A Really Great Grandma

  I would like to start something with this blog where we share stories of family members, past and present.  These can be people who carried a tradition, or did something special within the family, or any really cool story.  Then, other family members can share their bits about the same person.
   I will start with my Grandma Laura Emma (Steltz) Van Hout, my dad's mother. 

Quilt made for Mark Van Hout

What I want us all to share is her sewing of patch quilts, or crazy quilts.  It is my understanding that she made one for every one of her grandchildren.  She used an old, foot-pedal sewing machine.  If memory serves me, my parents got her an electric sewing machine but she didn't like it.  It was too hard for her to control the speed.
  For me, Grandma covered my "baby blanket" and then made me the quilt pictured here.  She also made me a pillow case that I used until it wore out.  I still have it, but it isn't used.  It had a few silk patches on it that could not stand up to use.
   I remember laying down for our Christmas Eve nap and my sister, JoLynda, and I seeing if we had the same patches in our quilts.  We had a few.
   I invite other family to share pictures of your quilts so we can see how much they are alike, yet different.

Our Earliest Beginnings

The Dutchman who educated me on the meaning of the name "Hout" recently did a little more digging on our family.  He began with Anton (Antoon) Van Hout, the man we consider the patriarch of our family and who brought the Van Houts to America.  We always had a name for his father, Peter, or Petrus and his mother, Elisabeth.  It is at this point that our information was sketchy.

Come to find out, Peter spelled his last name "van Hout" instead of what we use..."Van Hout".  We also had Peter's father as Coenraad, though there was no documentation to back it up other than what people have in their assorted family trees.  No mention of a "Coenraad" was found in the Netherlands, but instead his name was Christiaan.  He married Johanna Bastiaans in 1813.

Following the naming conventions of the time, it is possible that Peter van Hout had more than the four children I originally had listed.  Another daughter was found, named Johanna, who should have been the oldest, being named after her grandmother.  However, there was no son listed with the name Christiaan, which is what Peter's first son should have been named.  Instead, it was Hendrikus.  So it is possible that Peter and Elisabeth had a son named Christiaan who died early.  The only way to confirm or deny that would be with church records.

Christiaan van Houdt (another name change) was the son of Justin Hout and Gertrude Smits.  They were married in 1786.

Justin Hout was one of four children (that I know of) from the 1751 marriage of Jan (Joannis) Joosten van den Hout and Jenneke Dirck Tonis.

So starting with our oldest ancestor, our name has seen itself go from "van den Hout" to "Hout" to "van Houdt" to "van Hout" to the final spelling of "Van Hout".   It is interesting to see how last names change over time, as well as first names.  Anton Van Hout is also found as Antoon, Antonius, and Anthoon.  A challenge, for sure, when trying to do family research and the name is so much different than what we are used to.

The War Diary of the 89th Division

The following is a retyped, exact duplication of a war diary written by George Joseph Van Hout.  I have fixed misspellings but kept phrasing, so as to stay as close to the original writing as possible.  

THE WAR DIARY OF THE 89^TH DIVISION

Written by George Van Hout

            Left Milbank, So. Dak. On Sept.17 1917 went to Camp Funston, Kansas for training.  Came home on furlough one time.  Arrived back in Milbank the last week of Dec. 1917.  Returned to Camp Funston on the 2^nd of Jan. 1918.

George Joseph Van Hout

            May 24^th  Left Camp Funston, Kansas, via U.P. Ry, for Camp Mills, New York, passing thru Chicago, Niagara Falls and New York City.  Spent one hour at Niagara Falls while enroute to Camp Mills, May 26^th.

            May 27^th  Arrived at Camp Mills, N.Y.

            June 3^rd  Left Camp Mills for Hoboken to board steamer at 2:30 A.M.  Boarded ferry at about 3:30 A.M., passing the Statue of Liberty on our way down the sound.  Arrived at dock 8:30 A.M. and boarded the S.S. Kyber about 10:30 A.M.

            June 4^th  Pulled anchor and set sail for Liverpool, England at 2:30 P.M.

            June 15^th  Arrived at Liverpool, after having a very pleasant voyage as far as the weather and sea were concerned.  As for the food, the less said the better.  Nearly had an accident in the harbor at Liverpool when the S.S. Carpathia drifted into our boat, tearing all the life boats off one side of both ships.

