Letter 8-a
Date: August 22,
1870
Sender: Harmen Jan
te Selle
Addressee: Mrs. Dela
te Selle‑ten Damme and brothers
Town Holland (Wisconsin)
August the 22nd, 1870
Worthy Mother and
Brothers and wives and children. Because of the goodness of the Lord I am
allowed to write you a letter and to let you know that presently we are all well
and healthy. We hope the same for you. The letter that you wrote July 3 we
received in good health. From it we noted that all of you are still well, which
makes us very happy.
I sent the letter as quickly as
possible to brother Jan Hendrik,
so he could read the same and note how it is in Holland.
But I have not yet received
an answer back. I also wrote that in case he had not yet written, that he would
not wait so long, but write quickly to you. I have 14 days ago received a letter
from him, when he wrote that he was well and healthy, which gladdened us very
much. He bought land and a yoke of oxen and other items. But I hope that
he will write you soon, then you can note about his welfare from his own pen.
But he wrote me that it was very dry there, so that the grass stood dry and
withered on the ground.
But with us this is not
the case. We have a blessed year, there is almost nothing we can say which is
bad. So long as I have been in America, I have not seen such a nice stand of
crop as this year. Since it has been dry for a time, so the buckwheat and corn
need a little rain. One could not wish for a better harvest, no heat to hinder
us, no rain to prevent us from working, so that all was quickly and dry gathered
in, also those who have threshed, say that much, and good seed is produced.
But the wheat is
presently cheap (niet duur ‑ not high), is hardly a dollar a bushel, that is not
very high. If one has a day laborer to work, especially in the harvest, one must
pay them a dollar and a half day wages. That is 1½
bushels of wheat a day. So one can think that for a day laborer in America it is
better than in Holland to obtain his daily bread. And for a day laborer, it is
better to come here than for a farmer, because there is not much land to rent
here and to buy. Land is expensive. So many came here the past year who had
expected something else. They thought to get land to own here as they had rented
in Holland. And that was disappointing, even though they observe the way of life
that there is plenty and enough here, they cannot decide to say America is good,
but a day laborer is better at home. He sees there is no difference between
the day laborer's bread and the rich farmer, and this is surely true that even a
day‑worker can even so have his bread as well by working two days a week rather
than in Holland 6 days.
Yes, loved ones, what I
shall write I have written in the former letter. I have written much about the
price of cattle and grain, and more generally therefore. I shall not write more.
I had on the letter that I had wanted to write to Janamoeje Bloemers his brother
and sisters could have written, but I thought I would write to you especially.
I must close with the
pen but not with the heart.
I, Harmen Jan te Selle, and his
wife and children,
wish you all the Lord’s
blessing. Give our greetings to all the brothers and all the friends, and to
those who ask about us ‑ the greetings from us all.
H. J. te Selle
Write us soon again.
.
Jan Hendrik,
born 1841, left Wisconsin in March 1870 and homesteaded near Firth.
Nebraska. That particular farm has remained in the family every since. lt is
presently (1991) owned by his grandson, John Henry Te Selle, Firth. John
Henry’s
father was Benjamin H. Te Selle.
.
Harmen Jan's
wife in 1870 was Berendiena Aleida Reusink Schreurs.
The children:
Stepson, Manus Schreurs and daughter Dela, born April 21, 1868.
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