In Eric Hoekstra's words:

"I have crafted the story of my great great grandmother Akke de Jong Hoekstra from family letters, Dutch language newspapers of the late 1800's, local obituaries and from public records such as computerized in Ryksarygf database and actual photocopies of birth certificates. I admire Akke very much. My sister Ingrid has visited family in Berlikum, Friesland this year. Akke's story of being the oldest daughter, seeing siblings die early, being widowed, and traveling to a new world to keep her family together. Her son Jan who returned to Friesland eventually returned to Iowa around 1909."

Akke de Jong Hoekstra

by Eric Hokestra

This story is dedicated to the memory of my great great grandmother Akke Hoekstra.  Her parents were Sije Wybes de Jong and Geertje Klazes Werkhoven.  She led a hard life in that tragedy visited her often.  She emigrated from Friesland in the mid-1880’s.

Born in 1827, in the village of Berlikum, Friesland, she was the first daughter of the Sije and Geertje de Jong to survive early childhood.  She shared her name with a sister who lived three weeks.  Of the ten children born over a fifteen year period , four died in the first year of life and one died at age two.  Surviving were Akke, Klass, Martentje (who shared her name with two sisters),  Wybe (who shared his name with two brothers), and Gabe.

She married Kornelis Heerke Hoekstra when she was 27 on May 24, 1854, in the municipality of Menaldumadeel.  At the time, most women married earlier than Akke.   Her father Sije had died five months before the wedding, in December 1853.  She and Kornelis had six children, Trijntje (b. 1855),  Sije (b. 1857), Heerke (b. 1859), Geertje (b. 1861), Jan (b. 1864), and Martha (b. 1867).   They first lived in house 157 in Berlikum and subsequently in house 172.   Kornelis was described as a “gardenier” on  his son Sije’s and son Heerke’s  birth certificates.  

She was widowed with six children including a 2-year-old child after fifteen years of marriage.  They lived in Berlikum at the time of his death on Christmas day, 1869.   She survived by growing potatoes and vegetables.   Her mother Geertje died in 1873, three and a half years after the death of her beloved Kornelis.   

Four years later her oldest daughter, Trijntje (age 22) married Jarig Klazes van der Schaaf in 1877.  This was followed two years later with the marriage of oldest son, Sije.   In 1879, her son Sije had married Trijntje van Dijk daughter of Rintje van Dijk and Antje Sijbrands Ruygh from the municipality of Barradeel.

Her son Heerke, eighteen, died from tuberculosis (TB) in 1878.   Here's the quote from Cornie (her grandson from son Jan) Hoekstra’s letter to his granddaughter: "While still in Holland, she lost a son Hertke (sic), at the age of 18 to tuberculosis.  This disease was very much dreaded in Holland, and for fear of losing her other son, John, she decided to move to America."  Akke’s world had grown small.  Her  daughter Trijntje and son-in-law had preceded her in emigrating from Friesland.
 

After being a widow for fifteen years, she and three children Jan (John), Martha, and Geertje emigrated from Friesland in 1884.  Akke and grown children departed for North America on March 8, 1884.  While daughter Geertje was 22,  son Jan was nineteen and daughter Martha was sixteen.   Over land, they traveled to Orange City, Iowa to be with her eldest daughter Trijntje and Trijntje’s then husband Jarig Klazes van der Schaaf. Sije and his wife Trijntje stayed behind.  Son Jan upon whom she depended left his sweetheart behind. 

Are you familiar with a town called Pella, Iowa? (USA)  This was a town that was settled in 1847 by Dominie Scholte and a group that he brought with him from the Netherlands. There were many families from Friesland in Dominie Scholte's group. Orange City was settled after Pella, and I am pretty sure that the original families of Orange City had moved there from Pella because they needed more land for farming.

At least we know that Akke's oldest daughter was established in Orange City before Akke came here, so that I suppose would be reason enough for her to go there.  She and the children settled on a farm near Orange City, Iowa, USA.  Son Jan was key to running the farm.   It was fourteen years after the first settlers had come to the area.  Things were still quite primitive.  Fuel must have  been quite scares then as there were few grown trees for making firewood.  She would twist bundles of prairie grass into tight knots to make fuel. 

After four years of this, son Jan (John) decided to go back to Friesland in 1888. He would marry his sweetheart. In late December 1887, she published an advertisement for a public sale in the “De Volksvriend, a local Dutch language newspaper. The advertisement was for an auction on 12 January 1888 for:  one colt, 10 months old; 4 milkcows; 2 two-year old oxen; 1 bull, 2 years old; 1 yearling ox, 4 spring caves, thirty suckling pigs and fifty chickens.   Farm equipment included: one wagon, one McCormick combined reaper, one plow, one Dowser rake, one cornsheller, one cultivator, one bobsled, one cookstove, 300 bushels of oats, and other things too many to mention. 

Akke sold the farm and moved into a room in her daughter Trijntje’s home.  I believe daughter Martha and her husband bought the farm.  Subsequently, Jarig (daughter Trijntje’s husband) died in 1892 and Trijntje married Yge Yges Mulder.   Eventually, three Hoekstra daughters married  three Mulder brothers.   The farm was operated by Mulders (Martha’s grandson) until several years ago.

A Dutch language newspaper recorded the arrival of the family of son Sije in 1886 two years before son Jan returned to Friesland.   Translated:  "Saturday there arrived safe and well from the Netherlands:  the Widow Y. Jelgerhuis with four children, Sikke J. Reitsma from Minnertsga and  S. Hoekstra.“  (Akke’s son Sije from Berlikum.)   Minnertsga is a town about 5 miles from the village of Berlikum and  is the town from which Sije's Trijntje came.   “Sije Hoekstra arrived  with his wife and four children, and they were happily accepted by Jarig Vander Schaaf [this was Akke's oldest daughter's husband]. They are all Friezens (Frisians) that kneel only to God alone. At least we believe that." The date on this is 15 April 1886. The journey took 27 days as they had departed Friesland on 19 March 1886.   We must assume accepted by means sponsored by.  Sije and Trijntje’s children on  the trip were Cornelis (later Cornelius) Sijes (age 4), Antjes Sijes (age 3), Rintje (age 2), and Heerke.  Heerke was almost seven months old when the family departed Friesland.  The family joined the congregation of the Dutch Christian Reformed Church. 

Akke died in  April 1900 in Orange City, Iowa, having been in failing health for some time.  While hoping for her health to improve with a stay with her daughter Geertje Mulder in Carnes , Iowa, she had insisted on returning home and the ride home on a farm wagon was too much for her.  She was jostled by the ruts in the road.   She is buried in the West Lawn cemetery in Orange City, Iowa.  The inscription on her tombstone reads “the memory of the righteous is a blessing, Proverbs 10:7.  She was said to be a very upright and God-fearing woman. 

Akke’s son Sije wrote on behalf of his brothers and sisters that today our very beloved mother passed away at age of 72 years, 5 months, and 14 days.  He further wrote that she left behind a much troubled life, yet she was totally at peace, believing that her Savior paid for her sin and redeemed her, in that assurance did she pass away.  Also, he said that we all lost in her a very caring mother.

            From family letters, newspaper stories and public records.