Hereby the story about eight Arts family members who emigrated to the United States between 1856 and 1960.

In 1856 Cornelis Arts (1827-1899) travels to America and in 1860 his nephew Jacob Ardts (1831-1902) and his wife Gertruda van de Loo follow. Cornelis and Jacob are grandson of Arnoldus Ardts (1752-1838) from Beugen from the story De spekslagers.

In 1887 and 1889 the two sisters Dina Arts (1853-1929) and Nellie Arts (1863-1928) emigrate with their husbands Henricus Zelten and Jacob Verbeten. Dina and Nellie are daughters of Gerardus Arts (1809-1881) from Sint Anthonis from the story De herbergiers.

After WWII, the brothers Jan Arts (1924-2008) and Piet Arts (1930-2024) emigrate to America with their wives Gerry Verkuylen en Marietje Dortmans. Jan and Piet are sons of Nol Arts (1891-1952) from Volkel (from the story De biggenmarkt).

In addition to the six Brabant Arts family members, also two Arts’ from Amsterdam (from the story De duvelshoek) emigrate to America. These are Elisabeth Arts (1899-1955) and Henri Arts (1929-2021).

” Before 1840 only about 12,000 Dutch people left for America. Between 1840 and 1870 about 35,000 people emigrated to America. Emigration was stimulated by both Dutch Protestant and Catholic associations and accommodating US immigration laws. Then, emigrants were still referred to as land leavers (Dutch: landverhuizers) and emigration was not always considered favorably by everyone. Land leavers were thought of as only pursuing their own happiness and fortune whilst abandoning their motherland.  

In the period from 1870 to 1914, around 140,000 Dutch people left for America. This increase was partly made possible by the arrival of the steamship. Compared to a sailing ship, a steamship could carry many more passengers and it was a lot faster. There were regular scheduled services several times a week. After the Second World War there was another large wave of emigration, now also to other countries such as Canada and Australia.

The majority of Brabant Catholics who emigrated to America went to Wisconsin near Lake Michigan. Already in 1848 a group of 300 Brabant Catholics arrived here in the town of Little Chute. Later, many followed their example.

I thank Willem Keeris for his invaluable contributions regarding the emigration of our Brabant Arts family members to Wisconsin. Willem and Wim Rovers conduct research into Brabanders who left for America since 1848. See also: www.houdoebrabant.nl “.

All six Brabant Arts family members settle in this region near Lake Michigan. It must have been quite a journey, especially for the first travelers. Below describes Cornelis’ itinerary in 1856.

Cornelis is registered as an emigrant as Cornelis Aardts, servant (in Dutch: dienstknecht), 29 years old, poor wealth (in Dutch: mingegoed) with the reason for leaving: ‘a better life’ (in Dutch: een beter bestaan).

From Beugen he first leaves for Antwerp. He probably travelled mostly on foot and perhaps partly by train (from Turnhout to Antwerp). On March 29, 1856 Cornelis departs from Antwerp on the ship Chimborazo.

The ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean via the Scheldt and the North Sea and arrives in New York on Friday, May 2, 1856. There were 425 people on board, 65 of whom were Dutch. Four children died during the journey.

All passengers are registered and checked for diseases in Castle Garden which was the first immigrant station in the US from 1855 (now called the Castle Clinton monument). By 1892, this role was taken over by Ellis Island.

From here Cornelis probably followed the usual route to Wisconsin: first by steamboat across the Hudson River to Albany and then by barge across the Erie Canal to Buffalo. In Buffalo they took a paddle steamer to cross the Great Lakes to Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Upon arrival, Cornelis starts working as a laborer and meets Anna van der Ven. She had made a similar journey a few years earlier as a 12-year-old girl together with her brother and parents. In April 1858 Cornelis receives his Declaration of Intention in Green Bay. This was a first step towards naturalization.

Cornelis and Anna get married in 1860, have a farm in De Pere and have ten children. You can also find this information on the US Census Data. Below is the 1870 overview showing Cornelius (farmer), his wife Ann (keeping house) and the children John, 8, Cornelius, 6, and Henry, 2. Notice the column in which their color is indicated with a letter: W( hite), B(lack), Mu(latto), C(hinese) or I(ndian).

Cornelius sells his 25 acre farm on March 11, 1896 and moves to the city with Ann. Six months later they are in the news again: their house in the city burned down and they were barely saved from the flames.

Three sons and three daughters of Cornelius and Ann get married. The eldest son John Arts (1862-1905) marries Nellie Peters and they have six children. Their two sons George Cornelius Arts (1893-1928) and Antone William Arts (1901-1967) are both WWI veterans. George was seriously injured at the Battle of Fismes in France on August 4, 1918. George continued to suffer greatly from his injuries and died in December 1928, one year after the birth of his only child. Last November 2023, his grandson Michael received the Purple Heart Medal posthumously for his grandfather.

