We have Engeltje Spruijt to thank for the names Engelbert and Engelina among the Van Bentum. And she and Johannes are our ancestors via two different routes. Route one: from Engeltje Spruijt to Arie Vlooswijk to Engeltje Vlooswijk to Arie vanBentum to Engelbert van Bentum. Route two: from Engeltje Spruijt to Hendrina Vlooswijk to Engeltje van Rossum to Johannes Kunneman to Engelina Kunneman. And Engelbert van Bentum and Engelina Kunneman marry each other in 1865. From Engelbert andEngelina to Arie to Engelbert to Engelbert to Little Me, and I have a brother called Engelbert. There is also a connection with one of two Kippersluis ancestors: one is called Cornelia Kippersluis wife of Cornelis’ son Arie van Bentum, and theother is called Cornelia van Kippersluis ancestress of our great grandmother Anna Elisabeth van Miltenburg. Engeltje’s mother was first married to Willem Philipsz van Kippersluis, nephew of Cornelia van Kippersluis. I call these Kippersluis theIJsselstein branch. Van-less Cornelia Kippersluis belongs to the Houten-Jutphaas branch, but the two branches may have a common ancestor, although none has (yet) been found. Both branches appear in the forest several times. Engeltje Spruijtmarries twice. First to Theunis Peterse van Cuyck in 1725, who dies in November 1729. And second to Johannes Vlooswijk, whom she married in June 1730. Shortly after Theunis’ death Engeltje renews the lease on 4 morgen of land in Hoge and LageWeide, north of Utrecht. Theunis’ lease of 44 morgen expired on December 31, 1732, and Johannes’ lease on the same land began on January 1, 1733. As a widow with leases on about 38.5 hectares of land Engeltje would have been ‘a good catch’.Johannes may well have been one of the hands on Theunis’ farm. On the other hand, Engeltje was originally (probably) from IJsselstein, and Johannes from Gein, part of Jutphaas. They may have known each other from their childhood. How Engeltje fromsouth of Utrecht first came to marry a man from north of Utrecht is a mystery. But there are indications that her mother was originally from Vleuten, west of Utrecht. Johannes extends the big lease for only 1 year. In 1736 the Balije St Catharinaleases it to one Arien Wilshut, noting that Johannes Vlooswijk had been the previous tenant. Engeltje and Johannes move to Jutphaas. Engeltje and Theunis have no children. Engeltje and Johannes have five of whom we know. We know of the fivechildren because Lammertje and Hendrina are mentioned in several documents featuring Engeltje, and because Arie, Maria and Maria are registered in the Jutphaas RC Register of Baptisms. Lammertje and Hendrina were probably the oldest children, bornand baptised when their parents were still living in Hoge or Lage Weide, baptism records that are not (yet) available on internet. After Theunis’ death there is some acrimony with Engeltje’s inlaws over his estate. According to their prenuptialagreement Theunis’ default heirs could claim half his estate should he die without children, and he did. They were especially concerned with 4 morgen of land in Lage Weide, the only land Theunis owned, and brought into the marriage. His brothersand sisters want that land to stay in the family. Engeltje sign her agreement. 40 years later when Engeltje dies and her Van Cuyck inlaws are all dead too, the Van Cuyck nephews and nieces still remember, but have no problems in transferring theland to Engeltje’s three surviving children: Arie, Lammertje and Hendrina. They then agree among themselves that Lammertje should become the sole owner. And she sells it. After Johannes’ early demise in 1744 Engeltje has 3 to 5 (or more) youngchildren to raise. She also manages the farm with over 65 morgen land, until she herself dies around 1767. As widow and estate manager of Theunis Engeltje signs ‘Van Cuyck’, as bride to be she signs ‘Spruijt’, and as widow and estate manager ofJohannes she signs ‘Vlooswijk’. Engeltje Spruijt is the godmother of ten children: of five children of brother in law Albert Vlooswijk and Maria Kop, of one child of son Arie Vlooswijk and Cornelia Noordeloos, and of one child of LammertjeVlooswijk and Anthonij de Wit. There is a Lammertje Vlooswijk daughter of Engeltje and Johannes, and a Lammertje Vlooswijk daughter of Albertus Vlooswijk and Maria Kop. Albertus’ Lammertje marries in January 1759 to Gerrit de Wit, and Johannes’Lammertje marries in April 1759 to Anthonij de Wit, two brothers. The two couples live in Schalkwijk, and that is where their children are baptised. One child is baptised in Jutphaas: Hendrik in February 1760. It was a bit of a puzzle keeping thetwo couples apart. Jacobus van Mastwijk is the son of Jan Gerritsz van Mastwijk and Aaltje Jacobs van Roijestein (see Gerrit Noordeloos and his Van Roijestein connections). Joanna Pijselman is the sister of Mechteld Willems Pijselman who marriedHendriks Willems van Miltenburg, brother of ancestor Harmen Willemse van Miltenburg, and of Cornelia Willemsdr van Miltenburg who married Herman Hendriks van Sweesereng, grandparents of Catharina van Schaik who married Arie Vlooswijk, alsoEngeltje’s godson (1743). Herman Hendriks van Sweesereng is the grandson of Cunera Jans van Bentum. I found no link between Johanna Pijselman and Claes Dirks Pijselman who married Elisabeth Huygen van Benthem, Cunera’s niece.
