As of now, no historical document has revealed the date of birth of Philips. Therefore, the above year of 1620 is speculative. One of the first documents mentioning Philips de Ruvere is the legacy description of Jan Schiettecatte and Janneken Lamort, dated June 27, 1647 (1). These spouses were the parents of Janneken Schiettecatte, wife of Philips De Ruyver. Janneken Schiettecatte bore 3 children of Philips : Frans De Ruyver, born around 1649; Adriaen De Ruyver, born around 1651; and Jan De Ruyver, born around January 26, 1653. On this day, Janneken Schiettecatte passed away, apparently shortly after the birth of her son Jan (2). In comparison with the family of which Philips De Ruyver descended from, the family of Janneken Schiettecatte was rather a humble one. The legacy description of Janneken Schiettecatte's parents, made after the death of Janneken Lamort in 1647, shows that they owned a piece of land in Sint-Blasius-Boekel on which their house, a stable and a barn were standing (3). These buildings abutted on the road (north side), the Nederhove (east), and the land of Gillis Hoebeke (west). No mentioning was made of any other farm land. The land was valued at 80 pounds parisis ; the house at 326 pounds parisis and the stable and barn at 204 pounds parisis. Compared with the wedding present (household goods, grains and others), worth 549 pounds pariris, which was given to Philips De Ruyver by his father Frans around the same time (4), the estate of the parents of Janneken Schiettecatte looks rather humble.

Janneken Schiettecatte got the west side of the estate ; her only brother Frans Schiettecatte (born around 1630) received the east side (5). However Philips De Ruyver and his wife also bought the share from Frans Schiettecatte. According to Janneken's legacy (6), both the land she inherited from her parents as the land she and her husband bought from Frans Schiettecatte were 90 roeden (about 55.3 are or 5,532 square meter) large (7). The total estate of 180 roeden (110.6 are or 11,064 m2) abutting on the road (north side), on Gillis Hoebeke (west), on Jan Blommaert (south) and on the Nederhoeve (east).

Philips De Ruyver and Janneken Schiettecatte were thus living on the land which once belonged to Janneken's parents. Philips and Janneken's house was standing on the 90 roeden land that Janneken Schiettecatte inherited in 1647. According to Janneken's legacy of 1653 (8) this house belonged to the marital community of property, indicating that her parents' house was at least thoroughly renovated by Philips De Ruyver, if not destroyed and a completely new house built. In 1653, Philips' house was estimated at a worth of 51 great Flemish pounds (corresponding with 612 pounds parisis), while the house of his parents-in-law was estimated at 326 pounds parisis in 1647 (9). Philips' house comprised of two rooms, a kitchen and a cellar. Two meadows and a barn with a pigsty were sited on the same land (worth 16 great Flemish pounds. On the 90 roeden bought from Frans Schiettecatte, a brewery and two stables were standing in 1653, estimated at 17 great Flemish pounds (10). As in the legacy of Philips' parents-in-law of 1647 (11) a brewery was not mentioned, it is probably safe to suppose that Philips De Ruyver and his wife founded this brewery between 1647 and 1653. The legacy description of Janneken Schiettecatte (12) mentions also the brew and the brewery material (worth 350 pounds pariris), one black cow, a heifer of two years, two pigs, 5 barrels of beer. Some persons owed Philips and his wife in total 248 pounds parisis for consumption and drinks, indicating that the brewery was probably equipped with a pub, as the 12 beer jars and four tables mentioned in the legacy might prove. The legacy description of 1653 shows that Philips De Ruyver was a starting brewer with some farming activity. Lastly, the sudden death of Janneken Schiettecatte seems to have aroused some compassion : Frans De Ruyver, Janneken's father-in-law wrote the legacy description rejecting any compensation for it, as did Gillis Compeyn, who rejected his normal gage of 30 shillings (equals 1.5 pounds parisis), being vriend ende schepen (friend and alderman) as the document of 1653 puts it. Gillis Compeyn was probably the son of Joos Compeyn and Janneken De Ruyver, and thus cousin of Philips De Ruyver (13). The legacy description was finished on April 19, 1953, nearly 3 months after Janneken's death. After the death of his first wife, Philips De R uyver must have remarried rather quickly. His second bride was Lucia vande Vijvere, born in the town of Velzeke (now part of the city of Zottegem) as daughter of Guillaume and a certain Van De Weghe (14). Lucia joined Philips in his house annex brewery in Sint -Blasius-Boekel. Their first child was born there in 1654, and Lucia gave birth to another seven children, until she died in Sint-Blasius-Boekel on February 10, 1672, 3 days after the birth of her youngest child Albertus De Ruyver (15).

