John Verboort, his wife Theodora, and their four
children (one of whom would become the Catholic priest,
Father William Verboort) left Volkel, Uden, Province of
North Brabant, Holland on March 9th, 1848, spurred on by
the famine of 1846, poverty, and the promise of America.
After 58 days at sea, they arrived in Boston on Friday,
May
5th. From Boston, they traveled by boxcar to Buffalo,
N.Y., then
the gateway to the West. From Buffalo, they sailed
to Mackinaw
Island where they stayed 3 days until they could
obtain
passage by ship to Green Bay, Wis. From there they
went by
flatboat to Kaukauna, and then by oxen drawn
wagon to
Little Chute, Wisconsin. Before the winter set in,
they settled
in the larger French-Canadian town of DePere,
Wisconsin.
They stayed in Wisconsin for 25 years, before
being drawn
West, like so many others of their time, by the
promise
of a better life.
[from church records]
"In the month of February, 1875, arrived 6 (six) Hollandish or Dutch families
of
Portland, Oregon, with the intention to start a Catholic colony in that
state. They
hailed from De Pere, Brown County, Wisconsin, Diocese of Green Bay, where
their
nation and creed were represented in great numbers. the following are the
names
of those immigrants:
I. The aged John Verboort (senior) and his wife Theodora de Rayt, their
eldest son
John Verboort (junior)
II. Albert Verboort, the youngest son of the former couple -his wife Antonetta
Jansen -and two children: 1. John and 2. Theodora.
III. Martin Hermans, the son-in-law of the first mentioned -his wife Theodora
Mary
Verboort and five children: 1. Cornelius, 2. William, 3. John, 4. Mary,
5. John.
(there is some uncertainty as to the identity of child 4, hopefully this
will soon be straightened out)
The last named child about a year old, died after a few months, and was
buried
in the orchard of the Black farm inWashington County.
IV. The widow Hendrina Jansen, her only son Peter, and his wife Johanna
Hendricks.
V. John (Adrian) van der Velden, his wife Angeline Kuene, and 1 child Anna.
Their
other child (a baby) had died on the ocean and it's remains were buried
in St.
Mary's Catholic Cemetery (East Portland)
VI. Anthony Krieger, his wife Mary Martin, and three children: 1.Wilhelmina,
2.Johannes Albertus, 3. Peter John. With him came along Peter Martin, the
father of Mrs. Krieger, and John Krieger, the brother of Anthony Krieger.
After having looked around in different localities, they resolved to buy
the
Black place in Washington County, about four miles northwest of Cornelius,
the
same distance northeast of Forest Grove, seven miles from Hillsboro, the
county
seat.
In the month of April they commenced work on the said farm. All the
above
mentioned lived under one roof for quite awhile and although the house
was very
large, still it resembled in those days a perfect beehive. The land
had to be
surveyed and divided, houses and stables to be put up, and all that could
not be
accomplished in a short time, so much more as the farm had to be cultivated
to
make a living."
Father William Verboort arrived soon after the
first
families,
and in short order the settlers had built a 29x49
foot temporary
chapel out of rough lumber. It was blessed in
September under
the title of St. Francis Xavier. The
community called
itself "The Catholic Colony of Forest
Grove", the year
was 1875.
For all of Father Verboort's accomplishments, he was
neverof
robust health. He had developed infection in a knee
and was
unable to recover. His mother died on June 23, 1876,
and Father
had the sad duty to administer the last rites and
preside
at her funeral mass. Twelve days later, Father was
so ill that local
men had to transport him by wheelbarrow to
administer
the last rites to his dying father. Ten days
later FatherVerboort
died of leg infection and pneumonia.
Archbishop
Blanchet traveled from Portland to offer the
Solemn
Requiem Mass, assisted by Father Verhaag
and
FatherThibau.
At this time, the name of the community was
changed
to "Verboort."
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