THEUNIS PETERSE VAN CUYCK marries Engeltje Spruijt in 1725. Apparently there are no children, and Engeltje remarries soon after his death late 1729 or very early 1730. Theunis is a farmer of 44.5 morgen of crop land and meadow, leased from theBalije St Catharine in Utrecht, and 4 plots of meadow leased from the widow Elisabet Maria van Someren. The land is located in Hoge Weide and Lage Weide, north of the city of Utrecht and south of Maarssenbroek. Theunis was the son of Pieter Aertsvan Cuyck and Geertje Dirks Bon, the second marriage for both of spouses. Pieter was a farmer too, and in one document his name features alongside that of one Albert van Bentum, governor of the West Indies Company and mayor of Utrecht in the1680s. There is one most peculiar document from 1672, when Pieter transacts business amidst the panic that ravages the country after the French invasion in April of that year. Theunis and his parents appear to have been illiterate; they signed thedocuments with a cross. However, Engeltje had a signature.
People: Quite a few, including Albert van Bentum and Pieter Aerts van Cuyck. Date: November 15, 1667. Reference: U72a2 act 125. Subject: Statement. Difficult document to read, but Theunis van Cuyck’s father features together with Albert vanBentum, of whom we only know that he was a governor of the West Indies Company and a mayor of Utrecht (in the 1680s), but not where he fits in our tree, if at all. It appears to be a legal statement authorising Peter Arisz van Cuyck and Jan vanden Oever to hand over 10.5 morgen meadow to the widow and heirs of one Bitter van der Marssche, to be affected in front of the court in Nederlangbroek.
People: Pieter Aertss van Cuyck, Johan François van Schagen. Date: May 10, 1672. Reference:U72a5. Subject: Lease. Pieter van Cuyck leases 25 morgen meadow and crop land from Johan François van Schagen, member of the States of Holland, for six years and the sum of Fl 225. It is called Blommenweerd and located in Coten. The usual conditions follow, although not in the usual wording. Pieter signs with a cross. However, the document is a strange one. Take a look at the date: May 10, 1672. The French declare war on April 7 of that year, and soon invade the country, crossingthe border near Emmerich. The country had plenty of notice, but bickering between the regents, and between the regents and prince William of Orange paralysed the government, and the country was ill prepared. Panic rules. In Utrecht the regents arepacking their bags, leaving for Amsterdam or The Hague. The city’s women see this and protest that the regents are fleeing while their men folk were being sent to the front to die. Riots follow and the city’s government collapses. Mob rulefollows. William of Orange pays a visit on his retreat from the river IJssel’s defences, which had proven useless, because the French crossed the Rhine near Elten. Utrecht’s citizens expect him to make a stand, but he retreats to Holland. By theend of May Utrecht begins its own peace negotations with the French, but by the time the negotiator return to the city with the terms, it has already surrendered. The French occupy the city and would not leave for another year. The land Pieterleases is located in Cothen, a town most likely occupied by the French by May 10, or soon afterwards: it lies to the east of Utrecht. Most farmers have already fled, taking with them as much cattle and wares as they could. The French army livesoff the land, and it is merciless. Whole villages are pillaged and burned to the ground. The people who stay behind are massacred, and several of these massacres have since become part of Dutch folklore, the horror genre. The occupied towns aretaxed to the hilt to pay for the French war effort. In this context it is really strange to read a lease contract for land in (probably) occupied territory and signed in a city struck down by panic. There is not a single hint of extraordinarytimes in the document, unless the rent of Fl 225 for 20 hectares of land was low and Pieter van Cuyck had made a good deal. Business as usual, even at the worst of times! At a little over Fl 11 a morgen, the rent does is only Fl 1 or Fl 2 belowthe going rate. That could also have reflected a lower quality of land. Unfortunately, I found no subsequent records to inform us on what happened to the land and the lease.
People: Willem van Zuylen, Pieter Aertss van Cuyck. Date: April 18,1691. Reference: U118a1 act 228. Subject: Lease. This document is written in a very bad hand, so I focused on the relevant information. Pieter extends a lease for 4 viertel land from Willem van Zuijlen acting on behalf of his father’s estate, forsix years and the sum of Fl 70. Pieter signs with a cross. I do not have an idea what a viertel is. It is close to the modern Dutch viertal, which means foursome, i.e. four plots of land, but I may be wrong.
People: Matthijs van Oostrum,Elisabet Reup, Anthoni van Oostrum, Dirkje van Cuyck, Pieter Aertss van Cuyck, Geertje Dirks Bon. Date: August 18, 1699. Reference: U93a37 act 18. Subject: Prenuptial. A difficult hand to read, but the document is a prenuptial agreement betweenMatthijs van Oostrum and Dirkje van Cuyck, sister of Theunis van Cuyck. It identifies the parents of both spouses.
People: Pieter Aertss van Cucyk, Geertje Dirx Bon. Date: August 18, 1699. Reference: U93a37 act 17. Subject: Appointment ofguardians. Difficult document to read: bad hand. However, Pieter van Cuyck and Geertje Bon appoint each other as guardians (momber and voogd) should the other die first. The agreement is not part of a prenuptial or postnuptial, so may well havebeen signed after the two had married. Both are familiar with death: they have both lost a spouse. A document signed on the same day, prenuptial agreement, indicates that the two already had grown up children. Both Pieter and geertje sign with across.
People: Peter Aerts van Cuyck, Johanna Peters van Cuyck, Cornelis Aertsz Ruijs. Date: May 6, 1707. Reference: U111a6 act 67. Subject: Prenuptial agreement. Prenuptial agreement between Theunis’ sister Johanna and Cornelis Aertsz Ruijs.Cornelis brings in Fl 1,000, to be paid from the Fl 1,270 debt he owes his father for the acquistion of cattle and goods. Johanna brings in Fl 400.
People: Pieter Aertss van Cuyck, Petertje Beunt, Jacob Peterse van Cuyck. Date: April 12, 1709.Reference: U113a3 act 257. Subject: Agreement. This document identifes Pieter Aertss’ first wife: Petertje Beunt. Their son Jacob Peterse van Cuyck owes his father Fl 325. However, Jacob’s share in Petertje’s estate does not add up to that. Fatherand son agree that Fl 100 is to be deducted from the monies owed him from the estate, and the remaining Fl 225 remains a debt owed to his father. There is no mention of interest.
People: Stephanie van Soestdijk, Johan van Soestdijk, Geertje Bon,Teunis van Cuyck, Cornelis Ruijs, Johanna van Cuyck, Matthijs van Oostrum, Dirkje van Cuyck, Aart van Cuyck, Jacob van Cuyck, Sophia van Cuyck. Date: April 12, 1718. Reference: U149a2 act 52. Subject: Settlement. Agreement concerning the estate ofSophia van Cuyck, daughter of Geertje Bon and Pieter van Cuyck. One Stephanie van Soestdijk claims to have received a legitimate portion, which, after an inventory was made by Geertje’s assistants (her children and stepchildren), is conceded, oncondition that Stephanie pays Geertje Fl 150 within 6 months of signing this agreement. Geertje and sons Teunis and Cornelis sign with a cross. The document identifies Aart and Jacob van Cuyck as Geertje’s stepsons.
People: Cornelia Bom as widowof Pieter van Spal, Theunis van Cuyck. Date: January 4, 1719. Reference: U129a5 act 43. Subject: Lease. Theunis van Cuyck leases 4 morgen meadow from Cornelia Bom (his maternal aunt?) for a price of Fl 100 for 3 years. The usual conditions areincluded. It is a simple contract.
People: The heirs of Johanna van Wijnbergen widow of Jacob van der Burgh, Teunis Pieterse van Kuyck. Date: Janaury 9, 1720. Reference: U146a act 371. Subject: Lease. Teunis Pieters van Cuyck leases 6 morgen ofmeadow from the heirs of Johanna van Wijnbergen for 6 years. The rent is Fl 120 a year, plus 100 chicken eggs and 2 pairs of chicken a year. He shall improve the land and not deteriorate it, not cut hay, and pay for repairs; the usual conditions.Johanna van Wijnbergen was the widow Jacob van den Burgh, a fancy couple. Their heirs could afford a better solicitor: in contrast to the previous document, this one is well written and legible.
People: Teunis van Cuyck, Cornelis Aarts Ruijs.Date: January 2, 1720. Reference: U144a7 act 1. Subject: Acknowledgement of debt. Theunis borrows Fl 600 at 3.5% interest from his brother in law Cornelis Aarts Ruijs.
People: Johannes Cyprianus van Ewijck, Theunis van Cuyck. Date: August 2,1721. Reference: U118a5 act 54. Subject: Lease. Theunis van Cuvyk extends the lease of 44.5 morgen land with house, barns, other outbuildings and planting, from Johannes Cijprianus van Ewijck, member of the Utrecht Council, acting as treasurer ofthe Balije of St Catherine. Several members of the Utrecht States also sign the document. A balije is a bailiwick in old Dutch, and a chapter of a military-religous order by the time of signing this document. Hence the presence of members of theUtrecht States. Location: Hoogeweide. The lease is for 6 years and the rent is Fl 600. The usual, minimal conditions follow: maintain the land, keep it from damages, improve it, keep the buildings weather-proof, and no sub-letting. There is oneunusual conditon: at times of war or storm the lease-holder and land-owner will conduct themself like good neighbours.
People: Theunis Peterse van Cuyck, Elisabet Maria van Someren. Date: February 25, 1724. Reference: U139a12 act 31. Subject:Lease. Theunis van Cuyck lease a viertel meadow located in Lageweide from Elisabet Maria van Someren, for 6 years and the sum of Fl 75 plus 6 dubble sheep cheeses a year. Not sure if this is the same viertel that his father had leased in 1691.