During his marriage with Lucia vande Vijvere the land for which Philips De Ruyver paid taxes in Sint-Blasius-Boekel increased from 2 bunder, 2 dagwand and 1 roede (about 3.08 hectares or 30,859m2) in 1654 to 13 bunder and 50 roede (about 16.14 hectares or 161,364m2) in 1671 (16), including the hereditary land he received from his father in 1671. This hereditary land totaled 1 bunder 2 dagwand 62 roede (2.03 hectares or 20,347m2) in the Maesdriesch in Sint-Blasius-Boekel and in Vissegem and Poorterije in Michelbeke (17). After the death of his father, Philips also received his fief of the Land of Schoorisse (3 dagwand or 9,220m2 in Den Cleij in Sint-Blasius-Boekel) (18).

The legacy of Lucia vande Vijvere, finalized in Sint-Blasius-Boekel on October 1, 1672, described the marital community of property of the spouses De Ruyver - vande Vijvere (19). It consisted of 2,952 pounds parisis of assets and 1,482 pounds parisis of liabilities, leaving 1,470 pounds parisis to be shared by Philips De Ruyver and Lucia's children. Following land was acquired : a field in front of Philips' house, two pieces of land on the Franskouter and one on the Veld ten Haecke in Sint- Denijs-Boekel, two pieces in Sint-Blasius-Boekel (in the Nederhoeve and in Steenders) and one piece of land in Den Drooghenhoek in the town of Sint-Maria-Horebeke (now part of the town of Horebeke).

In order to accommodate his growing family Philips De Ruyver added two more rooms to his house. The brewery, pigsty, barn and stable (now used as a horse stable) from his first marriage got now the company of a carriage barn and an oven. His farming activities, too, had grown : in October 1672 he possessed 4 bunder (4.9 hectares) of corn, two dagwand (0.6 hectares) of clover, two horses, two foals, four cows, a bull, a pig, two donkeys, and 19 hens. The farming and brewery tools mentioned in Lucia's legacy add to the picture of Philips De Ruyver as a well-established farmer-brewer. The expansion of Philips' activities were partly financed by a loan and of some of the land cultivated was rented.

On July 6, 1673 Philips De Ruyver married Judoca (also called Joosijne) Van Grootenbruul in Sint-Blasius-Boekel (20). Judoca was the daughter of Maximiliaan Van Grootenbruul, the widow of Jan de Cooman, and mother to a daughter, called Beatrice de Cooman (probably born around 1661) (21). During her marriage with Jan de Cooman, Judoca probably lived in the town of Sint-Goriks-Oudenhove (now part of the city of Zottegem). Judoca Van Grootenbruul died in Sint-Blasius-Boekel on January 21, 1676, without having given birth to any children by Philips (22). No legacy description was made (23). During this marriage, no further land was acquired (24).

On December 31, 1679, Philips De Ruyver died in Sint-Blasius-Boekel (25). In 1677 he handed over the legacy of his first wife Janneken Schiettecatte to his 3 oldest sons (Adriaen, Frans and Jan) (26) and he sold some land acquired during his second marriage (27). In this way, the land he owned in 1677 was reduced to nearly half (28). The legacy of Philips De Ruyver, finalized in February 24, 1980 comprised of 530 pounds parisis of assets and 1,620 pounds parisis of liabilities, bringing the legacy of Philips De Ruyver in deep debt (29). Philips still owned nearly all the land he inherited from his father Frans in 1671. However, these lands were estimated at only 40% of their value in 1671 (30). Furthermore, the aldermen of Sint-Blasius-Boekel ruled that Philips' legacy could claim only 1/8 of the buildings ; the remaining 7/8 being assigned to his 3 wives and their children (31). Although these buildings were very much enlarged since 1653 (when Philips' first wife Janneken Schiettecatte died), they were only estimated at 480 pounds parisis in 1680, compared with 612 pounds parisis in 1653. So, after a full life of activity, Philips was entitled to only 60 pounds parisis for the buildings he built himself (including brewery). Whatever the reason for these low estimates, they were a main factor of Philips' legacy turning in to the red, together with the 1/8-ruling of the aldermen (32).

