Charles Boissevain (1842 - 1927)

Born 28 Oct 1842 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland

Ancestors

Husband of Emily Heloise (Macdonnell) Boissevain — married 27 Jun 1867 in Woolston, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died 5 May 1927 at age 84 in Naarden, Noord-Holland, Nederland

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Charles Boissevain is geboren in Noord-Holland na 1811

Biography

Charles Boissevain is Notable.

Charles was born October 28, 1842, in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.^[1]

Charles Boissevain (1842-1927, NP p. 67), sixth child of Gedeon, was a Bohemian, publisher of the leading Dutch newspaper and, for some years, the most popular journalist in Holland, writing a column called Van Dag Tot Dag ("From Day to Day"). He married an Anglo-Irish woman, Emily Heloise MacDonnell, in 1867. His original first name was Karel, the Dutch version of Charles. But since he married an Irish girl, Emily Heloise MacDonnell (1844-1931), whom he met when covering the International Exhibition of 1865, he anglicized his name to Charles. He got sick while at the Exhibition, and Emily's parents brought him home to recover. Emily looked after him and they fell in love.

Charles and Emily married on the 27th June 1867 in Woolston, Hampshire, England Marriage1867-FamilySearch ^[2] Their marriage was also registered November 27, 1867, in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.^[3]

From 1872 he was on the editorial board of the literary journal De Gids.^[4]

Charles was outspoken and liberal. He took the side of the Boers against British aggression in a book-length "Letter to the Duke of Devonshire" and upset his wife's relatives in Ireland. When Emily tried to defend the British, her daughters called her a Rooinek ("Redneck"), which is what the Boers called the British soldiers. Charles never seemed to have enough money, certainly not enough to match his vanity, but with he help of occasional inheritances they brought up eleven children in style. The Bohemians among the Boissevains never seemed to match the affluence of the Banker-Boaters like Jan, and the women among the Bankers were occasionally scandalized by the behavior of the Bohemians.

Charles and Emily had 11 children and they and their descendants are called the Kareltjes or Charletjes (little Charleses). The Boissevain Foundation Bulletin spells it Charles-tjes, but the English language avoids having three consonants in a row and I am spelling it the way my mother did, without the hyphen:

Charles passed away in 1927.^[5]

The family was descended from French Huguenots, who after the revocation of Edict of Nantes (1685) sough refuge from France in Holland. The couple had five sons and six daughters.^[6]

Special Mention

Thanks to John Tepper Marlin for the wonderful photos and biography information.

[1]

Sources

1. ↑ "Netherlands, Noord-Holland, Civil Registration, 1811-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H6-P25Y : 25 October 2016), Charles Boissevain, 28 Oct 1842; citing Birth, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands, Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem (Noord-Hollands Archives, Haarlem); FHL microfilm 113,620.
2. ↑ England Marriages, 1538–1973
3. ↑ "Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Miscellaneous Records", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLM5-HK3F : 14 March 2017), Charles Boissevain and Emily Heloise Macdonnell, 1867.
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Charles Boissevain," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boissevain (accessed April 8, 2017).
5. ↑ "Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Miscellaneous Records", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLMX-J1S9 : 14 March 2017), Charles Boissevain, 1927.
6. ↑ Macdonnell, Hercules H Grave. Notes, Historical and Personal on the Tynekill Branch of the Macdonnell Family. Dublin,: Browne & Nolan Ltd Printers, 1897. Page 48