Gerrit and his brothers worked on the farms owned by Adam Peter Hasselman (the first) and also worked out for other farmers in the area, as well as on harvesting gangs in South Dakota and other parts of Iowa.
In Jasper County, Iowa, Gerrit met and courted a young lady. He would take his shoes off and carry them so they would be bright and shiny, then put them on when he arrived at her home. The distance he walked was about five miles.
On 15 January 1903, Gerrit was married to his young lady--Alice May Smith, a
daughter of Jesse and Maranda Johnson Smith of Jasper County near Kilduff, Iowa.
The couple then settled in Jasper County for a time.
There they became parents of three children--Mildred Maurine, Eugene Elvin and
Imogene Elva. Eugene and Imogene were twins.
The couple also raised Alice May Smith's natural son, Clifton Cecil Smith.
Gerrit then purchased a farm west of New Sharon in Prairie Township, Mahaska County, Iowa. Here Gerrit and May raised their family to adulthood. They attended the New Sharon United Methodist Church. The Hasselmans resided near New Sharon until 1945 when they retured to a farm west of Oskaloosa, Lincoln Township, Iowa.
Gerrit enjoyed his livestock, his family and loved to argue with his cronies in the Oskaloosa City Park. He also loved looking in the area cemeteries to see if he had any relatives buried there. May loved making quilts, perserving food and her chickens.
Gerrit died on 10 October 1954 at his farm home. Alice May continued to live there until her death on 14 July 1960. They are buried in Forest Cemetery, Oskaloosa, Iowa.