(Originally written in March 2005, Enschede, NL) Property Inheritance by the Oldest Son In the “Achterhoek” and also in the region “Twente” in the eastern part of The Netherlands it was the most ordinary matter in the world. The eldest son, because it generally is he who continues the farming business of his parents, gets… Read more »
Why did so many Dutch farmers decide to emigrate to America in the mid-1800’s? What would inspire two young farm boys in 1865 to leave their friends and family in rural Winterswijk, Netherlands, in order to undertake an uncertain venture across the Atlantic Ocean to an unknown future in America? Read about the powerful cultural and economic forces that motivated our ancestors to seek their future prosperity in a far away land across the sea.
