| Notes |
- Appleton Post Crescent Tuesday Evening, March 15, 1938, Page 7
Van Asten Rites to be Conducted Tomorrow
Little Chute
Walter Van Asten, 75, died Sunday afternoon at the home of his son, Arnold Van Asten, Little Chute, after an illness of several weeks. Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Joseph Vosters and Mrs. George Friebel, Little Chute; Mrs. Jacob Schuh, Five Corners, and Mrs. John Smith, Dundas; five sons, John, Arnold, Martin and Henry, Little Chute; and Albert, Appleton; two brothers, Cornelius, Rudolph, and Albert, Little Chute; two sisters, Mrs. John Kilsdonk, Appleton, and Mrs. Bernard Rutten, Little Chute; 58 grandchildren. Funeral services will be conducted at 9 o'clock Wednesday morning at St. John church. Solemn requiem high mass will be sung by the Very Rev. John J. Sprangers, assisted by the rev. James Geyer and the Rev. R. Klein. The members of the Senior Holy Name society of St. John church of which the decedent was a member, will attend the funeral in a body. Burial will take place in the parish cemetary. The decedent had been a resident of Little Chute all his life. He retired from his farm about 15 years ago.
WALTER VAN ASTEN, who owns and operates the well known Van Asten homestead farm, situated on Little Chute Rural Route No. 9, in Vandenbroek township, is one of the leading agriculturists of his section. He was born March 26, 1862, on the farm he now operates, a son of John Van Asten, who was born May 3, 1815, in Wauroy, Holland. John Van Asten came to the United States in 1851, in which year he purchased land in what was then known as Kaukauna township, now Vandenbroek, which was then all covered with timber. Building a little log cabin, as was the custom of the pioneers, from logs cut from his own land, he commenced cultivating his property, and he continued to operate here until his death, August 15, 1902, at which time he was the owner of a well cultivated property equipped with good buildings, and one of the leading men of his township, having served as treasurer of his school district for many years. In 1852 he was married to Petronella Verhagen, who was born in Holland, August 16, 1823, and she died December 30, 1896. They had nine children, as follows: Gertrude, Cornelia, Katherine who died aged eight years; Martin, Mary, Walter, Albert, Cornelius and Johannah. Walter Van Asten received his education in the district schoolhouse, which was situated on one corner of his father's farm, and as a lad he worked on the homestead, being reared to agricultural pursuits, and having instilled in him those traits of industry and right living that have characterized his whole life and helped to make his undertakings successful. In 1889, at the age of twenty-seven years, with his brother Albert he bought the home property from his father, but a few years later he purchased his brother's interest, and he has since conducted the farm alone, being engaged in general farming and dairy work. He has erected new buildings on the property since taking charge, and has brought the land into a high state of cultivation, until now the tract compares favorably with any of its size in the county. In 1890 Mr. Van Asten was married to Miss Katherine Vandehey, who was born in Brown county, Wisconsin, daughter of Henry and Adriana (Vanderloop) Vandehey, natives of Holland, the former born June 11, 1829, and died June 14, 1905, and the latter born August 27, 1836, and died October 28, 1910. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Van Asten, of whom two are deceased, John and Arnold. Those who survive are Nellie, Henry, Jennie, John (II), Hattie, Arnold (II), Martin, Annie and Albert. The family is connected with St. John's Catholic Church of Little Chute.
- 2009 Cemetery Walk - Walter Van Asten
Hi, I am Leroy Van Asten, the son of John & Martha Van Asten and grandson of Walter Van Asten. Walter Van Asten is the person I am going to play today.
The name Van Asten was given to my ancestors because they left the city of Asten in southwest Holland and moved north about 20 miles to Wanroy. Van in Dutch means 'of' or 'from'.
Now I am playing the part of Walter Van Asten born in 1862.
My father was John Van Asten and was born May 3, 1815 in Wanroy, Holland. I know that on April 15, 1851, he left Amsterdam, Holland on the ship Mozambique for New York. The passenger list shows him as a farmer, age 34 (he was really 36) from Wanroy, the Netherlands, with one container. After a 57 day voyage, John arrived in New York on June 18, 1851 and found his way to Little Chute.