Only through Cornelius and Ann’s son Henry Arts (1869-1946), the Arts name continues in the US to this day. Henry marries Minnie Verheijen and they have four children and twelve grandchildren. Their grandson Robert Arts (1924-1948) dies at a young age as a result of a motorcycle accident. He was survived by his wife and three young children. The Arts family members in the US were also Catholic. Henry and Minnie’s granddaughter Helen Arts (1918-1999), becomes Sister Arts and ‘served 60 years with the Racine Dominicans’.

Cornelius and Anna’s daughter Nellie Arts (1875-1912) marries Antoon Mathey. He was born in 1870 in Horst and emigrated to the US in 1892 with his brothers, sisters and parents.

Jacob Ardts (1831-1902), a cousin of Cornelis, first moves to Germany where he marries a German, Gertruda van de Loo, in 1859. Shortly afterwards they emigrate to America and end up in the Town of Lima in Sheboygan county. Jacob Ardts has a plot of 35 acres. Half a mile from their home is B. Bruecker’s hotel and store on Six Corners (a bar/grill with this name still stands there today). They probably do their grocery shopping here. Nearby is also the only Catholic church in that region, the Saint George Catholic Church. It was founded in 1860 and the Ardts family were among its first group of 100 parishioners.

Jacob and Gertrude have a son and six daughters. Their son John Ardts (1860-1938) marries Katharina Rammer and they have one son and as many as ten daughters.

All ten of Ardts’ daughters get married and all ten have children. They take the surnames of their partners, the Ardts name thus ends in America.

On May 12, 1887, Lamberdina or Dina Arts (1853-1929) emigrates to the US with her husband Henricus Zelten. Dina is the daughter of the farmer and innkeeper Gerardus Arts (1809-1881) from Sint Anthonis from the story De herbergiers.

Dina and Henricus travel with their six young children, and with Dina pregnant with son Henry (born in January 1888). They made the journey from Antwerp to New York on the SS Rhijnland of the Red Star line.

Dina and Henry have a farm in De Pere. Dina was widowed in 1902. Her children are then between 6 and 27 years old. A few years later she remarries Theodorus Wellens. Theodorus was born in 1858 in Heesch (where Dina’s brother moved to and started an inn, see de Herbergiers) and left for America with his parents in 1884.

Little Chute is about 20 miles from De Pere, where her sister had gone two years earlier. Nellie and Jacob have eight children. Jacob owns a soft drink stand. According to the Post Crescent their 18-year-old daughter Dora dies in 1910 during an appendectomy. Nellie dies in 1928 and three years later Jacob commits suicide.

Then there are the brothers Jan Arts (1924-2008) and Piet Arts (1930-2024) from Volkel. They come from a family with thirteen children. Their parents Nol Arts (1891-1952) and Mieke van der Rijt were farmers on Lankes (see also de Biggenmarkt). Here is a picture of the Arts-van der Rijt family in 1943, with Jan (left) and Piet (right) indicated by circles. Jan and Piet have many (Arts) descendants in the US.

Jan marries Gerarda (Gerry) Verkuylen in 1950 at St Antonius Church in Volkel. They leave Holland through the Holland America Line in Rotterdam on the SS Volendam on April 3, 1950. Four weeks later they arrive in Ormstown Hall, Quebec (Canada). They were sponsored by a honey farmer in Nova Scotia. Jan helps on the farm and Gerry helps the wife with the cooking.

After one year, Gerry’s father, Has Verkuylen, helped submit paperwork for them to work at a convent in Clyde, Missouri (United States). They go by train to Missouri. Jan works on the farm and Gerry does mending. Two children are born here. In 1955 they leave Missouri for Wisconsin where they settle in Appleton and have seven more children. They were Naturalized on November 9, 1959.

Piet marries Marietje Dortmans in Uden in June 1960 and they emigrate that same month to Little Chute. They go by plane which made their journey completely different from that of Cornelis Arts in 1856.

Piet and Marietje have three children and many (great)grandchildren. Piet has helped with establishing the Little Chute Windmill. This windmill was built in the Netherlands according to an original design from 1850 and then taken apart, shipped and reassembled in Little Chute. A daughter of Piet and Marietje is currently the mill’s director.

In addition to the Arts emigrants from Brabant, two Arts descendants from Amsterdam (from the next story De duvelshoek) also left for America. The first is Elisabeth Arts (1899-1955). She first marries Julius Schmidt in Amsterdam in 1919. Five years later they divorce without children and in 1932 Elisabeth emigrates to America as a single and housekeeper. She arrives in New York on July 2 with the SS Statendam of the Holland America Line from Rotterdam.

This was the story of eight Arts family members who emigrated to America. Between 1850 and 1900 seven Arts family members also left for Prussia (Germany). After the Second World War, further family members emigrate to other European countries, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.