ROLFFS, Dirkie
| Birth Name | ROLFFS, Dirkie |
| Name | Durkie |
| GRAMPS ID | I9223 |
| Gender | female |
| Age at Death | 61 years |
Events
| Type | Date | Place | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 1901-03-20 | Sprang-Capelle, Noord Brabant, Nederland | 1a | |
| Death | 1962-03-20 | |||
| Burial | Sully Cemetery, Jasper County, Iowa, U.S.A. |
Attributes
| REFN | 9223 |
Parents
| Father | ROLFFS, Hendrik Ludolf [I1585] |
| Mother | VOS, Cornelia [I7276] |
| Siblings | |
| Half Siblings |
Families
Gallery
Johanna and Durkie
Hendrik Ludolf ROLFFS children 1914
Johanna, Dick, Grandpa Rolffs, Durkie
1944 - Hendrik Ludolf Rolffs children and partners
Dick, Durkie and Anna
Dirkie Rolffs and Cornelis van Soelen
Dirkie Rolffs and Cornelis van Soelen 2
Durkie and Neal van Soelen family
Narrative
Durkie Rolffs was born March 20, 1901 at Sprang Capella, the Netherlands. She was the third child of Hendrik and Cornelia Rolffs. In 1914 at the age of 13 she journied with her family to a new home in the United States. As a young girl, she along with her brothers, sisters, and the Geenen cousins attended night school to learn the English language. Mr. Herman Pilon, the principal of the Sully Christian School was their teacher.
As a young girl of 17, she spent two years at the Betheseda Sanitorium in Denver, Colorado for Tuberculosis. This was the disease that took the life of two of her brothers. After her health improved she returned home and did housework for differnt families in the Sully area. At one time she did the janitorial work in the Reformed Church in Sully.
On January 29, 1925 Durkie was married to Cornelius Christian Van Soelen (Neal) at the home of her parents north of Sully. The Rev. George Dowstra minister of the Sully Reformed Church performed the ceremony in the presence of the family, and Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Sparks who owned the farm. After the ceremony Dutch Psalms were sung. They set up their home on the farm Neal's parents had farmed since 1920. (Elk Creek Twp. Sec 2 N.E. quarter) They had a used cook stove from Neal's parents, and they ordered their bed and dresser from the Sears and Robuck catalog. They also had a secondhand sewing machine Neal had purchased for $6.00.
Neal's parents moved to town when they married, but his brothers Leonard, and Marion boarded with them and helped them farm. Later when Marion got married they built a little house just north of the big house for Marion and Hattie to live in. That house was built for $1400.00 and was later moved into Sully where it is still standing at 105 5th Ave. Durkie helped her sister-in-law Hattie when new babies arrived and Hattie would in turn help Durkie. There were also times when a hired girl would come in and help for awhile.
Neal came to America in 1911 when He was 14 years old. He was born in Geldermaslsen, the Netherlands. He attended school only two days after he arrived in America. He and his family lived southeast of Pella. Neal worked for area farmers, and one summer worked for Arie P. De Cook west of Leighton, Iowa and picked pickles for $15.00 a month. After the pickle harvest was over he spent a month hand trimming hedges. Their monthly wages were given to their parents. Neal purchased his first car in 1916, a Model T-Ford.
While living south of Taintor around 1918, Neal worked as a substitute mail carrier for John Needham (who owned the Taintor General Store and Post Office). Mr. Needham delivered the mail with his car when the weather was dry, but since the roads were dirt, Neal took the horse team and buggy to deliver the mail when it was muddy. His route was 25 miles long, and took him south to the Skunk River and the Lower Grove area. He carried stamps with him, and also had to fill out money orders on route. A stamp cost l-l½¢ each. He was paid $5.00 for each trip.
Neal was one of the first farmers in Jasper County to purchase a Farmall tractor on steel wheels. The family lived on the farm owned by a Mrs. Fahey for over 31 years before they purchased the land. They installed electricity in the year 1948.
Neal and Durkie were blessed with eleven children, nine of whom are still living today. Durkie spent many hours rocking and singing to her children as they went to sleep. While her family was young and small there weren't any modern conveniences to help a busy mother, and all the cooking was done on a cook stove, and the wash was done with a washboard. Durkie made many a loaf of homemade bread in a cook stove. Modern conveniences were a real blessing when they arrived in her home.
Neal. said the years of the depression were hard on everyone, but his family never went to bed hungry. There was always milk and eggs, and of course, plenty of Durkies delicious homemade bread. Since they rented their farm they weren't burdened with property taxes to pay. Neal would go to Killduff once a week to get groceries, and he always tried to bring a little sack of candy home for the family. One piece for each child.
The depression years brought prices of 10¢ a bushel for corn, 6¢ a bushel for oats, eggs 10¢ a dozen, hog prices @@ $1.50 a hundred. Butter fat from milk was 15-20¢ a pound, and bread could be purchased for about 7-10¢ a loaf.
