The Frank Doezema Family History
by Robert P. Swierenga
By Robert P. Swierenga
Last revised
As for man, his days are like grass,
He flourishes like a flower in the filed,
The wind blows over it and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
The Lord's love is with those who fear him,
And his righteousness with their children's children--
With those who keep his covenant
And remember to obey his precepts.
Ps. 103: 14-18
The
Frank Doezema family was rooted in the
The
seven generations are:
Wijger
Jansen (married 1683) of Doezum
Folke Wijgers (1693-17??) of Doezum
Wijger
Folkes (1724-17??) of Sebaldeburen
Tjerk
Wijgers (1767-1810) of Sebaldeburen
Wieger
Tjerks Doezema (1804-1873) of Grootegast
Tjerk
Wiegers Doezema (1837-1922) of Grootegast
Frank
Doezema (1871-1967) of Niezijl
Early generations
Wijger
and Teeke Jansen of Doezum had seven children: Jantjen (
Folke
Wijgers of Doezum married Beerentje Heerkes (born
Wijger
Folkes of Doezum, the second child and firstborn son, married
Tjerk
Wijgers, a day laborer (dagloner) married Grietje Wiggels Hazenberg (born
Wieger
Tjerk Doezema (1804-73, a farm laborer (boerenknecht) at Sebaldeburen, was the
first to use the name DOEZEMA. On
Immigration of Tjerk/Charles and Anskje/Agnes Doezema
At
27 years of age, on
Tjerk
and Anskje lived in a farmhouse outside Grijpskerk for many years and they had
six children in eleven years in Grijpskerk and Niezijl. Later, after
immigrating, two children were born in
Tjerk
worked as a farm laborer (arbeider),
but he scrimped and saved to buy an acre of land to raise garden vegetables and
graze his milk cow. The children worked on neighboring farms to bring in extra
income by cutting hay and other grains, weeding, and the like. The family home was a typical Dutch
farmstead, with the dwelling portion and barn all under one roof (see sketch).
Times were hard for any family without farmland, and Tjerk and Anskje decided
to immigrate with the family to
Family
tradition is that Tjerk was reluctantly persuaded to immigrate by his blind and
widowed mother Kornelia Zwart Doezema, who wanted to be near her widowed
daughter Reinktje Nordhof. Reinktje had immigrated to
Tjerk
and Anskje Doezema immigrated to
Accompanying
the family were three relatives—Manus Doezema, age 24, a bricklayer; Pieter
Doezema, age 29, a farm laborer; and Tryntje Doezema, age 23, without
occupation. Tryntje may have been Pieter's wife. A second Doezema family on the
same vessel was “Widow” Doezema, age 66, with five grandchildren (?): daughters Cornelia age 11 and Eune
(Anna?) age 9, and sons Wieger age
6, Jelke age 4, and Albert age 4. This
widow was probably Tjerk’s aunt, since the widow’s oldest son was named Wieger,
after her husband’s father, Wieger Tjerks, according to the Dutch naming
custom. The families of Jan and Willem Pastoor took passage on the same voyage.
Tjerk Doezema’s daughter Annie married Cornelius (Charles) Pastoor (Aug. 9,
1875-19??), the oldest son of Jan Pastoor. So, unbeknownst to her, Annie at age
3, crossed the ocean with her future husband, then age 9.
Three
of Anskje Doezema’s siblings also immigrated to Grand Rapids in 1881—sisters
Antje/Hanna Hofstee, who married Peter Prins; Martha Hofstee, who married Frank
Huizenga and had three sons and two daughters; and brother Alardus Hofstee, a
humpback who never married. He lived with his married sister Antje for many
years and had a "ready-made" shoe store. After suffering a
debilitating stroke in 1905 and recuperating for a year, he moved his merchandize
to the house and sold from a room at the front sidewalk. All these Doezema
siblings and spouses are buried in the
“At
the time she [Anskje] did not realize that she would never see her parents
again, because they had plans to emigrate also; they never did.” The family
history continues: “Her father signed his letters: ‘Your father and mother F.
Hofstee and Johanna Vinkers,’ which indicates her birth mother, Anktje Nicolas,
had died before Anskje left
The
next year, in 1882, according to the Emigration Records [Landverhuizerslijsten]
of the
The
Doezema families likely chose Grand Rapids because the well-regarded pastor of
the Seceder church in their village of Niezijl, the Rev. Geert Boer, had
accepted the call of the Spring (later Bates) Street Christian Reformed Church.
The family had to cross a canal to reach Boer's church, but it was worth the
inconvenience. Boer baptized most of the Doezema children and was a family
friend. He later became the first professor at Calvin Theological Seminary.
Boer had an irenic spirit and was able to defuse conflicts among the devout and
strongly opinionated Seceders. Cornelius “Neal” Pastoor, grandson of Tjerk’s
sister Annie, recalls once that a group of conservative men from the church
went to Boer’s home to complain about the decorations on his wife’s hat—too
many cherries, they said. Boer asked his wife to bring out the offending hat
and a pair of scissors. He then told the men to cut off as many cherries as
they thought appropriate. That silenced
them.
Tjerk/Charles and Anskje/Agnes Doezema family in Grand
Rapids
In
Grand Rapids, the Tjerk Doezema family settled first near East Fulton and
Diamond streets, in an area known as the “Brickyard.” It was dominated by
Zeelanders who spoke their Zeeuwse dialect. “We always thought they were
speaking English,” daughter Annie recalled.
In
1905, the family relocated further south to 819 Dunham Street, S.E., near
Eastern Avenue. It stood directly across the street from the Immanuel Reformed
Church. This was a solid middle class neighborhood near to Baxter Christian
School, Grand Rapids Christian High School, and the future campus of Calvin
College. This home is still standing and in use.
Tjerk,
who also used the American name Charles, held a variety of jobs in Grand
Rapids, beginning with digging sewers. He was used to hard work and no job was
beneath his dignity. “As the story has is, his boss would tell him to slow
down, but because he couldn’t understand English, Tjerk thought he was being
told to work harder. So he worked harder—whereupon the boss would again tell
him to slow down, again with the opposite effect. Tjerk complained to his wife
about the hard work and eventually quit.”