            June 16^th  Docked and unloaded all our equipment off the boat about 2 P.M. and immediately marched to the depot where an English officer gave each man an address and an autographed copy of a message from King George V.  Noticed one thing peculiar about the land, all traffic goes to the left and all motor vehicles are right hand drive.

            June 17^th  Arrived at Winchester at 6 A.M. and marched about 2 ½ miles to an English camp where we were allowed to rest up from our long trip on the boat.

            June 21^st  Left for Southampton to sail for Havre, France.  Left dock about midnight.

            June 22^nd  Arrived at Harve at 6 A.M. having a very uneventful trip, the channel being very calm and no subs bothered us.  Stayed overnight in some French Barracks.

            June 23^rd  Left for St. Blin, France about 3:30 P.M., packed 36 to a car.  These cars are about on half as large as a small box car in the States.

            June 24^th  Arrived at barracks in St. Blin at 10:30 P.M..  We had regular drill and garrison duties from arrival to departure.

            Aug. 5^th  Left St. Blin for Toul with machine guns mounted for protection against enemy aircraft at 1:30 P.M. arriving at Toul at 10 P.M.  We were billeted in a large French garrison.

            Aug. 9^th  Left for Corneville at 7:30 P.m., arriving about 10 P.M.  Here we were billeted in barns and sheds.

            Aug. 21^st  Left for Andilly about 7:30 A.M. arriving at midnight, two squads going directly to Bernicourt to do guard duty.

            Aug. 23^rd  Company “B” that had been on duty in the trenches was relieved and came in about 4 A.M.

            Sept. 11^th  Left for “Gas Hollow” near Flirey to put up a machine gun barrage arriving around 11:30 P.M.  It was very muddy and slippery, everyone was up to their waist except those that had on rubber boots.

            Sept. 12^th  Fired barrage at 5 A.M. ad left for Bouillonville.  Part of the Battalion arriving that night and the rest stayed overnight at Essay arriving about 2 A.M. Sept. 13^th.

            Sept. 13^th  Left Bouillonville for position in support of the 3^rd Battalion of the 353^rd Infantry in the line at Xammes.  10:30 A.M.  Here we were stopped by a French guide from running headlong into the Hindenburg Line.  After getting on the right road we were latter arriving at Xammes, it was about noon.  Here we were under 36 hours of the hardest shell fire the Boshe had ever put over on that front to date.  Casualties to date, 3 killed, 6 wounded.

            Sept. 14^th  Relieved at 7 P.M. and left for Bouillonville arriving there about 9 P.M., where we had our first hot meal since leaving Andilly Sept. 11^th.

            Sept. 19^th  Left for the “Cut” at 9:30 A.M. arriving around 10 A.M. and were ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to move out at a moment’s notice.

            Sept. 25^th  Were ordered into dugouts and to be ready to pull out at any time.  Spent the night, which was very long and chilly there awaiting orders to move out.

            Oct. 3^rd  Left the “Cut” about 6 P.M. for position in the line between Xammes and Jaulnay to relieve the 10^th Infantry, arriving there about 11:30 P.M.  Our artillery active for a period of about 45 minutes and increasing to the intensity of a barrage.  This being about the time we went into position which helped us considerable as the Boshe were too busy dodging our fire to bother us with their fire till later in the night when they shelled our positions very heavily, using shrapnel, high explosive and gas shells.

            Oct. 4^th  German artillery shelled Thiaucourt using mustard gas.  Here our Staff was gassed, including two Majors, one 1^st Lieutenant, Sgt. Major, Statistical Sgt., one wagoner and four privates, all being sent to hospital immediately.

            Oct. 5^th  Usual artillery activity on the part of the enemy, they are harassingly using gas shells.  Two Lieutenants and fourteen men gasses.

            Oct. 6^th  Enemy artillery active, throwing over approximately 3,000 shrapnel and gas shells.

            Oct. 8^th  Were relieved about 7 P.M. and after having breakfast at the “Cut” we proceeded to Commercy arriving there around 12:30 P.M.  Were billeted in French brick barracks.

