Early Life in Pella and De Vos Family Ties
C De Vos of Coopersville recalls arriving in Pella in 1858 with parents Izaak and wife, tracing shops along Franklin Street, learning shoemaking, later working at the Blade office, Des Moines, Battle Creek, and finally owning and running a local newspaper in Coopersville for thirty years. He cherishes the old church motto In Deo Spes Nostra et Refugium and hopes to visit Pella again.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pella
Izaak de Vos
Franklin Street
Central Park
Dominic Batten
Doctor
Battle Creek
Mich
Coopersville
Dominic H. P. Scholte
Dominie Scholte
Holland Colony
Amerika Te Trede
Echoes of Pella and the Dutch origins remembered
The writer recalls Pella Iowa from its Hol land colony roots to a hybrid town. Central college, Dutch customs, language shifts, and early infrastructure show a community evolving with rails replacing stagecoaches. Key figures include Scholte and early Dutch families, with personal reminiscences of 1840–1865 life and later career shifts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pella
Central College
Iowa Baptists
Marion County
Western Stage Co
Keokuk
Old Fort Des Moines
United States Mail
Kellogg
Monroe
H.P. Scholte
Henry
David
Nollens
van Dams
Tony
Herman
Bousquet
Peter
John
Viersens
Doctor Rulofz
Winters
Martin Keables
E. H. Scarff
I. J. Stoddard
E. D. Morgan
C. Curtis
Buckeye
Hawkeye
Iowa
Pather of
Flint Hills
Burlington
Henry County
Tracy
Knoxville
Iowa Penitentiary
F. A. Barker
Sumpter
Iowa Cavalry
Land of
Dixie
Scholte Gardens Remembered by a Chicago Pioneer
In 1865 Snow and Huber bought farm goods while a youth drove a wagon for a dollar weekly and helped gather eggs. The narrator recalls Forsythe Neuenesch and Stubenrauch from school days, lists moves from Pella to Centerville Newton and Chicago, with careers in machinist trade, banking, and a long tenure at the American Press Association. He notes a Golden Wedding in 1930, council service, and now chairs Hyde Park Kenwood National Bank board, with frequent Pella Cemetery visits and a California home amidst forty years in Chicago.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scholte Gardens
Messrs
Forsythe
Neuenesch
Stubenrauch
Pella
Centerville
Newton
Chicago
American Press Association
New York
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Kenwood Trust & Savings Bank
Hyde Park-Kenwood Na
Tional Bank
Charles
California
Pella Reflections of a Central College Era
Jay A. Lapham recalls years in Osage and Pella Iowa describing Cedar Valley Seminary Central University and the town. He notes churchgoing Dutch culture industrious residents and rapid college growth under President Garrison Dean Severn and Professors Firth and Graham.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Osage
Iowa
Pella
Cedar Valley Seminary
New England
Maine
Massachusetts
Vermont
L. A. Garrison
Normal and Business Department
Central University
A. le Grand
Garrison
Severn
Firth
Graham
Also Mentioned on This Page
Michigan
C. de Vos
Coopersville, Mich
Hawkeye State
de Vos
W. H. H. Barker
M. D. Harvey
Augusta
Jefferson’ Davis
Nicodemus
South Dakota
City of
Northwestern Dental College
Corps of
Harvey News
Vash & Carry Cleaners
Scholte
Alvin K. Brown
Hyde Park
Snow & Huber
Jay A. Lapham
St. Des Moines
Oakland
Pontiac
Buick
Pella Motor Company
Pella, Iowa
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!