Tjerk
had an entrepreneurial spirit that was typical of Dutchmen, Groningers in
particular. He wanted to be his own boss and wasn’t happy until he began making
money. He bought a horse and wagon and became a rag collector/peddler, buying
old rags and hawking pots and pans. With the earnings, he bought an empty lot
and built two cheap houses, which he rented out. Soon he had taken up the
carpentry trade full time, although he had no formal training or
apprenticeship, and built many houses on streets he platted and named Stormzand
and Doezema Court. The family moved into one of the houses on Doezema Court.
The site was near Fulton and Diamond in the southeastern sector. The homes are
still occupied today. A drive down the streets finds them narrow and the houses
packed close together. Tjerk sought maximum profits from his real estate
venture.
Most of his sons worked alongside their father
in the construction business, but not always in harmony. According the
granddaughter Dora Tjerk especially clashed with John, who he once chased
across a roof with his saw in hand. John
quit and went into furniture making, and brothers Riner and Cornelius soon
joined him. Riner declared that he “didn’t want to build ‘those cheese boxes’
any more.” The oldest son, Will, who had first worked in a factory, developed a
drinking problem and left town, marrying in haste at age 19. Without the labor
of his sons, Tjerk stopped building houses too.
The
sons seemed to have little love for their father. He had a temper, seemed
driven to succeed, and could be difficult. He had only one speed—fast. “He
always walked and worked as though in a hurry.” His sons thought their father
treated his prized team of horses better than he did them. Moreover, Tjerk kept
his son’s wages and gave them 25 cents a week until they were 21. Tjerk saved
and invested his money in “houses and lands,” including a farm that son
Cornelius worked as a tenant. He died a wealthy man, worth $10,000 when the
going wage was $1 a day. Even in old age, Tjerk bustled about in his back yard
on Dunham Street, feeding his chickens and tending to the vegetable garden.
Religiously,
Tjerk Doezema was a practicing Christian, although his mother described his
father Wieger as an unbeliever. Tjerk led his family in devotions every evening
at mealtime, reading the Bible and offering a prayer of thanksgiving. In Grand
Rapids, the Doezema family initially joined the East Street Holland Christian
Reformed Church (later Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church), where Tjerk
served as an elder in the early 1890s. But, as granddaughter Harriet Doezema
Knott explained, "Because of certain objections raised to having group
family visitation of members of the congregation living in the East Fulton
Street area, Grandpa, along with others, became instrumental in the
organization of the Dennis Ave. Christian Reformed Church." The date of
organization was
Tjerk
was elected one of the first two elders at Dennis Avenue
After
more than a decade at Dennis Avenue, an unfortunate circumstance involving the
pastor drove the Doezema family back to the Eastern Avenue church. The Dennis Ave.
pastor, Rev. Eppe (Edward) Vander Vries, apparently had an affair with a woman
in the congregation and was forced to leave the Gospel ministry in 1906. While
the congregation was in turmoil, the Doezemas in 1905 left and returned the
Eastern Avenue
Rev.
Herman Hoeksema took up the pastorate at Eastern Avenue in 1920, just at the
time Tjerk became critically ill with cancer. Hoeksema regularly visited his
ailing parishioner and the two had serious conversations. Granddaughter Dora
(later Mrs. Adam Persenaire), a teenager who took care of Tjerk, since Anskje
was incapacitated, recalls once hearing Tjerk confess to the dominee: “Death
I’m afraid of, but not after death.” Tjerk died that year in his home on Dunham
Street, having lived to see 83 years. Rev. Hoeksema conducted the funeral in
the sanctuary with interment following in Garfield Cemetery. Four years later,
Hoeksema was expelled from the denomination over a disagreement concerning the
doctrine of Common Grace, and he formed the Protestant Reformed Church.
Anskje,
who took the name Agnes, lived in Grand Rapids more than fifty years and never
learned to speak English, although she could understand it. That she could live
for five decades speaking only her native tongue testifies to the tight Dutch
community in Grand Rapids, complete with churches, schools, social clubs, and
family networks. Only the grandchildren found it difficult to interact with
Grandma Doezema, because of the language barrier. As in the Netherlands, she
kept several cows for fresh milk and made metworst to flavor the dinner main
dish, pot eten, a combination of
potatoes, vegetables, and sausage, all thrown together in a pot. Photographs
show Anskje at middle age to be “somewhat corpulent” with black hair into her
eighties twisted into a long braid.
Anskje
Doezema was a gregarious, gentle soul who relished time with family. She began
the long-revered tradition of gathering the entire family together after church
services and on birthdays and other occasions during the week. She was truly a
“mother in Israel,” and was much revered by the entire family, including
in-laws. Granddaughter Charlotte called her “a dream of a lady.” She was
easy-going and an excellent homemaker. Her grandchildren remember her in later
life sitting in a large black chair, dressed in a black dress with a large
skirt and huge side pockets filled with candy and coins, which she happily
handed out when the grandchildren came to visit. When she could no longer
attend church services because of advanced rheumatism and other ailments,
son-in-law Charles Pastoor went over every Sunday to read her a sermon in
Dutch.
When
the family first arrived in Grand Rapids, the children of school age enrolled
in Lake Street Pubic School. (A September 1892 school photo, which includes
12-year old Riner, is in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Harriet Doezema
Knott). The younger children transferred to Baxter Christian School when it was
founded, and most went through the eighth grade. The exceptions were the
youngest, Albert, who graduated from Central High School, and Frank, who
married and then completed his interrupted education and graduated from Calvin
Theological Seminary. According to son-in-law Cornelius “Neal” Pastoor, “the
Doezemas mistrusted education; they thought it was too worldly.” It irritated
Tjerk when Frank came home from Calvin Seminary wearing a suit and walking with
“a ‘no work’ prance.” Once, according to family recollections, Tjerk was painting
and “‘accidentally’ dumped a pail of paint on the smartly dressed seminarian.”
No strutting or “putting on airs” was allowed in the Doezema household.
Tjerk
also had a problem with overt religious piety. After Cornelius and Frank went
to a Billy Sunday revival and were “saved,” they “witnessing” about their
conversion to the church elders who came to the Doezema home for the annual
family visitation. At this, Tjerk remarked that it was “funny they [the boys]
didn’t show it more.”
