The First Dutch Settlement in Alberta

$34.95

Letters from the Pioneer Years 1903-14 Edited by Donald Sinnema Translated for the first time from Dutch to English, this collection of letters offers a unique perspective on the early pioneer years of the Dutch community in southern Alberta. The letters provide first-hand accounts of the preparations to immigrate, the...

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Letters from the Pioneer Years 1903-14

Edited by Donald Sinnema

Translated for the first time from Dutch to English, this collection of letters offers a unique perspective on the early pioneer years of the Dutch community in southern Alberta. The letters provide first-hand accounts of the preparations to immigrate, the hardship of the pioneer years, and the rapid transformation from the most basic homesteading conditions to progressive rural communities, including the towns of Granum, Monarch and Nobleford.

Within just a decade, new railroads, towns, churches, school and even telephone service were established. Based on extensive research, especially in Dutch language newspapers, the book also includes a homestead map, photographs, and appendices listing all the Dutch homesteaders and settlers in the district between the years of 1903 and 1914.

The book truly is an invaluable collection of primary source material that offers a wealth of information to genealogists and historians, and celebrates the pioneering spirit of Alberta’s early Dutch community. The author was raised in the community and earned his PhD in historical theology. He is a professor at Trinity Christian College in Illinois.

"This book, which weaves further threads into the multi-faced tapestry of migration studies, should be welcomed by historians and genealogists alike. Donald Sinnema’s straightforward, jargon-free prose helpfully illuminates the wider context of Dutch emigration to the prairies, turning the spotlight on an era that has been largely ignored by scholars in favour of the post-1945 wave of Dutch immigration. The letters themselves bring to vibrant life the frustrations, achievements and everyday lives of pioneers in early twentieth-century Canada, tracing the development of the Alberta settlement from primitive homesteading to the establishment of a thriving rural community, and incorporating a distinctly Dutch perspective on pioneer life." - Marjory Harper, Dutch Crossing

Paperback, 392 pages, illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, lists of early settlers with places of origin