Rev. Albertus C. VanRaalte, D.D. Pages 243-245 REV. ALBERTUS C. VAN RAALTE, D. D. No name is more widely known and respectedin Ottawa County than that of the father of the Dutch settlements. He hasimprinted himself on its history, and a hundred years hence his name will standout in still bolder relief than it does to-day; for as the fruition of his lifebecomes more apparent his fame will increase. Dr. Van Raalte was a man ofcommanding appearance, short of stature, with a wide and thoughtful brow; a manof deep convictions and fully possessed of the courage of these convictions; aman of magnificent education and tireless industry, with a will of iron, and asingular magnetism; a man born and bred for the leadership of his fellows. Hewas born at Wanneperveen, in the Netherlands, October 17, 1811. His parents wereRev. Albertus Van Raalte and Christina Catherina Harking. Seventeen childrenwere born of this union, of whom only four or five survive. After the completion of his classical studies, Dr. Van Raalte went to theUniversity of Leyden, where he became an associate of a few congenial students,who had come under the influence of the men of the "Reveil,"especially of the poet-historian, W. Bilderdyk. The great struggle for thefreedom of the church had just commenced when Van Raalte graduated , in 1835,from the university. He was one of the suspects, and the ProvincialEcclesiastical Board of South Holland refused to admit him to the ministryunless he would solemnly promise unequivocal submission to the rules of thechurch. He refused, and joined the hated "Seceders," who had raisedthe banner of freedom. By them he was ordained to the ministry, and with them heshared to the fullest extent the cruel persecutions which, to the lasting shameof Holland, raged against the new movement for several years. On that sameoccasion, in the midst of the brethren who met as a free synod at Amsterdam inthe early summer of 1836, he married his estimable life companion, ChristinaJohanna De Moen, a daughter of Benjamin De Moen, a highly respected burgher ofLeyden, and Johanna Wilhelmina Menzel. Of this union several children were born,who are highly connected in this community. Early in the ‘40s a strong migratory movement began to develop itself inthe Netherlands, where the situation, both ecclesiastically and socially, hadgrown insufferable. Hundreds prepared to leave the Fatherland, and in 1846 Dr.Van Raalte, who had just passed through a critical illness, decided to becomethe leader of the movement, which had the Western States of North America forits objective point. He arrived with a large company of pioneers, in acomparatively small sailing-vessel, "The Southerner," at New York inOctober, 1846; and after a brief delay led his followers as far West as Detroit,where they passed the first part of the winter. Mr. Van Raalte, himself pressedon, and in the severe winter cold of 1846-47 explored the greater part of thepresent Ottawa County, where he was hospitably received and aided by the Rev. S.Smith, a missionary of the Presbyterian Church among the Ottawas. The Indians,well acquainted with the secrets of the vast maiden forest, materially aided Mr.Van Raalte in his explorations, and he decided to select this spot forcolonization. Returning to his followers, he reached these parts again with a devoted bandof pioneers, marching single file along Indian trails, on the 9th ofFebruary, 1847. It is impossible to describe in this brief sketch the deadlystruggle waged by the pioneers with the forest tangles and wild animals; withinadequate food and insufficient shelter; with summer heat and winter cold; withthe malarial effluvia of the swampy forests, and the resulting decimatingdiseases; with homesickness and despondency, with detractions and evil reports,and all manner of discouragement. With God’s help they persisted andprevailed. Dr. Van Raalte was the head and heart of the enterprise, and hisdeath, in the early years of the history of the Colonies, would haveprecipitated the whole desperate undertaking of the inexperienced andpoverty-stricken settlers in hopeless ruin and confusion. The broad, well-tilled acres, the cozy homes nestling against the shouldersof the rolling hills, the abundant evidence of affluence and good cheerappealing to the eye in every direction in the settlements in Ottawa County; thethriving city of Holland, Phœnix-like risen in renewed beauty from the ashes ofthe destructive fire of 1871; the flourishing Hope College, founded by Mr. VanRaalte at Holland, and to-day the best educational centre of Western Michigan;all these bear the imprint of the man and the leader, and are the silentwitnesses of his signal success. Truly this man built better than he knew, andsucceeded in rearing for himself a mausoleum which will outwear the destructiveonset of time. In 1849, Mr. Van Raalte and his followers joined the Reformed(Dutch) Church in America, the oldest Presbyterian Church on this continent. Andin this ecclesiastical connection the settlements now spread far and wide overour Western States have developed into a strong branch of said church, numberingfifteen thousand communicants, with one hundred and thirty churches and someninety pastors. As a leader Mr. Van Raalte had the gift of wonderful versatility andingenuity; as a preacher he excelled in rhetorical power and a clear, analyticalinsight into God’s Word and the hidden ways of men’s hearts. He was a man ofpower and often made his hearers tremble before the majesty of God. TheUniversity of New York and Rutger’s College at New Brunswick, N.J.,simultaneously bestowed upon him the title of Doctor of Divinity. When the Warof the Rebellion broke out his voice rang out clear and strong in defense of theUnion, and willingly he gave his own sons for the defense and establishment ofhuman rights and the life of the Union. His wife passed away, after years ofsuffering under a frail constitution, on the 30th of June, 1871. Thisblow, quickly followed by the ruinous fire of Holland in October of the sameyear, destroyed the remaining strength of the man, and he fell into a slowdecay, under which he succumbed, after several apparent rallies, on the 7thof November, 1876, in the midst of the bitterly contested general election ofthat year. The strongest proof of his hold on his people is, perhaps, the fact that theannouncement of his death at this critical political juncture paralyzed therancorous party spirit of election day, and made common mourners of bitterpolitical antagonists. The funeral was the largest ever held in Ottawa County,and in his death one passed away who is justly called "a man mighty inwords and deeds." He was one of the pioneers of the State a citizen of whomMichigan may justly boast, a man of God and a man of men, one of Heaven’s truenoblemen. "Rquiescat in pace."