In
1907 Tjerk reported about his family and life in Grand Rapids in a letter to a
"true friend" in the Netherlands. The name of the friend is not known
because only fragments of the letter are extant. The family member who
translated the letter is also unknown. Tjerk wrote in a free style, with little
punctuation and capitalization.
I thought I should write you once how it goes with us.
things are well with us. all are well….
We have four married sons the eldest Wieger is farmer 8 children. the 2nd Fokke
is Preacher was 5 years 1 hour north of New York now 2 years in grandrapids.
the wife is a daughter of B. Top is also some relation to van de Pende 5
daughters. the 3rd Knelis [Kornelis] is Farmer 4 children. The 4th is Auktje
has 3 children the husband is from Beem they [have] a butcher shop name is K.
Pastoor. the 5th is Cabinet maker and have
2 children. The 6th and 7th erect houses and are not yet married.
You're probably saying how is it going in America. is
it better than in the Netherlands. Then the answer is yes, but a marked
contrast to one's situation in the Netherlands what occupation one has, it is
much better now in the Netherlands than when we went away. so many people are
coming to America. At present the land is large enough but work that is the
thing. When one has ample work than good money too. For example our 4th son is
cabinet maker earns 15 dollars in a factory some 9 and 10 [hours a day] in a
week. both the farmers do not earn that. Now city life is also more costly. The
farmer himself has a good deal. In the city one has to buy everything and yet
there is so much opportunity here not like in the past. The people are
beginning to support each other, a carryover from the Netherlands. Fortunately
the price of all [farm] products is increasing….
Tjerk
and Anskje Doezema were prolific and both lived to a ripe old age. At ages 80
and 77 respectively, in 1917 they celebrated their Jubilee (fiftieth) wedding
anniversary at their home, surrounded by their 7 children, 38 grandchildren,
and 5 great grandchildren. Their seven children eventually produced 41
grandchildren. This information comes from a newspaper report, which included a
photo of their portraits painted in oil by Mathias Alten, a local artist, who
was a good friend of son Albert. Tjerk Doezema sat for his portrait in Alten's
studio, but Anskje's health made this too difficult, so the artist came to the
family home to paint her. Alten's reputation later grew and his oils now fetch
tens of thousands of dollars at art auctions.
The Doezema Boys--Farming and furniture
Later
William and Cornelius operated farms--William in East Martin, MI some twenty
miles south of Grand Rapids, and Cornelius east of the city on East Paris Rd.
between 36th and 44th streets. The name DOEZEMA still adorns William's barn,
which is visible from US 131 and is still in the family. Riner and John loved
to work with wood and became furniture craftsmen. Already in the early
twenties, they left home construction for the furniture business. In 1910 they
learned the craft while working for, and investing in, the Crisswell Furniture
Company at 519 Monroe Avenue N.W. In 1916 the brother sold their financial
stake back to Crisswell. In 1922 they and several other investors organized the
Cabinet Shops in the same four-story building. This firm went bankrupt in the
Crash of 1929, but Riner and John saw the "heavy cloud coming" and
sold their interests shortly before the panic hit.
With
the cash, Riner and John in late 1929 bought the building at 16 Brown Street
S.W. and launched the Doezema Furniture Company of Grand Rapids. They used the
same salesmen and customer list as the bankrupt firm. John designed the carved,
intricate pieces, drawing for his inspiration on the "old masters" in
the Renaissance and English Chippendale styles; Riner focused on the
manufacturing and marketing end of the business. The firm prospered and needed
more space, so they returned to the larger quarters at 519 N. Monroe where they
had their start in 1910. During the annual January furniture mart at
Walters-Klingman Building in Grand Rapids, then the furniture capital of
America, the Doezemas displayed their furniture line. Riner later was
associated with the Mastercraft Furniture Company of Grand Rapids.
The
Doezemas only manufactured “high-end” or “fine furniture,” and annually
displayed their pieces at the national trade show at the Merchandize Mart in
Chicago. A sign in the factory showroom read: "Please do not use profane
language." Riner was a stickler about keeping the "Sabbath Day
holy," once even refusing to join John on a Sunday evening to remove
prized wood from the factory basement when the nearby Grand River flooded its
banks. The wood could wait until midnight, Riner insisted, and then he would
come. Daughter Harriet Knott recounted these stories of Riner's stern faith.
Harriet's
recollections also include an honest picture of Riner's personality, which
seemed to mirror that of his father. "He not a joyful Christian; rather he
was a doubter" who needed constant assurance of his salvation. Neither did
he ever praise or compliment his children or employees, even sons William
"Bill" and Charles "Chuck" who worked for him at
Mastercraft. Yet, he was proud of all his sons, including Lambert, a minister,
and Edward, a doctor. "As for the
girls [his four daughters]," Harriet added, "that was something
else." Instead of words, Riner lavished his children with gifts and money.
Frank
also expected to go into the furniture business with his brothers, until he
felt the call to the ministry, much to the chagrin of his fiancé. Albert was a
cashier at his brother-in-law Cornelius Pastoor’s Meat Market in Grand Rapids
and later became a dealer in books and antique furniture. Furniture carpentry
was hazardous work and several of the Doezema craftsmen lost fingers to the saw
and the lathe.
The Second and Third Generations
Wieger/William
“Will” Doezema (Sept. 29, 1869-Aug. 11, 1956) married Nell "Nellie"
Bishop (Apr. 24, 1870-Jan. 5, 1955) on
Fokke/Frank
Doezema (July 16, 1871-Nov. 21, 1967) married Celia Top (Oct. 27, 1873-Apr. 29,
1954) on
Kornelis/Cornelius/Corniel
Doezema (Jan. 22, 1873-Mar. 2, 1967) married Jessie Vander West (Sept. 28,
1876-Mar. ?, 1954) and they had seven children: Agnes (Apr. 5, 1897-Dec. 5,
1992) married to Phil Persenaire (????-????), Martin (Nov. 24, 1898-Apr. 17,
1996) married to Tina Wegter (1896-1996), Charles (July 12, 1900-Feb. 17, 1945)
married to Nellie Nyenhuis (1901-96), Dora (Nov. 30, 1902-Apr. 5, 1999 )
married to Adam Persenaire (1898-1977),
Ann (Dec. 22, 1907-Sept. 8 , 1992) married to Henry Stevens (1906??-87??), Jeanette (Dec. 18, 1909-June 30, 2003 ) married to Jack De Vries (1909-81), and Helen
(Sept. 15, 1913- ).
