Arent died February 21, 1899 in Lima, Sheboygan County, WI, at 76 years of age.
*In a local Sheboygan Newspaper dated Tuesday March 7, 1899, his death was communicated: Firth, Neb., Mar. 7, '99 Sheboygan HERALD: Dear Sir: - I received those papers sent me three or four weeks ago and last week I saw that Jan Geurink had died. He has been an old friend of mine for the last fifty-one and a half years. He and his wife and her father and a couple more were survivors of the Phoenix, which was burned from Sheboygan two miles out in the lake, in the fall of 1847, not 1848. Most of them were all from the Town of Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, Europe. Yours, Dr. E. J. Brethouwer.
(Note: I believe this doctor was wrong in his statement that Arent was also on the Phoenix. There is no record of his name being listed with other survivors.)
"As near as can be determined, Arent Jan...left his native land and emigrated to the United States sometime in the 1840's to the area on Lake Michigan, now known as Sheboygan County, where land was available for wood cutting and farming. Immigration to this part of Wisconsin began during the 1830's and intensified during the 1840's. To become landowners was a big drawing card for those who could never be in their European home, where land remained in families generation after generation. Some came to set up a business or trade in this rugged new land. Most often entire congregations, led by their pastor, came to re-establish a church in the Reformed faith without state or government obligations or interference and the first building to be constructed after a temporary shelter for housing, was a church. So, the first Dutch settlers in the midwest made their precarious way to this new land of opportunity, settling in such areas as Holland, MI, Pella, IA, and Cedar Grove, WI. A Dutch Catholic church led by their priest settled at Little Chute in the Green Bay area. A considerable part of Wisconsin became a transplanted Dutch community extending into Oostburg (East Town), Gibbsville, and into Alto in Fond du Lac County...
Hermina, also of Gelderland, met Arend Jan Geurink in Sheboygan County. They were married and began farming near Gibbsville. Arend Jan served his country in the Civil War."
Taken from Annie Geurink's writing, The Geurink's in America - Part 1.
-- Dutch records indicate that Arent Jan left Holland for America May 1, 1847 (although his son Henry recalls him saying 1842). Dutch records also indicate the spelling of his name as Arent, but many family records also include a spelling of Arend.
-- Notes from Geurink relatives in Michigan indicate that Arent Jan spent some time in Michigan and in Pella, Iowa, before settling in Wisconsin.
-- In researching Arent's time in the civil War I found that he was listed as John Geurink in the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861 - 1865. His residence is listed as Lima, the date: January 27, 1865. Remarks state: Drafted; assd. to Co. I, 22nd Wis. Inf., May 11, 1865.
(This book can be viewed at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin website:Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers click on 'browse roster' enter GA and click search. John is found on page 351 of the Wisconsin Volunteers and page 945 of the Permanent Guard.)
-- Arent purchased his land in Sheboygan County two years after arriving in the US. It was through a land patent law that he acquired 80 acres. Full payment was made in cash (does not give amount) at the Register of the Land Office at Green Bay, WI. (This law was acted upon by Congress in 1820 and, during these early years of the 1800's, land could be purchased for as little a $1.25 and acre.) The document of sale is signed by Zachary Taylor, President of the United States, the first day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty nine.
(This can be seen in document form at the Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office Records website: The Official Federal Land Patent Records Site Click on the side panel "Search Land Patents", then click on each index card tab - one will contain the signed document and a copy can be purchased.)
(Note: Another good resource site is Wisconsin Land Records -- Interactive Search. Type "Geurink" in the Surname text box and click the "Submit" button. You do not need to enter a first name. This will give you a link to Arend Geurink's land patent details. There are maps on this site that make it possible to find the location of the land grant.)
Click here for a downloadable, printable, copy in Adobe Acrobat format Arent's U.S. Land Grant dated, August 1, 1849
Arent Jan Geurink and Hermina Oonk had the following children: