Home
Help Wilhelmus Gijsberti van Eeuwick, son of Gisbertus Wilhelmi and Wilhelma Cornelii.Baptised 27 Oct 1698 Zaltbommel Wilhelmus is een onwettig kind maar wel erkend bij de geboorte door de vader Doopakte vertaald uit het Latijn: 27 October: Baptised is Wilhelmus, illegitimate son of Gijsbertus Wilhelmi, reportedly miller in Maren, and Wilhelma Cornelii. Godmother is Joanna Cornelii, in whose place witnesses Echtien Gesant., buried 10 Nov 1764 Kerkdriel Wilhelmus (Guillielmus) Gisberti is the oldest "van Eeuwijk" in the "van Eeuwijk" family tree for whom we have either a birth or death record. All "van Eeuwijk"'s that can trace their ancestry to the Bommelerwaard will trace their roots back to Wilhelmus. It is nearly certain that Wilhelmus (Guillielmus) Gisberti van Eeuwijk was born on the 27th of October 1698 in Bommel (now called Zaltbommel) in the province of Gelre (now called Gelderland), part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (now called the Netherlands). It is less than one year after the armistice of the Nine Year War between the Republic with France. According to the baptismal record of the Catholic Church in Bommel, Wilhelmus was the illegitimate son of Gisbertus Wilhelmi (Guillielmi), a miller from Maren in the province of North-Brabant, and Wilhelma (Guillielma) Cornelii. The problem with the birth certificate is, of course, that the last name "van Eeuwijk" is not mentioned. So how do we know this is the birth certificate of the Wilhelmus van Eeuwijk to whom we traced the ancestry of the "Bommelerwaard" branch of the "van Eeuwijk" last name in the Netherlands? Well, the documentary evidence provides several clues. First of all, we know that Wilhelmus van Eeuwijk was born in Bommel. The Catholic record of Wilhelmus' marriage to Hester Wolfs on 11 November 1753 in Driel states ""ex Bommel" (from Bommel) behind his name. Now, we don't know whether this means that Wilhelmus is living in Bommel in 1753 or that he comes from Bommel as in "born in Bommel". But as we know that Wilhelmus lived in Driel from the 1720s to as late as 1750 from other records, it is unlikely that the "ex Bommel" indicates that Wilhelmus was living in Bommel in 1753. The most probably interpretation is that he was born in Bommel. The second clue is that we know that Wilhelmus van Eeuwijk is the same person as Wilhelmus Gisberti. The strongest evidence is the record of Wilhelmus' marriage to Catharina (Dilis) van de Pol on 23 February 1721 in Driel. The Catholic record of this marriage states that the husband is called Wilhelmus Gisberti and the Protestant record calls him Wilhelmus van Eeuwijk. The most likely interpretation is therefore that Wilhelmus van Eeuwijk is the same person as Wilhelmus Gisberti and that this person was born in Bommel. A search of the Catholic birth records in Bommel for the period 1680 - 1720 results in a single baptismal record for a person by the name of Wilhelmus Gisberti. It is therefore very likely that this is "our" Wilhelmus Gisberti. We know nothing about the childhood of Wilhelmus. Did he grow up in Bommel with his mother or in Maren with his father? Did his parents marry after his birth? Did he have any (half)brothers and sisters? And is the "van Eeuwijk" family name that he adopts his father's or mother's last name? The information that we do have is very sketchy. Fact is that the "van Eeuwijk" family name does not appear in the 17th or 18th century records in Zaltbommel at all, but the name does appear in the 18th century records in Maren. The "van Eeuwijk" family name therefore appears to be from his father's side, which may be explained by the fact that, though illegitimate, his father did recognise him at birth. There are also several "van Eeuwijk"'s who appear as godparents in the baptismal records for several of Wilhelmus' children. Are these (half)brothers or uncles? We don't know this for certain yet. Next we hear from Wilhelmus is when he gets married on 23 February 1721 in Driel to Catharina Dilis van de Pol. Catharina was born in Driel, so in accordance with tradition, it makes sense that they got married in Driel. But how did they meet? How did Wilhelmus end up in Driel in the first place? Of course, Driel is not more than 20 kilometres from either Zaltbommel or Maren. We know that there were a Gertrudis Gisberti and a Jacobus Gisberti living in Driel at that time. So perhaps these are close family (possibly a (half)sister and (half)brother) of Wilhelmus. So perhaps Wilhelmus spent some time with his family in Driel and met Catharina on one of these occassions. Once again, further research is required to confirm this. Wilhelmus and Catharina have at least 6 children between 1721 and 1734: Antonia, Gijsbertus, Egidius, Wilhelmus, Wilhelma, and Joanna, although there is no definitive proof that Egidius is their son. In 1750, we get a rare view into the life of Wilhelmus and Catharina in the "Registration of Houses and Persons in Driel". This document is the result of an order of the Rijk of Nijmegen, one of the four districts in the province of Gelre, to survey the possessions of the population in order to raise taxes following the disastrous war with France. In that record, we find that Wilhelmus and Catharina are living in Velddriel in a worker's house that is owned by Wilhelmus and the widow of Wouter Vissers. It also states that Wilhelmus lives in that house with his wife and two children above the age of 12. It is stated that, as a horse driver (is Wilhelmus an 18th century trucker?), he has no wealth ("onmagtig"). The house has one hearth and he owns three horses. Consumption is estimated at 11 florins and 8 stuijvers. On the 19th of May 1753, his wife Catharina passes away in Driel, aged 54 or 55. Within half a year, on the 11th of October 1753, Wilhelmus marries Hester Wolfs in Driel. On the 10th of October 1754, their first and, it appears, only son, Daniel, is baptised. Wilhelmus passes away in Driel one month after his son turns 10 years old on