Aukje/Annie
Doezema (Mar. 27, 1875-Dec. 31, 1970) married Corniel (Charles) Pastoor (Aug.
9, 1875-19??) and they had four children: Charles Pastoor (Aug. 9,1903-Mar. 28,
1991) married to Jean Stegenga (1909-92) , William Pastoor (Feb. 2, 1906-Jan. 26, 1986) married
to Dorothy De Vries (1904-98), Hilda Pastoor (July 6, 1907-Mar. 14, 1976)
married to Ted Helmus (19??-??), and Agnes Pastoor (May 30, 1911-Dec. 7, 1979)
married to Otto Huizenga (19??-??). Annie Doezema later in life suffered from
mental illness and had to be treated at the Pine Rest Christian Psychiatric
Hospital in Cutlerville.
Jan/John
Doezema (Nov. 17, 1878-Mar. 26, 1969), married Kate De Good (July 22, 1882-Jan.
6, 1957) (date of marriage?) and they had nine children: Chester (Sept. 11,
1903-85) married to Anne Huizenga (1902-82), Harold (Apr. 3, 1905-93) married
to Evelyn R. Bergen (1907-93), Willard (Nov. 9, 1907-2002) married
to Adriana Roebel (1908-2001), James William (Mar. 5, 1910-93) married to Mae
Schuitema (1908-97), Frank John (May 14, 1911-
) married to Etta Dekker (1913-86), Jane (Mar. 2, 1913-2002) married to
Peter Rottschafer (1903-83), Dr. Cornielius (Jan. 20, 1915-81) married to Alice
Buurma (July 16, 1919- ), Angie (Dec. 30, 1917-
) married to Louis Vink (1921-2000), and Annette (May 17, 1924- ) married to Al Broodman (Oct. 24,
1924- ) on
Rense/Riner/Rhiner
(Aug. 14, 1880-Nov. 21, 1977) married Frederika "Reka" Kwant (Aug.
15, 1883-Oct. 28, 1957) on
Albert
Doezema (Oct. 14, 1883-Jan. 19, 1974) never married. He remained at home and
gave his widowed mother his devoted attention, waiting on her “hand and foot,”
until her death. Albert continued living in the family home on Dunham Street
until his death.
In
1924, the 87-year-old Anskje and four of her married children followed Rev. Herman
Hoeksema of the Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church into the newly
established Protestant Reformed Church, after Hoeksema’s resignation and
expulsion. The Doezemas worshipped in the imposing new edifice on the northwest
corner of Fuller Avenue at Franklin Street. Only Frank remained in the
Christian Reformed Church. Will, the oldest, joined the Calvary
Nondenominational Church of Grand Rapids, founded by the charismatic preacher,
Rev. M.R. De Haan, who was expelled from the Reformed Church in America for
teaching premillenialism and believer's baptism (in place of infant baptism).
Eventually, the Doezema PRs followed the De Wolf faction in the 1951 split and
all eventually, except for Corniel, rejoined the
As
Anskje was nearing death in 1927 at 90 years of age, all the children and
grandchildren came to say goodbye. The children stood around the bed at her
passing. After embalming the body was brought back in a casket and placed in
the parlor. Black ribbons on the front door announced the wake. (White ribbons
were used for children, purple for the middle aged, and black for the elderly).
Rev. Hoeksema conducted the funeral service at the First Protestant Reformed
Church of Grand Rapids. In the sermon, Hoeksema recalled Jacob’s reply to
Pharaoh: “And Pharaoh said unto Jacob: ‘How old art thou?’ And Jacob said unto
Pharaoh, ‘the days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty
years” (Gen: 47: 8-9). Family members wore black bands on their arms over
dresses, shirts, and coats.
Anskje’s
death hit Albert, her “baby,” hard. After the undertaker Zaagman had embalmed
her body, and his older brothers Will and Riner had picked out a casket, she
was brought back home for public viewing. “At noon, when I was alone, they
brought her back in a casket, and I spent a short hour alone with her,” Albert
wrote in his diary. “It seems to me I will never forget that period. The last
time mother and I would be together—alone. Sat. and Sunday quite a few people
came, and Monday we buried her…. It was a large funeral—at least 20 cars
followed mother to the grave. After the funeral and at night we were all
gathered together—and then the parting. Now I enter a new stage in my life.”
Anskje was buried alongside her husband in the Garfield Cemetery, Grand Rapids.
Tjerk
and Anskje and all their children, except the son who died in infancy, lived to
be octogenarians. Tjerk reached age 83, Anskje 90, William 87, Frank 96,
Cornelius 94, Annie Pastoor 95, John 90, Riner 97, and Albert 90. On
When
Albert found the family home in the Netherlands intact, he proposed that he and
his siblings jointly buy it, have it disassembled brick by brick, shipped to
Grand Rapids, and rebuilt! There were to takers. Too bad, because Grand Rapids
could now boast of having an authentic Dutch farmhouse, just like Holland
glories in windmill, De Zwaan.
The gathering of the Doezema siblings in 1953 was
remarkable only for its regularity. Once a week the four brothers and sister
Annie in West Michigan got together for coffee and conversation at each other's
homes. Frank in Chicago came as often as possible. They had a "remarkable
relationship," Harriet recalled. "This friendship carried them
through the last years of their lives and to the very end." Sharing the
immigrant experience as children likely forged this special bond. It is also a
tribute to the loving nurture of their mother and perhaps also their father.