            Oct. 10^th  Left Commercy for Recicourt in barns the first night but from then till departure we lived in “pup” tents on the side of a hill.

            Oct. 13^th  Left Recicourt for new camp about 2:30 P.M.  Spent the night in trucks and “pup” tents pitched in the mud.

            Oct. 14^th  Arrived and set up camp at 3 P.M. at Eclisfontaine.  Broke camp and left for new camp one mile south of Epinonville about 4:30 P.M. arriving at 5:30 P.M.  Bitter fighting continues, but the enemy artillery is not severe.  The employment of large numbers of machine guns continue to be a marked feature of the enemy’s defense.  Total numbers of prisoners to pass thru the Corps cage since noon Dec. 26^th being 115 officers and 3,442 men.  Enemy aeronautics very active, bombing planes flying over our back areas continually.  Always flying in bunches of 10 to 15, never alone or in pairs as our planes do.  From the 15^th to the 20^th we were under orders to move out at a moment’s notice.

            Oct. 22^nd  Good visibility caused a marked increased in enemy aerial activity.  Enemy planes patrolling our front lines, firing on our men in the trenches with machine guns.  Enemy planes dropped propaganda quoting Germany’s peace proposal and President Wilson’s reply, also propaganda asking our men why they were fighting?  They also asked them if they wouldn’t rather be at home with their wives and sweethearts.

            Oct. 25^th  Extract of a letter found on a German prisoner:  “Now that you have moved into the fields of France, I am very much worried about you, for I won’t see you again, I’m sure.  You know, my dear son, that those who get to France never return.  I cannot help thinking of you all the time.  Uncle Johann has lost two sons there and Wilhelm two, also.”

            Oct. 26^th  Translation of a German paper dated Oct. 25^th, General Headquarters

            “German soldiers, be vigilant:  The word “Armistice” is current in trench and camp.  We have not yet reached that point.  To some the word represents a certainty, to others it is even a synonym to peace, of the peace so long desired.  They believed that events no longer depend on them; their vigilance is relaxed their courage and endurance, as well as their spirit of defiance toward the enemy diminished.

            We Have not yet reached our aim.  The armistice has not yet been concluded.  The war is still on, the same war as ever.  Now more than ever you must be vigilant and hold fast.  More than ever you are on enemy soil, and on the soil of Alsace-Lorraine, the bulwark of our country.  In this grave hour Fatherland relies on you for its prosperity and for its safety.”

            Battalion today carrying 500,000 rounds of ammunition about two kilometers thru the woods, (Bois de Bantheville) to where our gun positions are to be in the drive soon to come.  Quite a number of boys were gassed.

            Oct. 29^th  Armistice feeling is having its effect on the enemy are reported to be using one pounders which are very accurate and deadly.  Our aviators very active in spite of bad weather, reporting several enemy large guns deserted and left setting at the side of the road.

            Oct. 31^st  Left camp for positions in the Bois de Bantheville for purpose of firing machine gun barrage.  Barrage fired at 2:29 A.M. until 5:16 A.M. Nov. 1^st.

            Nov. 1^st  Our boys went over the top at 5:30 A.M., meeting strong resistance at first from rear guards using machine guns.  The infantry not offering much resistance.  At noon the prisoners numbered about 1200, among them being a woman dressed as a soldier.  Morale of the troops captured seemed to be low.  While most of them seemed to be young men in their teens and early twenties and good condition, they seemed to feel that their cause was so hopeless that there was no further use in putting up a fight.  Left for LDhuy Fme about 10 A.M. arriving there at 5 P.M.

            Nov. 3^rd  La Dhut Fme for Remonville about 3:15 P.M. and camped for the night in a field one mile north.  Pitched camp in mud at 10 P.M.

            Nov. 4^th  Received orders at 3 A.M. to pull out for Barricourt, arriving there about 8 A.M.  Left there immediately for position in lines but trucks were stopped on the road two kilometers north of Tailly by enemy shell fire at 9:30 A.M.  Proceeded to Beauclair with trucks about 3:30 P.M. leaving some there and proceeded about one kilometer north on foot to put up a barrage at 4 P.M. to cover the advance of the infantry.  Barrage postponed as the infantry has passed our target which shows how fast they were progressing.  Moved on into the Foret de Dieult about 5 P.M. to position ¾ of a mile, southwest of Lannuville arriving at 8 P.M., a distance the land every 15 or 20 feet for the purpose of delaying the progress of our troops.  Battalion headquarters placed at a cross road a very unsuitable place.

