G. Vredeveld Pg. 475-476 - A prominent general agriculturistand fruit-grower, located upon section 36, Holland Township, Ottawa County,Mich., takes a leading place in local matters of progress, and for about twelveyears has been an efficient member of the School Board. Born in the province ofVraut, in the Netherlands, in 1836, our subject was the son of Albert and Anna(Hastings) Vredeveld, both natives of the Netherlands, and honest, upright andindustrious people, born of a sturdy and thrifty race. The father, a native ofthe same locality as our subject, was born in 1795, and in youth possessing butlimited opportunities of education, early began the round o f agricultural duty,devoting the work of his life to farming; and although a man of but littlecapital, he owned a small tract of fertile land in the Netherlands. He dutifullyremained with his parents until his marriage, when, having faithfully assistedhis father and mother, he and his good wife began life for themselves. At thisperiod of his career the father was a young man twenty-five years of age, fullof courage and determination to win his way in the world. The union of theparents was blessed by the birth of seven children, all born in the Old Country.Grace married John Venezalrau; Lucus, was the second in order of birth; Henry isdeceased; Gertrude married Roluf Myrinck; and Bartlet, our subject and Albert,deceased, completed the list of sons and daughters who gathered in the old home. In 1847, the father and mother and their seven children, with some of theirhousehold goods, set sail for the United States, and crossing the sea arrivedsafely at their destination. A brief time after they were located in Buffalo,where they remained for a twelve-month. The family, who were fifty-two days ontheir way from Europe to America, have yet a vivid remembrance of the longvoyage upon the sail-vessel, which, experiencing no storm, yet took almost twomonths for the passage. When the father landed with his wife and children inthis hospitable land, he had but $4 in money, and he earned his living byworking on a canal, doing teaming principally. At the close of the first yearthe family removed farther West, settling in Allegan County, Mich., where thefather entered eighty acres of land in the northwestern part of the county, andwith diligence and patient toil cultivated the soil, improved the acres withsubstantial buildings and made that homestead his permanent abiding-place untilhis death, in December, 1870. He had buried his wife, the mother of our subject,about six months after arriving in the United States. The father was a sincereChristian man, a devout member and for many years a valued Elder of the ReformedChurch. Our subject, remaining with his father until twenty-one years of age,obtained his primary education in the Netherlands, and afterward attended thepublic schools of Buffalo and Michigan. He was, however, only about eleven yearsof age when he began working by the month at farm work, and in 1862 was employedby the Government of the United States in making roads in Missouri through whichthe army would afterward pass. Continuing in this employment about eight months,our subject then obtained other work. At the age of thirty Mr. Vredeveld was united in marriage with Miss HenriettaHuskin. Unto our subject and his estimable wife have been born four children:Anna; Henry; Jennie, wife of Rix Wigman; and Ella. Before marriage our subjecthad purchased fifty acres of good land, which he has since brought up to a highstate of cultivation, upon eight acres raising a fine quality of fruits andberries. The land when bought was heavily timbered and much hard work wasrequired to bring the acres up to their present productiveness. Mr. Vredeveld islike his father, in religious connection a member of the Reformed Church, andpolitically affiliates with the Republicans. He has ably transacted the dutiesof Pathmaster, and has done excellent public service upon the School Board, andenjoys the hearty best wishes and kind regard of many friends.

Transcriber: Evelyn Sawyer
Created: 7 April 2003
URL: Biographies