Schalk Willemsz van der Merwe (abt. 1622)

Born about 1622 in Oud-Beijerland, Zuid Holland, Nederland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in de Caep de Goede Hoop

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Schalk van der Merwe is a Cape of Good Hope - Kaap de Goede Hoop (1652-1806) Stamouer-Progenitor Join: Cape of Good Hope - Kaap de Goede Hoop (1652-1806) Project Discuss: DUTCH_CAPE_COLONY_PROGENITORS

Schalk van der Merwe was a Huguenot emigrant. Join: Huguenot Migration Project Discuss: huguenot

Biography

Name

Schalk van der Merwe ^[1][2][3] / Schalk Willemsz van der Merwe ^[4] / Schalk Willemz van der Merwe ^[5]

Birth

Date: Schalk van der Merwe was born about 1611 ^[2][4] / in 1620 ^[3][5] / about 1622. ^[1]

Place: Overijsel ^[1], the Netherlands ^{[1][2][4][6][7]}

Death

Date: Deceased ^[2]

Place: Cape ^[1] [South Africa] ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} WikiTree profile Van der Merwe-501 created by Pieter Meyer, May 2, 2013.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} WikiTree profile Van Der Merwe-26 created through the import of flakey (3).ged on 18 April 2011 by Anton Bergh.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} WikiTree profile Van Der Merwe-468 created by Lou Larney, Mar 18, 2013.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} WikiTree profile Van der Merwe-505 created through the import of Vermaak Family Site - 05 May 2013.GED on May 5, 2013 by Dina Vermaak.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} WikiTree profile Van Der Merwe-4969 created by Anri Walters 20 September 2020. Source:
   • http://hanekom.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I714&tree=tree1
   • Schalk Willemz VAN DE MERWE
   Male Abt 1620 - Aft 1650 (~ 31 years) Born Abt 1620 Oud-Beijerland, Zuid Holland, Netherlands Died Aft 1650 South Africa Person ID I714 HANEKOM Father Willem VAN DER MERWE, b. Abt 1590, Oud-Beijerland, Zuid Holland, Netherlands Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Yes, date unknown Mother Pn NN, b. Abt 1593 Family Aletta VAN DER LINDE, b. Abt 1620, Vollenhove, Overijssel, Netherlands Married Abt 1640 Netherlands Marriage date of '1645' found in Francois Lotter's database does not tally conventionally with the birth of his son Willem Schalk Children: 1. Willem Schalksz VAN DER MERWE, Progenitor, b. Abt 1643, Oud-Beijerland, Zuid Holland, Netherlands Find all individuals with events at this location, d. 12 Jul 1716, Cape Town, , Cape of Good Hope, South Africa Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 73 years) 2. Dirk Schalks VAN DE MERWE, b. 1648, d. Yes, date unknown 3. Joost Schalks VAN DE MERWE, b. Abt 1650, d. Yes, date unknown Notes: Schalk was a farmer in Oud-Beyerland. From Janet Melville I learnt that, '...Schalk van der Merwe boer in Oud-Beyerland en (was) 'n kleinseun van Willem van der Merwe van wie die bestaande Van der Merwes in Nederland afstam.' "The first Boer commando: A turning point was reached in 1715 when the security situation at the Cape got out of hand and the VOC were unable to protect the free-burghers, partly due to the distance from the Cape and partly due to a lack of interest by the government. After another attack, during which the home of Pieter Rossouw was burned down and cattle were looted, the burghers pleaded to the "politieke raad" for permission to retaliate. On 20 November 1715, a commando of 30 volunteers, under command of "burgervaandrig" Schalk Willemsz van der Merwe and "wagtmeester" Jan Harmensz Potgieter, were given orders to find the bushmen Hottentots and bring the cattle back. During this expedition, Jan Harmensz (the son of Harmen Jansz) killed a bushmen woman. Jan was charged before the military court and, after many years of deliberation, evidence given, and embarrassment by the VOC, Jan was eventually discharged from the army on 14 October 1727 (due to "old age and inappropriate behaviour"). The expedition is however hailed as the start of the commando system in South Africa, where-by the protection of rural farm communities were left in the hands of civilian volunteers. At first, the commando's were a free for all wild west type of operation, but later on, it was organized under law, with the commandant and the field cornets as elected leaders of the commando's". Sources:
