b.5. Helena VAN DER WESTHUIZEN, ged. 27/06/1683

b.5.  Helena ged. 27/06/1683, Kaapstad, oorl. voor 1703 x 23/11/1698 met Heinrich SEGERS, geb. c. 1675, oorl. 1703, van Ochtrop, Westfale, Duitsland.   

Helena was die dogter van Pieter Jansz van der Westhuizen en Maria Hendricksz Winkelhausen.

(https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/f/fc/Olivier_Name_Study-22.jpg)

Cape Town Baptisms 1683
Written by transcribed by Richard Ball and Corney Keller. Posted in Cape Town Baptisms 1665-1695
Eodem dito (27 Jun.)
Helena
Pieter van Westhuisen en Maria Hendricks
(see previous entry - a line, and from the photographed photocopy I cannot judge its
possible contemporaneity with the entries, from these parents to the witnesses in the
previous entry suggests a mistake was made and the witnesses should be:)
Margarita Hoefnagels ien Catharina Meier

(https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/4/43/Segers-18-1.jpg)

Cape Town Marriages 1698
Written by transcribed by Corney Keller. Posted in Cape Town Marriages 1696 to 1712
23 Nov: 1698
Hendrick Segers geboortig van Ochtrup
jongm: met Helena van Westhuijsen
geboortig vande Caap de G: Hoop jongd:

Op 16 jarige ouderdom gee sy geboorte aan haar dogter Maria Segers op 25/04/1700, Drakenstein.  Helena Segers sou later die skoonmoeder geword het van die bekende Nicolaas van den Heuvel, wat in 1719 die plaas Bethlehem van haar broer Nicolaas gekoop het.  

Woon Drakenstein.  Helena moes al voor 27/07/1703 dood gewees het, want haar dogter Maria Zegers 3 jr. erf uit Maria Winckelhuijsen se testament.

Kinders:

c.1.  Maria SEGERS, geb. 25/06/1700, ged. 25/04/1700, oorl. 1746 x Nicolaas van den Heuvel, ged. 15/02/1690, Amsterdam xx 08/05/1735, Stellenbosch met Olof de Wet geb. 15/11/1699, ged. 15/11/1699, Kaapstad, oorl. 23/01/1762, Stellenbosch, s.v. Jacobus de Wet en Christina Bergh. 2k.

Cape Town Baptisms 1700
Written by transcribed by Corney Keller.
25 April
een kind van Hendrik Zegers en Helena
van Westhuysen, onder getuyge van Cornelis
Nieuwkerken en Maria vander Westhuysen gent:
- Maria

BACKGROUND In 1685 
Commissioner Adriaan van Reede tot Drakenstein instituted the office of Landdrost, with its numerous civil and judiciary responsibilities. In 1687 the Drostdy on the “Island of Stellenbosch” was built as a double-storey, rebuilt as a single storey in 1709 and then it burnt down in Dec. 1710 with most of the town buildings, including the church (1687). The Drostdy was only rebuilt by 1719, and the landdrost stayed in a Kolonieshuis for the interim period. Nicolaas served as landdrost from 16.5.1713 to 15.5.1717 at Stellenbosch. Van den Heuwel, baptized on 15.2.1690 in Amsterdam, stepped ashore at the Cape on 31.12.1709 as ensign in the VOC. He was particularly bright and erudite, with great writing skills. Promoted to Orphan Master and then lieutenant, he was appointed at the age of 23 as Landdrost at Stellenbosch. A few months later he and Marice Segers (25.4.1700), she at the tender age 13, “married” on 26.11.1713, presumably in the old wine-cellar of Jan Botma, reused as a church since 1711. 