People: Theunis Peterse van Cuyck, Johannes Cyprianus van Ewijk, Gerard Maximiliaen Pijnssen van der Aa, Johan Taets van Amerongen, Isaacq Ubingh. Date: November 9, 1726. Reference: U118a6 act 68. Subject: Lease. Theunis van Cuyck again extendsthe lease of 44.5 morgen land with house, barns, other outbuildings and planting, from Johannes Cijprianus van Ewijck, member of the Utrecht Council, acting as treasurer of the Balije of St Catherine. Several members of the Utrecht States alsosign the document, three of whom are named: Gerard Maximiliaen Pijnssen van der Aa, Johan Taets van Amerongen and Isaacq Ubingh. Location: Hoogeweide. The lease is for 6 years and the rent is Fl 600. The usual, minimal conditions follow: maintainthe land, keep it from damages, improve it, keep the buildings weather-proof, and no sub-letting. One unusual conditon: at times of war or storm the lease-holder and land-owner will conduct themself like good neighbours.
People: The Peterse vanCuyck brothers and sisters, Claas Hagenouw, Claas Krijnenbergh. Date: October 6, 1728. Reference: U162a9 act 154. Reference: Statement. Half-brother Aart van Cuyck and his wife Maartje Jans de Vries, living in Leiden, are dead, and there seem tobe no children. His brothers and sisters have inherited, but they do not live near Leiden. Aart and Maartje have already appointed by testament of 1703Claas Hagenouw and Claas Krijnenbergh as their executors, and one Joost Hagenouw should one ofthem fall ill. The brothers and sisters appoint them to liquidate the entire estate, pay debts and taxes, and collect debts, if necessary through the courts. Interesting note: the document does not speak of ‘half-brother or half-sister’, but of‘brother or sister from half the bed’.
People: Johanna van Cuyck, Theunis van Cuyck, Dirkje van Cuyck, Dirk van Cuyck, Jacob van Cuyck. Date: February 28, 1729. Reference: U165a2 act 121. Subject: Last will and testament. Last will and testamentof Theunis’ sister Johanna van Cuyck, by 1729 widow of Cornelis Ruijs. She leaves everything in equal portions to her surviving full brothers and sisters: Dirkje, Dirk and Theunis (called Antonij), exept for FL 150 for her half-brother Jacobs.There are provisions about their children inheriting should any of them die before Johanna. There is no reference at all to any children of Johanna by Cornelis Ruijs. Apparently there were none.
People: Theunis Peterse van Cuyck, EngeltjeHendrikse Spruyt, Philip Willems van Kippersluijs. Date: November 2, 1725. Reference: U100a30 act 99. Subject: Prenuptial. Prenuptial between Engeltje Henderics Spruijt and Theunis Peterse van Cuyck, both legal adults. The marriage is in fullcommunity of property, all properties. And either inherits all from the other, unless there are no children. In that case close friends (family) entitled by law get half the estate, the clothes and small items. Theunis brings in 4 morgen meadowlocated in Laage Weide, his cattle, tools, grain in store and in the field, housewares, etc. Engeltje brings in 600 guilders she inherited from her mother’s father, whose estate had been settled early 1725. She also brings in an additional 100guilders. This document identifies one Philip Willems van Kippersluijs as her halfbrother. He is Engeltje’s assistant.
People: Maria Louven Uythoff, Hendrick Spruyt, Engeltje Spruyt, Theunis Peterse van Cuyck. Date: November 3, 1725. Reference:U100a30 act 101. Subject: Consent. A day after the signing of Engeltje’s prenuptial her mother, Maria Louven Uythoff, signs a document in which she states to consent to the prenuptial as if she had been present, and in which she renounces all herlegal rights to any share in Engeltje’s estate should Engeltje die before Theunis. Maria Louven Uythoff lives at the IJsseldijk in IJsselstein. The prenuptial placed Engeltje in Vleuten, which is much closer to Hooge Weide than to IJsselstein. Thedocument identifies Engeltje’s mother, Maria Louven Uythoff, and her father, Hendrick Spruyt. The previous document had already intimated that Engeltje’s mother had also been married to a Van Kippersluis. In fact that husband was Willem Philipszvan Kippersluis, nephew of one of two Kippersluis ancestresses: Cornelia Jans van Kippersluis.
People: Theunis Peterse van Cuyck, Engeltje Spruyt, Maria Elisabeth van Bergen. Date: April 2, 1729. Reference: U118at act 229. Subject: Lease.Difficult hand to read, but Theunis and Engeltje rent a viertel land in Lage Weide from Maria Elisabeth van Bergen for 6 years and Fl 38. Unusually, the land is leased to both spouses, and both sign the document. Maybe because Theunis was alreadydying and he wanted to make sure that Engeltje would continue the lease after his death; or the land-owner wanted to make sure that she would not soon have to find a new tenant.
After Teunis’ death there are a few documents in which ENGELTJE SPRUIJT features as the main actor. There are many more after Johannes’ death.
People: Engeltje Spruyt, Teunis van Cuyck, Elisabet Maria van Someren. Date: February 4, 1730.Reference: U139a17 act 135. Subject: Lease. Theunis is dead and his widow, Engeltje Spruyt, extends the lease for four plots of meadow from Elisabet Maria van Someren. For a time of 6 years, and rent of Fl 75 and 6 double sheep’s cheeses a year.Engeltje remarries to Johannes Vlooswijk in May 1730.
