The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 70

January 25, 1995 Heart of the Valley Cu rrent page! iiTctiiimnninmnn i The fate of Arnold's children .,.4 f- wff-Wrtfinftiiin riii'iiiiBftTirWftiw miri- rHffl nr fl' Photo contributed by Donna Pritzl ADRIANA (JENNIE) VANDEN WYMELENBERG lived at 630 Main St. in Wrightstown with husband John, their 1 4 children and her stepmother Catharina Verstegen. She is pictured with Catharina and nine of her kids. From left, back row: Marie, Ceil, Anna, Jennie. Front row: Regina, Clem, Stella, Martha.

Sons Al and Elzear are pictured in the garden, while Catharina is sitting in the chair. This photo was taken in 1908. Jennie's grandson, Dick Vanden Wymelenberg, and wife Bonnie currently live in the renovated family home. Elsen, from St. Norbert in De Pere, was told to look up Jennie's relatives, and it was then that Vanden Elsen obtained the 14 letters sent by Arnold.

Jennie, who was in poor health for some time, died shortly after an operation in 1927. Her husband, John, died 10 years later. FRANCIS (1869-1935). Known as Franz or Frank. He married Wrightstown native Annie Golden and together they had three children.

After working in his father's flour mill and representing the firm as a traveling salesman, Frank opened a hardware store in downtown Little Chute in 1895. He enjoyed playing in the Little Chute community band and lived in home where the Little Chute Middle School is currently located. After his wife died, Frank married a nurse named Mary later in life. ARDINA JOHANNA: (1871-1925). Known as Dinah.

She married mason and builder Martin Hartjes in 1890 and had 10 children with him. Martin immigrated to the U.S. in 1866, at age 2. In 1895, he built the Hammen Hotel in downtown Little Chute for John Hammen. Four years later, he formed a partnership with brother-in-law Joseph Verstegen to purchase the Little Chute Lumber and Fuel Co.

In 1906 he sold his share of the business to Joseph. When Martin was diagnosed with stomach cancer, he stopped working as a mason and served as village marshal. He also played in the Little Chute band. Martin died in 1917. PETRONELLA: Known as Nellie.

Not much is known about this daughter. She married Edward Johnson in 1893, farmed in Deer Creek township near Shiocton and had five children. Nellie apparently died during childbirth, but she is not buried in Little Chute. ARNOLDUS HENRY: (1877-1955). Known as Arnold Jr.

He was a farmer in Freedom who married Rose Daul, raised 10 children and attended St. Nicholas Catholic Church. JOSEPH (1878-1959). He started out farming, then worked at his father's flour mill and an area paper mill before going into the lumber business. In 1899, he and brother-in-law Martin Hartjes bought the Miller Lumber renaming it the Little Chute Lumber and Fuel Co.

Seven years later, Joseph acquired Hartjes' share of the business. The lumber company was the leading business in the village at that time, handling a full line of lumber, wood, coal, cement, plaster, brick, lime and builders' supplies. The building which housed the lumber company, located in the north side of Little Chute, was torn down about three years ago. Joseph owned another lumber yard and toy manufacturing plant off the river near Lawrence University in Appleton. He also served as Outagamie County un-dersheriff in the 1930s and Little Chute village marshal in the 1940s.

In 1903, he married Anna Van Gompel and had 13 children. They lived in a house where the Little Chute Post Office is currently located. PETER CORNELIUS: (1882-1935). Peter was married to Mary Daul, had eight children and was engaged in farming in Little Chute. CORNELIUS ALOYSIUS: (1887-1914).

Cornelius was married to Elizabeth "ElsieTHoney" Honig and had four children. After Cornelius died unexpectedly at age 27, his wife and children moved in with Dinah and Martin Hartjes for a few years until Elsie married Joseph Tease of Green Bay, with whom she had three more children. A WORD ON ARNOLD HURKMAN: It is well-known that Arnold Hurkman, the family friend who married eldest daughter Adriana Verstegen in 1862, became a widower only weeks later after Adriana died from an infection of the liver. Hurkman, who immigrated to the United States in 1855 at the age of 16, married Hendrina Berendsen in 1863 and had six children with her. The area where the former Fox Valley Greyhound Park is located was apparently known as "Hurkman land." The Hurkman family operated a dairy farm and lived in a log home.