Fokke/Frank Doezema and Sietske/Celia Top
Frank was almost ten years old when his parents
immigrated to Grand Rapids. Frank was catechized and worshipped with the family
at the Dennis Avenue Christian Reformed Church. He attended public schools,
because no Christian schools existed yet, and then enrolled in the Calvin
Preparatory School and Theological Seminary. As a young man he was “deeply
interested in spiritual things, he made confession of faith at the age of
seventeen and resolved to enter the ministry. Although he was somewhat
handicapped by his lack of earlier education, he persisted in his studies and
graduated from the seminary in 1899.” So reads Frank Doezema’s necrology in the
Christian Reformed Church Yearbook of 1968.
Late in life, at the request of his brothers, Frank
described his spiritual awakening as a teenager in great detail and with deep
emotion. In brief, Frank, his cousin Corneil Doezema, and their friend Fred Mos
were converted in the so-called Awakening that rippled through various Dutch
Reformed congregations in Grand Rapids from the Fall of 1887 through the Spring
of 1888. "God alone knows how "THE AWAKENING" originated, how it
developed and who were the participants," Frank recalled.
"CONVERSIONS and AWAKENINGS are something like seed that falls into the
soil, begins to sprout, grows and runs into a harvest." In another
analogy, he noted: "It is something like a fire; as long as plenty of fuel
is added it keeps burning and flares up, but when no fuel is added it goes down
and finally goes out."
Fred
Mos, at 20 the oldest of the trio, was saved first on a Sunday afternoon. Fred
had lived a "wicked," religiously indifferent life that "took
all the joy out of his parents' life." After his sudden conversion, Fred
"became a very warm Christian." Frank continued: "The conversion
of Corneil and me in connection with Fred's is the origin of the Awakening. I
don't know very much, in fact not anything about Corneil's conversion. We were
both tight mouthed in regard to religion. I know both of us were having a
spiritual battle."
Frank's
spiritual struggles lasted for a full year, beginning when he was 16; they
culminated in his convertion at age 17. During the year of spiritual battles,
Frank and his two friends experienced times of "unspeakable joy"
followed by the depths of "atheism."
Their pastor at Eastern Avenue
The
trio was next led to a revival meeting at a Reformed church in the Grandville
Avenue area, where they rose and gave personal testimonies. "I wonder now
what we told that large audience," Frank opined. Throughout their
spiritual struggles, Rev. Sevensma and the Eastern Avenue church elders said
nothing. "I am very much surprised that the consistory did not give us
leadership," Frank recalled. "Not once did the preacher or an elder
meet with us." The consistory did accept the men's public profession of
faith, however, and they joined the church as confessing members. "It was
from this time that I had the desire to study for the ministry. I was 17 when I
made my profession of faith…. What a joy it must have been," Frank
concluded, "for all the parents concerned; also for father and
mother." Perhaps, but Tjerk and Anskje could hardly have understood the
strange workings of the Holy Spirit in Yankee America.
Other
Seminary classmates of Doezema, who he reported as also being converted in the
Awakening, included Revs. Jacob Bolt and Herman Vander Ploeg (class of 1899),
and Rev. Menno Bosma (class of 1900). In Doezema's letter, he noted that
"Rev. Bolt answered me: 'Indeed, I remember the AWAKENING. I was in it and
made profession of faith when I was 13.'"
After
completing preparatory school and before beginning studies at Calvin Seminary,
Frank Doezema married Sietske/Celia Top in Grand Rapids on
Most
interesting is the fact that Frank Doezema and Celia Top had the same
great-grandmother—Antje van Bolhuis, but they had different grandfathers! Frank's maternal grandfather (Fokke Jannes
Hofstee) and Celia's paternal grandfather (Fokke Bolhuis) were both married to
Antje van Bolhuis, because of deaths. When Fokke Hofstee died, Antje married
Fokke Bolhuis.
Frank
and Celia began their family in Grand Rapids. Two daughters—Pearl and
Agnes—were born there while Frank attended Calvin Seminary. After his
graduation, the family left for Midland Park, New Jersey, where Frank had
accepted the call of the Christian Reformed congregation. He served six years
(1899-1905) and daughters Bernice and Annette were born in the parsonage. In
the early years, Celia took in up to five boarders at the parsonage to augment
Frank's meager salary.
In
1905, Frank returned to the family nest in Grand Rapids after accepting the
call of the Crosby Street Christian Reformed Church. They moved into the
parsonage next door. Shortly after taking up the work, the church burned down
and partially destroyed the parsonage. The congregation, under Doezema's
leadership erected a new edifice on West Leonard Street, and the church was
renamed the West Leonard Christian Reformed Church. Frank ministered at the
church nine years, until 1914, and the two youngest daughters, Bertha and
Charlotte, were born in the parsonage. All six daughters attended West Side
Christian School in Grand Rapids, and the two eldest, Pearl and Agnes,
graduated from the school.
Daughter
Annette Doezema Boomker recalled her childhood when the editor of the Holland Home Echo in April, 1982 came to interview her in her
room at the Holland Home in South Holland, Illinois. With the parsonage in
Grand Rapids in mind, Annette remembered "a pleasant home, big yard, a
playhouse in back, chickens, pigeons, rose bushes, five sisters and interesting
parents." She then spoke about her school days: "I learned to read
and write in the Dutch language [All church services and catechism classes were
in Dutch in those years]. We wrote on slate and a privileged student was
permitted to shake a few drops of water from a glass bottle with a hole in the
cork to clean them."
Annette
then described family vacations. "Every summer my dad hired a surrey from
the livery stable with two beautiful black horses for a trip to my uncle's farm
[probably that of Cornelius Doezema]. The surrey had rubber tires and a fringe
on top. I can still hear the clop, clop of the horse's hoofs on the road."
Doezema
in 1914 accepted the call of the First Roseland Christian Reformed Church, and
the family moved to Chicago’s Far South Side, where they settled in for more
than half a century. In this day before automobiles, the family road the Pere
Marquette Railroad to Chicago. Annette noted that "our first delightful
train ride was in 1914 when we moved to Roseland. The coaches had green plush
seats and I was afraid the trip would be short, so I asked my dad if it would
soon be over. 'No,' he said, 'it’s a long ride.' We arrived in Kensington
station in November. Three gentlemen who owned cars were there to greet
us."