People: Engeltje Spruyt, Jacob van Cuyck, Johanna van Cuyck, Dirk van Cuyck, Matthijs van Oostrum. Date: March 21, 1730. Reference: U165a2 act 177. Subject: Statement. Teunis’ survivingsiblings appoint their brother in law Matthijs van Oostrum to demand from Engeltje Spruijt that she present an inventory of her estate with Theunis. According to the prenuptial: in the case of either spouse’s death without child or children (andthere are none), the default heirs get half the estate plus the clothes and small items, to be handed over within six weeks. Matthijs is authorised to escalate the issue into the courts, but encouraged to come to an amicable settlement. Theprenuptial does not speak of the leases for a considerable amount of land (over 45 morgen), and neither does this document.
People: Johannes Vlooswijk, Arien Aertse Vlooswijk, Engeltje Spruijt. Date: June 7, 1730. Reference: U186a1 act 5.Subject: Prenuptial. Prenuptial between Johannes Vlooswijk (who signs Hannes van Vlooswijck) and Engeltje Spruijt. The marriage is in full community of property. The surviving spouse gets full usufruct of all properties, any surviving childrentheir legitimate portions, and in the absence of surviving children the deceased’s parents get their legitimate portions. Both appoint the other as full guardian of any underage children, in case one of them dies, excluding all officials andinstitutions.
People: Johannes Vlooswijk, Engeltje Spruyt, default heirs of Theunis Peterse van Cuyck. Date: April 7, 1731. Reference: U180a2 act 26. Subject: Guarantee. Engeltje Spruijt and her new husband sign a statement whereby they agreewith the conditons of Engeltje’s prenuptial from 1725 and the inventory made. A special mention is made of 4 morgen meadow in Lage Weijde, which Engeltje and Johannes cannot dispose of, but must hold on to for the benefit of the default heirs. TheVan Cuyck may have attached sentimental value to that land that Theunis had brought into the marriage. This act was signed slightly under 13 months after the Van Cuyck siblings had authorised Matthijs van Oostrum to obtain their share of Theunis’estate. Which is a short timespan compared to the decades of litigation between Agnes Veldhuijsen and her sister in law over her husband’s estate. The document is a guarantee to abide, not a transfer of property. The couple also lived in Lijnpad,which covered Hoge and Lage Weide and fell under the freedom of Utrecht. Their first child is born in 1730, and probably in Lijnpad, because there is no record of a baptism for Lammertje in the Jutphaas RC Registers. Son Arie Vlooswijk is theirfirst child to be baptised in Jutphaas, in 1734. The documentation on Engeltje now jumps to 1748 when she acts as the widow of Johannes Vlooswijk and manageress of his estate.
People: Engeltje Spruyt, Henricus van Dijck. Date: May 4, 1748.Reference: U162a27 act 130. Subject: Lease. The widow Engeltje, mother of at least 5 children aged between 14 and about 4 (that we know of), extends a lease on a total of 68 morgen land located in Jutphaas, for a period of seven years, and a rentof Fl 765 for the first 3 years and Fl 775 for the remaining 4 years. The rent is increased by tithes owed to De Geer. The land is spread over several plots, each with its own status and conditions: A) a farmhouse with 10 morgen orchard and meadowin Overeind, B) 15 morgen land in Overeind, with a house where the landlord will continue to live and an orchard, C) 16 morgen crop land, meadow and an orchard, D) 2 morgen reed land and orchard. This adds up to 43 morgen land, but only 38 morgenis effectively Engeltje’s, as the landowner also holds on to the use of some of it. This is land Henricus van Dijck owns. The lease also includes land Henricus van Dijck himself is leasing, effectively sub-leasing it to Engeltje: E) 19 morgen cropland owned by De Geer, and F) 20 morgen of crop land and meadow owned by Abbema lord of Woudenburg, both located in Overeind. The lease contains a clause about what would happen should Van Dijck die. Engeltje then gets the option either to cancelthe lease or continue it. The lease is also explicit about Engeltje’s rights to the trees and their products: the fruits and wood. She can keep the fruits and the residue of pruning, but the wood only if she cuts it herself. Should any tree dieshe can cut them down, on condition that she replaces them with young trees. Engeltje cannot sub-lease any of the land and has to maintain it in proper order, including the dykes, waterways and paths. She shall also keep the buildings waterproof,and have to pay for all costs below Fl 5. And all dung stays on the fields. Last bot not least, Engeltje signs as Engeltje van Vlooswijck.
People: Engeltje Spruyt, Willemina van Gouwenbergh. Date: March 13, 1756. Reference: U205a11 act 38.Subject: Lease. Engeltje extends the lease on the same land, but this time the contract is with Henricus van Dijck’s widow Willemina van Gouwenbergh. The lease is again for 7 years, and costs Fl 751 a year in the first 3 years and Fl 761 a year inthe remaining 4 years. The rent is increased by tithes owed to De Geer. The contract includes the same conditions as U162a27 act 130 above, including the clause on Engeltje’s options should, this time, Willemina van Gouwenbergh die.
People:Engeltje Spruyt, Willemina van Gouwenbergh. Date: October 2, 1762. Reference: U251a1 act 78. Subject: Lease. Engeltje extends the lease on the same land, leased from Willemina van Gouwenbergh. The lease is for 7 years and costs Fl 750 a yaer inthe first 3 years and Fl 760 a year in the remaining 4 years. The rent is increased by tithes owed to De Geer. The conditions are the same as in the two other ones. However, this time the contract starts with Engeltje acknowledging a debt of Fl1,425 in back rent. She promises to pay it at the earliest opportunity. No interest is charged.
