Den Bosch, spreading over The Netherlands; from 1780
The Dutch Suijling branch commences when on June 12, 1781 Johann Jacob Seuling becomes a “poorter” of Den Bosch and settles as a fish merchant.[1] Born in 1753 he then is 28 years old and calls himself Jacob.
(Ill. 9’: Registration of the baptism of Jacob Seuling in church archives of Alten-Buseck, 1753.)
To put the events of that time in a proper perspective, we will make a brief side-step into the development of that town.[2] In the 14th, 15th and first part of the 16th century Den Bosch experienced a great economic prosperity that was based on trade and a multifaceted industry (cloth, leather, metal and beer). The rapid growth of course was made possible by the significance the dukes of Brabant attached to this fourth capital of their territory. During the course of the 14th century the town also grew into an important religious center. The erection of the magnificent St. Jans Kathedraal, after 1330, as well as the many other churches, chapels and cloisters starting in the first half of the 13th century provide lasting evidence.
In the second half of the 16th century the impact of the silting up of the rivers together with the advent of Amsterdam and Antwerp prove to be disastrous for the trading position of Den Bosch. Seen from the outside the fortifications still lokk impressive, but the economic decline causes the population to decline by about 14.000 between 1576 and 1629. After the Dutch had taken over control over the city from the Spaniards in 1629 the reigns on commercial and industrial activities were tightened still further and many monasteries, until that time pillars of the community, were closed. The fortifications were expanded, however, with among others the construction of the Citadel in 1637 for which purpose a large part of the housing within the city walls was eradicated and some current landmarks such as the Esplanade were erected. In the next century the military function dominated local society – around 1780 the town housed 13,000 civilians and about 3,000 military. For example, the well-known Parade was built in 1749 by erasing the 13th century Groot Begijnhof and its surroundings. The St. Jacobskerk was restructured to become an arsenal and military encampments were built on the earlier locations of monasteries.
(Ill. 10: View of Den Bosch from the north, by J. Vrijmoet, 1785. At the right hand side the Citadel and in the middle the St. Jan. The road to the left was the main connection in the direction of Utrecht.)
In this environment Jacob Seuling in 1781 became a burgher[3] of Den Bosch. Anyone wishing to exercise a trade that was under the control of a guild, first had to become a member of this guild for which purpose it in turn was required to be a burgher of the chosen town. Jacob set up shop as a fish merchant. He could have chosen for a more peaceful time. In 1780 the Fourth English War had just begun, with to the Republic disastrous outcome. Stadholder Willem V had radically lost the comfortable support that he used to have from the regents of most major cities when it was found that he only listened to the advice of his guardian, the duke of Braunschweig. He was personally blamed for the disgraceful failure of the Dutch navy. The fact that until the very last moment the stadholder had presented himself as pro-English, obviously did not strengthen his case.
(Ill.: Daily life in Den Bosch, drawings by J. Everts; 1777. On the left the Schapenmarkt (at the far left part of the Townhall), in the middle selling country produce on the Markt (to the right the Ridderstraat) and to the right a shop in the Hinthamerstraat with the characteristic display on the opened window shutters (to the left the Boerenmouw).)
As usual in confrontations with the Oranges, Amsterdam took the lead. One of the first demands that it presented to the prince, was that the hated Brunswijk would be evicted from the court. The “Fat Duke”, governor of Den Bosch, withdrew to his official residence in the Verwerstraat. In 1784 he was forced to leave the country. In the meantime the Habsburg emperor Jozef II had indicated that he planned to forcibly annex Maastricht and the Dutch part of Flanders in order to integrate them into the southern part of the Low Lands. Because Brunswijk formally was in Austrian service he of course could not be upheld. The threat of a war with Habsburg ultimately simmered off when the Republic reluctantly agreed to a free access to Antwerp by way of the river Scheldt.
In itself it is not surprising that a “prinsenman” such as Brunswijk could keep the command of the Den Bosch garrison in 1780. The armed forces were predominantly Orangists. Exactly for that reason the patriots tried to set up a “people’s army”: paramilitary societies, recruited from the “patriotic societies” [4] as well as the citizen’s militia from now on had to defend the nation. A regular army was distrusted as the willing instrument of tyrans.
Jacob Seuling learned about it the hard way. In September 1787 the prince still managed to suppress the patriotic movement in Den Bosch with the aid of Prussian troups. A few months later the patriots were presented the bill, however. Carrying a Orange cockade[5] the soldiers of the garrison went on a three-day foray through the streets. A local merchant noted in his diary: “Thursday, November 8, one can say, was the last day of Prosperity for our city and the further daylight would not her blossom again.”[6]
(Ill. 11: The plunder of Den Bosch by the garrison, November 1787.)
It were not positive perspectives for the young immigrant. Although the fish trade apparently flourished in the Den Bosch of that time, he must have fought for his place in the market. Den Bosch fish merchants traditionally had purchased their products in the harbors of Zeeland and transported their wares over land from their home city to Maaseik, Maastricht, Aken and the surroundings of Luik. The actual fish market itself was located at the end of the harbor. The supply was abundant and diverse: codfish, alife or salted, haddock, whiting, plaice, smelt, ray, turbot, halibut.[7] Even large numbers of sturgeon and salmon were caught in the Biesbosch.
(Ill. 12: The fish benches[8] on the Vismarkt. The pen drawing was made as an illustration on the first page of the financial administration[9] of the Vismarkt, started in 1787. Anonymous artist; 1787.)
His position possibly did not get easier but undoubtedly more pleasant when he started exploring lover’s lane. One year later, on November 2,1788, he married Christina Weller from Den Bosch. She was born in 1764 as a daughter from the second marriage of George Weller that in 1758 united him with Anna Catharina Markgraf, the daughter of Ludwig Marggraf from Magdendurg and Margaretha Vlaming who were married in 1731 in Den Bosch. The Weller’s also stemmed from Hessen, from the village of Heuchelheim. George (formally: Johann Georg) served as a “chirurgijn” (medical doctor) in the regiment of captain Kuif (probably: Knijff) under generaal-majoor Reinhard von Buddenbroeck. After marrying Geertruy ten Holten in 1744 in Den Bosch, he settled in the city, becoming a “poorter” of Den Bosch in 1749. In 1758 he remarried Anna Catharina Marggraff.
The wedding was celebrated in the Lutheran Church in the Verwerstraat, that for the next one-and-a-half century played a major role in the lives of the Den Bosch Suyling’s. This branch of protestant christianity – adherents to the Augsburg Confession or Lutherans – stemmed from the garrison as did the Wallonian community. Although for that reason it was larger than elsewhere in The Netherlands, it still was a small minority in the predominantly roman catholic Den Bosch. The Lutheran commnunity of Den Bosch therefore also had a regional function. The pastoral services of the still smaller communities of Heusden and Zaltbommel were provided from Den Bosch and the lutheran minister also administered the sacraments in the “subsidiary” communities.
