Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis part 2 -- 1910s

1910 Census Lynden, Whatcom, Washington
1914 attended Farmer's Institute presentation
1915 honor roll
1917 guest at party with sister Lizzie; participate in concert with Bert and Elizabeth
1918 registers for WWI draft; party at Sip Heimstra's home; sings in quartet
1920 census Lynden, WA

1910 age 12 Census

1910 Census, Lynden, Whatcom, Washington

Abel lived in South Lynden, Whatcom County Washington, single living with his parents.  The family starts on line 11 with G.E. Dyksterhuis and mother Hiltje.  By this time, they've been married for 23 years, and all six children are still alive.  There is no house numbers, no street address.  Abel is marked with the red star.  Mother either learned to speak English, or the enumerator did not pay attention to that detail.  This family works on their own general farm.

See a bird's eye view of Lynden in 1910 here

In other news

on this year, Japan annexes Korea; Halley's Comet causes hysteria over the land; and King George V (Windsor) reigns from 1910 to 1936 (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1910 age 12

Historical Insight -- Boy Scouts of America

Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis was a young boy living in Washington around the time the Boy Souts of America was founded.

Credit:  Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
from Ancestry.com Historical Insights

The Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910 -- uniting boys across the country with its goals of physical, mental, and moral strength.

In 1910, the recently established British youth organization, the Boy Scouts, was established across the pond in the United States.  Like Europeans, at the turn of the 20th century, Americans had a heightened concern that the increasingly industrialized modern society was weakening men.  To physically reinvigorate American youth, the Boy Scouts hearkened back to the country's rugged past.  Boys aged nine to 17 were taught wilderness survival, first aid, community service, and a "duty to God and country."  The organization grew rapidly and scout troops sprang up throughout America, becoming one of the largest youth organizations in the world.  Today over 110 million Americans call themselves Boy Scouts and the organization continues to attract new members each year. 

Historical Insight -- Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus

The foreign performers, trained animals, and incredible stunts of the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus probably awed Abel Dyksterhuis ....

Credit:  Library of Congress
from Ancestry Historical Insights

The circus included numerous equestrian acts and utilized more than 500 horses.  About 1900

1911 age 13

South Pole reached by Roald Amundsen (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1912 age 14

Alaska organized as a territory, New Mexico and Arizona enter the union as the 47th and 48th states; and the Titanic sinks (OurTimelines.com, 2018).

1913 age 15

1913 Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson president of the United States from 1913 to 1920 (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1914 age 16

World War I from 1914 to 1919 

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden, Washington
12 November 1914 page 1 downloaded
28 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

This was a long list of attendees to the Farmer's Institute and signed the official register.  The red circle is Abel Dyksterhuis, and the blue circle is what looks to be his Uncle Klaas Dyksterhuis.

(Newspapers.com, 1914)

1915 age 17

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
28 January 1915 page 3
downloaded 26 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
11 February 1915 page 1
downloaded 28 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

The red circle is Abel Dyksterhuis, a Tenth Grade Honor Student.  I truncated the original news article to make it more applicable and readable.  And, yes indeed, this list was published twice!

Lynden WA dedicates the New High School
The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
11 February 1915 page 1
downloaded May 2018 from Newspapers.com

In Other News -- 

Einstein postulate's the Theory of Relativity  (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

(Newspapers.com, 1914)

1916 age 18

Abel turns 18, and Sonar is developed (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

(Newspapers.com, 1916)

1917 age 18

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
29 November 1917 page 6
downloaded 25 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

Abel Dyksterhuis and sister Lizzie Dyksterhuis  are guests at a surprise party.

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
4 January 1917 page 1
downloaded 25 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

Apparently, the Dyksterhuis family are quite musical!  Abel, Bert and Elizabeth Dyksterhuis participated in a sacred cantata called "Ruth" through the Choral Club of the Christian Reformed Church.

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
26 April 1917 page 1
downloaded 25 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

Historical Insight -- America Enters World War I

When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Abel Dyksterhuis was probably living in Washington.

1917 USA Credit:  Interim Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Ancestry.com Historical Insight
On June 26, 1917, just a few months after the US
officially joined the war, 14,000 US infantrymen landed in France.
They were immediately put through more combat training and,
within a few months, were fighting on the Western Front

When the First World War began in 1914, the United States remained neutral.  Despite this, German U-boats attacked US merchant vessels and declared "unrestricted warfare against all ships" entering the war zone.  Three years into the conflict, President Woodrow Wilson stood in front of the US Congress on April 2, 1917, and asked for a declaration of war, explaining that the United States must "exert all its power and employ all its resources" to end the First World War.  Congress conceded.  Thousands of Americans flocked to recruitment stations, eager to "do their bit" to defeat the enemy.  Within nine months, 175,000 American soldiers were stationed along the Western Front, prepared to take on the Central Powers.  While some Americans criticized President Wilson for going back on his promise to remain neutral, most eagerly put their backs into the war effort, supporting the four and a half million American soldiers who served in Western Europe. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight

Historical Insight -- Registering for the Draft in World War I

After the Selective Service Act was signed in May 1917, Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis registered for the draft.

about 1915, Cincinnati, Ohio
Credit:  Paul Thompson/Archive Photos/Getty Images

The term "slacker" was used to describe anyone who was not participating in the war effort, particularly draft dodgers.  Those caught speaking out were quickly punished using old-fashioned methods like stocks. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight

1918 age 20

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
19 September 1918 page 1
downloaded 25 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

Abel N. Dyksterhuis was one of over 300 men registering for the Draft.  Apparently, there was a new law requiring those men from 18 to 45 years of age to register.  This article lists the number of native born men, and those who were alien or naturalized.