   • "Stellenbosch - Drie eeue" (three centuries), edited and compiled by F Smith, published by the city council of Stellenbosch (1979), ISBN 0 620 03910-8. (Chapter 14, p429)
   • Resolusies van die Politieke Raad, Deel IV, 1707-1717
   • Resolusies van die Politieke Raad, Deel VII [58, 65, 74]
6. ↑ See this G2G-feed "Looking for a baptismal image & transcription for Willem Schalks, Schalkszoon van der Merwe (abt. 1648 - 1716)" and specifically the answer (& research) of Rob Ton on mar 17, 2016, that warrants further investigation: "[...] I have looked at a large number of claims about Willem's birthplace. Of most interest to me was a thesis paper titled Huntington's Chorea in South Africa by Michal R. Hayden dated 1979. In this paper he indicates that Willem first arrived in the cape circa 1658, being made a free burgher in 1661. The paper also mentions a possible connection to a van de Merwe family originating in Rotterdam in the 17th century whose descendants are also affected by Huntington's Chorea. (available here from University of Cape Town). With this connection to Rotterdam in mind I went back to the period maps. A 1684 map of Rotterdam shows an area called "Broek", just east what was then Rotterdam 'proper'. In modern terms it is bounded roughly by the modern streets Crooswijkseweg, Boezemsingel, Boezemlaan, and by the Boezem. I think the birth suggested on the profile of 1648 is extremely unlikely - with the 1658 arrival date above that would mean Willem was taken on as an Arquebusier/Bosskieter at 10 years of age. I don't have any facts to support the following, but I would guess to command the higher pay of an Arquebusier took 4 or more years of training/experience and that this would not have started before age 16. (For comparison one study found the average age of arquebusiers in France a century later was about age 40). I would therefore suggest a birth of about 1638 (or earlier) - this would translate to a second marriage at age 30 (in 1668) and a last child born at age 60 (in 1698), both of which I feel are reasonable for the era. In summary, I would be focusing on looking at Rotterdam or Oud-Beijerland records from closer to 1638. [...] The Rotterdam locality I pointed out from the 1684 map should probably be "Voor Rubroek" (the label was broken up and 'Broek' was capitalized so it appeared to be a complete place name). There is also "De Berch en Broeck Polder" (around Hillegersberg) which has a "Broeck Mole" There is also "De Brouck Polder" just outside Vlaardingen. All of these are options for a "Broeck" birthplace for Willem. And while it has nothing to do with the question I find it interesting that this map also shows the "Leproos" just outside the city to the North West [...] I found a family tree on GeneaNet that I thought I would mention - it is not well sourced by any means, but it may contain some clues worth following up as it suggests names for a grand-father and great-grandfather for Willem as well as a wide variety of cousins and uncles. The person claimed as William's grandfather, Willem Huijgens van de Merwe, is listed as born at Dubbeldam circa 1590. I also found another place that is a candidate for the "Broek" where Willem was born - just outside Gouda. [see this Wikipedia article]. Lastly, I thought I would mention an interesting coincidence: I noticed that on one 1749 map, North-east of Oud-Byerland is a place called "Goodschalk Oord" (modern name is Goidschalxoord) - The name "Godschalck" is derived similarly to "Schalk" and I noticed in some early records the two being used interchageably." Seen and added by Philip van der Walt Mar 20, 2016.
7. ↑ Sources:
   • See: Van der Merwe Familiestamboom / FamilytreeZebregs info, Hanekom FamilieGreeff Family website links provided in this G2G feed ("so maybe we have more luck searching for them in that area (Rotterdam, Oud Beijerland Archief, place Broek).) Added by Bea Wijma, Aug 29, 2015.