Jacob Suijling, as he renamed himself already in 1797, quickly settled in his new environment. Judging from the little news that reached us across the centuries, Jacob had married “well”. His spouse’s grandfather Lodewijk Marggraff came from a powerful German family that later on produced some remarkable dscendants that for many years added a lot of color to the Den Bosch society. But his brother (or was it his father?) Andreas also was an important scientist who not only discovered the element zinc but also how to draw sugar from sugar beets. Notary records dated 1767 provide an account of merchant Lodewijk’s many belongings in and around Den Bosch: houses on the Markt, Hinthamerstraat and the Colpertstraat, meadows in Deuteren, near Empel nad property in Vught. A century later the protestant judge Lodewijk Willem Jan. (“Loke”) Marggraff was one of the twenty richest inhabtants of Den Bosch and his family were officially “crowned” as barons.
Not all went wel within the family, however. Anna Catharina’s younger sister Anna Elisabeth (born in 1747) married George Otto Josua van Wegner who, after her death, in 1797 was confined for alcoholaddiction. Uncle Lodewijk Marggraff (Anna Catharina’s brother, born in 1733), together with the Lutheran minister Johan Herman Steuerwald, became “momboir” (also: momber, i.e. warden) over daughter Helena Elisabeth. That same year Jacob also was appointed “momboir” over his 22½-year old niece Elisabeth Weller, the daughter of Christoffel Weller en Adriana Groothuysen who had both passed away. Her grandfather took over the warden role for Elisabeth and her brother George but when he also died, in his will he somehow forgot to assign a warden for Elisabeth. The authorities had to step in and named Jacob plus “Ludovicus Weller”, undoubtedly the same brother Ludwig.
Times were no less turbulent in those first years of married life. The French almost were at the gates and that undoubtedly created the necessary tensions within the garrison city. In 1794 fears became reality and the French troups under Pichegru captured the city that was heavily damaged by bombardments. The recovery for many years thereafter put great pressure on the municipal finances.
(Ill.: The bombardment of Den Bosch by the French, probably in the night of September 25 to 26, 1794, by Josephus Augustus Knip. In the foreground the French encampment in Klein Deuteren.)
(Ill. 13: The capture of the fortification Orthen, just north of Den Bosch, by the French troups, by J.A. Knip; 1797.)
(Ill. 14: The entry of the French troups in Den Bosch; drawing by J.A. Knip, 1794.)
The troubled setting did not stop Jacob and Christina from becoming the proud parents of ten children to further embellish Den Bosch: three times Anna Catharina (1789, 1791 and 1794), Anna Clara (1793), Elisabeth (1796), Georg Philippus (1798), Johann Philippus (1801), twice Jacobus (1803 and 1805) and Clara Elisabeth. Apart from Johann Philippus we know very little about them. Anna Clara (1793-1855) married Albertus Strikkers; sister Clara Elisabeth also reached maturity but died in 1840, as far as we know without marrying. With regard to the other children we must assume infant mortality. After a marriage of fifty years father Jacob died in 1838, his wife two years later, both in Den Bosch where they, according to the so-called “memories of successie”, at the time lived in the Kerkstraat close to the famous St. Jans Cathedral.
(Ill. 15: The descendants of Jacob Suijling (1753-1838).)
(Ill. 16: Records of the wedding announcement (in the Groote Kerk) and marriage (in the Lutheran Church) of Jacob Suijling (Jacop Seuling) and Christina Weller and the baptism of their oldest children in Den Bosch, between 1788 and 1796.)
(Ill. 17: Baptism of Johann Philippus Seuling and of his niece Anna Catharina Weller in Den Bosch, 1801.)
(Ill. 17’: Baptism of Jacobus Seuling and, again, a niece Christina Weller, Den Bosch, 1803.)
(Ill. 18: The inheritance of Jacob Suyling, deceased in Den Bosch on February 17, 1838. It did not amount to much: a house in the Kerkstraat, near the Markt in the center of town. Christina Weller “admits” she cannot write her name so she signs by drawing a cross. Daughters Anna Clara and Claara Elisa Bet and son Johannes Philiepus do much better. The spelling of the name Suijling is remarkable. The official text uses the “y” as does Johannes Philippus; the two daughters apply the “ij”, whereas to top it off the clerk entering Christina Weller’s name writes a single dot above the “y”.)
Following the French period Den Bosch lost its position as a strategic stronghold on the border and only kept a less important role as an interior fortification. During the French reign the army also was drastically restructured. Next to the standing army of professional soldiers, compulsory service was introduced. The citizen’s militia furthermore was transformed into a type of reserve army. The standing army thus could be reduced in size, with as a result a much smaller Den Bosch garrison.
(Ill.: Fair on the Markt in Den Bosch in 1811. In the background the houses on the South side of the Markt.)
Obviously the changes to society were significant. It was a much more “normal” economy where Johann Philippus Suijling had to make a living. He was baptized on July 19, 1801 in de Lutheran Church in Den Bosch and in 1826 married Francisque Véronique Gostelie. Born in Den Bosch in 1798, it is not clear whether she also grew up in that town. We know her mother moved in 1808 “met attestatie” to Someren. Little Francisque then was not even ten years old so she must have moved along.
(Ill. 19: Baptism of Francisque Veronique Gostelie in Den Bosch, 1798. The announcement is in French!)
She was the daughter of François Gostelie (Gosterlin) and Veronique Ormi, who were married on April 2, 1791 in Den Bosch. Her father probably was one of the famous Swiss mercenaries that gave rise to the saying: “No money, no Swiss.” In 1784 he served in the company of colonel Sturler. He must have fallen for the Dutch climate, the low horizons or the beautiful eyes of Véronique. Whatever the case, she was baptized in Den Bosch in 1771 as the daughter of Rudolf Ormi (Ormic) and his wife Maria Catharina Wijdeling (Weydeling). Father Rudolf was import. He was born in 1720 in the Swiss Maswalde but became a burgher of Den Bosch June 14, 1752. Mother Maria on the other hand not only was born – in 1727 – but also grew up in that city; she ultimately was buried there, in 1799, more than a year after her husband. It undoubtedly would have pleased the very Swiss father of François – Martinus Gostelin from the little village of Kreeweil (Kriechenwil) in the canton Bern where he was baptized in September 1726 and married in January 1755 with Elisabeth Fischer from Wyden (Neueneck) and where quite possibly his son grew up under the supervising eyes of stepmother Margritha Beninger – that his son found a suitable girl with a fair part Swiss blood. Grandparents Niklaus Gosteli from Schönenbuhl and Barbara Remund from Muhlenberg will have smiled from behind the small cloud over their native mountains.
(Ill.: As evident from the sophisticated wardrobes on this drawing by M. Mourot, Den Bosch was a city of regents, administrators and military; ca. 1830.)