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
7 March 1918 page 6
downloaded 25 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
2 May 1918 page 63
downloaded 25 May 2018 from
Newspapers.com

WWI Draft Registration

WWI Draft Registration 1918

Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis is 20 years old.  It seems he filled this out himself, since the signature and the information seem to be in the same hand.  This means this is secondary information, but it comes from the person himself, making this pretty reliable information.  He lives in Lynden, Whatcom County, Washington State, a natural born citizen.  He is a farmer for his father's farm, G.E. Dyksterhuis.  The nearest relative is listed as Mrs Helen Dyksterhuis.  I think this would be his mother Hiltje Grommers Dyksterhuis, since there is nobody else in his immediate family whose name is even close.  This is simply my speculation, I don't have any proof that Hiltje would translate to Helen.  I do think I have proof that Hiltje translated into Hilda, just not Helen.  And, yet, he works and lives on his father's farm in Lynden, therefore I conclude (on shaky ground) that Mrs Helen Dyksterhuis, his nearest relative, is his mother.

He is tall and slender with grey eyes and light coloured hair, with no physical disqualifications.  Although Draft registration started May 1917, he didn't fill out the draft form until more than a year later, September 1918.

I take back what I wrote about the signature being the same as the rest of the information.  I think the registrar filled everything out, with Abel standing there giving the information, then signing the form at the bottom of the first page.  Still, pretty reliable information.

The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington
28 December 1916 page 1
downloaded May 2018 from Newspapers.com

Also in the news -- 

Flu epidemic kills more than 25 million people, from 1918 to 1920, and Prohibition from 1918 to 1933  made possession, making or selling alcohol illegal (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1919 age 20

Historical Insight -- 1919 Paris Peace Conference

Abel probably read newspaper accounts about the Paris Peace Conference while living in Lynden Washington

1919 Paris France
Credit:  New York Times Co/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Representatives from more than 32 nations attended the conference, but all the important decisions were made by the "Big Four." -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight

Historical Insight -- The "Red Scare"

In 1917, Abel Dyksterhuis may have witnessed one of the "Palmer Raids" while living in Washington, during the first "Red Scare.

Credit:  Universal History Archive/
Universal Images Group/UIG via Getty Images

During the Red Scare of 1919-1920, anticommunism led to Constitutional rights being trumped by the pursuit of national security.
The political paranoia that emerged after World War I in the United States is known as the first "Red Scare."  After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, Americans perceived an eminent threat from communism.  The title of a popular 1919 propaganda song proclaimed, "We Will Never Change the Blue and White to Red."  In April 1919, the Post Office discovered 38 bombs mailed to politicians and capitalists, and two months later, Italian anarchists detonated larger bombs in eight cities, including one that killed a man and another that damaged Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer's home in Washington, D.C.  Between November 1919 and January 1920, Palmer responded by hunting for communists in over 30 cities across 23 states.  Using the power of the Espionage and Sedition acts established during the war, about 200 people were deported and 6,000 suspects were arrested or detained as a result of the "Palmer Raids." -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight -- editor note:  Wow!  No wonder people were scared.

(Friedman & Jennings, 1919)

I couldn't find a recording of this song, but I found an online copy of the sheet music from the Library of Congress.

In other news 

League of Nations initiated, and the Shortwave Radio was developed  (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

If you like what you see, be sure to subscribe, and consider supporting me on my patreon page

Become a Patron!

________________________________________________________

Resources:

Newspapers.com. (1914, July 11). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois page 7. Retrieved september 4, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com

Newspapers.com. (1914, December 2). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois, page 11. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Newspapers.com: Newspapers.com

Newspapers.com. (1916, February 24). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois page 3. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com

Newspapers.com. (1923, April 10). The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana page 25. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com

OurTimelines.com. (2018). TimeLines. Retrieved from OurTimeLines.com: http://ourtimelines.com/

Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis part 1

Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis
1898 birth in South Dakota
1900 Census South Dakota

Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis

Abel Nicholaus Dyksterhuis
mini pedigree from Ancestry.com

1898 Birth

Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis was born on 10 June 1898 in Platte, Charles Mix South Dakota, to Geert Edsko (GE) and Hiltje Grommers Dyksterhuis, both were age 35.  There are no birth certificates available online, so we have to rely on secondary and tertiary proofs, by looking at the Census records and death records.

