Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society

09/30/2025

08/27/2025

"Who or What is the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society", you may ask? The public is invited to an Open House to be held Monday, Sept. 15th from 6:30-9:00 pm at the meeting room of the Sioux Center Library. Members will be present to explain what resources we have in our collection and what you can find online. We will discuss the changes with the Sioux Center library remodel, and we will have computers available to show you how to get started researching your own family.

Remember: "Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future." (Gail Lumet Buckley)

07/01/2025

On June 23, 2025, the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society presented Early Sioux Center Settlers and Businesses. It was held 7:00 pm in the barn at Heritage Village on a warm humid evening.

Wilma J. Vande Berg displayed six historical display pictorial tri-folds, including the ‘first five’ families that came with a wagon train to Sioux Center’s location. She gave a narrative on those families and named many other early settlers.

Chuck Brunsting gave an overhead powerpoint presentation of pioneers, facts and stories of the early settlers.

Larry Te Grotenhuis gave a narrative on early Sioux Center businesses, churches and schools.

https://www.facebook.com/siouxcountyhistory

05/31/2025

Early History and Pioneers of Sioux Center.
Enjoy a presentation June 23 at 7:00 pm at the Barn at Heritage Village. Wilma Vande Berg will start out with the First Five Families that came by prairie schooners to Sioux Center In 1870. Lots of old pictures will be on display. History of older business and some pioneer stories will be presented by Larry TeGrotenhuis and Church Brunsting.
Shown is a series of old streets of Sioux Center paintings, I did for the 1991 centennial.

05/14/2025

Come see how Sioux Center began! The Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society will present next in the series of early settlers of Sioux County Iowa, ‘Early Settlers and Businesses of Sioux Center”. Program researched and arranged by Wilma Vande Berg with members helping in the presentation. It will be held June 23 at 7 p.m. at in the barn at Heritage Village at 701 2nd Ave. SW, Sioux Center, IA. Refreshments will be served, public is welcome.
Painting done by Wilma for the 1991 Sioux Center Centennial

05/13/2025

The next Greater Sioux County Genealogy Society meeting/program is Monday, June 23 at 7:00 at the barn at Heritage Village, 701 2nd Ave. SW, Sioux Center, IA. It is the next in our series of "Early Settlers of Sioux County". The program is entitled Sioux Center's Early Settlers and Businesses researched by Wilma Vande Berg and presented by members of the local Genealogy Society.

05/02/2025

On April 20, 2025, at 7:00 pm at the Sioux Center Public Library, Cindi Vander Weide of Maurice presented an excellent program on the beginnings of Maurice.

Cindi offered to make us a copy of the presentation directly from her program on her computer with good clear pictures. That is what you will see in this video. She did an excellent job talking about each picture. Such an excellent display of pictures were presented for the audience to observe while having coffee after the program.

Town facts of Maurice, IA: https://iagenweb.org/sioux/FactSheets/maurice.htmhttps://www.facebook.com/siouxcountyhistory

04/05/2025

Come join the Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society as we present our next program in our series of "Early Settlers of Sioux County".

On April 21 at 7:00 pm in the meeting rooms of the Sioux Center Library, we will present the program on Maurice. Cindy Vander Weide will share with us the history of Maurice, its early families and the businesses owned by them.

Come, learn and share in our local history. There will be time for sharing and questions. Refreshments will be served.

We look forward to meeting you there.

If you have questions, call Marje at 722-3851.

03/28/2025

Go to https://iagenweb.org/sioux
Wagons Ho - Index of Participant Bios
Wagons Ho - Research Objective & Explanation
Wagons Ho - Biographies of the Oregon Trail Pioneers
from book, Story of Sioux County by Charles L. DykeWagons

12/18/2024

Were your ancestors on the Oregon Wagon Trail from Pella to Oregon May 1862 to Oct 1862? Many of the their descendants ended up in Sioux County Iowa area after 1870 and later years as they scattered across the country. Many do not know of that heroic adventure that took place in their ancestry.
Follow the biographies on www.iagenweb.org/sioux – BIOS to see if your family name was one of the families that were on the wagon train. The families of Pieter Noteboom 1829-1865, Lutje Mars 1821-1898 are a few biographies that have been recently posted. (by yours truly) The Noteboom family was particularly devastated as the parents died leaving eight orphaned children in Oregon, later the children came back to Iowa. Other family names in that group were, but not limited to; John and Peter Ellerbroek, Cornelius Jongewaard, Geert Jot, Theunes Burggraf, Stoutenburgs, Rysdams, Leendert and Dirk VanderMeers, Dirk VandenBos, C. Newendorp, Wopke DeHaan and Hannes Klein. The majority of the families came back to Iowa about 1870 and moved on to Sioux County. This colorful story has died out in many of the descendant family knowledge.

10/31/2024

The Greater Sioux County Society presented another program in the series of Early Settlers and Beginnings of the towns in Sioux County on October 21st, at the Sioux Center Public Library.
Chuck Brunsting presented the program with information from the booklet ‘Diamond Jubilee 1889-1964 Boyden, Iowa.' He also included photos of locations and old newspaper articles from his research.
Here's the presentation: https://youtu.be/12m3_utRoJQ

07/07/2024

The Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society will meet July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Sioux Center Library. The program will be the continuation of the series 'Early Settlers of Sioux County', presented by Linda Altena who will talk about the early history and families of Lebanon. Visitors are always welcome and refreshments will be served. Questions Call Marje at 722-3851.