Johann Philippus practiced an utterly remarkable combination of trades: he on the one hand was a master gold and silver smith and on the other a fish merchant. Could it be that in the recovering economy of the Den Bosch of the first part of the nineteenth century there was more to be gained in the more skilled trade? At this moment it still is one of the family riddles. The town itself became the seat of the provincial administration and the connections with the hinterland were greatly improved by the construction of the Steenweg (Brick Road) to Namur in Belgium and the digging of the Zuid-Willemsvaart. The Belgian secession of 1830 resulted in a temporary dip in the economic development but in following years the city grew into the regional center that its inhabitants, including many members of the Suijling family, learned to love.
Johann Philippus died in 1873, his spouse in 1882, both in Den Bosch. According to the Memorie van Successie thet then lived in the Kerkstraat at – what now is – number 33. In the meantime the depopulation of the inner city of Den Bosch that resulted from the reduction of the garrison was partially compensated by their marriage. Nine children were born to the happy couple: twins Johannes Philippus and Johanna Jacoba Fronica (1827), Rudolf Christoffel (1829), Willem Frederik (1831), Karel Christiaan (1833), Johanna Philippina (1835), Jacobus (Jacques) (1837), Jan (1839) and a second set of twins Maria Catharina and Christina Martina (1840).
This phase of family expansion largely coincided with a further discontinuity in
the military role of Den Bosch. During the period of the Belgian segregation, in the years 1830-1839, the fortress for a short period of time was situated at the frontline once again. Because of this conflict it then housed a considerable army. In 1830 the insurrectionists in Brussel unilaterally declared independence and despite major military and diplomatic efforts of king Willem I they managed to realize their objectives. The uprising of Belgium implied the ending of the Greater Netherlands’ union that in 1815 was instituted at the instigation of the international superpowers as part of a buffer zone around France. The failed campaign against the Belgian rebels had been so expensive however, that after 1839 it was necessary to make major cuts to the military budgets. Den Bosch had now definitely lost its military-strategic significance and the consequences were drastic. The military budget was reduced from 44 million guilders in 1833 to 12 million in 1840. After 1874 the lesser status was further underlined by the dismantling of the fortifications.
(Ill.’s 20 and 21: The Ten-Day Campaign[10] of 1831 brought much commotion to Den Bosch. In July 1831 prince Willem presented the Bossche Mobiele Schutterij its regimental flag before its departure to battle. In August 1834 the return of the heroes was celebrated on the Sonneveld, behind the Vughterpoort (right side); by M. Mourot)
Of the four surviving children, Johannes Philippus became a commissionary[11] in his birth place where in 1859 he married Johanna Adriana Leonarda[12] de Gids, from Eindhoven and the almost 30-year old daughter of Johannes de Gids and Catharina Henriëtta Weingartner. They had five children of which four reached maturity: Hendrik Philip, Jacob Philippus[13], Jacques Rudolph and Johanna Francisca.
(Ill. 22: The descendants of Johannes Philippus Franciscus Suijling (1827-1868).)
Of oldest son Hendrik Philip we know – apart from the year of his birth and his death, 1859 and 1881 – that he remained unmarried and was a school teacher in his place of birth. His brother Johannes Philippus[14] was born in 1862 and passed away in 1935 in The Hague. Again any further information currently still is missing.
Jacques Rudolph (1864 Den Bosch – 1935 Amsterdam) married Alida Catharina Steenhuisen (1867 – 1934 Apeldoorn). They had two daughters. Johanna Leonarda (1895 Apeldoorn – 1970 Apeldoorn) married with Werner L. van der Poll; Egberdina Alida (1898 Apeldoorn – 1979 Den Haag) with interior architect Willem Vreede (1898 Kraksäan (Probolinggo on the northeast coast of Java) – 1964 Den Bosch). He was the son of mr Jacobus Bernard Anton Vreede and Annette Marie Elisabeth Humme and became an interior architect by trade.
Johanna Francisca (1867 Den Bosch – 1924), finally, married Johannes Antoni Wagenvoorde (1859 – 1935 Velp).
(Ill.: The Markt in Den Bosch towards the end of the 19th century, by Jacques Carabain.)
Within the rapidly expanding household, Johannes Philippus was followed by his brother Rudolf Christoffel. Although he lived from 1829 to 1901, we as yet do not know any further details.
This changed with third son Willem Frederik Suijling, born in Den Bosch in 1831. He was a small business man and Mr. broodbakker (Master breadbaker) by trade and passed away in 1908 in Beek en Donk. Although a large number of children was common in those years, his descendancy – at a minimum eighteen – was exceptional. He first married Elisabeth van den Anker, once again from Den Bosch. From this union were born: Francisca Veronica (1857; married to Gerrit Catharinus Vermazen (1852) and the proud mother of ten children), Josina Johanna (1859 – 1937 Den Haag; married to coachmaker Jan Buitenweg (1850 – 1913)), Johanna Wilhelmina Philippina (1861 Den Bosch – 1884; married on May 7, 1883 to Hein Buitenweg; unhappily she passed away shortly thereafter, on January 31, 1884 after giving birth to a stillborn son), lung specialist Jacques Philippus[15] (1863 Den Bosch – 1935, married to Maria Anna Philippina Prey; without children) and Elisabeth Maria (Marie) (1864 Den Bosch – 1937 Den Haag; unmarried).[16] Willem Frederik apparently was quite active in the Den Bosch society. Late in 1883 we for instance see his name in the official records when he buys an house in Tilburg for the “Christelijke afgescheiden gemeente” (the Christian reformed church) in Den Bosch. At this staged it is unclear why this church would want to own property in Tilburg, at some 30 kilometers distance.
(Ill.: “De kleine Rooseboom” (The small rosetree), the house dating from 1615 in the Kerkstraat 35 in Den Bosch where Willem Frederik Suijling lived with his family from 1875 until 1893, next door to his younger brother Jacobus.)
(Ill. 23: The many descendants of Willem Frederik Suijling (1831-1908).)
(Ill. 24: The children from the first marriage of Willem Frederik Suijling with Elisabeth van den Anker: back row from the left Josina Johanna (born 1859) and Francisca Veronica (1857), front row Elisabeth Marie (1865), Jacobus Philippus (1863) and Anna Johanna (1861).)
(Ill. 25: To the left, Johanna Wilhelmina Philippina Suijling (1861-1884), the first spouse of Hendrik Buitenweg who, on the second photograph, is second from the left, enjoying the company of student (?) friends; to the right, drawing of Jacques Philippe Suijling (1862-1935) by “hoffotograaf” (royal photographer) Ziegler in The Hague.)