Charles Mix County, South Dakota

(Family Search Wiki, 2018)

On an interesting note, we can see that quite a few of Abel's contemporaries were born this same year, including Politician Golda Meir; Religious Figure Norman Vincent Peale; Pilot Amelia Earhart, Musician George Gershwin; and Author C.S. Lewis (OurTimelines.com, 2018).

Unfortunately, this is also the year the Spanish American War broke out (OurTimelines.com, 2018).

1899 - 1902 age 1-4

The Boer War (OurTimelines.com, 2018).

Family of Boer refugees passing by a flock of sheep 1899
(Skeoch Cumming, 2017)

Today, the Boers are known as Afrikaners, the original Dutch settlers of South Africa.  When British rule invaded the Dutch Cape colony, the independent Boers resented Anglicization and anti-slavery policies of Great Britain.  The Boers moved into African tribal territory, founding the rebublics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.  Things went quite well ... until someone ruined it all by discovering diamonds and gold.  CONFLICT!  

British forces captured most major Boer cities, annexed their territories.  Boers launched a guerrilla war that frustrated the British occupiers, which the British "systematically searching out and destroying these guerrilla units, while herding the families of the Boer soldiers into concentration camps."  By 1902, the treaty was signed recognizing the British military admiistration over the two territories, giving amnesty for Boer forces. -- (History.com Staff, 2010)

• {As of May 2018, the Afrikaaners are once again arming themselves to fight against government, this time the African government intends to take away any and all property owned by white people.  Who will win?  How many will die, as I am sure many will. -- J'Anette S., editor}

1900 age 2 Census

1900 Census, for Dyksterhuis family

Abel lived in Signal, Charles Mix South Dakota, living with parents, Geert and Hiltje, and his older siblings Jacob, Engelbertus, Fosiena, Cornelia and Elisabeth.  This family is encircled in Red, with the star by Abel's name.  The yellow arrow above is Jacob and Everdina Dyksterhuis, who may be related somehow.  Anyway, Abel is the sixth child, he is 1 year old, and here we find secondary proof of his date of birth, June 1898.  Mother (or father or older child) would have been the one to answer this question.  Since Mother Hiltje (pronounced HILT-ch) (How To Pronounce, n.d.). could not speak English, it must have been one of the other family members -- OR, the enumerator spoke Dutch!  It could happen!

Anyway, he and his siblings are First Generation Americans, since both parents immigrated in 1882 and 1884.  Father Geert -- pronounced this way (How To Pronounce, n.d.) -- was naturalized by this time, thus Mother would also be considered naturalized.  They lived on their rented farm in Signal Township, Charles Mix County, South Dakota.


In other news -- In this same year, the Galveston Hurricane killed 8,000 and Hawaii was organized as a territory -- (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1900 to 1910, moved from South Dakota to Washington

At some point in this span of nine years, the Dyksterhuis family moved from South Dakota to Washington State.  What took them there?  We find that there was a huge Dutch influx to this area.

1901 age 3

William McKinley is currently President of the United States, but he was assassinated, and Theodore Roosevelt takes over in 1901;  The Commonwealth of Australia is founded, and the first British submarine was launched;  Oil was discovered in Texas, and the Third Law of Thermodynamics was first postulated by W.H. Nernst (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1907 age 9

Plastic is invented (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

1908 age 10

Tunguska atmospheric object explosion -- see also Tunguska Impact 100 years later (OurTimelines.com, 2018), (Phillips, 2008).

1909 age 11

North Pole is reached by Matthew Henson of Robert Peary's expedition; the Union of South Africa is formed; and William Howard Taft becomes President of the United States from 1909 to 1912 (OurTimelines.com, 2018)

If you like what you see, be sure to subscribe, and consider supporting me on my patreon page

Become a Patron!



________________________________________________________

Resources:

Family Search Wiki. (2018). Charles Mix County, South Dakota Genealogy. Retrieved from Family Search Wiki: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Charles_Mix_County,_South_Dakota_Genealogy

Historic Map Works, LLC. (2018). Signal Township, Charles Mix County 1912. Retrieved from Historic Map Works: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/25909/Signal+Township/Charles+Mix+County+1912/South+Dakota/

History.com Staff. (2010). Boer War begins in South Africa. (A. Networks, Producer) Retrieved May 23, 2018, from History.com: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/boer-war-begins-in-south-africa

How To Pronounce. (n.d.). How to Pronounce Geert. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from How To Pronounce: https://www.howtopronounce.com/geert/

How To Pronounce. (n.d.). How To Pronounce Hiltje. Retrieved May123 2018, from How To Pronounce: https://www.howtopronounce.com/hiltje/

OurTimelines.com. (2018). TimeLines. Retrieved from OurTimeLines.com: http://ourtimelines.com/

Phillips, D. T. (2008, June 30). The Tunguska Impact--100 Years Later. Retrieved May 24, 2018, from Science@NASA: https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska

Skeoch Cumming, W. (2017, April 28). The_Second_Boer_War,_1899-1902_Q72217.jpg. (I. W. Museum, Editor) Retrieved May 23, 2018, from Wikimedia.org: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Second_Boer_War,_1899-1902_Q72217.jpg

____________________________