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Who's Who at Bermuda Bible Chapel, MO

Bermuda Bible Chapel, Normandy, St. Louis, MO +1946-present

Contents

Correspondents

  • Charles Henry Roorda +1946+ (1900-1958)
  • Lawrence Newell Van Hook, Jr. +1946+ (1888-1973)

Families

Roorda family

Charles' parents were farmers near Pella, Marion, IA. His paternal grandparents were John Epke Roorda (b. 1846 Dantumawoude, Dantumadeel, Friesland, Netherlands; emig. 1857; d. 1924 Pella, IA) & Adrianna Jane Van Maren Roorda (b. 1849 Marion Co., IA - d. 1931 Pella, IA). Adrianna's father was Jan Van Maren (b. 1809 Vuren, Lingewaal, Gelderland, Neth.; emig. 1847 @ Baltimore, MD; d. 1884 Pella, IA). Charles' mother was a daughter of Klaas Andries Vos (b. 1819 Klaaswaal, Cromstrijen, Zuid-Holland, Neth.; emig. 1856 @ Pella, IA; d. 1908 Pella, IA) & Neeltje Kramer Vos (b. 1822 Mijnsheerenland, Binnenmaas, Zuid-Holland, Neth. - d. 1880 Pella, IA).

  • Charles Henry Roorda +1946+ (b. 1900 Lake Prairie, Marion, IA - d. 1958 St. Louis, MO), son of Henry John Roorda (1869-1954 Pella, IA) & Mary Vos Roorda (1866-1952 Pella, IA). Charles was employed in 1950 in St. Louis as an estimator for a terrazzo & tile company.
  • Hilda Emilia Roorda +1946+ (1902-1978 St. Louis, MO), daughter of Frederick "Fred" Rudolph Till (b. 1875 Germany; emig. 1880; d. 1947 St. Louis, MO) & Hattie M. Augusta Schulz Till (b. 1878 Germany; emig. 1883; d. 1963 St. Louis, MO)
    • Mary Helen Roorda Alberts +1946+ (b. 1935 St. Louis, MO; lived 1980 @ Sheboygan, WI).
    • Raymond Roorda +1946+ (b. 1938 St. Louis, MO)

Van Hook family

  • Lawrence Newell Van Hook, Jr. +1946+ (b. 1888 Ferguson, St. Louis, MO - d. 1973 St. Louis Co., MO). Son of Lawrence Newell Van Hook, Sr. (b. 1853 Columbus, Lowndes, MS - d. 1910 Ferguson, MO) & Jane "Jennie" Finlay Van Hook (b. 1853 Barony, Lanark, Scot. - d. 1923 Webster Groves, St. Louis, MO).
  • Olive Andrews Van Hook +1946+ (b. 1892 St. Louis, MO - d. 1978 St. Louis, MO), daughter of William Owen Andrews (b. 1875 St. Louis, MO - d. 1935 Webster Groves, MO) & Mary Rogers Andrews (b. 1875 Louisville, Jefferson, KY - d. 1957 Richmond Heights, St. Louis, MO).
    • William Andrews Van Hook +1946+ (b. 1920 St. Louis, MO - d. 2002 Kirkwood, St. Louis, MO). Wife (1950 @ Manhattan, NYC, N.Y.): Waltraud M.S. Van Hook (b. 1922 Germany), daughter of Rudolph Nickel (b. 1877 Germany - d. 1958 Manhattan, N.Y.) & Sofia Elisa Rosina Krucke Nickel (b. 1892 Hanover, Germany - d. 1945 Manhattan, N.Y.).
    • Mary R. Van Hook Hartkopf +1946+ (b. 1930 St. Louis, MO - d. 2013). Husband (1960 @ St. Louis, MO): Heinz Erich Hartkopf (b. 1933 Sollingen, Germany - d. 1997), son of Ernst Johann Hartkopf (1891-1981 Sollingen, Germany) & Erna Berta Schulte Hartkopf (1898-1953 Sollingen, Germany).
    • Jane Finlay Van Hook Jennings +1946+ (b. 1922 Webster Groves, MO - d. 1978 Kirkwood, MO). Husband (1950 @ Webster Groves, MO): David Getson Jennings (b. 1923 Coleman, TX - d. 2012 Lemay, St. Louis, MO), son of Dr. William Leonard Jennings (b. 1885 Kirk, Limestone, TX - d. 1971 Coleman, TX) & Mattie Asenath Horne Jennings (b. 1888 Coleman, TX - d. 1979 Lubbock, TX). David's 2nd wife: Billie Annabelle Beaver Jennings (1926-2023 St. Louis, MO), daughter of Ward Detrich Beaver (b. 1903 Cobden, Union, IL - d. 1988 St. Louis, MO) & Ruth Evelyn Baldwin Beaver (b. 1908 Pleasant Mound, Bond, IL - d. 1955 Buena Vista, Fayette, OH).

Lawrence's maternal grandparents (Jennie Van Hook's parents) were John Robert Finlay (b. 1813 Leslie, Fife, Scotland - d. 1877 St. Louis, MO) & Elizabeth Mitchell Finlay (b. 1829 Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scot.; m. 1847 Glasgow, Lanark, Scot.; d. 1901 St. Louis, MO). Between 1856-1859, J.R. Finlay emigrated to St. Louis, and established the first oil refinery west of the Mississippi river, known as the J.R. Finlay & Co., and by 1866 as the St. Louis Coal Oil Co.

After Finlay's death, his son-in-law Henry Clay Pierce (b. 1849 St. Lawrence, Jefferson, N.Y. - d. 1927 Manhattan, NYC, N.Y.) absorbed the business into his own oil company, which started as the firm of H.C. Pierce & Co. in 1867. This company initially served as successful competition for John D. Rockefeller's newly formed (1865) Standard Oil with partnership in 1873 with William H. Waters, but in 1878 he bought Waters out by selling majority share (60%) to Standard, and Pierce became signatory to the "famous Standard Oil Trust agreement" of 1882 which expanded Rockefeller into dominating markets in the Southwest and Mexico, the latter as Pierce was an early investor owning refineries in Tampico, Vera Cruz and Mexico City.

By 1900, Pierce obtained control of the Mexican Central railroad, along with interest in several other railways (St. Louis & San Francisco, Tennessee Central, Nashville Terminal, Seaboard Air Line & St. Louis & Southwestern). He also directed the Mississippi Valley Trust company & National Bank of Commerce of St. Louis. He was known as "one of the four richest men in the country" at one point, until losing a highly publicized anti-trust suit 1908-1909 against the state of Texas which reached the Supreme Court, which fined his company $1.6M ($54M in 2023 dollars). In 1913, he rebranded as the Pierce Oil Corporation and served as its chairman until his retirement.

Sources

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Last edited on 12 May 2023, at 22:17