200 descendants of 6 Eenigenburg siblings gather for combined celebration
SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (June 29, 2024) – Saturday in South Holland, the Eenigenburg Family held their 66th reunion in commemoration of the 175th anniversary of their ancestors’ immigration to America, in what is now Roseland, from the Netherlands.
The event was held at the historic Paarlberg Centennial Farm, and it was sponsored in part by the South Holland Historical Society, thanks to the Eenigenburgs’ longstanding relationship with Robin Scheldberg, the historical society’s president. Of the over 200 people who attended the reunion, most were descendants of Gerrit and Jannetje Eenigenburg. In 1849, the couple became one of the first to settle in Roseland, and in 1853 they were the second to settle in Oak Glen, or the current Lansing, Illinois.
Arriving in America
Gerrit and Jannetje Eenigenburg journeyed to America to pursue religious freedom and economic opportunity. Three of their four children did not survive the journey. After arriving in Chicago in 1849, they had five more children. Today, these six children form the different branches of the family.
When the family initially arrived in Chicago, they arrived in a settlement previously established by the Widow Paarlberg, a Dutch immigrant pioneer, before choosing the area that became Roseland to settle. The Roseland site was then known as High Prairie, and South Holland was the Low Prairie.
Gathering the Eenigenburg branches
Several of the family’s branches were present at Saturday’s event. For this event, the commemoration was extended to include different branches of the family since they haven’t joined together for 25 years. For 66 years, the reunions had been held by the Harry Eenigenburg branch.
“I’m one of 33 first cousins on that side. So, we don’t have that much opportunity to get together,” Jill Eenigenburg, the couple’s great-great-granddaughter, said. “It’s just a time to dedicate the day to just catching up with all our family. We had someone as old as 89, and we had new babies.” Jill has assisted in organizing reunions for the last 18 years.
At the event, Jill gave a brief account of the Eenigenburg family history. In addition, the event included two formal speakers: Bill Paarlberg, a descendent of the Widow Paarlberg, and Dr. Larry McClellan, a retired professor and president of the Little Calumet River Underground Railroad.
An Underground Railroad connection
Dr. McClellan spoke about Jan Ton, a member of the Underground Railroad back in the 1860 who assisted in allowing enslaved peoples to escape. Jan Ton was a sibling of Jannetje Eenigenburg, in the original family. Bill Paarlberg discussed the connection between the two Dutch settlements, the Paarlberg family and the Eenigenburg family.
Touring history
The event included a tour through a home built by the Widow Paarlberg’s son Peter in 1870. Family attendees were able to tour through the home in groups, due to partnership with the South Holland Historical Society over the years.
“There is literally — in Holland — a tiny village by the name of Eenigenburg, where our ancestors and their party all came from — that little area surrounding the village. We’ve had visitors come from that village multiple times, and we’ve all just been very interwoven with our study of history.”
The Lansing connection
Further than South Holland and Roseland, however, the family’s history traces back to Lansing. When Gerrit and Jannetje Eenigenburg sold their property to Jannetje’s sister, they then moved to Oak Glen, now known as Lansing. According to Jill Eenigenburg, they were the second family to settle in Lansing by Torrence Ave. and Ridge Rd., right next to the original settler August Hildebrand.
As the group commemorates their ancestors’ journey each year, as well as their families branches’ spread all throughout the United States, they reflect on why they immigrated, and the impact it still has today.
“We wanted to have (the event) at this facility because of the historic link between Roseland and South Holland,” Jill said. “Because these immigrants knew each other. And part of the reason the group came in 1849 was they came for better economic opportunity, because they had heard about the opportunity in America. They were very religious, and they were very clamped down by their government, lots of restrictions that they could not tolerate. So they decided to come over where they would have religious freedom.”