My father purchased land covered with timber in what is now known as the Town of Vandenbroek. He built a little hut with a lean-to for his cow and oxen from logs cut from his own land and began cultivating his property. In 1854, he married Petronella Verhagen. Petronella was born August 16, 1823 in Gerwin, Holland.
My father and mother had nine children, Gertrude, Katherine, Kate (who died at age 7), Martin, Mary, Walter (I'll tell you more about me later), Albert, Cornelius and Hannah.
Here is a picture of my father and mother and here is a family picture taken in the 1880's.
In 1860 John had 80 acres of improved land (cleared of trees) and 9 acres of unimproved land (woods) with a total value of $600. He had 2 mile cows, 4 working oxen, 3 cattle and 6 swine total value $196.
Here are some interesting facts about my father. At age 36 he came to Little Chute, at 39 he married. At age 40, his first child was born. At age 52, he had his last child. Mom and Dad had 9 children in about 12 years time. Dad was staying with my family when he died at age 87. Dad was 81 when mom died at age 73. John & Petronella are buried in the old part of this cemetery across the drive; the tall stone with the flag on it.
Now I will tell you about me, Walter Van Asten. I was born March 20, 1862 and was born and raised on the original homestead. I went to the district schoolhouse built on the north east corner of the farm. The school had one large room where eight grades were taught by one teacher. It had a furnace that burned wood from a wood shed near the school. There was no running water and there were two outhouses, one for the boys and one for the girls. Being raised and working on the farm all my youth, I learned the skills and traits of dairy farming. My younger brother Albert and I bought the farm from my dad in 1889.
The farm was well cultivated and equipped with good buildings. The next year, 1890, I married Katherine Vandehey from Hollandtown. I purchased my brother's share a few years later.
Katherine and I have 11 children. Arnold I and John I both died in infancy. Those surviving are Nellie, Henry, Jenny, John H, Arnold II, Hattie, Martin, Anne and Albert. My wife died in 1919 at the age of 54 and I died in 1938 at the age 76.
In 1890, I, Walter, constructed a new barn and in 1900 built a new larger house. I remodeled the house in 1913-1914. I was a dairy farmer until 1921 when I rented the farm to my son John H. Van Asten. He purchased the farm from me in 1924.
On June 14, 1921, John married Martha Coonen of Dundas, WI. Her parents were James and Petronella Coonen, granddaughter of Arnold Verstegen. They have fourteen children. Two died at an early age, Mary and Cyril. Those surviving include Grace, Dorothy, now Sister Cyril Marie, Ivo, Donald, Gerald, Betty, Leroy, Jim, John, Joyce Kenneth and Marcy. John and seven of his children served in the military.
John also attended school at the one room schoolhouse located on the corner of the farm as did his children for the first few years of their schooling. He was the secretary of the school for a number of years and was the town assessor for a few years. John was secretary & treasurer of the Pleasant View Mutual Telephone Company for ten years, until April, 1948 when it was dissolved and the Wisconsin Telephone Company took over.
When John took over the farm he soon remodeled and modernized the barn with concrete mangers and steel stanchions. He erected a concrete silo and new granary, chicken coop and hog house. The home was remodeled in 1935 and electric lights installed in all buildings. Electric service was extended to the rural areas at that time.
John and his son, Leroy, began farming together after Leroy returned from service. In 1956, Leroy married Mary T Gerrits. There were blessed with five children: Linda, Michael, Roger, Dennis and Carol.
After working for John for a year, Leroy bought the personal property in 1957 which included 18 cows and 10 heifers and all of the farming equipment. He bought the real-estate in 1959. In 1963 a milking parlor was added and it is still being used today. Additional acreage was purchased to bring the farm total to 263 acres. Seven silos and several other farm buildings were added.
Leroy served 24 years on the Vandenbroek Fire Department and 24 years on the Vandenbroek Town Board.
In 1980, Dennis started working on the farm full-time. A full partnership between the two was formed in 1986. The farm grew to 125 milking cows and 125 head of young stock. In 1996 Dennis purchased the buildings and 88 acres of land.
Dennis married Cindy Franzke in 1985. They have four daughters, Brandie, Kristle, Amanda and Melanie. Dennis and his family moved onto the farm in 1988 and farm together as a family.
Little Chute Historical Society Cemetery Walk 2009
|
1862 - 1938 (75 years)