In 1954 Durkie, along with several other people from the community traveled to Newton, Iowa to take instruction to become a citizen of the United States. Forty years after coming to America Durkie became a citizen of the United States at a ceremony in Des Moines. That was a proud moment for her and her family!
Raising their family wasn't easy for Durkie and Neal. They were given two special children to raise. Henry who was afflicted with Epilepsy, and Donnie who was deaf. There was one time when ten of the children were all ill with the whooping cough at one time. Soon after that Neal's father Peter Van Soelen (who was living with them at that time) told Durkie that he didn't think Donnie could hear, so that afternoon they took Donnie to Dr. Carpenter in Newton. The Doctor told them his ears were normal, but he was deaf, and he thought it came from the whooping cough.
When Donnie was five years old, a lady from the County Social Services encouraged them to enroll Donnie in the School for the Deaf in Council Bluff's, Iowa. This was a most difficult decision to make. Neal said it made him feel as if he was dumping off a stray puppy. The trip to Council Bluffs was a hard one for them to make. They weren't allowed to visit Donnie for Six weeks.
When they did visit, Donnie was learning to say Father and Mother. Tears of joy were shed the first time they could hear Donnie talk. The first time he came home he told all his brothers and sisters "I Love You". Donnie is thankful to his parents for having the courage to enroll him in that special school so far from home. He said it was the best thing his parents could've done for him. Neal and Durkie were privileged to see Donnie complete school, obtain employment, marry and raise a normal, healthy family. God's grace has been so sufficient!
The family remembers that when Grandpa Rolffs died, their mother was sick and couldn't go to the funeral, so they brought his body over to their home for Durkie to see him once more be fore he was buried.
Neal and Durkie were pleasantly surprised when her brother Dick, and sister Johanna and their families surprised them on their 30th wedding anniversary.
In 1956 Neal, Durkie and their daughter Joann were injured in a car accident near Monroe. It was at this time they discovered that Durkie again had a spot on her lung. This was watched for several years, and about 1960 the spot was diagnosed as Cancer. She received some treatments for the spot, and suffered much pain and agony during her illness. Before she died, the cancer had affected her speech to a whisper. Her faith in God remained strong to the end, and she went to be with her Lord on her birthday, March 20, 1962.
Durkie suffered many trials and tribulations along the way in her life. Having Donnie leave home at such an early age was especially hard on her, and Henry had many problems with his epileptic condition, not to forget all the many trips to Rochester, Minn. with Ralph. She herself endured several serious surgeries. Many many prayers of petition were offered on behalf of her children, and she always showed her thankfulness to the many answered prayers.
Her older children remember Durkie sitting in the rocking chair singing songs, both in Dutch and English to her babies, as she gently rocked them to sleep.
Durkie loved her family dearly, and the grandchildren were especially dear to her. They can remember the delicious fried chicken she would make, as well as the chocolate cake, and the homemade chocolate pudding with "real" whipped cream on top. She dearly loved the days when she and Neal would go and visit their children and families for a day.
Each of her children have special remembrances of her, but they all remember her as a very kind, gentle and loving mother who breathed lots of sighs and shed many tears, but always with a smile on her face, and a song in her heart, and a prayer on her lips.
Durkie was 61 years old when she passed into glory. After her death Neal and Henry continued to live on the farm until 1968 when Neal married Guysbertha Cornelia Rulffraat Boot. Henry then became a resident of the Jasper County Home near Newton. Neal moved to Pella and today he and Bertha are enjoying their golden years together in the Pella Manor.
Source References
- Geneology and family history of Hendrik Ludolf Rolffs 1983 [S714]
- Confidence: High; Text: Hendrik Luldolf Rolffs born February 15, 1860 where: Raamdonksveer, the Netherlands married: 1897 died: February 20, 1939 buried: Sully Cemetery, Sully, Jasper County, Iowa Cornelia Vos born, January 13, 1866 where: died: October 13, 1936 buried: Sully Cemetery, Sully, Jasper County, Iowa Children: Dirkie, born, March 20, 1901
- Confidence: High; Text: Durkie Rolffs born, March 20, 1901 where: Sprang Capelle the Netherlands married: January 29, 1925 @@ Jasper County, Iowa died: March 20, 1962 buried: Sully Cemetery, Jasper County, Iowa Cornelius Christian Van Soelen-born, June 10, 1897 where: Geldermaslsen, the Netherlands died: buried: Children: Peter Ralph, born, December 19, 1925 Cornelia Henrietta, born, May 3, 1927 Ralph, born, September 30, 1028 Christina, born, October 5, 1929 Dorothy, born, November 18, 1930 Marie, born, February 26, 1932 Henry, born, July 13, 1934 Clarence Harold, born, June 30. 1936 Joanne Eileen, born, September 2, 1937 Donald Lee, born, February 11, 1939 Stillborn son born buried: in the Sully Cemetery, Sully, Iowa On May 17, 1968 Neal married Bertha Den Hartog. Bertha was born, June 14, 1912 @@ died: buried:
