Document Type
Finding Aid
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
The Beyer Family Collection documents 100 years of family history in Sioux County, Iowa. Mae (Pas) Beyer (1892–1985) married Gerrit Jacob Beyer (1893–1954) in Orange City, Iowa, in 1917. Mae curated this collection of family photographs, letters, and ephemera from both the Beyer and Pas families. This collection also includes photographs and memorabilia from their daughter, Helen Beyer, who was crowned Tulip Festival Queen in 1948. Additionally, it preserves World War II-era correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera related to their eldest son, Glenn Beyer.
COinS
Comments
The collection traces the lineage of Gerrit Beyer (1841–1925) and Jantije “Jane” Vande Steeg Beyer (1849–1915). Gerrit Beyer Sr. was among the original settlers of Orange City, Iowa, arriving in 1870. He and Jane farmed a mile east of town, a property later owned by their son Gerrit Jacob Beyer and his wife, Mae (Pas) Beyer, until its sale in 1950. Mae’s parents, Gerrit Pas (1865–1918) and Hattie (De Gooyer) Pas (1869–1948), were landlords of the Betten Hotel, a prominent four-story building in downtown Orange City.
Gerrit and Mae Beyer had four children: Glenn (1919–1944), Kenneth (1922-1982), Helen (1925-1995), and Barbara (1929–1941). During World War II, Glenn was stationed on Corregidor Island off Manila, Philippines, where he served on an anti-aircraft searchlight team and rose to the rank of corporal. While deployed, he received news that his three siblings had been in a car accident. Helen suffered a broken back, and Barbara tragically lost her life. When Corregidor Island fell to the Japanese, Glenn was taken as a prisoner of war. After two years in captivity, he perished aboard the Arisan Maru, an unmarked Japanese Imperial Army transport ship. A digital version of this collection is available here.