 1950s many skilled people entered Canada to find plenty of opportunities in the world of business.
It was thus a combination of forces and influences that brought Dutch settlers to Canada from 1947 through to the late 1950s.
William and Anna van den Hoogen
The wedding of William van den Hoogen to Anna van de Zand, May 14, 1935.
© van den Hoogen
William van den Hoogen was born in Schayk, The Netherlands on September 18, 1907; a son to Franciscus van den Hoogen and Johanna van Ras. He received his education as a farmer from the local agricultural school where he graduated with a diploma in agriculture.
Anna Maria van den Hoogen (van de Zanden) was born on November 13, 1908, in Schayk, The Netherlands; a daughter to Cornelius van de Zanden and Petronella van de Donk. She married William van den Hoogen on May 14, 1935. They had no initial plans to move to another country but after the turmoil of World War Two, they began to realize that in order to keep the family together, they would have to settle elsewhere. William's sister, Elizabeth, was already in Port Hood, N.S. Canada, so it was there that they turned their attention.
They left Holland on March 22, 1956, on board the S.S. Maasdam and reached Halifax on April 1, 1956. It had been a rough voyage with Anna seasick for the entire trip. The van den Hoogen family stayed overnight in Halifax and next morning boarded the train for Cape Breton where the van Zutphen family, met them in Port Hawkesbury.
They stayed with the van Zutphens for the next six weeks. The boys went to work in the woods; this was a new experience for them particularly since the snow was still very deep. In the morning the snow would have a hard frozen crust on top, and as the sun would soften the crust they would fall into deep banks. Cor went to work in Antigonish and Herman went to work for a local farmer.
William and Anna bought the farm of John Alex Cameron on the South West road. There was a small milk quota and a number of cows alreay on the farm. The first winter the boys had to haul water up the lane for all the animals as well as the household and the milk, in turn, had to be dragged down the road on a toboggan.
Shortly after their arrival from Holland, a serious car accident sent their oldest son, Cor, to the hospital. Though the injuries were very serious he did recover.
After many years of hard work, the family prospered and settled down in their new homeland. William and Anna retired from the farm in 1971 and moved to Antigonish. Anna passed away on May 3, 1985, after a lengthy illness, and was buried in St. Ninian’s Cemetery in Antigonish. In the meantime many of the children had settled in other parts of Nova Scotia and Canada. Cor lives in Halifax with his wife Mary and two sons. Frank is in Thompson, Manitoba, along with Darlene, his wife and two children. Herman and his wife Toni are on the family farm with their family of five. Nellie is married to Bob Smallbones and has two children; they live in Fort Macleod, Alberta. Joan married a native Cape Bretoner, Angus MacDonald of Port Hood; they have five children. Joe married Florence Gillis of Inverness and lives on the family farm in the South West with his family of four. Francis married John Corsten of Antigonish and has three boys. Willie is married Rosa Heukshorst of Mabou, a daughter of Fred and Anna Heukshorst, Willie and Rosa live with their family of five girls on a farm in Knoydart. Tony also lives in Knoydatt with his wife Ann and their two children.
Children
Cornelius, May 14, 1937 – Sept. 4, 1965
Frank, Aug. 3, 1938 – Oct. 27, 1973
Herman, Sept. 27, 1939 – June 24, 1967
Nellie, Feb. 7, 1941 – Aug. 24, 1968
Joan, May 28, 1942 – July 2, 1966
Joseph, Mar. 31, 1944 – May 22, 1971
Frances, June 2,1947 – Sept. 7, 1968
Willie, Oct. 13, 1949 – Oct. 27, 1972
Tony, Nov. 9, 1951 – Oct. 7, 1978
This short history of the van den Hoogen family was written and provided to us by Kim van den Hoogen.
© 1990 Kim van den Hoogen
© C@P Society of Cape Breton County, 2009
