In April of 1960, Canon West reported to the Vestry that plans were coming along well for the Dutch family that St. Mark’s was sponsoring. He noted that the Women’s Auxiliary had rented a house for the family and had furnished it with St. Mark’s furniture (Vestry Minutes). In January of 1961, the Women’s Auxiliary reported at the annual meeting that the first big project of the 1960 had been to “sponsor the Dumont Family from Holland, which was a challenge enjoyed by all who participated” (St. Mark’s Archives).
Since we no longer have copies of newsletters from that time, it took a little research to understand who the Dutch family were and why St. Mark’s would sponsor them to come to the United States from Holland.
It turns out that quite a few churches in Palo Alto and Menlo Park were working together to bring Dutch families to Palo Alto. But why? Most of the families were actually from the “Dutch East Indies.” These were Dutch and Dutch Indonesian families who had lived in the East Indies until the Japanese occupied the islands during World War II. During the occupation, many Dutch and Dutch Indonesian people living on the islands were put into concentration or labor camps. Many did not survive the war (Palo Alto Times). After the Japanese surrendered, all Dutch Indonesian families who wanted to leave were evacuated to Holland. Many also remained in the islands which had been their home for generations. In 1949, The Dutch East Indies were “transferred to the new country of Indonesia” (Palo Alto TImes). Families who traveled to Holland, especially Dutch Indonesian families, often lacked opportunity, had difficulty assimilating, and faced prejudice if they were mixed race. Those that stayed behind in Indonesia lost their Dutch citizenship and were resented by Indonesians, especially after 1945 and during the Nationalist revolution and transition to independence (Palo Alto Times). Many of these families were simply caught in limbo – they had lost their homes and national identities and had no real opportunity or future in either Holland or Indonesia.
This is why many families were eager to try to start over somewhere new. Some went to South America, some to Australia, and some to the United States (Palo Alto Times). Quite a few families were sponsored in the Palo Alto area by local churches. Ladera Community Church sponsored a family in 1956 and then again in 1959 (Palo Alto Times). In 1960, First Presbyterian (Palo Alto), Holy Trinity (Menlo Park), Foothills Congregational (Palo Alto) and St. Mark’s all sponsored families. Menlo Park Presbyterian sponsored 10 families in 1960 and hosted special Christmas celebrations and other gatherings with Dutch traditions to honor the “new neighbors.” (Palo Alto Times).
Holland, still recovering from the war and trying to assimilate over 50,000 Dutch Indonesians, was eager to pay passage for people who wanted to emigrate to the United States and elsewhere. Francois and Ulrika Dumont arrived in New York aboard KL Flight 607 from Amsterdam on April 20, 1960. They must then have flown to San Francisco where they were met by representatives from St. Mark’s. (New York Passenger and Crew Lists).
Sponsorship entailed renting a place for the family to live and furnishing the house. Once the family arrived, each church helped with expenses, school admissions, rides, medical care and most crucial of all, finding employment (which was apparently not easy). It looks like Mr. and Mrs. Dumont worked for St. Mark’s, maybe as sextons and janitorial staff, until November of 1961 when the Vestry minutes note they had resigned (Vestry Minutes). After 1961, the Dumont’s vanish from St. Mark’s records. In July of 1965, Francois Dumont became a naturalized US Citizen. Ulrika petitioned for citizenship in 1966.
I was able to track down the Dumont’s daughter in law, Beverly, on Ancestry and she sent me a wonderful letter that tells us more about their story:
“Ulrika (Ina) Smit was born in 1916, Cheribon Island of Java Indonesia. Before the war, she was married to Willem Hartwig and together they had four children, two before the WWII and two after. During WWII, Ina sewed and cooked, finding ways to feed, two sons and keep them safe from the Japanese invaders. Her husband was in the military and was imprisoned in a Japanese camp during the war. After the war, the Hartwig family had two more children, a son and a daughter.
Francois (Frank) Henri Dumont 1911 was born in Dolopo, Netherlands and moved to Indonesia when he was four years old. He was previously married as well. Together, they had two daughters and a son. During the war, he was a policeman. At some point he was arrested and tortured by the Japanese. Ina and Frank joined forces and the two married in about 1955. After the Indonesian Independence in November 2, 1949 people with Dutch connections were not welcome any longer and had to eventually leave for Netherlands , or other countries. They left by ship in 1956 for the Netherlands and their only child together was born on board ship.
Unfortunately, many were not well-received upon returning to the Netherlands so sought other places to live. They were called the brown people and probably seen as a threat to local jobs and housing. Thus began the search for a way to America. It could not have been easy to go to a new county with seven children, knowing little English and starting over at the ages of 44 and 49.
The family arrived in the United States April 20, 1960 with seven children. The blended family began in Palo Alto and Frank began working for Stanford Hospital and Ina started there as well. They soon bought a house in Santa Clara CA, moving their family to their own home. Ina took electronics courses and took a job with local electronic firms in Mountain View. After most of the children left home, they moved to Mountain View to be closer to their jobs. The couple did a lot of traveling in their time, going to Europe, Canada, Panama Canal Cruise to name a few. They also had a motor home and traveled to many US destinations. Upon finally retiring in 1976, the couple moved to their retirement property near Corning, California, continuing to travel and enjoy life.
Frank died in 1997 and Ina died 2018, living to be over 102 years of age. They left a legacy of twenty-four grandchildren and many-many great grandchildren. They were a remarkable couple.”
NOTE: A special thanks to Beverly Packebush for sharing the rest of the Dumont’s story with us!