After his first wife died at age 36, Willem Frederik remarried in 1869 in nearby Vught with Marie Elizabeth Dannis (1848 Vught – 1897 Vught). It is doubtful that this union was welcomed with great delight within the Suijling family; the bride was the daughter of an unmarried maid servant and the Den Bosch society of those years almost certainly did not excel through open-mindedness. It did not stop the newly formed Suijling couple in their attempts to safeguard the family name for eternity nor from ensuring heavy use of the Kerkstraat where they in 1872 lived at number 35.
(Ill. 27: The Kerkstraat in Den Bosch around the turn of the 19th to 20th century.)
(Ill.: Towards the end of the 19th century the Den Bosch market remained an important center of trade for the regional farmers; ca. 1890.)
No less than another thirteen children were born from this second marriage: Elisabeth Marie (died young), Willem Hendrik Antoon (died young), Willem Frederik (1872), Henri-Philippe[17] (1874), “broodfabrikant” Johan Hendrik (1875 who probably succeeded his father in the bakery business; in 1915 we found the Broodfabriek W.F. Suijling at the Havensingel in Den Bosch), Wilhelmina Maria (1877 Den Bosch – 1943 Soesterberg; married to Gerrit van Laar), Maria Elisabeth (1878; died young), Johanna Philippina (Pien) (1879 – 1933; married to Hein Buitenweg, the widower of her halfsister Anna Johanna), Jacqueline Guillaumine (1881), Johanna Maria (1882; died young), Jacqueline Anna (Jacque) (1885 – 1961; married in 1918 in Singkap (Semarang) to Theodore Willem (Theo) van Schaik (1883 – 1950 Zeist; administrative inspector[18] of the Singkap Tin Maatschappij), Johanna Jacoba (Anna)(1887; married to Frederik Cochius (1876 – 1967 Oostvoorne)) and Josina Anna Marie (1888 Den Bosch – 1953 Zeist; unmarried). Perhaps it is due to this enormous wealth of offspring that this branch had considerable difficulty to scratch out a living during the economic depression of the second half of the 19th century. In his genealogical studies researcher Hanno de Iongh thus speaks of the “poor branch”.
(Ill. 28: The sisters Suyling: the daughters from the second marriage of Willem Frederik Suijling with Marie Elizabeth Dannis.)
The name Buitenweg pops up frequently in the family annals of this period; the ties must have been close indeed. The roots of this family are in Den Bilt where father David Buitenweg, coach maker, had not only sons Hein and Jan but also four other kids including daughter Helena. She married a Van Schaik and had son Theo who as indicated above married Jacque Suijling. To further cement the relationships, youngest daughter Wil also married into the Suijling family, with Karel Bouman, the grandson of Karel Christiaan Suijling through his daughter Johanna Philippina (Anna). Interestingly, Theo van Schaik upon his return from the Dutch Indies developed heart problems and was told by the doctor to relax by spending one hour per day writing. He thus put on paper a very extensive tale of his life in the form of a letter to his brother, a copy of which is saved[19].
(Ill. 29: Wedding portrait of Jacqueline Anna Suijling and Theodore Willem van Schaik; Semarang, February 1, 1918.)
(Ill. 30: To the left, family portrait of Anna Cochius-Suijling, husband Frits Sr. and son Frits Jr. in Oenarang; September 15, 1912; to the right, Johanna Jacoba Philippina Suijling (born 1886) who married Frederik Cochius.)
(Ill. 31: Wedding portrait of Hendrik Buitenweg and his second bride Johanna Philippina Suijling, together with the two children from his first marriage David (left) and Willem Frederik. The picture was taken at the “carrosseriefabriek” in between Maartensdijk and De Bilt; July 11, 1901.
(Ill. 32: The Buitenweg-Suijling family in the front yard at the “carrosseriefabriek” Buitenweg in De Bilt. From the left: son Willem Frederik Buitenweg, mother Josina Johanna Suijling and her sister Johanna Philippina Suijling, brother in law Hendrik Buitenweg, second sister Elisabeth Maria Suijling, daughter Elisabeth Maria Buitenweg, daughter in law Jacoba Carolina Mourits and her husband David Buitenweg; circa 1924.)
Of the brothers, Willem Frederik, Henri Philippe and Johan Hendrik had male descendants. Henri Philippe was born in 1874, obviously in Den Bosch. He married Johanna Wilhelmina Ida Buenen (born 1876, Zutphen). They settled in and around Venlo, where both passed away in Blerick in, respectively, 1947 en 1964. The couple had five chidren: Willem, Adelheid, Marie, Catharina Lydia Marie, and Steven.
Wilhelmus Stephanus Frederikus, as was the official name of the oldes son, was born in 1900 in Boxtel. He married however in Blerick with Elfrieda Leufgen and remained there until his death in 1978. They had a son, R. Suyling, probably still living in or around Venlo, and a daughter Anny who married C. Titulaer and lives in Hengelo.
Daughter Adelheid married H. Frie in Amsterdam. At this time we know very little on their whereabouts. This is even more true with regard to daughter Marie. Perhaps she died very young. Their sister Catharina Lydia Wilhelmina was born in 1907 and died in 1957 in Blerick.
Steven – more precisely: Stephanus Henri Marie – was born in 1914. He married shortly after Liberation Day, on June 26, 1945, in Venlo with Anna Maria Huberdina van den Dolder (1918) from the larger twin city at the other side of the river Meuse. They had four children. Henri Petrus Stephanus (Harry) was born in 1946 in Venlo. Huberdina Ida Josephien (Bea) (1949) married Dé Smets. Wilhelmus Joseph Antonius (Wim) saw the light in 1953. The youngest one, finally, Josephien Adelheid Johanna (1957), is married with E. Hoogenhorst from Venlo.
Johan Hendrik was born in 1875 and died in 1940 in Rotterdam. He married twice, first with Marie Julienne Henriëtte (Julienne) Troost (1878 Grave – 1909 Nijmegen) and subsequently with Eliza Anna Christina (Elise) Beekman (1885 Amsterdam – 1950 Bloemendaal). A son Johan Hendrik was born in 1905 in Dordrecht, who in 1936 married Cornelia Brandenburg (1913). They in turn had daughters Dini (1938; married in 1962 in Rotterdam with Jan Zwarts) and Joke (1942; married in 1968 also in Rotterdam with Arnold Klootwijk) and son Johan Hendrik. Father Johan Hendrik died in 1992 in Alphen aan de Rijn. His son of the same name, born on April 23, 1945 during the last days of the war, in 1968 married Kitty van der Wiel. As far as we now know they had two daughters, Sietske (1969 Leeuwarden) and Hedwig (1972 Rotterdam). From the second marriage of Johan Hendrik with Elise Beekman were born Maria, who passed away very young, and Helena (1911 Utrecht). The latter married in 1932 with the pharmacist Arie Pieter van der Ham (1907 Haarlem – 1970 Overveen).