People: Engeltje Spruyt, Arie Vlooswijk. Date: June 7, 1766. Reference: U184a27 act 197. Subject: Lease. Engeltje Spruyt leases to Arie Vlooswijk the4 morgen meadow in Hoge and Lageweijde that the Van Cuyck inlaws were so keen to keep inside the family. The lease is for 12 years and the rent amounts to Fl 70. By 1766 all of Theunis’ siblings are dead, and their children may not have beeninterested in pursuing their parents’ quarrel with Engeltje. By 1766 son Arie is an established tenant farmer leasing land from his Noordeloos/Blom inlaws. The contract also states that Arie had been leasing the land before.
People: Heirs ofTheunis Peterse van Cuyck i.e. Ida van Oostrom, Johanna van Oostrom and Steven van Gifhuysen, Wijnand van Oostrom, Sophia van Cuyck and Gosen de Rooij, and heirs of Engeltje Spruijt. Date: February 13, 1768. Reference: U205a22 act 13. Subject:Division of estate. Well Teunis’ siblings have all died, but almost forty years after Teunis’ death his nephews and nieces have not forgotten about the 4 morgen land in Lageweide. However, it is not their fight and they have no problems intransferring the right of property to Engeltje’s children by Johannes Vlooswijk, in exchange for Fl 933, which they said they had received.
People: Arie Vlooswijk, Lambertje Vlooswijk, Antonie de With, Hendrina Vlooswijk, Cornelis van Rossum.Date: February 20, 1768. Reference: U205a22 act 17. Subject: Division of estate. It does not appear that Engeltje Spruijt died leaving a testament, none was found. This document only concerns the 4 morgen of land in Lageweide. It begins by statingthat the three heirs, Arie, Lambertje and Hendrina Vlooswijk, have divided Engeltje’s estate to each other’s satisfaction. It then says that the three would find it inconvenient to keep the land in common property, theirs after they had settledclaims with the heirs of their mother’s and mother in law’s first husband. Arie and Hendrina (or Cornelis van Rossum acting in her stead) transfer all property rights to Lammertje (or Antonij de With acting in her stead). They also state that theyhave recieved compensation. The amount is not mentioned, but considering the document of February 13 1768, that would have been Fl 311 each, i.e. Antonij de With had already paid Fl 311 each to Arie and Hendrina. The document does not detail whohad taken over Engeltje’s lease of 67 morgen land (almost 54 hectares), last renewed in 1762 and about to expire in 1769.
DAUGHTER LAMMERTJE VLOOSWIJK marries Anthonie de Wit in Jutphaas on April 4, 1759. Her cousin Lammertje Vlooswijk marries Anthonie’s brother Gerrit de Wit in Jutphaas on January 25, 1759. Gerrit’s Lammertje dies in 1767. Anthonie’s Lammertje isrecorded as deceased in his will from 1786. I have only searched for documents available on ancestor Arie’s sister Lammertje, i.e. on the name Vlooswijk. I have not searched widely on Anthonie de Wit, because there are several of them by the samename in the same region around the same time. Mother Engeltje Spruijt inherited 4 morgen of land in Lage Weide from her first husband. She first leases this to her son Arie. Her three surviving children inherit it in common property, but Arie andHendrina agree to hand over the land to Lammertje. Lammertje later sells it, completely defeating the attempts of Engeltje Spruijt’s Van Cuyck in-laws to keep it in the family. She and Anthonie also lease land from Hendrik Wttewaal, former mayorof Utrecht, and later from his son Jan. It begins as 45 morgen but ends as 70 morgen. Unusually, all lease contracts are in the name of both Lammertje and Anthonie, and two of them are for 12 years. The landlords have confidence in their tenants. Anthonie’s last will and testatment makes clear that the couple also owned land. He basically divides the property by five, but stipulates that the unmarried and underage children could live there until they all either become legal adults ormarry. He dies in 1786, but the estate is not settled until 1802, when the youngest child, daughter Engeltje, marries. The three sons continue the farm in common property, but then divide it 1809, most going to Johannes. Lammertje and Anthonielease 60 plus morgen of land, and own another 70 morgen. They were well off tenant farmers with property of their own. Only 2 to 3 morgen of the total property they own was mortgaged. I found no other debts. When the estate is divided the threesons and two sons in law value it at over Fl 19,000, which is probably a low estimate, because three of the five stood to benefit from a low one. Among the descendants of Anthonie and Lammertje we find aunts Johanna (Joke) van den Anker whomarried one of opa’s brother, who lived down the road in Jutphaas in what we called it the White House, but it is now known as Villa Johanna, and aunt Lamberta (Bep) van den Hurk, who also lived down the road in Jutphaas.
