Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaerts van Blokland (1843 - 1897)

Born 12 Jan 1843 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Nederland

Ancestors

Husband of Johanna Maria Kneppelhout van Sterkenburg — married 15 Jul 1870 in Driebergen, Utrecht, Netherlands

Descendants

Died 14 Mar 1897 at age 54 in Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Nederland

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Biography

Birth: Gerard Jacob Theodoor was born on January 12, 1843 Rotterdam, South Holland, son of Frans Willem Anne Beelaerts van Blokland and Magdalena Jacoba Mersen Senn van Basel. ^[1]

Marriage: Bruidegom Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaerts van Blokland Geboorteplaats Rotterdam Leeftijd 27 Bruid Johanna Maria Kneppelhout van Sterkenburg Geboorteplaats Leiden Leeftijd 18 Vader van de bruidegom Frans Willem Anne Beelaerts van Blokland Moeder van de bruidegom Magdalena Jacoba Mersen Senn van Basel Vader van de bruid Karel Jan Frederik Cornelis Kneppelhout van Sterkenburg Moeder van de bruid Lydia Julia Maria van Gorkum Gebeurtenis Huwelijk Datum 15-07-1870 Gebeurtenisplaats Driebergen ^[2]

Gerard Jacob Theodoor was born in Rotterdam, into the Beelaerts van Blokland family – an old Dutch patrician family and members of the Dutch nobility since 1815. His grandfather served as attorney-general and secretary of justice of the Dutch Cape Colony and British Cape Colony, respectively. His father was born in the Cape.

Career After completing his studies, Beelaerts started his career working as lawyer at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and as clerk in the Netherlands Department of Justice eventually rising to the rank of legal secretary. As a lawyer, he was a member of various state committees.

From 1883 until 1894, he served as member in the Dutch House of Representatives and as Speaker of the House from 1888 until 1891. He also served as member of the Provincial Legislature of South Holland from 1888 until 1892. He was appointed Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion by royal decree.

The Beelaerts van Blokland family were orthodox Protestants and maintained a long-standing interest in South Africa. Beelaerts was a member of a committee to aid the cause of the Boers in the South African Republic. He served as legal adviser to the Boer delegation to London to review the Pretoria Convention of 1883. From 1884, Beelaerts served as resident for the South African Republic and from 1889, he served as envoy representing the South African Republic in Europe. He performed this function without compensation until his death in 1897.

He also served as commissaire général of the South African delegation at the 1894 World Exhibition in Antwerp.[4]

Death: Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaers van Blokland, 54 years old, passed away on March 14, 1897 in The Hague, South Holland. ^[3]

Archives relating to Beelaerts are located in the Nationaal Archief in The Hague and the Zuid-Afrikahuis in Amsterdam. A collection of South African objects gathered by Gerard Jacob Theodoor and his son Cornelis were donated to the Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden in 1941, where they make up part of the South African collection.

Sources

1. ↑ Stadsarchief Rotterdam Toegangsnummer: 999-01 Burgerlijke Stand Rotterdam, geboorteakten Inventarisnummer: 1843A Folionummer: a029v Aktenummer: 1843.112 Birth January 12, 1843
2. ↑ Het Utrechts Archief Driebergen 1870 Toegangsnummer: 481 Burgerlijke Stand van de gemeenten in de provincie Utrecht 1811-1902 Inventarisnummer: 832-14 Aktenummer: 9 Marriage July 15, 1870
3. ↑ Haags Gemeentearchief archief Leidschendam-Voorburg Overlijdensakten Den Haag Toegangsnummer: 0335-01 Ambtenaar van de Burgerlijke Stand van de gemeente 's-Gravenhage Inventarisnummer: 1399 Aktenummer: 709 Death March 14, 1897

• Detailed biography on Wikipedia [1]