The
Doezema children immediately assessed their new home and the opinion was
unfavorable. As Annette remembered, "the new location on 111th and State
Street [then the location of the church and parsonage] wasn't as pleasant as
the old one. I didn't like the house because it had a flat roof so no attic to
play in on rainy days. The church was quaint and old-fashioned. We entered our
pew through a fancy wooden gate and we had cushioned seats. The organ in the
balcony had to be pumped by hand. Not long after, a new church and parsonage
were built on 109th Place and Princeton—a big house with an attic." The children were pleased. Annette continued:
"The deacons counted the collection from Sunday services at our dining
room table every Monday evening. I still remember them rolling up the nickels
and dimes in paper wrappers."
Doezema
led the large congregation for thirty years, until he was emeritated at age 73
in 1944. Then he continued to call on the sick and conduct the afternoon Dutch
service for another thirteen years, until 1957, his 86th year. The children
attended the Roseland Christian School on State Street (later moved to 108th
Street), which the First Roseland Church had founded. The four youngest
daughters graduated from this school.
Annette
is proudly pictured in 1916 with her 8th grade class. All the girls
wore big white ribbons in their hair, they had a graduation ribbon pinned on
the front of their dresses, and they cradled a bouquet of flowers.. The boys
wore knickers and suit coats, with a graduation ribbon pinned on one lapel and
a boutonniere on the other. Each of the eighteen graduates proudly clutched a
diploma, rolled up and tied with a little bow.
The
pastorate consumed Doezema. “We never had a father,” the youngest daughter
Charlotte lamented years later. “His ministry came first.” Annette had the same
recollection: "We didn't see my father too often. He preached three times
every Sunday, conducted all the catechism classes, family visiting, and sick
calls." With this, he was seldom home, and when he was at home he was at
his desk in the study. Besides preparing sermons, Frank taught up to four
catechism classes, led both Dutch and English women’s and men’s societies,
called on the sick and shut-ins, and served on various church boards and
committees. He conducted three, and sometimes all four, Sunday worship
services—Dutch and English in the morning, Dutch in the afternoon, and English
in the evening. In the 1920s, the morning Dutch service was dropped. “He didn’t
even have time to look at his children’s [school] report cards," said
Charlotte. “He just signed them.” Frank
spent so much time in his study that his doctor prescribed exercise at the YMCA
and in the vegetable garden out back.
On
In the passing of this milestone we find our church in
a flourishing condition, as evidenced by the remarkable attendance at all
services on the Lord’s Day; by our nine active societies, large catechism
classes and a Sunday School of over three hundred pupils…
In these twenty-five years our pastor has faithfully
proclaimed the gospel and the way of salvation. He has shared with us our many
joys and sorrows. It is with a feeling of true Christian fellowship that we
join with him on this festive occasion to show our love and appreciation, and
to wish him God’s richest blessing.
During
Doezema’s ministry, the congregation had grown from 177 to 250 families, and he
had baptized 568 infants, heard 518 confessions of faith, conducted 265
funerals, and preached 3,833 sermons. The special, five-verse poem, written by
Bertha Prince Vander Ark and printed in the program booklet, said it best (in
part):
How
often he has broken
For
us the Bread of Life;
Some
babes whom he has christened,
He
has made man and wife.
The
youth he has instructed,
Souls
to the Lord he has led;
In
illness he brought comfort,
With
the wayward ones he pled.
His
words in sorrow strengthened
The
bleeding, grief-torn heart;
His
visits we have cherished,
More
faith they did impart.
With
zeal and consecration
He
labors for the Lord;
For
forty years proclaiming
The
gospel truth—God’s Word.
Moreover,
Doezema in these years had overseen the construction of a new church
edifice, a parsonage, and a new building
for Roseland Christian School. Each was an impressive brick structure that
announced that the Hollanders of First Roseland
Doezema
was a churchman as well as a pastor. In 1912, Classis Grand Rapids West elected
him a delegate to the Christian Reformed denominational synod, held in Chicago
in July. Fellow classical representatives were the Revs. Henry Beets and Evert
Breen. In Chicago Doezema served on the boards of classical committees and
mission projects. Most difficult were the committees to investigate the Bible
course notes of Dr. Frederick Wezeman, principal and teacher of Bible at
Chicago Christian High School between 1934 and 1938. This “case” ultimately
landed in the lap of the denominational Synod, as theological controversies
always did.
When
the Doezema family had to vacate the parsonage at 254 W. 109th Place
in 1945, upon the arrival of his successor, Rev. Marinus Arnoys, they bought a
home one block north on Princeton Street at 300 W. 109th Street. It
was two doors east of daughter Annette and Ted Boomker, who lived at 308 W.
109th St. Here he and Celia lived for many years. Frank remained until age 93
in 1967, when he moved into a convalescent home. His children kept in close
contact with their widowed father and his phone number (PUllman 5-3271) was
engraved in their memories from the almost daily calls.
Five years after being emeritated, a colleague, Rev.
William Van Rees, wrote the following in a report about churches in Classis
Chicago South, published in the Christian Reformed denominational weekly, The Banner (2 Dec. 1949).
The
First Church is a bee-hive of activity.… The emeritus pastor, Rev. Frank
Doezema, commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the holy
ministry. He could do so in a very fitting way by preaching at the afternoon
service in the church he served so many years. It surely is a blessing that
this brother after so many years is still able to preach the Word every Sunday.
Doezema continued for
another thirteen years at First Church as pastor of congregational life, to use
a contemporary term. For the first nine years, he patiently sat under the
preaching of Arnoys (1945-54), who critics in a play on words dubbed "Lots
of Noise." Doezema next worked several years with Rev. Thomas Van Eerden
(1955-64) until his second retirement in 1957. On Sunday
His
pastoral services were so much appreciated that upon his retirement the
consistory urged him to work as an assistant to the pastor and since that time
[he] has been carrying on his work very acceptably. At present he attends
services very faithfully and spends much of his time visiting relatives and
friends, as well as the sick and aged of the Congregation. He is known
personally to practically everyone of us, and his influence has touched each in
some special way.
Doezema
conducted the afternoon Dutch service at First Roseland until 1961, when at age
86 his children insisted that he quit, since he was clearly failing in memory
and strength. This brought an end to
Dutch-language worship in Roseland. In the last years, the service was
scheduled only once a month.
