by Vincent Milder

In the Beginning

The first recorded evidence of Milders is from some Dutch church documents that show a Milder presence in Amsterdam, Zwolle, and Utrecht as early as the 1720-30s.

The first recorded evidence of Milders in America is from the ship manifest of the Palatine ship, William & Sarah[1], sailing from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This ship landed in Philadelphia on September 18, 1727 and the names of the Milder passengers were:

The oldest direct ancestor found to this date is Johannes Milder. His exact date of birth is unknown but is sometime before 1718. Like many Dutch male children, Johannes was a very popular name and almost every Dutch Milder family has at least one male named Johannes. This does make it somewhat confusing when talking about our Dutch ancestors so I will include a birth/christening date when known.

Johannes was a tailor and married Sophia Clara Didiers. The only known son was Johannes and records exist that show he was baptised 1738 in Koblentz, a large city upstream from Gendt on the Rhine river in Germany. All that is known about Johannes (1738) is that he worked as a cooper and had at least one son named Johannes Tobias. He was born between 1768 and 1772 in Eltersdorf near Ansbag (Ansbach) in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Marriage record of Johannes Tobias Milder and Elizabeth Reijers
(click to enlarge)

Jan Tobias married Elizabeth Reijers in 1725 in Halderen, the Netherlands. They later settled in Doornenburg, the Netherlands, where he made his living as a butcher. They soon had their first child, Aliejdia, 3 months later. She was christened October 23, 1795 in Gendt, the Netherlands. Their second child, Wilhelmus was born 20-22 months later and christened on August 11, 1797 in Gendt. The next child, Gerardus, died soon after birth. It was the custom in that time that if a child died, his/her name would be given to the next child born of that sex. So consequently thier fourth child, a son, was also named Gerardus. Gerardus only lived six years, after which Jan and Elizabeth's next child was again named Gerardus. The remaining children after Gerardus (1801) were Theodorus (bap. 12/4/1802), Jan (bap. 6/7/1805), Gerardus (bap. 9/25/1807), Joannes (1808) and Johannes (bap. 12/2/1810).

Of the total of nine children born, seven lived to adulthood, five married and four had large families. The majority of the Milder genealogy on this site comes from this family of Jan Tobias Milder.

The Milder family later expanded in this area by raising large families with 8-10 children average. Farming and raising livestock was the primary occupation.

Coming to America

In 1869 a grandson of Jan Tobias Mider, Johannes, was a sailor in the Royal Dutch Navy. After being informed that his service in the navy was going to be extended another term, he decided to jump ship and sailed to America.

Steamships had recently reduced the transatlantic voyage from 4-6 weeks to just 10 days. Railroad expansion had made more of the country accessible than ever before. It cost less and was much safer than travelling by road. There weren't many roads, and most were in poor condition.

Johannes most likely arrived in New York and took the train to West Liberty Iowa, where he stayed with an old family friend, Stephen Brugman, near Nichols, Iowa. Afterwards Johannes was known by the Americanized version of his name, John. Later on John's cousin Henry, (son of Jan, grandson of Jan Tobias Milder) also left the Netherlands for Iowa.

Stephen Brugman had lived in Iowa for some time and was probably the motivation that John needed to leave. John lived and worked with Stephen Brugman for a couple of years, learning the English language and how to make a living here in Iowa.

In January of 1872, John travelled back to his home in Gendt to get married to Hendrina Burgers. The Bishop had to dispense from the normal three weeks of publishing the bands of matrimony because John had to leave in a hurry. He was probably wanted for leaving the Navy. John and Hendrina were married Feb 1, 1872. Church records also states that they left for America on Feb. 3rd.[2]

The Milders and Burgers knew the Brugmans in Holland before they came over here. After arriving back in Iowa, John and Hendrina stayed with Stephen for another year before he purchased a farm at West Liberty that was just South of town. It was in this house where they started a family. This is the same farm site that is across from the Catholic cemetery. For more on this story, read "As I Believe" by Bill and Mary Lou Theobald.

John and Hendrina donated the land for the Catholic Cemetery and was also part of the group that formed the Catholic church in West Liberty. He died suddenly at age 60 at the home in West Liberty (Sept . 29, 1898). At one time he had lost his eyesight but had regained it again. Hendrina would spend her summers at the Will Milder residence and the winters at Anna (Milder) Brugman's place. Her rocking chair always went with her in the buggy. She died at Anna (Milder) Brugman's home on September 3, 1918. [3]

1. OliveTree Genealogy
2. Gendt Catholic Church marraige record
3. Lois Brugman

updated 7/2006 - Copyright© 2000-2006 Milder.org