A Visitation
Parish History
After
58 days at sea, they arrived in Boston on
Friday, May 5th, 1848. From Boston,
they traveled by boxcar to
Buffalo, N.Y., then the gateway to the West. From
Buffalo, they
sailed to Mackinaw Island, MI where they stayed 3 days until
they
could obtain passage by ship to Green Bay, Wis. From there
theywent by
flatboat to Kaukauna, and then by oxen drawn wagon to Little
Chute,
Wisconsin. Before the winter set in, they settled in
the larger
French-Canadian town of DePere, Wisconsin. They* stayed in
Wisconsin for
25 years, before being drawn West, like so many others of
their time, by
the promise of a better
life.
After having
looked around in different localities, they
resolved to buy the Black place in Washington County, about four miles
northwest of Cornelius, the same distance northeast of Forest Grove,
seven
miles from Hillsboro, the county seat.
In
the month of April they commenced work on the farm. They all
lived under
one roof for quite awhile. The land had to be surveyed and
divided,
houses and stables to be put up, and all that could not be accomplished
in a
short time, so much more as the farm had to be cultivated to make a
living.
Father William
Verboort arrived soon after the first families,
and in short order the settlers had built a 29x49 foot temporary chapel
out of rough
lumber. It was blessed in September under the title of St. Francis
Xavier. The community
called itself "The Catholic Colony of Forest Grove", the year
was 1875.
For all of
Father Verboort's accomplishments, he was never
of robust health. He had developed infection in a knee and
was unable to
recover. His mother died on June 23, 1876, and Father had the sad duty
to
administer the last rites and preside at her funeral mass.
Twelve days
later, Father was so ill that local men had to transport him by
wheelbarrow to
administer the last rites to his dying father. Ten days later
Father Verboort died
of leg infection
and pneumonia. Archbishop Blanchet traveled from Portland to offer the
Solemn
Requiem Mass, assisted by Father Verhaag and Father Thibau. At
this time, the name of
the community was changed to "Verboort."
"In the month of February, 1875, arrived 6 (six) Hollandish or Dutch families of Portland, Oregon, with the intention to start a Catholic colony in that state. They hailed from De Pere, Brown County, Wisconsin, Diocese of Green Bay, where their nation and creed were represented in great numbers. The following are the names of those immigrants:
I. The aged John Verboort (senior) and his wife Theodora de Rayt, their eldest son
John Verboort (junior)
II. Albert Verboort, the youngest son of the former couple -his wife Antonetta
Jansen -and two children: 1. John and 2. Theodora.
III. Martin Hermans, the son-in-law of the first mentioned -his wife Theodora Mary
Verboort and five children: 1. Cornelius, 2. William, 3. John, 4. Mary, 5. John.
The last named child about a year old, died after a few months, and was buried
in the orchard of the Black farm in Washington County.
IV. The widow Hendrina Jansen, her only son Peter, and his wife Johanna Hendricks.
V. John (Adrian) van der Velden, his wife Angeline Kuene, and 1 child Anna. Their
other child (a baby) had died on the ocean and it's remains were buried in St.
Mary's Catholic Cemetery (East Portland)
VI. Anthony Krieger, his wife Mary Martin, and three children: 1.Wilhelmina,
2.Johannes Albertus, 3. Peter John. With him came along Peter Martin, the
father of Mrs. Krieger, and John Krieger, the brother of Anthony Krieger.