In
the strength of his years, Doezema preached with a great deal of expression and
dramatic flair. He “wore well.” His fervent congregational prayers demonstrated
a gift for intercessory prayer, and he had the gift of peace making. “He was a
real diplomat who knew how to deal with people and their quirks,” Charlotte
noted, and “he never started an argument.” The biggest challenge was to
gradually transition from the Dutch language to English in the worship services
at First Roseland. Doezema followed the usual step of introducing English first
in the evening service “for the sake of the young people.” The Dutch morning
service continued until most of the immigrant generation had passed away.
Another battle ensued over using individual cups rather than the “common cup”
in communion services. The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 strengthened Doezema’s
hand, because of the fear of spreading infection from mouth to mouth.
Celia
Top Doezema “ran the show” at the parsonage. “She was very bossy,” her
granddaughter and namesake Celia Boomker De Boer recalled, “but I loved her
with all my heart.” Celia Doezema occupied herself with raising her six daughters,
and was very particular about appearances.
Who could blame her? The dominee’s
family lived in a "fishbowl.” Celia saw to it that she and her girls
always looked neat and trim, even classy. The ribbons on their dresses had to
be starched. After all, thrice every Sunday the family walked next door to
church and took their seats in a prominent pew front and center. All eyes in
the congregation turned when the family paraded in to their reserved seats just
before the service commenced. Afterwards, they all marched out of church
together and went directly to the parsonage. Church going was serious business;
no small talk outside was permitted, even though the rest of the congregation
might linger to chat with family and friends.
Celia
never entered into the role of a muffrow
[minister’s wife]. Life in the manse was not her choice. She remained
independent and seldom participated in society life at church. This had the
advantage of “keeping her nose clean.” Once when she was nearly late for church
and was fumbling to find nickels for the offering plate, she declared to her
granddaughter Celia: “They can start without us. I don’t have the sermon in my
pocket.”
At
home she could display a sharp tongue, and her daughters felt the bite. An
outside target of that tongue was Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who
Celia loathed for riding around in her golden coach while poor farm laborers
barely had enough food to eat. Frank had a temper too, but he never displayed
it outside the home.
The
older girls were baptized with Dutch names based on Netherlandic naming
customs, and then they took English names in school. The first-born, Pieterke
(Pearl), was named after the maternal grandmother, Angtje (Agnes) after the
paternal grandmother, Berendina (Bernice) after the maternal grandfather, Aukje
(Anna or Annette) after a paternal aunt, Bertha after a maternal aunt, and
Charlotte Tjerkalina after the paternal grandfather. The name Tjerk or Charles
was reserved for the boy that never came, much to Frank’s disappointment. But
six children were enough. He had to give up his dream of a red-haired son. In
the home when the children were young, Frank and Celia spoke Dutch so that the
children would learn the mother tongue for church services and catechism. The
sisters had some sibling rivalry, but generally got along well with one
another.
In
the early 1930s, after the five older daughters had married and left the manse,
Celia needed help to manage household tasks. She complained of being “tired,”
likely due to anemia, and was somewhat overweight and sedentary. Charlotte, the
“baby” and then a teenager, had to pitch in. She was very much like her mother
in personality; we were “two peas in a pod,” said Charlotte. Every Monday her
parents kept her out of school to wash the clothes and starch the dominee’s dress shirt and the muffrow’s dress, so that they were ready
for the next Sabbath day. Mid-morning, at coffee time, she had to boil an egg
for each one, and she got to keep the yolk of the eggs. She so pleased her
parents that upon graduating from the 8th grade at Roseland (108th
Street) Christian School, they kept her home to work fulltime. “She’s my right
arm,” Celia explained.
When
the girls began to date, Celia kept tight control of that activity too. The
girls were encouraged to bring their dates to the parsonage, but the boys were
limited to the parlor, and they better mind themselves if they lingered too
late “spooning.” Celia then sent Frank out of the bedroom to the top of the
stairs and he called down: “It’s getting late. You have to go.” Or she might
give the admonition herself, dressed in her nightgown. “Here comes the ghost,”
the young couple would say.
Even
after Charlotte’s marriage to Peter Boelens in 1931, she and her husband
continued to live in with her parents for seven years, despite the birth of the
two oldest children, Peter in 1934 and Sheila in 1938. It was the Depression
years, and the shared housing saved money. Peter was an only child of a widowed
mother; his father died when Peter was seventeen and left the family in
poverty. Peter worked his way through dental school at Loyola University. Early in 1939 the Boelens moved to Lansing,
Illinois, where Peter opened an office to practice dentistry above the Lansing State
Bank. When the Second World War began after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
on
Late
in 1944, after Frank had retired, he wrote daughter Charlotte that he hoped to
travel to Norman with Celia for a visit, going through St. Louis to visit
Gerald and Agnes Wesselius. Gerald was working there with the Red Cross during
the War (Letter of Frank Doezema addressed to “Dear Children,” 5 Dec. 1944).
In
the letter Frank opined pessimistically, “It looks good to me to make a little
trip with mother over St. Louis to Norman. I just wonder whether death is going
to step in between and make it impossible. Sunday afternoon we sang the fml
[familiar?] no. Ps. 68:2. Then the Creed. In the middle of the Creed all at
once Mrs. C. Boonstra breathed her last. Those sitting behind her, heard her
sing and a minute later she breathed her last. I heard it plainly as I was
reading…. She died in her pew.” [Did
Frank and Celia make it to Norman?]
This
interesting letter gives a nice picture of the routine of daily living in the
Doezema home. Frank continues: “Mother feels fine. It is 10:15 a.m. and mother
is calling: ‘de coffee is bruin’ [the coffee is brown, i.e., the water is fully
distilled through the grounds]…. Now I
will go down stairs for coffee.” Frank then comments on the pending transition
after thirty years in the parsonage to their very own home. “I am sure that
mother and I will like our new home. But I will not feel easy until we are in
it. It just seems that something is going to happen. I suppose the sudden death
of Mrs. Boonstra has something to do with it.” The letter is signed simply
“Your loving Father.”