Maria was the daughter of Helena van de Westhuizen (brother to Claas) and Heindrich Segers.  Heinrich Segers of Ochtrup in Westphalia, Germany, was already by 1692 a freeburgher at the Cape. In 1696 he was at Drakenstein, and became acquainted with the Van de Westhuizens, and married Helena on 23.11.1698, and only one daughter, Maria Seegers (sic) was born on 25.6.1700. For some reason Heinrich died early in 1703, leaving the widow with the young child. Did both of them stay with her brother at Bethlehem? This was highly likely and this is where Nicolaas van den Heuvel would have met them in 1713. Why did Maria (at 13) marry Nicolaas, but they only had children when she was 18? Did something ontoward happen and marriage vows had to be taken? Did she stay in the care of her mother at Bethlehem till she was 19? We shall probably never know, but the two families were quite close. The couple did not have children till she was nineteen, and then they had 7 children between 1719 and 1730. 1. Elizabeth Catharina (17.09.1719) 2. Helena Maria (25.05.1721) 3. Johanna Petronella (30.05.1723) 4. Aletta Hendrina (25.02.1725) x c.1745 Barend van Niekerk 5. Margaretha Anna (24.11.1726) 6. Anna Elizabeth (25.09.1728) 7. Nicolaas (03.12.1730) Though Nicolaas lived in a Kolonieshuis from 1713-1717, he may have moved to Parel Vallei between 1717-1719. Otherwise he stayed also at Bethlehem with his young wife. When Maria was pregnant, Nicolaas then bought Bethlehem (sic) from Claas van de Westhuizen and it was registered on 24.4.1719 (T.1288), as “Hofsteede genaamt Betlehem” (sic), everything on it “aard en nagelvast” for a low ƒ1000, “den laasten penning bij den eersten”. Claas again signs with a cross [ + ]. What happened to Claas van de Westhuizen? Did he possibly act as foreman for Van den Heuvel’s farms at Parel Vallei and Paardevlei? The tax-rolls indicate that in 1725 Claas had moved to the Cape Town district. Via the select computerized tax-rolls, I could locate Van den Heuvel only once, and that in 1723. As he owned besides Bethlehem also Parel Vallei and Paardevlei, it is uncertain whether the produce are from one or all three farms. His male labourers (slaves) are not mentioned, but he would have owned a number (10?), as well as 3 female and 5 youngsters. For 15 horses a stable was required and the 83 cattle and 420 sheep would have been spread over the farms. Pigs manure was good fertilizer for the soil. It looks as though the 25 000 vines could be from a single farm (Bethlehem), but the exceptional 40 leaguers of wine are just too good to be true for one farm (1000 vines = 1 leaguer). Similarly, the corn production (20 : 250) was exceptional. From the 4 muskets we can infer at least 3 other men acting as knechten or overseers. In about 1733 it is recorded that his slaves totalled 35, but they would be doing duty at all three farms. Nonetheless, even if 15-20 lived at Bethlehem, it could have meant separate quarters (rooms) or a full building. He also had a total of 120 cattle, 600 sheep and 40000 vines. By all standards Nicolaas was very prosperous. Buildings on the farm would have been numerous and well-kept. There is mentioned that Nicolaas suffered from poor health in 1717. He lasted another 15 years and died on 26.4.1732, leaving a widow with seven children to run three farms. He was laid to rest within the Stellenbosch church. Van den Heuvel was an upstanding citizen and served four times on the Church Council at Stellenbosch. It was he who laid the proposed plan for the new church before the heemraden in March 1717, with probably the same designer Hutspot as that of the Drakenstein Church, which was also under construction. When the new cross-structured church was inaugurated, Nicolaas served as elder. Hugo initially noted that he “lived” at Paarde Vallei, but rectified it later on when he stated Nicolaas lived at Bethlehem.

