Ancestral Discoveries: Reiner Harkema's Censuses and Religion

One of my most interesting maternal ancestors is my 4th great grandfather, Reiner Harkema (1850-1943). He was born on May 8, 1850 in Holland, Michigan to Jan Derks Harkema and Diewerke Simons Vinkers, immigrants from the Dutch Province of Groningen. The family came to Michigan the year before because Jan, a Kleermaker (tailor) could not afford to buy bread for his children, according to emigration records. Reiner lost his father when he was 7, and his mother remarried, although I do not know how that affected him. But Reiner's life took a sudden turn in the 1890s when he left Michigan and moved all the way out to Washington State, specifically Yakima County. For the longest time, I did not know that much about his time in Washington. I know he built a Church and he died in 1943, but that was about it. However, I just made a couple of discoveries that expand my knowledge of this fascinating ancestor. 

One unfortunate phenomenon in my family tree is missing censuses. One major example is my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Franklin Winn Jr., who I cannot find in the 1930 Census at all. For a while, Reiner Harkema had several missing censuses: 1910, 1920, and 1940. A couple of days ago, I checked his hints on Ancestry and discovered two excellent ones: his 1910 and 1920 Censuses! Both were excellent additions. In 1910, he was a farmer working on a fruit farm that he owned on his own account in Zillah, Washington. In 1920, he was a retired farmer living in Orchardvale, Washington. This gives us two interesting facts: he owned a fruit farm, and apparently he retired from farming between 1910 and 1920. After looking at the 1940 Census, and using some search tricks, I was able to find him as well, completing his census record collection. In 1940, he was retired, apparently with no income, living on a farm he owned on the state highway. His education was of a 3rd grade level, and he did not live on a farm in 1935. 

The second major discovery on Reiner Harkema was something that I had just looked over in my previous research. In his obituary, he is listed as having built a church in Zillah and that he served as one of the two first elders. Upon researching this church, it appears that it is the current Faith Community Church in Zillah, which is a Christian Reformed Church! This is a major discovery because pretty much all of my other Dutch American ancestors sided with the Reformed Church of America after the 1857 split. Reiner is my first documented CRC ancestor that I know of. An article on the Church website called "History of the Christian Reformed Church in Zillah" says: "The story of Faith Community Church in Zillah, WA began officially in 1901, when Classis Iowa granted a petition by early Dutch settlers to organize a church to be known as “The First Reformed Church of the Sunnyside Valley.” Back in 1896, the family of Mr. and Mrs. Harkema arrived in the valley from Holland, MI and soon were joined by the families of J.W. Oord, J.B. Rammerman, R. Bajema, G.D. Wesselius, and P. Van Belle.  For the next 5 years, the families met in homes, alternating between the Sunnyside and Zillah groups with Mr. Harkema conducting all the reading services." This is of course with his second wife, as his first wife, the one I descend from, died in Holland in 1890. This gives a timeline of his migration to Washington as well, saying that it occurred in 1896. His obituary agrees with this, saying that he'd come to Washington "47 years ago" (in 1943). It's interesting that he conducted the reading services. As well as being an early settler and also an elder, he must have been an influential figure in the CRC of Yakima County. 

Overall, these discoveries give more life to this ancestor. Reiner Harkema, a son of Dutch immigrants from Groningen to West Michigan, moved to Yakima County, Washington in 1896 and was an early member of the Christian Reformed Church there, and had a fruit farm. What a fascinating person! 

From "History of the Christian Reformed Church in Zillah", photos of the church Reiner Harkema helped found