Nicholas Balkema
Nicholas Balkema (7 April 1865 – 29 January 1954) was an American politician.
Balkema was of Dutch descent. He was born on 7 April 1865, in Gibbsville, Wisconsin, attended Sheboygan Falls High School, then moved to Newkirk, Iowa, in 1884. On 9 December 1886, he married a Newkirk native, Clara Van Rooyen, with whom he raised four daughters and three sons. He became a schoolteacher and later ran his own business as well as the post office. In 1894, Balkema moved to Sioux Center. He held local offices and executive positions for a time before pursuing statewide political office. These included service as a bank executive, school board member, and city councillor in Sioux Center. Between 1909 and 1921, Balkema represented District 49, which included Sioux County, in the Iowa Senate as a Republican. He died on 29 January 1954, aged 88.[1][2][3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Senator Nicholas Balkema". Iowa General Assembly. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- ^ "Nicholas Balkema, senator from Sioux". Des Moines Register. 8 December 1916. Retrieved 29 April 2022. Alternate URL
- ^ "Rites for former sen. Nick Balkema at Sioux Center". Alton Democrat. 11 February 1954. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
- 1865 births
- 1954 deaths
- 20th-century American legislators
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- Iowa postmasters
- People from Sioux Center, Iowa
- People from Lima, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
- Republican Party Iowa state senators
- American bankers
- 19th-century American educators
- Schoolteachers from Iowa
- School board members in Iowa
- Iowa city council members
- American politicians of Dutch descent