Dutch Immigrant Memoirs and Related Writings

Book excerpt: For forty years Dutch Immigrant Memoirs and Related Writings has enlightened and stimulated readers interested in the Dutch heritage. This classic collection of nineteenth-century travel accounts and personal reminiscences by Dutch immigrant pioneers provides a unique perspective on the colorful history of Dutch immigration from the Netherlands to the United States. Compiled by respected historian Henry S. Lucas in 1955, this anthology lets the immigrants speak for themselves through letters, diary entries, addresses, formal writings, other direct sources. Beginning with the "new immigration" in 1846, this expansive volume explores the daily course of life during the early days of Dutch settlements in places like Holland, Michigan, and concludes by examining further Dutch migrations to states like Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.