More is known on the descendants of the oldest surviving son Willem Frederik. He was born in 1872 in Den Bosch and owned a bakery. Professionally he amongst others sued Wessanen because of damages following from the ontbinding van overeenkomsten tot levering van wheat flour. He does not play kids’ games or he is, alternatively, extremely angry for he carries his law suit up to the Supreme Court of The Netherlands where he ultimately loses[20]. At the social side, Willem Frederik – known to his friends as “Dikke Willem” (Fat Willem) – was the chairman of the Oranjevereniging that organized the festivities celebrating birthdays and weddings of the royal family in Den Bosch. Family lore still retells how in the annual celebration of the Koninginnedag (Queen’s birthday), he would always walk first in the parade.
(Ill. 33: Celebration of the 25th anniversary of Willem Frederik Suijling as chairman of the Oranjevereniging of Den Bosch; 1930.[21])
In 1900 Willem Frederik marries Sophie Sluyter (1878 Rotterdam – 1932 Den Bosch), the daughter of Nicolaas Johannes Wilhelmus Sluyter and Geessien Haak. Their oldest son Johannes Wilhelmus (1901 Den Bosch – 1965 Soest) in 1926 marries Mathilda Clara van Hasselt (1901 Den Haag – 1991 Oss). From this union was born Marjolijn Suijling (1943), in 1967 married with Frans Hermans and living in Oss. She was the source of most information on this branch of the Suijling family. Willem Frederik and Sophie had two further children. Marie Sophie (1903 Den Bosch – 1995 Waalre) marries in December 1926 with Bernardus van Noort (1896 Soerabaja – deceased on July 8, 1945 in Pakan Baroe on Java). He was the son of Cornelis van Noort and Wilhelmina Johanna Maria van Bohemen and served as a public health officer in the Dutch Indies. Wilhelmus Johannes (1905 Den Bosch – 1927) remained unmarried.
(Ill. 34: The descendants of Willem Frederik Suijling(1872-1935).)
The second surviving son of Johann Philippus and Francisque is the source of a large number of descendants, according to researcher Hanno de Iongh the “rich branch” of the family. Karel Christiaan Suijling was born in Den Bosch in 1833 and also died there in 1904. Remarkably little is known on him. One of the very few piecees of information is hear-say fronm the internet where an otherwise unknown informant reported that quite possibly he was the proud owner of a collection of birds, including the rare species of the vorkstaartplevier, caught in the vicinity of Den Bosch.
(Ill.: Karel Christiaan Suijling (1833-1904) (painted from a photograph by Piet Slager) and Marie Henriëtte Eggers (1841-1907)(drawn by her son Frans Suijling, 1888).)
We also know that on April 22, 1862 he married Marie Henriëtte Eggers. The bride was born in 1841 in Amsterdam as the daughter of Johann Andreas Eggers and Gesina Zimmer and passed away in 1907 in Den Bosch. Despite their German names father Johann and mother Gesina were born in Amsterdam in 1800 and 1798, respectively. They both also died in that town, in 1860 and 1856. Their parents probably emigrated during the French period to the Dutch capital where the German settler colony must have celebrated the wedding of Johann and Gesina on June 17, 1831 with much delight. The parents of the bridegroom were Eggert Eggers and Gerken Hynders (Ihnken), both born in 1765 in good Lutheran nests in, respectively, Neuende and Wiarden in a region with the as yet mysterious name Jever. His grandparents were Johann Andreas Eggers and Aalke Margaretha Weiland, hers Juik(?) Lubben Hinrichs and Nele Aden. Even the traces of still more distant ancestors have not escaped researcher Hanno de Iongh. Aalke’s father was named Meent Behrends Weiland; that of Nele was Jacob Aden. Eggert and Gerken were married much earlier, in 1797, in Amsterdam and they remained there until their death in 1840 and 1831.
(Ill.: Johann Andreas Eggers (1800-1860).)
The mother of the bride carried the utterly Dutch name Anna Catharina Maria Elisabeth Hartmans, but was indeed born in 1765 in Minden near Hannover, Germany. In 1790 she married Heinrich (Hendrik) Zimmer, copperworker and from 1791 a citizen of Amsterdam. Like her he was an immigrant, in his case from Oberweiler in the duchy Salm; it would appear he emigrated with his entire family for father Johannes Zimmer died after 1793 in Amsterdam. His son was – remarkable in this outspokenly Lutheran family – Nederlands Hervormd and probably has accommodated himself to the religious preferences of his in-laws. He did not see Gesina grow up for long; in September 1807 he passed away, according to the records from fever. Mother Anna Hartmans also did not participate in the wedding celebrations of her daughter. She died in December 1832, a few days before Christmas.
(Ill.: Church property in Den Bosch at the end of the 19th century. The Suijling family attended the Lutheran church, a little southeast of the Sint Jan cathedral that dominates the city sky line.)
Karel Christiaan was by trade a Master Carpenter, macon and architect. In 1869 the family lived in the Waterstraat, once again in the center of Den Bosch in a house that stood between the current numbers 18 and 20 but has since been erased. We also know that their first two children died young. From there on the family expansion took place at a greatly increased pace.
(Ill.: The stately home of the Slager family in the Waterstraat 33 in Den Bosch, as painted by Frans Slager. The house was located directly adjacent to nr. 31 where between 1875 and 1908 Karel Christiaan lived with his family. Father P.M. Slager (1841-1912) was a well-known painter and four of his 10 children successfully followed in his tracks: Piet Jr. (1871-1938), Frans (1876-1953), Jeanette (1881-1945) and Corry (1883-1927). The house was destructed in 1966 and replaced by parking that, as illustrated by today’s photograph, took away much of the grandeur of the surroundings.)
(Ill. 35: The descendants of Karel Christiaan Suijling (1833-1904).)
Oldest daughter Henriëtte (1867 – 1925 Den Bosch) remained unmarried. Youngest daughter Johanna Philippina (Anna) (1870 – 1945 Amsterdam), however, in 1899 married Carolus Gijsbertus Johanna Maria (Karel) Bouman (1858 Dordrecht – 1940 Den Bosch), the son of Carolus Leonardus Bouman and Johanna van Mierlo. She had two children: Karel (died 1960) and Emille (Miel) (deceased?).
Son August Karel Christiaan (1869 Den Bosch – 1930 Vught) was a real estate broker and architect. Many of the buildings – houses,a school, an ofice building – that currently are fetarured on the list of protected monuments in “Het Zand” stem from his work. Het Zand was the city expansion towards the West that featured the Station designed by Eduard Cuijpers. By municipal ordinance all further construction had to be in lign with his design. The Stationsweg and its surroundings currently still are proof of the professional qualities of architect Suijling and his coworkers. He most probably had his office in the Verwerstraat in the center of Den Bosch where in 1915 the telephone number 157 is registered to the name of “K.C. Suijling”, highly likely the name of his father’s company.