the 10th of November 1764. The churchbells are rung once and is buried covered in a large deathcloth. Total expenses of his burial are 1 florin and 28 stuijvers. It is not known when his second wife, Hester, passes away Bron: http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Wilhelmus_Van_Eeuwijk_%281%29 Married 23 Feb 1721 Driel, age approximately 22 years (married 32 years) to:  Katrijna van der Catharina Dilis Janssevan der Pol, age by marriage 22 years, daughter of Egidius (Dilis) Janszn van der Pol and Teuntje Teunisse.Born May 1698 Driel, died 19 May 1753 Driel, age 54 or 55 years Children: 1. Antonia van EeuwickBaptised 3 Dec 1721 Driel 2. Gijsbertus van EwijckBaptised 24 Feb 1725 Driel Genoemd naar zijn vaderlijke grootvader en dus de oudste zoon. (baptism witness: Aldert van Eeuwik, Johanna Frick), buried 14 Oct 1776 Driel 3. Egidius van EeuwickBorn ± 1727 Driel, buried 11 Jan 1787 Driel So far the archives have not revealed evidential proof that Egidius is a son of Wilhelmus (Gisberti) van Eeuwijk and Catharina (Dilis) van de Pol. But it is quite likely that he is. For some reason, there is no record of his birth in the church records in Driel. But it is almost beyond doubt that he is the Wilhelmus' second son. First, Wilhelmus is the parent of all known subsequent "van Eeuwijk"'s in Driel. It would be highly unlikely if Egidius were the single child of a second, as yet unknown, van Eeuwijk in Driel. Secondly, his first name is identical to the first name of his maternal grandfather (Egidius) being a variation of Dilis). This fits with him being Wilhelmus' second son: the first son, Gisbertus, is named after his paternal grandfather and the second son, Egidius, is named after is maternal grandfather. Thirdly, there is a 3 year gap between 24/02/1725 (the birth date of Wilhelmus' first son) and 27/04/1728 (the birth date of what we suppose is Wilhelmus' third son, Guillielmus) in which Egidius could have been born. That would give Egidius the plausible age of approximately 60 years on the date of his burial. Thirdly, we know from the record of Egidius' marriage to Elisabetha van Hedel on 14/10/1753 that Elisabetha was the widow of Nicolai van de Pol and that Egidius and Elisabetha received dispensation in the 2nd and 3rd degree. This means that Egidius and Elisabetha are related. Specifically, there are three possibilities. First, they could be brother and sister (2nd degree). But that is unlikely since Elisabetha's maiden name is not "van Eeuwijk" but "Hedel". Secondly, they could be grandparent and grandchild (2nd degree). But that is also unlikely as there is no documentary evidence to support that. The third option is that they are related as aunt (uncle) and nephew (niece). I have not found any evidence of this relationship either, but it is not unlikely given that repeated inter-marriage between related families was relatively common at that time. For example, Egidius' grandfather is Dilis van de Pol and Elisabetha's first husband is called Nicolai van de Pol. While this does not imply a blood relationship between the two, it does indicate the existence of at least a broader family relationship between the two. Thirdly, Egidius and Elisabetha name their first daughter Catharina, which matches Egidius' mother's first name. The only contrary indication is that they name their first son Mathias, which matches neither Egidius' nor Elisabetha's father's name. Nevertheless, lacking direct documentary evidence, the hypothesis must be that Egidius is born between late 1725 and mid-1727 as the second son of Wilhelmus (Gisberti) van Eeuwijk and Catharina (Dilis) van de Pol. The next event that we know about is that Egidius marries Elisabetha van Hedel on 14/10/1753 in Driel. Interestingly, Egidius and Elisabetha register their marriage with both the Roman Catholic and Dutch Reformed churches, even though both are probably practising Roman Catholics, having been born to Roman Catholic parents. Perhaps this is evidence of the suppression of Catholicism in the Netherlands at this time, as the registration with the Dutch Reformed Church may have been required by law to ensure civic (as opposed to religious) recognition of the marriage contract. The marriage soon yields children. Catharina is born on 12/07/1754, Mathias is born on 01/04/1757 and Gisbertus is born on 29/04/1760. The death certificate for Elisabetha on 07/04/1795 indicates that there may have been more children as it states that Elisabetha leaves behind two children that are living at home on that date. But we know that Catharina and Mathias are both married (and presumably no longer living with their mother) by that date. We have no evidence that Gisbertus was married by that date. So it appears there is at least one additional child to be accounted for. Egidius dies at the age of 60 and is survived by his wife and at least two of his children. He is buried at the Dutch Reformed Church in Driel on 11/01/1787. Once again, this is probably evidence of suppression of the Catholic faith in the Netherlands at this time. According to the entry in the church book, the church bells were rung for 1 hour at a cost of 13 stuyvers. In addition, a cloth worth 9 stuyvers (20 stuyvers = 1 guilder) and a casket worth 8 stuyvers were procured from the church authorities, yielding them the nice little sum of 30 stuyvers. I have no idea whether that represents a cheap burial or not. Bron: http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Egidius_Van_Eeuwijk_%282%29 4. Wilhelmus van Guillelmusvan EeuwickBaptised 27 Apr 1728 Driel (baptism witness: Arnoldus van Eeuwick) Het is goed mogelijk dat Guillelmus de tak is die naar Nijmegen is verhuisd. 6. Joanna van EeuwickBaptised 4 Nov 1734 Driel (baptism witness: Adelbertus van Eewik, Elisabetha Roovers) | |||
| 2nd marriage Wilhelmus Gijsberti van Eeuwick, son of Gisbertus Wilhelmi and Wilhelma Cornelii. Married to: Hester Wolfs PRIVACY FILTERChild: 1. Daniël van EeuwickBaptised 10 Oct 1754 | |||