In
early 1945 Peter was assigned to Washington, D.C., where housing for the family
was very limited, so Charlotte returned to Lansing, pregnant with their fourth
child, Frances. Peter learned of the birth later, after several attempts to
inform him by telegram. It was the Christmas holiday and the telegraph office
was understaffed.
Following
the war, Peter returned to Lansing and had an office addition built on the
front of their home on Ridge Road. Access between the office and the home was
via the basement. Most of the Doezema sisters and their families went to “Pete”
for excellent dental care.
Daughters
Pearl and Annette taught school for a few years before marriage at Roseland
Christian School. Pearl only had an 8th grade education, and some
wags at First Roseland said she was unqualified but got the position because of
“pull.” Annette graduated from Fenger High School in Roseland (Chicago
Christian High School in Englewood was not started until 1918], and then
enrolled in the teacher-training course at the Illinois Normal School. Two
photos exist of Annette standing proudly with her second and third grade
classes at Roseland Christian School, each numbering forty!! students. The
years were likely 1926 and 1927. She married in July 1927 and quit teaching
then, as married women were expected to do.
Their
sisters held various jobs. Agnes was a seamstress for the Freedman Clothing
Company of Chicago, and Bertha typed in the office of the Sterling Lumber
Company, where she met her husband, who was a salesman there.
When
the sisters married, their spouses were expected to join “Doezema’s church.”
Frank Boersma and Peter Boelens already were members, but John Zwart and Gerald
Wesselius transferred from Third Roseland Christian Reformed Church, Ted
Boomker came from Bethany Reformed Church. Leslie Larson grew up in the Swedish
Covenant Church, and after their marriage they joined the Third Roseland
When
the children were young, family vacations were always spent in Grand Rapids,
visiting Doezema relatives for up to three weeks, with the six girls split up
among cousins. They left Roseland at 4 a.m. in the family touring car and
arrived in Grand Rapids at midnight. It was a rare trip that did not include a
flat tire and other car troubles on the road. The average speed was under 20
mph.
After
Frank Doezema bought the cottage on Fisher Lake in 1929, the family went there
instead, but they still made time for relatives, either by inviting them to the
cottage or by driving to Grand Rapids for a day. To stretch out the vacation to
the max, Grandpa Doezema would prepare a sermon for the Sunday following his
vacation before he left. That way, he
could stay until Friday of the “extra week.” The family owned a radio and never
missed the Amos ‘n Andy show. But the radio stood silent most of the time. And
Frank and Celia would not buy a TV. When Peter and Charlotte bought one, Frank
declared: “Now the devil has come into this home.”
Celia
died in
Granddaughter
Joan Boomker was attending Calvin College at the time and flew home for the
funeral in a DC-3, landing at Midway Airport, the only city airport at the
time. It was her first plane ride. Joan went to a hairdresser for the occasion,
but forgot to wear her hat, for which her mother admonished her. Ann had a
sharp tongue like her mother. Another time she remarked to Joan: You surely
aren’t going to church like THAT, are you?” Joan replied quietly: “The Lord
looketh not on the outside, but on the heart.” It was the perfect squelch.
Frank
Doezema spent his last five years in the Rest Haven “Central” Convalescent Home
in Palos Heights, where he died full of years at age 96 on
The
entire Doezema family, both in Chicago and Grand Rapids, put Frank on a
pedestal. He was “Gabriel,” the angel who did God’s work. He was a Dutch dominee (“lord”). A pre-teen girl friend
of daughter Bernice asked her in all seriousness, “Does your father go to the
bathroom?” When Frank visited his six siblings in Grand Rapids, which he did
regularly, they sat in a row in the shade and talked for hours—church, family,
farming, furniture, politics, and whatever. For the rest of the time, Frank
wrote lengthy letters to his mother and brother Albert, which were read aloud
to the others over coffee after church. Albert saved many of these letters and
later donated them to the Calvin College Archives, where they comprise part of
the Frank Doezema Collection.
In private conversations within the circle of the family,
and in personal letters passed between them, Frank could express strong
opinions about individuals; yet he was very mild of character. In an undated
letter of about 1960 to brother Albert (Frank Doezema Papers, Calvin College Archives),
Frank commented at length about the 1924 split in the Christian Reformed Church
over the doctrine of “common grace,” following the expulsion of the Revs.
Herman Hoeksema and Ralph Danhof, who formed the Protestant Reformed Church.
Several in the Doezema family ended up in this denomination.
Frank
Doezema dismissed the controversy as not worthy of dividing the church. “It has
nothing to do with salvation or godliness.” He attributed the rift to the clash
of personalities, both strong and petty. “Love, humility, true godliness could
have prevented many breaches in the Church,” Doezema observed. As an example,
he mentioned Dr. Abraham Kuyper, pastor in the Gereformeerde Kerk Nederland
(GKN) and later Prime Minister, “who was the cause of a nearly dreadful split “
in both the GKN and the American
Sources:
The Banner,
various articles, classical and church reports
Annette Doezema Boomker,
"Meet our Resident—Annette Doezema Boomker," Holland Home Echoes, April 1982): 3-4.
Albert Doezema, "Tjerk
Wiegers Doezema Family Pedigree Chart."
Charlotte Doezema Boelens,
"Personal Portrait," 12 page, typed questionnaire, compiled
by Rev. Ronald and Frances Redder.
_______, interview with
Robert P. Swierenga, 2 July 2003.
_______, Frank and Celia
wedding documents--marriage certificate and invitations.
Frank Doezema letter,
Roseland, IL, undated but likely about 1965, to siblings in Grand
Rapids.
Typed copy courtesy of Harriet Doezema Knott.
Frank Doezema Papers, The
Archives, Calvin College.
Hariet Doezema Knott,
Rhiner Doezema-Frederika Kwant family history and
genealogy.
Rev. Ronald Redder, Frank
Doezema--Celia Top genealogies.
Robert P. Swierenga, Dutch Chicago (Grand Rapids, 2002),
314-18.
_______, Dutch Immigrants in U.S. Ship Passenger
Manifests, 2 vols. (1987).
Tjerk Doezema and Ansktje
Hofstee," typed 17-page family history with photographs
and copies of original documents,
authors and date unknown.