(Ill.: To the left, the crown on the municipal expansion plan Het Zand was the Drakenfontein (Dragon’s fountain) that was initiated in 1903. August Karel Christiaan Suijling and his family undoubtedly were part of the celebration; to the right, the former head-office of the PNEM (Provinciale Noord-Brabantse Energie Maatschappij) on the Koningsweg 66 in Den Bosch was designed by Architectenbureau Suyling, Van Teffelen en De Nijs and constructed in 1921.)
In 1900 he married in Vianen with Woutera Jacoba Martina Verkerk and settled in the extraordinary “house with the pillars” in de Taalstraat in Vught, just south of Den Bosch. Born in 1876 in Vianen as the daughter of Jacobus Verkerk and Gerarda Petronella Draayer, Woutera passed away in 1951 in Vlissingen.
(Ill’s: Top: family portrait of Woutera Jacoba Martina Verkerk, standing at left, Vianen, about 1895; and bottom: wedding picture of August Karel Christiaan Suijling and Woutera Jacoba Martina Verkerk, Vianen, 1900.)
(Ill. 36: The Taalstraat in Vught in 1914. The second building at the left side is the “house with the pillars” where August Karel Christiaan Suijling and his family lived. Posing outside for the picture are at the left, underneath the street light, the housemaid and the charlady of “gemeentesecretaris” Van Hooff. At the right, with straw hat, is the strict master Van der Pas of the public school who probably also taught the sisters Guus and Miep Suijling. Standing opposite the Suijling residence , in shirtsleeves and leaning on his delivery tricycle, is blacksmith Engels in front of the gate to his workshop. On the left side in the far back is the upholsterer[22] Pieter Vriend.)
Two daughters were born from their marriage: Augusta Maria Gerarda (Guus) (1901 Den Bosch – 1978 Leiden) and Marie Henriëtte (Miep) (1903 Den Bosch – 1973 Leeuwarden).
(Ill.: Miep and Guus Suijling, dressed up for an unknown celebration.)
Guus was very young – sweet sixteen – when she was engaged to Cornelis (Kees) Jansen (later: Jansen van Wigmont) (1895 Wageningen – 1981 Voorschoten)[23]. They married on September 4, 1923.
(Ill.: Wedding picture of Guus Suijling en Kees van Wigmont Jansen. The bridesmaids are sister Miep (left) and Katy Deys; September 4, 1923.)
Her younger sister in 1929 exchanged wedding vows with Bernhardus Dorhout. The bridegroom was born in 1901 in Huize Vreewijk in Drachten as the son of Lambertus Dorhout and Leopoldine Freyling. In later years Miep was curator of the Old Burgerweeshuis and Gebbema Gasthuis in Leeuwarden and also a member of the board of the Diaconessenhuis in that town. Her husband was from 1929 until 1942 attorney in the Frisian capital. From 1939 he also served as substitute justice of the peace before switching over to the judiciary in 1942. Until 1946 he was kantonrechter in Sneek, thereafter judge and ultimately until 1971 vice-president of the district court in Leeuwarden and magistrate of the juvenile court for Friesland. He also held many positions outside the legal environment; thus he served as curator of the Ritske Boelema Gasthuis and the Nieuw Stads Weeshuis and chairman of the Stichting Practische Hulp. He passed away in 1974 in Grouw.
Karel Christiaan and his spouse had a fourth child: Franciscus Johannes (Frans) (1872 Den Bosch – 1938 Vught). He married Johanna Hendrika (Driek) Pitlo (1870 Tiel – 1945 Heemstede), the daughter of Lambertus Pitlo and Metta van Wijk. Again the genealogical studies of Hanno de Iongh allow us to look a few generations deep into the origins of this family.
Mother Metta stems from Johannes Barten van Wijk, born in 1800 in Wadenoijen where he and his wife Hendrina van Meenen from Drumpt (1807) made their living in farming. On the other side the family tree starts with Baltus Willemsz. Pitlo (Pettelo), who 1689 joined the Hervormde church in Tiel but in 1720 had risen to “kleinburger” and soldier under the compagnie “Vuurroers” of major Balthazar Jacot (garrison) “ Here in the regiment of brigadier Fredrik Vegelin” (“alhier in het regiment van brigadier Frederik Vegelin”). In 1704 he married Catharina van Dalen, “jongedochter” from Gorinchem. Their son Jacobus became shoemaker in Tiel where he also died in 1783. From his marriage with Lamberdina te Winckel a son Lambertus was born in 1755. It remained Tiel for and after in this generation: from birth through marriage with Elizabeth van Mill until death in 1827. Their son Jacobus Lambertus was born around 1795 and died in 1879. He was a blacksmith by trade and in 1821 married in nearby Kesteren with Jantje Johanna Petersen. They were the grandparents of Johanna Hendrika whose father Lambertus, born in 1823 in Tiel, also was a smith. In 1867 he married Metta van Wijk, born in 1834 in Wadenoijen. Lambertus passed away in 1873 in – where else? – Tiel.
Frans and Driek lived in Den Bosch where he joined forces with his cousin Karel Christiaan in their engineering and construction company. He either held office or lived on the Oude Dieze, the little river that winds through the center of the dity. The couple had a son and a daughter. Karel Lambertus (1899 Den Bosch – 1923) remained single. Meta Marie (1901 Den Bosch – 1970 Haarlem) married in 1924 with Leendert Smit (1898 Den Haag – 1976 Blaricum). He was the son of Hendrik Smit and Cornelia Verwey and over time developed into senior management positions at Philips Eindhoven. They had three children: Joeke (1925), Karel (1926, better known as Jub) who later called himself Suijling[24], and Hester (1930). Following a divorce Meta remarried Gerrit Sijbrand Endt, timber merchant in Vogelenzang (1897 Zaandam – 1966 Vogelenzang). It was his third marriage; he was married before with Josina Kooiman and Margot Eelkje Hennie Meijlink. He was a son of Hendrik Endt and Johanna Eliza Everdina Dekker.
(Ill.: Meta Suijling, painted by the father of her children, André Verhorst (1889-1977.))
(Ill. 37: Meta Suijling – standing third from the left – and her offspring. Grandmother Meta stands between her daughters Hes and Joeke. On the right hand side are Jub and his spouse Mieke. Before the feet of his mother crouches son in law Hannes with next to him his son Hanno, the chief genealogist of the Suijling family.)
Joeke Smit was born in Hengelo (Ov.). In 1949 she married Hannes de Iongh from Hillegersberg. He is the son of Johan Hendrik de Iongh and Nelly Elisabeth Endt and was born in 1922. Between 1952 and 1982 he worked as a chemical engineer at the Unilever Research Laboratories (URL) in Vlaardingen. Joeke passed away on September 28, 1988 in Vlaardingen. Based on an enormous effort and a superior memory for dates and places, her oldest son Hanno has grown into the chief genealogist of the Suijling family. Second son Sander distinguished himself within this family of remarkably little athletic inclination by twice finishing the Elfstedentocht, the famous 200-kilometer skating race in the north of The Netherlands.
