Johannes Aertzn was baptized in the small Dutch village of Beusichem in 1564.  Years later, when he moved 25 km to the nearby large town of Utrecht, he kept the family name “van Beusekom” to signify where he came from. His descendants continued to live in and around Utrecht for more than three centuries, among them  many farmers and boat-builders. Ten generations later, Hermanus (1858-1927) and Elisabeth van Beusekom left Utrecht with their large family, eventually arriving in New York harbor in 1909.  Hermanus created a new home in Delano, Minnesota.

Similarly, the Nicolaus and Marie Elsen family from Leeuwen-Cereden, Holland traveled through Ellis Island in 1910 to also settle in Delano, Minnesota.  Herman Albertus van Beusekom (son of Hermanus and Elisabeth) and Gertrude Elsen (daughter of Nicolaus) married on 13 May 1919, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Welcome to the family history section of the windmill. These pages are a collection of historical photographs and anecdotes. We will be updating them from time to time. If you have things to add, please email Ralph at windmill@vanbeusekom.us.

Go to these pages by clicking one of the pages under “History” on the left menu bar.

Arrival to the United States
This section has some information of how the van Beusekom clan traveled from Holland to Minnesota in 1909 and how the Elsen family did the same in 1910.

Growing Up in Delano
Ralph has included some photos and accounts of how the Herman Van Beusekom and Gertrude Elsen family lived on the farm in Delano, Minnesota in the 1920’s through 1940’s.

Van Beusekom History
This page includes some history of the Van Beusekom family in the Netherlands and the United States.

Elsen History
This page includes some history of the Elsen family in the Netherlands and the United States.

Genealogy
Here are a couple large online genealogies that include hundreds of members of our family (probably including you, too).