            Nov. 5^th  Left position in Foret de Dieulet about 1 P.M. to position near the west bank of the Meuse river, our guns covering the bridges and the town of Bouilly.  The company had a very hard time getting to these positions as they had to march with full packs ad all equipment for the guns thru a very dense woods by compass.

            Nov. 6^th  Arrived at new position about 8 A.M.

            Nov. 8^th  Sixty-five mines were discovered in buildings at Lannuville.  It is supposed by the construction that these mines were to destroy cellars.  Typical charges were 77mm cases filled with explosives and from 5 to 20 cases in each cellar.  In some instances the fuses ran into stove grates and in others the mines were fixed to be set off by trip wires.  Since Nov. 1^st we have advanced 40 Kilometers (26 miles), broke down all enemy resistance, freed 800 square kilometers of France, liberated 2000 civilians, 6ooo prisoners and a large quantity of ammunition and arms.

            Nov. 10^th  Stenay was taken by the division on our right, who crossed the river above the city.  The crossing at Pouilly’ was executed by our division, the men being ferried across the river under cover of darkness and under very heavy shell fire without mishap.  Large ammunition dump was captured, containing 10,000 6” shells.  About at Stenay, comprising mostly of old men, women and children.  Very few young women being seen.

            Nov.11^th  Armistice declared.  All hostilities to stop at 11 hours French time, the allied troops not to go beyond the point reached at that time.  Enemy artillery very active up to the last minute.

            Nov. 12^th  Battalion was relieved and billeted in Beaufort.  This is the dirtiest and most unsanitary town we have ever been in.  Many French civilians entered our lines that have been held since 1914 and report having been very poorly fed and treated.  They also report that the Germans took young girls from their homes to the camp and made them work in the fields as well as take care of the officers’ quarters, and than many of these girls gave birth to babies.  French prisoners of war state  that the casualties were exceedingly high in number, especially gas.  In regards to the maltreatment and violation of French women, prisoners state the following scheme was constantly employed.  If a woman refused the advances of a German soldier, or officer she was immediately reported to the authorities as lacking respect to a German soldier.  Thereupon a notice would be posted in a public place stating she had been disrespectful and condemning her to a fine varying from 15 to 35 marks in a case of an enlisted man and 3000 marks in the case of an officer, or an alternative of imprisonment in case of failure or inability to pay the fine.  This proceeding was continued until the desired result was obtained.

            Nov. 16^th  The 89^th Division was relieved by the 2^nd Division.

            Nov. 17^th  Word received today that the 89^th Division is to be included in the army of occupation with the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 26^th, 32^nd, 42^nd, and 90^th Divisions, an army of about 250,000 men.  This is an honor for the 89^th, which is made up of men that have been in the service only a little over 6 months, to be picked with the above divisions, which are the best in the American E. F. (Expeditionary Force)

            Nov. 23^rd  Major Hale and Lt. Farrell returned from the hospital today.  The Major’s eyes are pretty bad yet.  Lt. Farrell is just as full of the old Nick as ever.

            Nov. 24^th  Left Beaufort at 7:30 A.M. arriving at Houdrigny, Belgium at 10 A.M. passing thru Stenay, Montmedy, Dampicourt and some pretty country.  This is the cleanest town we have ever been in since landing.

            Nov. 30^th  Left Houdrigny, Belgium, at 7 A.M. for St. Leger, Belgium arriving about 11:30 A.M.

            Dec. 3^rd  Left St. Leger, Belgium, for Mersch, Luxembourg, at 7 A.M. arriving there at 11: 30 A.M.  Man living here lived in Nebraska for 22 years.

            Dec. 5^th  Left Mersch, Luxembourg, at 7 A.M. for Echternach, Luxembourg, arriving about 11:00 A.M.

            Dec. 8^th  Left Echternach, Luxembourg, at 7 A.M. for Eisenschmitt, Germany, arriving about 11 A.M.  Company “A” now billeted in a castle at the edge of town.  It is very pretty, being built on the side of a mountain with large lawns containing numerous benches, conveniently situated in clumps of fir trees, to make life worth living, provided you have the right party present.

