Arie Toll (1834-1915) and his 3 wives

When Arie Tol married his second wife Neeltje Mouthaan, it was stated in the marriage registration that his father Aart was resident in Pella in the USA. Arie Tol was born on 25 August 1834 in Nieuw-Beijerland, Holland. He was the seventh of 14 children of Aart Tol and Neesje de Jong (1804-1850). While many of his siblings had died young, Arie survived. He was 16 when his mother died, aged 46.

When Arie Tol married his second wife on 10-10-1867, his father was in Pella.

Arie Tol was first married on 7 October 1853 in Heerjansdam, Holland, to Jannetje van der Mast. She was born 14 July 1827 in ‘s-Gravendeel, Holland. Her parents are Johannes van der Mast (1792-1857) and his first wife Adriaantje Naaktgeboren (1796-1828). They had 5 children before Jannetje died on 17 January 1867 in Rhoon. Holland.

Arie Tol was remarried on 10 October 1867 in Barendrecht, Holland. His second wife, Neeltje Mouthaan, was born on 18 June 1834 in Middelharnis, Holland. She was the widow of Cornelis Tulp, and had a surviving son of her first marriage named Simon. On 1 August 1869 Neeltje gave birth to a son named Arij who died after 11 days. Neeltje died on 12 September in Haarlemmermeer.

Arie Tol married his third wife, Arendje, on 11 July 1872 in IJsselmonde, Holland. She was born on 25 April 1849 in Ridderkerk, Holland. Her parents are Arie Zevenbergen and Neeltje Schilperoort. Arendje gave birth to 7 additional children. The youngest, Annetje, was born on 26 April 1888 in Zwijndrecht, Holland.

Somewhere between 1888 and 1896, Arie Tol and his third wife Arendje left for the USA. They were accompanied by Arie’s youngest daughter with his first wife, and the five surviving children of his third marriage. They settled in Pella, Iowa, and added an extra ‘l’ to their surname. Three of his daughters married three sons of Jan van Engelenhoven (1830-1915) and his wife Jansje Hessink (1834-1881) who originated in Ede in The Netherlands.

Teacher Leendert Bras (1828-69) in Haarlemmermeer

Leendert Bras was born on 22 March 22 1828 in De Werken in Brabant, southeast of Gorinchem in Holland. His parents are Leendert Bras (1793-1862) and Sijke van Drunen (1797-1874). Among Leendert's siblings were Bastiaan Bras (1819-1898) and Adriaan Bras (1830-1881). Their father worked as a workman, miller and innkeeper.

In Utrecht on 17 July 1850, at the age of 22, Leendert Bras did exams to become a teacher. He acquired a 4th rank as teacher on 29 April 1851. He was working as an assistant teacher in Utrecht, when he acquired his 2nd rank as teacher on 6 April 1853 at the age of 25. In the autumn of 1854 Leendert Bras was appointed as a teacher in a specialized Day and Boarding School for boys in Zuilen, west of Utrecht.

On July 17, 1850, Leendert Bras did his exam to become a teacher

Leendert Bras had been married on17 May 1852 in De Werken to Jannigje Pruissen. Jannigje was born on 28 December 1828 in De Werken. Her parents are Jan Pruissen and Hasia van Dijk. Leendert Bras and his wife were to have 11 children but 3 of them died young.
At first they lived in De Werken, but around 1860 they moved to Haarlemmermeer, a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. First, a 61 kilometres long canal had been dug around the lake to carry the water drainage and traffic. All of the pumping was done by steam mills, an innovation contrasting with the historic Dutch practice of draining polders using windmills. The first church was built in 1855. By 1860 Haarlemmermeer's population was 7237 people.
Leendert's father had died on 5 Janaury 1862 in Almkerk in Brabant. His mother remained in Almkerk until her death on 16 January 1874. Leendert died at the early age of 40 on February 14, 1869, in Haarlemmermeer. Six months later his widow, Jannigje Pruissen, gave birth to her last child, a daughter named Govertje after her brother Govert who had died the year before. Jannigje survived her husband for 26 years and died in Haarlemmermeer on 12 December 1895, aged 66.
Their daughter Anna was married in 1880, and had a son in 1881. On 9 May 1902 Anna and her husband and son left the Haarlemmermeer for the USA.