About 1/3 of Philips' liabilities consisted of the legacy of Lucia vande Vijvere to which the children of his second marriage were entitled to. But, among his liabilities were also a loan of 144 pounds parisis and several years of unpaid rent and interest (33). It looks like Philips De Ruyver had difficulties in fulfilling his financial commitments in the last years of his life, resulting in the sale of part of his land. He even sold the fief of the Land of Schorisse, which he had inherited after his father's death, to Pieter van der Haeghen (probably the husband of his sister Tanneken De Ruyver), on May 29, 1679, seven months before his death (34). Most of his furniture and household goods were sold after his death to pay his taxes (35).

On February 15, 1681, the remaining land and buildings of Philips De Ruyver were sold publicly (36). Although the values of these properties were already estimated very low, the real income of this sale only reached to 27% of the estimates. In fact, the costs of the public sale ate 95% of the income, leaving nearly nothing to the creditors. The low prices made it possible for Philips' second son, Adriaen, to obtain the entire 180 roeden on which Philips' house, farm buildings and brewery were standing. Due to the complicated family situation and due to the lengthy procedure preceding the public sale, the description of Philips' legacy took more than 100 hand-written pages (37).

Why did the financial situation of Philips De Ruyver turn for the worse after the death of his second wife in 1672? First, the economic situation of the second half of 1670's was very troublesome. As a result, the population of Sint-Blasius-Boekel, the town where Philips was living, decreased from about 450 inhabitants in 1666-75 to about 270 in 1676-85 (38). This depopulation could explain why the value of Philips' land decreased so dramatically. Second, in Philips' family 13 children were born, and his third wife brought him one step-child. Though Philips was expanding his farming and brewery businesses, the expansion of his family might have been too large for his financial strength. So, what happened to Philips' main asset, his children?

His oldest son, Frans, born in Sint-Blasius-Boekel around 1649, left for Overmere, where he was married twice, first with Anna Klinckspoor around 1677, then with Maria Van De Putte in 1682. He was brewer and innkeeper, and died in Overmere on February 20, 1709 (39). Philips' second son, Adriaen, took over the farming and brewery business of his father. As the ancestor of the writer, Dirk De Ruyver, his life will be investigated in next chapter. Philips' third son, Jan (born in 1653), joined the Spanish army in the 1670's (40), and settled in Bottelare in 1685, where he started a brewery and an inn. He married first with Catharina Vernimmen in 1685, and then with Maria Van Grootenbriel in 1701. He died in Bottelare on September 18, 1723 (41).

The first child of Philips and Lucia vande Vijvere, Guillaume, was born in 1654 in Sint-Blasius-Boekel (42), but died before December 31, 1679, without being married (43). His sister Joosijne (also Judoca) was born in 1656, married with Jan Thire in 1675, and probably moved to Sint-Kornelis-Horebeke (now part of the town of Horebeke) (44). Her brother, Matthias De Ruyver, was born around 1657, and moved to Zegelsem (now part of the town of Brakel) where he married Joanna Roman in 1688 and Angelina Van Kerckhove in 1734. He died on October 23, 1741 (45). Another child, Pierijne (or Petronella) De Ruyver, was born in 1661 (46), followed by Catharina, born in 1663. Just like her half-brother Frans, Catherina left for Overmere, where she married Laurentius De Winne in 1695, and where she died in 1752 (47).

Philips De Ruyver and Lucia vande Vijvere got another 3 sons (Andries born in 1666, Egidius Josephus born in 1 668 and Albertus born in 1672), but only Egidius Josephus grew up to an adult, leaving for Bottelare (just as his half-brother Jan), where he married Anna Grootaers in 1697. He even bought the brewery of his half-brother Jan to pass it on to one of his sons. He died in 1723 (48).

Striking is that four of Philips' children left the Land of Schorisse for a completely new region (Bottelare, Overmere). In fact, Adriaen De Ruyver, Philips second son, is the only one known to have remained in Sint-Blasius-Boekel. Also striking is that four of Philips' sons were engaged in brewery, thereby continuing this new business introduced by their father into the family. Finally, Philips De Ruyver appears in an official document, dated May 11, 1661, as meier (mayor) of the fief of Ansin (also written as Hansin, Hansijn, Ansijn), a small enclave surrounded by the villages of Elst and Sint-Blasius-Boekel (49). On November 21, 1654, Philips, while living in Sint-Blasius-Boekel, became outer citizen of the nearby city of Geraardsbergen (50).

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