Story of the DeWitts Ancestors from South Africa

Willem de Wit (the father of Jan de Wit) was living in Nieuw York (New York), the Dutch colony at Nieuw Nederland (U.S.A.).

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Generation 1 - Jan de Wit was born in 1677 at Nieuw York (New York) at Nieuw Nederland (U.S.A.). He was from Stanton White, Norfolk (U.S.A.) arrived at Cape Town in 1700.
(Note : We are still unable to find what or where is Stanton White)

According to family tradition the name de Wit was originally White. There is an interesting legend behind the change of the family name but we don’t know what it is.

Jan de WIT was married on 20th March 1707 to Maria ADRIAANSE, she was the daughter of Anna Pieters, of Anna PIETERS from Batavia. Lambert ADRIAANSE of Wye, Gelderland married Anna PIETERS on 1st March 1694

Jan de Wit died in April 1755.

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Generation 2 - Petrus Johannes de Wit was born on 23th August 1716 at Cape Town. He was a "burgher-counseler" and "commisioner-civiel". He was first married to Anna Margaretha Sandenberg in 1750, daughter of Hercules Sandenberg and Geertruij Catharina Nissen. From this marriage he had two (2) children.

At the age 39 he was married to Aletta Jocaba Blankenberg (age: 17 years) on the 15th February 1756 in Cape Town, South Africa. She was the daughter of Johannes Hendricus Blankenberg and Anna Margaretha van der Heyden. From this second marriage Petrus had eleven (11) children

His siblings were Anna Catharina de Wit (died in Batavia), Maria Elisabeth de Wit, Willem Adriaan Christiaan de Wit, Isabela de Wit, Johanna de Wit (died on board the ship "Zuiderberg") and Johannes Hendricus de Wit (Captain of a Dutch fleet).

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Generation 3 - Willem Adriaan de Wit was christened in Cape Town, South Africa on the 25th May 1766. Willem Adriaan de Wit at 25 years of age was married to Maria Magdalena Kotze on the 13th September 1791, the daughter of Jan Jurgen Kotze and Susanna Francina van Aarde.

Willem's siblings from his father's second marriage were Anna Margaretha de Wit, Isabella Catharina de Wit, Petrus Johannes de Wit, Aletta Jacoba de Wit, Johanna Alberta de Wit, Johannes Hendricus de Wit, Jacobus Christoffel de Wit and Jasper de Wit.

His siblings from his father's first marriage were Maria de Wit and Johannes de Wit.

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Generation 4 - Petrus Johannes de Wit was christened in Cape Town, South Africa in 1796 and arrived in Melaka from South Africa in 1816 and hence, began the lineage of the DeWitt family from Melaka..

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Find out about :

The Dutch Custom of Child Naming.

The South African de Wit Family Tree

 

Note :
Information obtained courtesy of
Mr. Herman Oomen who has done research from :
1. The book entitled “Geslagsregisters van die ou Kaapse families”
(Family register of the old Cape families), part 3, written by
C. Pama and C.C. de Viliers stored at the Central Archives
Den Haag, the Netherlands;
2. The book entitled “Die Groot Afrikaanse Familie-Naamboek”
(The Extensive Afrikaans Family-name Book) written by C Pama;
3. The summary of church files from the Dutch Reformed Church
stored in London by Mr. van Helsdingen; and
4. The Mormon Family Search web site. (see Hot Links)

Our special thanks to goes to :
1. Mr. Herman Oomen of The Netherlands, and
2. Gerda Pieterse of South Africa.

Our thanks also goes out to Mr. Barry Pereira (Singapore),
Mr. Clive Skelchy (Australia) and Mrs. Faith Roberts (Hong Kong)
for their kind assistance.

June 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.

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