Jub was born in 1926 in Eindhoven and worked amongst others in Versailles, Vught, Heemstede and Vogelenzang. In 1955 he changed his name to Suyling-Smit; he signed as Karel Suyling. Although a true autodidact, he in 1962 received the prestigious Frans Duwaerprijs for graphic design. In 1952 he married Hermine Elize (Mieke) Salm, the daughter of Hermanus Salm and Elisabeth Catherine Companjen and born in 1931 in Aerdenhout.
(Ill.’s 38a and b: Characteristic advertisements by Karel Suyling for his favorite automobile.)
Their son Peik Suyling-Smit, born in 1954, by now is an industrial designer in Amsterdam. He is married to the photographer Gerda Hahn from Tilburg, the daughter of Paulus Hahn and Gerretdina Wilhelmina Tydeman. Together they have two: Vita (1990) and Gaia Nanna(1992). Both daughters of Jub and Mieke are married. Judith (1957 Bloemendaal) in 1985 exchanged wedding vows with Peter Edward Boersma, the son of Edward Boersma and Wilhelmina Gerardina Trip. Janneke (1960 Heemstede) in 1988 married Mari Frederik Andriessen, son of Mari Pieter Nicolaas Andriessen and Maria Elizabeth Heeres.
Youngest daughter Hes (1930 Eindhoven – 1990 Haarlem) in 1950 married Frederik Lodewijk (Frits) Botman from Haarlem, ten years older than herself. He was the son of Richardus Johannes Botman and Amelia Jansen. Following a divorce in 1959 she remarried Guus Graanboom. A number of children was born from these marriages; as yet we miss all further detail.
The third surviving son of Johann Philippus was Jacobus Suijling (1837 Den Bosch – 1891 Den Bosch). A fish merchant by trade, he married in 1868 in Dordrecht with Marie Pieternella Baggerman (1840 Driel – 1909 Den Bosch). She was the daughter of Jan Baggerman and Wilhelmina Trugg and worked as a maid in Den Bosch. From this union sprung: Johannes Philippus (1869), Rudolf Christoffel (1871), Marie Francisca (1872 – 1957; married with Herman Pieter Welsch 1871 – 1922; three daughters still alive) and Wilhelmina Louise (1874 – 1916; married with brother in law Johan Hendrik (Jan) Welsch 1867 – 1941, no children). The two husbands of the ladies were sons of Frans Lodewijk Welsch.
(Ill. 39: The descendants of Jacobus Suijling (1837-1891).)
(Ill.: “Den Rooseboom” (The rosetree), dating from 1614 where Jacobus Suijling lived and ran his fishshop in the Kerkstraat 33a, b and c from 1875 till 1895. The shop apparently was extended to include “De gulden Arent” (The gilded eagle) in the Kerkstraat 31. Older brother Willem Frederik, with his large family, lived next door at nr. 35. )
(Ill. 40: The Kerkstraat in the center of Den Bosch around the year 1900. Could it be that the fish shop with the appealing text “Oesters-Zalm-Kreeften” (Oisters-Salmon-Lobster) above the windows belonged to Jacobus Suijling?)
The two sons continue the family tree. Johannes Philippus Suijling (1869 Den Bosch – 1962 Den Haag) married in 1903 in Arnhem with Sophia Anna de Graaff (1881 Teteringen – 1946 Den Haag), the daughter of Diederik de Graaff and Anna Catharina van Waardhuizen. A legal expert of international reputation, he studied in Utrecht, Parijs and Berlijn before obtaining his doctor’s degree – cum laude – in 1893 in Utrecht. After a period as judge in Den Bosch he became a senior official at the Ministry of Justice. In 1907 followed his assignment as extraordinary professor in public international law in Leiden, in 1911 a normal professorate in civil law and private international law at the University of Utrecht. In 1929 he resigned from this position in order to dedicate himself fully to his scientific studies. According to experts the many parts from his extensive work on civil law, named “Introduction”[25], present unorthodox and innovative but in general highly insightful perspectives. He made extensive use of German theories to understand Dutch approaches to civil law in which he not merely used the written law as his point of departure but emphasized jurisprudence as the foundation for law.
Johannes Philippus was known as an extraordinary teacher who often broke away from beaten paths to pursue avenues that were left aside by the mainstream researchers of his time. As a result, for a period of time he was something of a scientific outcast. Recently, however, he has received much of the recognition that earlier was withheld. Jointly with the eminent experts in the field of private law Scholten and Meijers, he now is considered to be one of the founders of modern thinking in this field.[26]
(Ill.: Drawing of Professor J.P. Suyling in an in memoriam in the studentalmanac of the U.V.S.V. (University of Utrecht Sorority); 1962/3.)
(Ill. 41: Portraits of – from top left to bottom right – Johannes Philippus Suijling (1869-1962) and his daughter Maria Anna (“Cousin Mary”) and Wilhelmina Louise (Wine) and son Johannes Diederik.)
More is known about the descendants of Prof. J.P. Suijling.
His daughter Maria Anna (1904 Den Bosch – 1994 Amsterdam; unmarried) was known in the family as “Cousin Mary”. She was a lawyer in Amsterdam.
In 1938, son Johannes Diederik (1906 Den Bosch, profession unknown) married Frieda Corrie Adriane (Frederike) Fehrmann (1909 Rotterdam). In the Second World War he was commander of the Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten (B.S.), the organized resistance during the German occupation of The Netherlands, where he was given the code name “De egel” (The hedge hog). During the fall of 1944 he was captured and emprisoned, along with some ten others, in the heavily armed Willem III barracks in Apeldoorn. Following a failed attempt to free them, he was executed on December 2, 1944 just outside the military complex. Daughter Anneke Paulina (1939) married Jan Kuiper (1940 Hulshorst) and now lives in Heerde. She was the source of numerous data.
The third child in the household of professor Johannes Philippus was Wilhelmina Louise (1907 Den Bosch). She passed away in 1997 in Amsterdam. In 1934 she married mr. Johan Christiaan Gustave Verspijck Mijnssen (1906 Den Haag) who later became general manager of the Hollandse Voorschotbank in Haarlem. He died on March 18, 1945 while emprisoned in Siegburg, Germany. In 1946 she remarried with Johannes Hendrik van der Meulen; in 1954 this couple was divorced.
Rudolf Christoffel Suijling (1871 Den Bosch – 1954 Ede) was a general practicioner by profession. In 1898 he exchanged wedding vows with Hillegina de Raaf (1870 Middelburg – 1938 Ede). From their marriage were born a son Jacobus (1900 Hattum – 1963 Villers-Boeage in Normandy) and two daughters, Jantine (1902 Hattum) and Hilda Maria (1905 Heteren – 1993 Epe).
