(Jan de Wit's signature)
Jan de Wit
(1677 - 1755)
Progenitor of the
South African de Wit family
(The de Wit family Coat-of-Arms)
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(Jan de Wit's signature) |
Jan de Wit
|
(The de Wit family Coat-of-Arms) |
The following paragraph was taken from the book written in Afrikaans (*The language that developed from 17th century Dutch and is an official language of South Africa - also call Taal.) entitled "Geslagsregisters van Suid Afrikaanse families" (Family register of the old Cape families) by de Villiers and Pama (courtesy of Gerda Pieterse) :
Jan de Wit, v. Stanton White, Norfolk, * New York, 1677, s.v: Willem de Wit "woonagtig in Nieuw York, Nieuw Nederland". Volgens familieoorlewering was die familienaam oorspr. White. Aank. 1700, + April 1755; x 20.3.1707, Maria, voordogter v. Anna Pieters, v. Batavia, (x 1.3.1694 Lambert Adriaans, v. Wye, Gelderland).
A translation of the above paragraph from Afrikaans to English was provided by Gerda Pieterse of South Africa and is as follows :
"Jan de Wit, of Stanton White, Norfolk, born New York, 1677, son of : Willem de Wit "living in Nieuw York, Nieuw Nederland" [ie. now New York, USA]. According to family legend the name was originally White. Arrived [at Cape of Good Hope] 1700, died April 1755; married on 20.3.1707 to Maria, "voordogter" [daughter from a previous marriage or relationship] of Anna Pieters, of Batavia, (married 1.3.1694 Lambert Adriaans, of Wye, Gelderland)".
Notes to the above findings :
STANTON WHITE
After referring to maps and consulting the opinions of other researchers, we are still UNABLE to find out where is 'Stanton White' or what it means. Many researchers are of the opinion that it may be the name of a district of Norfolk, a farm, a plantation or an estate, or a mansion where Jan de Wit came from.
There have also been suggestions that it may be the name of the ship Jan used to travel to South Africa or maybe even the name of the place where Jan's descendants came from in Holland. However, we were told that it was very unlikely so. If it was the ship's name, that would have been mentioned in de Villiers and Pama book, and 'Stanton White' is a very British sounding name and therefore not found in the Netherlands.
NORFOLK
The initial search in a map of the U.S.A., we found that Norfolk is the largest city in Virginia, Eastern United States, lying on the Elizabeth river. It is now a major industrial and commercial port and an important military centre. There is also a Norfolk in northern New York, near the St. Lawrence River, Southwest of Montreal, Canada.
Norfolk would have probably been the port where Jan de Wit left the Americas to sail for South Africa in 1700, but we are unable to confirm which of the above two place was used by Jan de Wit to sail for the Cape.
NIEUW YORK, NIEUW NEDERLAND
Jan de Wit was born at New York in 1677. He was the son of Willem de Wit who was also living in Nieuw York, Nieuw Nederland.
Nieuw Nederland was an area of land in the Hudson River Valley granted by Holland to the Dutch West India Company (WIC) in 1621. The area included New Amsterdam, founded in 1624 on Manhattan Island (later became New York City). The region was seized by England in 1664, when it was divided into two colonies of New York and New Jersey. This means Jan de Wit was born (in 1677) at New York during the English rule of the place and therefore it was probably the push effect that made him decide to leave and sail for another Dutch colony in South Africa.
The Dutch colony at the Cape in South Africa was under the control of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) but at that time there was some contact between the VOC and the WIC, though not much. But his family also retained ties to Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia), and English rule may have prompted him to link up with his connections there, and from there to South Africa, where they mixed in High Society, both of the Cape and Batavia itself. In the Americas, though the Netherlands and the English were not at war at the time, there was no love lost either, and the Dutch had over extended themselves, which made them unable to cling to their North American holdings.
The Dutch settled in the Hudson River Valley area of New York from New York City (NYC) on up to Albany and to the west somewhat. The town of Amsterdam is about 50 miles west of Albany. The main settlements were from NYC to Albany and many of the towns along the river have Dutch names (such as Kinderhook, Catskill, etc.). The most notable resident of the area was Franklin Delano Roosevelt (of Dutch ancestry, or course).
A FAMILY LEGEND
According to family legend, Jan's family name was originally 'White'. That would mean that Jan de Wit was previously known as Jan (or John) White while he was still in the Americas. It was also written that there was an interesting tale concerning his name change, but does not mention what the tale was.
It may have been very possible that the family name was 'de Wit' when in Holland, changed to 'White' in America, and later back to 'de Wit' upon arriving in South Africa. The authors, de Villiers and Pama would only pick up on the name he was using in the country he departed from. The book is a compilation, and not based on primary research by the authors themselves.
FAQ - Was it "de Wit" or "White"
MARIA, VOORDOGTER ANNA PIETERS VAN BATAVIA
Jan de Wit married Maria, daughter of Anna Pieters of Batavia (Batavia is now Jakarta, Indonesia), on 20 March 1707 in Cape of Good Hope.
It is interesting to note that there is no surname or patronymic mentioned for Maria. It is believed that what this means is, Maria was born before 1694 and was probably not the child of Lambert Adriaans (ie. Adriaan's son) of Gelderland. There is no patronym for Anna, which may well mean that the father was not known although the LDS IGI files gives her name as Anna Adriaanse, but may probably be incorrect.
According to Herman Oomen of the Netherlands, "voordogter" can be both mean 'daughter from a previous marriage (relationship)' as well as 'illegitimate daughter'. This question was put to the virtual genealogical group there in the Netherlands and it got different explanations and therefore inconclusive. So, it can both mean an illegitimate daughter from Anna Pieters and Lambert Adriaans or a daughter of a previous marriage or relation. Herman continues to says : "If you want my opinion on this, I think that she is an illegitimate daughter because she had the name Adriaans by marriage to Jan de Wit (as stated in the LDS IGI files). Was she a daughter from an other person, I don't think that Adriaans would give her his name. It was most common in those days that there was already a child before marriage, in order to find out if the wife was fertile!"
Gerda Pieterse of South Africa says that Maria is the daughter of a previous marriage (relationship) of Anna Pieters of Batavia. She also says that both sources (the de Villiers and Pama book and the LDS IGI files) are known to contain inaccuracies and Maria appears to have been well-connected, so probably not born out-of-wedlock. They obviously mixed with the higher ranking population and retained connections with Batavia, if the marriages and occupations of their children are taken into account. This shows that Maria seems to have been a person with good connections in Batavia and in the Cape social circles.
A gentleman by the name of Mansell Upham has recently made contact with us. He is a barrister and a former South African Ambassador. Mansell Upham he has done some research and is currently completing a book on the Cape's early (colonial) female population. He says he has managed to unearth a fair amount of interesting information on Maria (daughter of Anna Pieters of Batavia) and her family at the Cape - but that there are more questions than answers!
Mansell Upham's opinion of "Maria of Batavia" is Quote ....
" Mrs De Wit was born at the Cape and grew up at the Cape. Her mother Anna appears to be slave-born and Cape-born but freed. Twice-married, she succeeded in getting her husbands to provide for her two 'voordochters' who both married extremely well. (Jan) De Witt married his wife at the Cape."
Note :
Information can also be obtained from the book entitled
“Die Groot Afrikaanse Familie-Naamboek”
(The Extensive Afrikaans Family-name Book)
written by C Pama;
Our special thanks to goes to
Gerda Pieterse of South Africa,
and Herman Oomen.July 2000
Important Note:
Copyright 1999-2000. All materials in this site should not be copied or duplicated
without the expressed permission of Dennis & Claudine DeWitt.