            Dec. 12^th  Left Eisenschmitt at 7 A.M. for Waxweiler, arriving at 11:45 A.M.  About noon 1200 French soldiers arrived, their Colonel saying they had orders to billet in there.  About this time, we received an order saying that if there was any conflict in billeting on account of French troops to return to Eisenschmitt.  Left Waxweiler at 1:30 for Eisenschmitt arriving about 5:30 P.M.

            Dec. 14^th  Left Eisenschmitt at 8 A.M. for Erdorf on foot with full field equipment which meant a 17 kilometer march with a 60 pound pack on our back.  Arriving at Erdorf about 2:30 P.M.  The people here treat the boys fine, anything they want they ask for and if the people have it we get it.   The German people seem to like the Americans all right but have no use for the French or English.  A German artillery man told us that the new gas we used in the Meuse-Argonne drive was very deadly.  They could get no protection from it, for it was so strong it ate the boots off their feet, crumbling to pieces as though they had been burned.

   Though a bit tedious to read, it gives a little bit of insight into what it was like for Uncle George in France.  After reading the last entry, I am sure glad we don't use gas anymore.

The Continuing Story of...Tiger Van Hout

While doing my work as an Inspector General at Training and Doctrine Command, I ran into a gentleman by the name of Pat Perry.  When he called my office, he asked me if I had an uncle or a grandfather who had been in the Army.  The real answer is yes, but I knew what he was talking about and told him that I had a cousin (actually 1st cousin 1X removed) who had been on active duty.  He told me that he had been assigned under a Colonel (COL) Van Hout and when he saw my name, thought there might be a connection.

COL Harold A. Van Hout retires in 1974

I sat down with Mr. Perry on the 27th of February, 2012 and just talked about COL Harold Van Hout.  It turns out that then Captain Perry was one of the five officers under COL Van Hout in Vietnam about June 1970-June 1971.  Harold was the Province Senior Military Advisor for a province about 300 square miles big with his headquarters in Can Tho, about center of the Mekong Delta.  Mr. Perry said that they spent as much time on boats and walking in water as they did on dry land.  The only Americans in that section were those assigned to him, numbering enough to make up a small staff.  He said that by the time they were there, the area was pretty much pacified and they were doing developmental projects.

Mr. Perry shared a couple of stories with me.  He did confirm that Harold was called "Tiger" Van Hout, but not to his face.  It was not disrespectful, but was more of an endearing name...indirectly.  He said Harold was tough and fair...an excellent officer and very well respected.  He agreed with my assessment, after having looked at Harold's old military record, that COL Van Hout was a stud.

Mr. Perry told me about a time when a South Vietnamese soldier had been wounded out in the middle of some rice paddies.  They drug him out, through the mud, to a road.  They had no way to medevac this guy so he called on "Firefly".  Firefly was a small reconnaissance helicopter that flew around the district checking on things and reporting back to the headquarters.  So, out on the middle of a road, CPT Perry waived in Firefly to land on the road to pick up the wounded soldier.  As the helicopter landed and they went to pick up the wounded man, he stood up and walked over to the helicopter and climbed in.  He said, "I almost shot his ass in the back."  This was one time where Mr. Perry says he saw the "tough" side of the "Tiger".  When the folks at the air base told COL Van Hout he had some wacko captain down there using Firefly as a medevac, Perry caught hell for that.  He said he never got chewed out without learning something, nor for something undeserving.

Another story Mr. Perry shared was after they had both returned to Ft. Bragg, NC in about 1972.  COL Van Hout was now the XVIII Airborne Corps Inspector General and CPT Perry was the commander of a company in the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion.  At this time in the Army, the Inspector General did a lot of compliance/white glove inspections.  Many times, after an IG inspection, someone lost their job.  Preparations for these inspections were always stressful, long hours, and often found units dashing to find equipment they were missing, or disposing of equipment they should not have.  As the unit stood in formation, COL Van Hout approached CPT Perry and said, "I know that I don't have to go into the dumpsters that are behind me on the curb and look for anything, do I Pat?" He said his response was, "No Sir, please don't".   He was shaking in his boots, thinking, this could go downhill so fast!  He said they had all sorts of stuff stashed in those dumpsters.  COL Van Hout said, "OK, I won't".  Sometimes it doesn't hurt to know the IG!