In 1930, Jacobus in turn married in Paris with Frenchwoman Remielde Henriëtte Lavaivre (1901 Parijs – 1971 Apeldoorn). The male line of the Suijling family continues through sons Rudolf Harold (1931 Geldermalsen) and Jacobus Christoffel (1935 Den Haag). The first married in 1964 with Elizabeth de Wijs (1930 Zutphen); the second in 1959 with Hannie van den Oever (1934 Rotterdam).
Sister Jantine married Gerard Bastiaan Remont de Graaf. He passed away in 1988, 84 years old.
Hilda Maria, finally, studied chemistry in Utrecht. In 1931 she married Johannes Hendrik Alexander Offerhaus (1901 Utrecht – 1962 Ede), the son of Henricus Offerhaus and his first wife Emile Dumont, who from 1931 until 1951 was a general practicioner[27] in Ede.
Finally, Johannes Philippus and Rudolf Christoffel also had two younger sisters, Maria Francisca (1872-1957) and Wilhelmina Louise (1874-1916) who married to brothers Herman Pieter and Johan Hendrik Welsch. The Welsch brothers were the grandsons of Frans Lodewijk and Anna Offers and hence distant cousins of Wilhelmina Helena Offers who became associated with the Suijling family when her daughter Mathilda Clara in 1901 married Johannes Wilhelmus Suijling, one of the many grandsons of Willem Frederik.
[1] (In 1777 the Alten-Buseck register shows that at Brandgasse 112, in the large mansion Brandsburg, lived Herr Major von Buseck “in Holländischen Diensten”. Could it be Major von Buseck was a professional military serving in Den Bosch and that it was he who got Johann Jacob excited about emigrating to that city? Could be worthwhile to check the Den Bosch archives.)
[2] For the historical underpinning of this part of the Suijling story, extensive use was made of the book “’s-Hertogenbosch, De geschiedenis van een Brabantse stad 1629-1990” (Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle/Stadsarchief ‘s-Hertogenbosch; 1997).
[3] In Dutch: poorterschap.
[4] In Dutch: “vaderlandsche sociëteiten”.
[5] In Dutch: Oranjekokarde.
[6] In Dutch: “Donderdag den 8 November, mag men zeggen, was de laatst dag van Welvaart voor onze stad en het volgend dagligt zoude haaren bloei … niet meer aanschouwen.”
[7] In Dutch: kabeljauw, levend of gezouten, schelvis, wijting, schol, spiering, rog, tarbot, heilbot.
[8] In Dutch: visbanken.
[9] (Could be worthwhile to check whether Jacob and his son Johann Philippus are mentioned in this so-called “rentenboek” of the “blokmeesters”.)
[10] In Dutch: Tiendaagse Veldtocht.
[11] In Dutch: commissionair.
[12] (According to Rens Hartman: Johanna Anna Catharina de Gids.)
[13] (According to Rens Hartman also: Dina Johanna Maria; check.)
[14] (Story is mixed up; persons don’t fit.)
[15] (Earlier the same name plus associated data popped up with Jacob Philippus, the son of older brother Johannes Philippus. Only the birth year differs; in his most recent text Hanno suggest the year 1862 instead of 1863. Which one of the cousins was the happy husband of Maria Prey? Hanno now opts for the line Johannes. It would seem some verification would be appropriate, however.)
[16] Photographs of the Buitenweg family were kindly made available by Mrs. Slob-Buitenweg, Anijsgaarde 2, 3436 HL Nieuwegein (tel. 030-6031949).
[17] (Different source (probably notes of the Venlo relatives) suggests: Henri Johann, born January 6, 1874.)
[18] In Dutch: administratie-inspecteur.
[19]Source: Mr. and Mrs. Slob-Buitenweg in Nieuwegein
[20] The sentence of the Hoge Raad is published in Nederlandse Jurisprudentie 1920, 70.
[21] Source: Stadsarchief Den Bosch.
[22] In Dutch: behanger en stoffeerder.
[23] See section 7a.
[24] (It is currently not clear whether this was an official change of name. The magazine Citroën Dynamique of May 1997 includes a long interview with this successful graphic designer.)
[25] In Dutch: “Inleiding”
[26] The 1962 in memoriam in the student almanac of the U.V.S.V. paints a picture (in Dutch) that vividly describes his highly personal approach:
“Een niet heel grote, maar uiterst boeiende gestalte, met levendige gebaren, levendige ogen, levendige stem, die in korte zinnen van uiterste helderheid ook de niet-ijverigen onder zijn gehoor wist te pakken en mee te nemen. Een groot docent, die wist, dat vaak een met humor gekozen voorbeeld beter beklijft dan een abstract geformuleerde volzin. Een hoogst begaafd en boeiend mens.
Sedert het eerste decennium van deze eeuw hebben drie grote juristen en leermeesters, tevens sterk uiteenlopende karakters, gedurende dertig, veertig jaren in ons land de wetenschap van het burgerlijk recht beheerst: Scholten, Meijers en Suyling. Van die drie is Suyling als laatste heengegaan. Hij was als wetenschappelijke figuur misschien wel de meest gecompliceerde en zeker niet de het minst tot de verbeelding sprekende persoonlijkheid.
In de voorrede tot den tweeden druk van deel I van zijn monumentale Inleiding sprak hij over “deze van alle historie en alle philosophie of pseudo-philosophie gespeende baldzijden.” Recht is het positieve wettenrecht. De wet dient uit en met de wet te worden uitgelegd. Maar die uitlegging was dan vaak een zó vrije, dat velen ervan rilden. Het klonk allemaal vreemd en werd te weinig gewaardeerd in een periode, waarin de historische interpretatie wellicht wat eenzijdig gehanteerd werd. Heel wat minder vreemd op den dag van heden, nu de Hoge Raad meer en meer gaat opereren met “een redelijke wetstoepassing” en “het systeem van de wet” en aldus soms tot niet minder vrije interpretaties komt.
En verwierp Suyling philosophie en rechtsgeschiedenis eigenlijk wel? Het in 1893 verdedigde proefschrift, op grond waarvan hij cum laude den doctorsgraad verwierf, was resultaat van een door zijn promotor en ambstvoorganger Hamaker aangemoedigd rechtshistorisch onderzoek: De statuten-theorie in Nederland gedurende de XVIIde eeuw. Verder: wie de oraties, de rectorale rede van 1926 en vooral ook de Inleiding aandachtig leest, zal bemerken, hoezeer aan de korte, heldere, levendige zinnen ten gorndslag liggen een onafhankelijk, doch daarom niet minder diep, wijsgerig denken; en een gedegen historische kennis. Waarvan den lezer echter alleen het resultaat in stellige uitspraken wordt medegedeeld.”
[27] In Dutch: huisarts.