Baptised ‎27 Oct 1698 Zaltbommel Wilhelmus is een onwettig kind maar wel erkend bij de geboorte door de vader

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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, ‎1st marriage to: Katrijna van der Catharina Dilis Janssevan der Pol, ‎2nd marriage to: Hester Wolfs
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