Jean Joseph in America
Belgian immigrant Jean Joseph Dhuy (1818-1911), the
progenitor of all the Dhueys of America.
He is seen here with his wife, Marie Francoise (nee Bouffioux), and
daughter, Clara Coisman.
"Honest John Dhuey was among those who bore their lot
bravely and fearlessly
and kept plying the ax to the forest until it succumbed to model
farms, his hospitality
was magnanimous, no weary traveler who applied for food or shelter
has ever
been known to have been turneth away from his door, the best in the
house was
always at their disposal, and as a neighbor has always been kind and
generous."
--The Kewaunee Enterprise, 17 March 1911
Within four weeks of his arrival in America, Jean Joseph
applied for citizenship,
a requirement before buying U.S. government land. Above is his
application with his
signature "J.J. Dhuy". The following day he went to the U.S. General
Land Office at
Menasha, Wisconsin, and purchased a homestead among his fellow
Belgian immigrants
in Kewaunee County.
Dhuey Hill, as seen in this U.S. Geological Survey map of
the Town of Lincoln,
is named in recognition of the five generations of its occupants who
have farmed there.
The cattle and farm animals were put to pasture surrounding the creek
that flows by the present
location. At 910 feet, the hill is the highest point in northern
Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.
Today it is the home of Harris J. Dhuey, Jean Joseph's
great-grandson.
The original farmhouse of Jean Joseph Dhuy as it appears
today, moved in the
late 1800's from its original site atop Dhuey Hill to improve the
house's water supply.
According to Harris Dhuey, the house survived the Great Peshtigo Fire
of 1871 when
neighboring farmers helped burn fire breaks in the hillside's grass.
President James Buchanan granted patent to eighty acres of
government-owned land in
Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, to Belgian immigrant Jean Joseph Dhuy on
22 February
1858 at the price of $0.75 per acre. This two year delay from the
time of purchase was to
verify that Jean Joseph intended to make a permanent homestead there.
Dhuey Hill, looking northward along Spruce Road.
St. Peter's Church, founded by the Belgians in Lincoln
township in the 1860s.
Six generations of Dhueys have belonged to the congregation.
The gravestone of Jean Joseph Dhuy (known later in life
as
John Dhuey), and his son John J. Dhuey.
An 1895 plot map of Lincoln township in Kewaunee County,
Wisconsin. The Dhuy/Dhuey
farms are in Sections 19, 20, and 29. Belgians predominated in the
northern and western
thirds of the township while Bohemians and Prussians predominated in
the remainder.
State of Wisconsin
Kewaunee County, WI
with Lincoln, WI at star
Lincoln, WI
with Dhuey Hill