Massachusetts of Boston Replica
The party of 15 emigrant families traveled to America in 1849 on the Massachusetts of Boston. Commissioned in 1845, the three-masted sailing ship was considered one of the most remarkable vessels of its time. It was capable of beating other well-known ships by 13 days across the Atlantic.
The Eenigenburg Museum houses a magnificent replica of this historic ship. Following an extensive search of shipyard archives, the original drawings were located in a shipyard in Liverpool, England. Cor Beemsterboer, chairman and treasurer of the Eenigenburg Stichting (the foundation for the museum), conducted the search, and at his own expense, commissioned a woodworker in Indonesia to craft a replica.
The Massachusetts of Boston replica in the Museum with Cor Beemsterboer
The ship’s replica stands two meters tall and is three meters long. It’s a stunning, accurate copy of the original.
Can’t you just imagine the scene of our ancestors, filled with hope, as they boarded the beautiful ship for new lives in America?
Massachusetts of Boston - April 24, 1849 Passengers
The 1849 emigrant party of 15 Dutch families (numbering 66 in total) primarily from the area around Eenigenburg included the following individuals. Also listed below them are those who lost their lives. (Note: there was another emigration party on board, headed for a different location in America, who suffered the additional loss of 38 lives.
- Pieter De Jong, his wife, Trijntje (Dalenberg) and six children
- Jakob De Jong, his wife, Geertje (Eenigenburg) and eight children
- Cornelis Kuijper, his wife, Maartje (Dalenberg) and six children
- Gerrit Eenigenburg, his wife, Jannetje (Ton) and four children
- Hark Eenigenburg, his wife, Johanna (Havik) and two children
- Klaas Dalenberg, his wife, Trijntje (Hoogendonk) and three children
- Pieter Dalenberg, unmarried young man of 25 years
- Cornelis Dalenberg, (a widower and father of the aforementioned Mrs. Pieter (Trijntje) De Jong, Mrs. Cornelis (Maartje) Kuyper, Klaas Dalenberg, and Pieter Dalenberg)
- Cornelis Hoogendonk, (a widower and father of Mrs. Klaas (Trijntje) Dalenberg)
- Pieter Oudendijk, his wife, Jannetje (Nieuwenhuizen) and their daughter
- Jan Jonker, his wife Pietertje (Veldhuizen) and two children, plus one more child born in Le Havre
- Johannes Ambuul, his wife, Aaltje (van der Veen) and two children
- Jan Ton, unmarried young man of 22 years
- Jan Bras, his wife, Aaltje (Komen) and their daughter
Joining the party in Rotterdam (from Nieuwmansdorp in the Province of South Holland) were:
- Leendert Van der Sijde, his wife, Lijntje (van Steenberge) and four children
The 17 individuals that lost their lives at sea to Asiatic Cholera included:
- Cornelis Hoogendonk
- Cornelis Dalenberg
- Pieter Oudendijk
- Mrs. Klaas (Cornelia) Dalenberg and one child
- Four children of Cornelis & Maartje Kuijper
- Three children of Jakob & Geertje De Jong
- Three children of Gerrit & Jannetje Eenigenburg
- Two children of Johannes & Aaltje Ambuul
Plus:
- Baby born in Le Havre to Jan & Pietertje Jonker died at sea
- Another child of Klaas & Cornelia Dalenberg died earlier in Rotterdam
It was a horribly tragic journey with 19 total souls lost.
Depiction of the funeral at sea on the Massachusetts of Boston