Hurkman died in Kaukauna in 1886. By Laura Ariganello Current editor LITTLE CHUTE Out of Arnold Verstegen's 24 children, a total of 12 survived to adulthood Johanna Ca-tharina, Anna Maria, Johannes Egidius, Hermannus and Adriana (from the first marriage) and Francis, Ardi-na, Petronella, Arnoldus, Joseph, Peter and Cornelius (from the second marriage). Following is a run-down of what happened to each of them: JOHANNA CATHARINA: (1849-1918). Known as Kate. She was the only surviving child of the four who were born in Holland.

She married farmer Martin Coonen in 1866, had 1 1 children and lived in the Town of Buchanan. Martin, who immigrated to Little Chute with Father Van den Broek in 1848 at the age of 8, was a Civil War veteran. He saved a man from drowning in the bay of Green Bay, served in public office and was the first veterinarian in the area. Martin had to change his name to "Coonen" because that's how the Army (mis) spelled his name. The family name is actually "Coenen." Martin died in 19 15.

ANNA MARIA: (1855-1933). Known as Mary. She married John Hooymans, a Gelderlander, and together they operated a prosperous farm in Freedom with their 11 children. Unfortunately, Mary appeared to have developed the same leg ailment as her mother did relating to poor circulation, blood clotting or perhaps diabetes. Her leg was constantly draining, forcing her to sleep sitting up.

Her son, in fact, built a special chair to prop her up. Mary never laid down again until the day she died. JOHANNES EGIDIUS: (1856-1937). Known as John E. Verstegen.

In 1880, he married a German woman named Mary Feldmeier and together they had nine children. He worked at his father's mill for 23 years, then got into the furniture business in 1893 before retiring in 1909. John was a civic leader and served as the postmaster and assessor in Little Chute. John was a sedate man, but music always filled his home. He and his family lived in a house just north of St.

John's Church, which was razed last October. HERMANNUS (1858-1930). Known as Herman. In 1882, he married Christine Wittmann of Darboy and later had 12 children. He ran his father's flour mill until his oldest son, 15-year-old Martin, was killed there.

He soon sold the mill, which was eventually owned by Anton Hietpas before it burned down in the 1920s. Herman and a group of men founded the Bank of Little Chute around 1905. He was the bank's president for nearly 25 years. After his wife died in 1909, Herman remarried Mary Horner Herziger in 1913. Mary, a widow with one son, previously operated a Little Chute meat market with her husband.

Herman suffered a paralyzing stroke and was bedridden for the last two years of his life. His eldest daughter, Margaret Vanden Brand, took care of him at this time. She went on to be the assistant postmaster and one of the co-founders of St. Paul Church in Combined Locks. ADRIANA: (1862-1927).

Known as Jennie. In 1884, she married John Vanden Wymelenberg of Wrights-town and together they had 14 children. Jennie, who was known for her good heart, took care of her ailing stepmother, Catharina, for several years. In 1908, John opened the Wymelenberg Store along Main Street in Wrightstown, selling dry goods and groceries. Today, it continues to operate as a fourth' generation enterprise.

John's son, Elzear, owned the store from 1916-1953 in the same location. In 1953, it was sold to grandson Dick and renamed Dick's Family Foods. The store moved to a larger space across the street in 1967, and was sold to great-grandsons Rick and John just last March. Apparently, Jennie was the one who sponsored the Rev. Matthias Vanden Elsen's trip to Holland.

Vanden I -i vWN. I -f I I Photo contributed by Mike Hammen -MARTIN HARTJES married Ardina "Dinah" Verstegen on Oct. 1, 1 890. They went on to have 1 0 children and settle in Little Chute..