People: Lammertje Vlooswijk, Anthonie de Wit, Anna Maria Tulleken. Date: May 26, 1759. Reference: U196a14 act 16. Subject: Lease. Lammertje Vlooswijk and Anthonie de Wit together lease a farmhouse, 2 barns, coach house and pigeon house plus 65morgen orchard, crop land and meadows located in ’t Goy (Houten) and Schalkwijk from Anna Maria Tulleken, widow of regent Jan Anthonij Bert. The lease is for 7 years. The rent is Fl 725 a year, plus the lady of the manor or her guests get to stayin the big room should they want to do so. The conditions are as usual: maintain the land, keep the dung on it, maintain the dykes, paths and waterways, keep the buildings weather proof, and pay for the grain already sown when the land isreceived.
People: Bastiaan de Wit, sons Gerrit, Toon, Hendirk and Albert de Wit, Jan Jacob van Westrenen. Date: January 24, 1761. Reference: U188a22 act 62. Subject: Lease. Bastiaan de Wit leases part of a farmhouse, 2 barns, a coach house, apigsty and a baker’s oven, plus 45 morgen land located in Schalkwijk from Jan Jacob van Westrenen. The land consists of 29 morgen crop land, 10 morgen meadow and 6 morgen orchard. The tenant can graze his animals in the orchard, as long as they donot damage it, but the fruits belong to the landlord. The tenant only gets the fruits of 2 morgen of orchard. The lease is for 6 years and costs Fl 440, plus 3 pairs of chicken, 100 litres of wheat and the maintenance of a dog. The landlord willprune and cut the wood in the orchard, and live in the rest of the farmhouse, keeping the coach house and pigeon house. The tenant shall not cut hay in the meadows, and keep the buildings weather proof. For big repairs the landlord shall supplythe material, and the tenant shall pay the labour costs. Four adult sons of Bastiaan de Wit, including Gerrit and Toon, underwrite the lease.
People: Anthonie de Wit, Lammertje Vlooswijk, Hendrik Assuerus Wttewaal. Date: November 3, 1762.Reference: U236a2 act 94. Subject: Lease. Lammertje and Anthonie extend the lease on 65 morgen of land plus 2, but from a different owner Hendrik A. Wttewaal, former mayor of Utrecht. The language is very peculiar, and a scribbled hand does notadd to legibility. The spelling is idiosyncratic: kompt instead of komt, di instead of die, etc. A colleague and linguistic expert suggested that it was phonetic dialect. I disagreed; a former mayor of Utrecht employs a solicitor able to writeproper Dutch by the rules of the time, which were pretty flexible anyway. Also considering the phrasing that is off the beaten track, the language appears an attempt at posh. Anyway, Lammertje and Anthonie rent 67 morgen crop land, orchard andmeadows spread out over several plots, all but 8 morgen located in Houten and ’t Goy (today one village). Those 8 morgen are located in Schonauwen (today part of Schalkwijk). Unusually, the document details the different plots in terms of locationand quality. And it has a separate paragraph for each condition, which are only unusual in their wording. The lease is for 12 years and costs Fl 938 a year, plus straw for the landlord’s 2 or 4 horses. There are also stipulations for the tenant’sdelivery of dung for the landlord’s gardens, 40 loads of sand for path maintenance, the transportation of materials, the delivery of wine, beer, turf, wood, fruits or such, but the tenants get Fl 26 in compensation. These conditions only applywhen the landlord and his family spend the summer in the country. If not, the conditions no longer apply, except for the supply of materials and straw. In any case, the tenant has to air and clean the landlord’s summerhouse. The tenants cannotkeep ducks or geese because they ruin the gardens. The lease includes a pigeon house, and the landlord can take any number of pigeons he wants, but he shall pay 3 stuivers for each pair. Unusually, the landlord pays the 20 stuivers a morgen inpersonal taxes, normally paid by the tenant.
People: Anthonie de Wit, Lammertje Vlooswijk, Willem Jansz Peek. Date: May 27, 1775. Reference: U225a5 act 19. Reference: Buy and sell. Recall the 4 morgen of land Engeltje Spruijt inherits from herfirst husband, over which she and his family have a disagreement, which she then later leases to son Arie and then leaves it in common property to her 3 surviving children, 2 of whom then transfer their shares to Lammertje. This is a record ofAnthonie de Wit selling it on behalf of his wife to one Willem Jansz Peek, for the sum of Fl 875 plus expenses. Willem Jansz Peek was married to Maria Jansen Hollaar, sister of ancestor Cornelis Hollaar.
People: Lammertje Vlooswijk, Anthonie de Wit, Jan Wttewael. Date: November 25, 1775. Reference: U231a1 act 159. Subject: Lease. Lammertje and Anthonie extend the lease with de Wttewael family, this time with Jan, probably Hendrik’s son. All conditions are the same, but the language ismore normal and the text more legible. The lease is again extended for 12 years, and costs again Fl 14 a morgen (Fl 987), but this time it is for 70.5 morgen. One interesting element though is the use of the words huisman and huisvrouw. In old andmodern Dutch the word huisman means farmer and it is beginning to appear to me that the word huisvrouw meant farming woman in old Dutch, although it only means housewife in modern Dutch. Considering the division of labour on farms, with animportant role for women, and the fact that much of modern Dutch takes its cues from urban usages, it seems okay to take the word to mean farming woman in 18th century documents referring to rural life.