When I shared his nickname of "Hoot" with Mr. Perry, he said that Harold was, "a hoot".  He had a great sense of humor...at the appropriate time.  We had a great, if short, talk about Harold.  I hope Mr. Perry is able to find some other information on COL Van Hout.  He has promised to let me know if he does.

COL (Ret) Harold Anton Van Hout

The story goes that Harold Van Hout was the first resident of Big Stone City to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point.  He went on to become a Colonel in the Army and served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.  I had heard that while he was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, the housing office there had to take a normal, large duplex house and put a hole through a wall connecting the two so his very large family could be in one house.  (Today they would have sent him off-post to find housing)

While I was at Ft. Leavenworth in 1997 for a school, I went to the basement of the Army schoolhouse building to get a haircut.  There was a very old barber in there and when he saw my name tag, he asked me if I was any relation to "Tiger Van Hout".  I told him that I had an Uncle Harold Van Hout who had been to Ft. Leavenworth and we figured that it must have been him.  He told me that "Tiger Van Hout" had lived up to that nickname and that he was a fine officer.  He remembered he had a very large family...another indicator we were both talking about the same Van Hout.

I visited the Lafayette Memorial Cemetery in Fayetteville, NC and took this picture of Harold's marker along with two of his children, Janet and William.   I spoke to his wife, Joy, who told me which part of the cemetery to find him.  She and I will be sitting down to talk about their part of the family tree.

The Van Hout Beginning

Anton Van Hout and Elizabeth Suppers were united in marriage in Holland in the year 1884. They came to the United States on March 1, 1887 on the vessel Old Rotterdam.
They were accompanied on the trip by their two daughters Johnanna Elizabeth "Liz" and Anna. Anna passed away on the trip and is buried at sea. John Supers, Elizabeth's father, came to the U.S. with them. He worked for the railroad and was killed on the job and is buried at St. Charles Cemetery in Big Stone City. Mrs. Elizabeth Suppers, John's wife, is buried in Holland. There is no record of her date of birth or death. John Suppers died July 3, 1891. Elizabeth Suppers Van Hout was their only child.

Anton Van Hout had two brothers, Herman and one other. Herman had 2 sons, John and Peter. John had 3 boys. This family lived in Wisconsin. Pete married Katie and the had no children. Pete had a niece who came to Milbank, SD and lived with them in the 1950's. Her name was Erika Van Hout. She came here from Holland, so there may have been other brothers left in Holland. Erika (Rika) is now Rika Malin who lives in Montana.

Mark Van Hout, son of Don & Arvene Van Hout, was in contact with a fellow stamp collector in Holland who gave this explanation of the family name of Van Hout:
The name "Hout" means "of wood" when taken literally, but as a family name is more likely to think of a wooden house, a farm in woodlands, or a town/village named hout (there are many, such as Berkhout, even parts of major cities such as Amsterdam and Alkmaar are called Hout (these are parks or other places with a lot of trees)). He said that most Dutch names beginning with "van" have some sort of geographical reference.

The birthplace of Anton was originally believed to be Overfeit, later changed to Overssalt, however, this Dutchman corrected the spelling to Overasselt. It was the closest city he could find to the city name given. Overasselt is a small village in the Province of Gelderland, some 8 kilometers south of the major city of Nijmegen on the border of the river Maas. Nijmegen is very close to the well know city Arnhem ("A Bridge Too Far", Operation Market Garden in WWII). Nijmegen is also where United States troops conducted an annual road march where teams from many European countries would compete. He said there is a possibility that his relatives, who moved to the North Dakota area, could have been on the same boat.
Anton died in St. Bernard's Hospital in Milbank, SD.

Anton Van Hout boys?

I think this is a picture of the sons of Anton Van Hout.  Along the edge of the picture are some names.  The lower left which has the Roman Numeral III by it, has the name Hank.  The lower right with the Numeral V has "Grandpa" by it.  I am assuming that is Grandpa Richard Van Hout.  Can anyone help me identify these guys?  Anyone have the original photo?