People: Anthonie de Wit, LammertjeVlooswijk, Johanna de Wit en Jan van der Worp, Bastiaan de Wit, Johannes de Wit, Hendrik de Wit, Engeltje de Wit, Aart de Wit, Cornelis van Rossum. Date: February 19, 1786. Reference: U27a8 act 18. Subject: Testament. I wonder if Anthonie de Witwas aware of the effect of aunt Cunera Vlooswijk’s will. In her will Cunera explicitly forbids the sale of the farm and land and gives all unmarried children the right to live there until they marry; resulting in most of them never marrying. Theonly record of a child marrying is from 1678, when Johannes was already at least 35 years old, if he was the youngest. Anthonie does a similar thing in his will: he gives his underage children the right to stay on the farm and land. But that rightof residence is limited. They have to move out when they come of age or if they marry at an earlier age. There is a time limit for all of them. In fact, when Anthonie writes his will in February 1786 Lammertje is already dead, and only the oldestchild has married, and thus become a legal adult. The other children mentioned in the will are aged 21 (Bastiaan), 19 (Hannes), 15 (Hendrik) and 14 (Engeltje) when he writes his will, all legally underage. Only Johanna (26) has married. The willdistinguishes between Johanna and the other children. Johanna receives her legitimate portion: half of her legal entitlement if Anthonie left five children, one third of her legal entitlement if he left four or fewer children. Within six weeks ofthe official reading of the will Johanna has to sign her official agreement with the other stipulations in the will. If she does not Johanna only get her legal legitimate share: only one fifth if all children are still alive when Anthonie dies.The oldest son, Bastiaan, is also prevented from demanding the share he is legally entitled to as oldest son, what that is, is not mentioned. The farm, the land, cattle and tools, and all other goods are not to be sold until one of the youngerchildren reaches legal adulthood (at the age of 25) or marries. They are to live on the farm and live off its profits under the guidance of executors and guardians Aart de Wit (Anthonie’s brother) and Cornelis van Rossum (unknown, but maybeHendrina Vlooswijk’s husband). In other words, Johanna and Bastiaan have to wait for their full share until all children are either legal adults or married. On coming of age, or marrying, they have to move off the farm, but receive a sum of Fl800 within two months of their departure. The executors are authorised to sell two plots of land in case that is necessary for making these payments. Once the last one has left, the sheriff or court of Schalkwijk estimates the value of the farmand lands, unless the heirs agree among themselves. The children then have the first option of buying. They also have an option on the contents, the value to be estimated by two aldermen of Schalkwijk, one for each side. The children would thenreceive Fl 50 for each year that has passed since Anthonie’s death. The remainder is then divided into equal shares between the children. Many texts contain phrasing to cover all contingencies. This one does too, and in 224-year old Dutch makesthis into a complicated text. Add to that the necessary legal mumbo jumbo and my unfamiliarity with the laws at the time. So I can only hope that my interpretation is right.
People: Johanna de Wit, Jan van der Worp. Date: September 30, 1786.Reference: U270a8 act 82. Subject: Acceptance. Johanna de Wit and Jan van der Worp sign their agreement with the stipulations in Anthonie’s will.
People: Bastiaan de Wit, Johannes de Wit, Hendrik de Wit, Johanna de Wit and Jan van der Worp,Engeltje de Wit and Cornelis Goes. Date: September 21, 1802. Reference: U270a23 act 133. Subject: Division of estate. Engeltje de Wit, Lammertje’s youngest daughter, marries in 1800 at the age of 28, and it is time to make up the balance anddivide the estate of Anthonie de Wit and Lammertje Vlooswijk. The tree surviving sons and two sons in law get together and agree on a deal, making it unnecessary for any officials to become involved. The five men estimate the value of the farm andland at Fl 15,300 and that of the cattle and goods at Fl 3,950, totalling Fl 19,250. Finally we also know what the land in property measured: 68 morgen on various locations in Schalkwijk and Schonauwen. It also includes 4 morgen purchased by theexecutors after Anthonie’s death. In other words Anthonie and Lammertje farmed a total of 64 + 70 = 134 morgen land, or a little over 107 hectares, quite a spread. Johanna (i.e. Jan van der Worp) gets Fl 3,200. Engeltje gets Fl 3,800, including Fl50 a year over the 12 years that she has lived on the farm [changing my interpretation of that clause in the will]. The three brothers, Bastiaan, Johannes and Hendrik, together get Fl 12,250. However, this money is all tied up in property. Thethree brothers get the farm and all the land in common property. They have to pay Johanna and Engeltje their shares. The record of the division of an estate then changes into an acknowledgement of debt. Jan van der Worp has already received Fl800, leaving Fl 2,400, which the brothers promise to pay plus an annual interest of 3.5%. Cornelis Goes (Engeltje’s husband) has already received Fl 2,400 from the brothers, leaving Fl 1,400 of debt at an annual rate of interest of 3.5%. The threebrothers have the option to pay off either debt in one go.
People: Bastiaan de Wit, Johannes de Wit, Hendrik de Wit. Date: May 12, 1809. Reference: U270a30 act 48. Subject: Division of estate. The final act: the three brothers divide the farm.Johannes takes over 60 morgen land valued at Fl 15,000. Hendrik takes over 9 morgen land valued at Fl 3,000. The document then proceeds with the details of who pays what to whom, etc.
Aangemaakt op 2-1-2024 14:58:05