OLOF DE WET 1735 – 1756 11.1 
FAMILY BACKGROUND 
Widow Maria Seegers (Van den Heuvel) moved in high social circles at the Cape. With three farms to her name and many possessions, pretty and young, she was a good catch. One of the leading families in Cape Town was the De Wet clan. Olof (Oloff) Bergh, originally from Sweden, and his wife, Anna de Koning, born at the Cape, were one of the most colourful couples of the time (>1676) (De Wet 1968:69-70). They had 11 children and their first-born, Christina (bapt. 18.6.1679), married the prosperous Jacobus de Wet (1673-1710). They had 11 children, and Martinus (child no.9) (bapt. 2.11.1696) became Landdrost at Stellenbosch from 1721-1729. Anna’s first born was Christina (bapt. 18.6.1679) and she married the prosperous Jacobus de Wet (1673-1710) (DV&P 1981:41-42). The De Wet couple had 6 children of which Johannes Carolus (no.6) (1709-1748) married (in 1732) Maria Magdalena Blanckenberg, her father farming at Meerlust (DV&P 1981:1126). Olof de Wet was their second son (Nov. 1699) and he would have visited his relations at the Drostdy in Stellenbosch, and met the Van den Heuvel couple. Olof joined the VOC as a soldier in 1718, but was soon promoted to clerk (1719), bookkeeper (soldeij boekhouder)(1723) and Onder-coopman (1726). He held the high post of Opper-coopman till 1734 when he became a freeburgher. He kept the title Opper-coopman and must have had close ties with his younger brother, Johannes, who also followed the same VOC course, but was even more prosperous. With his Scandinavian background, he concentrated on provisioning the Danish West India and Guinea Company’s shipping trade. It appears that Olof was involved with the “shipping” in False Bay and the profitable fishing rights. Through his marriage he acquired Paardevlei and in 1736 he bought Vlooibaai, i.e. Somerset Strand (T.2306, 15.3.1736). Soon afterwards he asked for exemption from paying 286 Rxd 25 stuyvers as tax on a request to Batavia, apparently because of an estate account (RPR 9, 10.4.1736, pp.64/5). Prior to 1737 he lend some money (ƒ300) to the heer Blanckenberg (SB Mus. Invent.: 418). Olof abided his time and requested to become a freeburgher in October 1734, and three years after Maria (Seegers) was widowed, he married her on May 8, 1735, gaining also 7 children! Olof and Maria had two children, but both apparently died young, viz. Christina Helena (1738) and Jacobus Matthias (1741). They continued to stay at Bethlehem, and Olof became a respected member of the Stellenbosch and Drakenstein community. He served later as elder in the Stellenbosch church from January 1741 to December 1742. In about 1741, Olof and Maria were at the height of prosperity, according to his tax-return (see Table 4). His 3 knechten probably managed respectively his 3 outlying farms, whilst his slaves would also have been divided among the four farms. Notice the amount of slaves: Male 30 Female 7 37 Boys 6 Girls 10 16 53 His animal stocks would also have been distributed amongst his farms (48 horses, 180 cattle, 450 sheep, 10 pigs), which needed adequate barns/stables/krale, as he had also large cereals increases (corn, rye and barley). Of greater interest is of course his 40 000 vines which produced 18 leaguers of wine, indicating a fully operational wine-cellar for pressing and storage.

At about the same time (1745?) Olof de Wet’s wife Maria Seegers became sickly and she died in 1746. Her one or both daughters by Olof de Wet were already buried in vault No.50, below the floor of the Stellenbosch Church. Maria was probably buried in vault 71, “D’ vrou van Olof de Wet” 
(https://www.sahra.org.za/sahris/sites/default/files/heritagereports/Vos_2009_Bethlehem_Farm153.pdf)

DIE GRONDEIENAARS VAN STELLENBOSCH EIENAARS VAN ERWE OP DIE DORP 1693 - ca. 1860 EN EIENAARS VAN PLASE IN DIE DISTRIK 1680 - ca. 1860 deur JOHANNES VAN DER BIJL

PAREL VALLEI 120 m "Z 0: Hottentots Holland; Z W: Baai Vals; N 0: Gebergte naar Stellenbosch; N W: Woeste land naar Moddergat," 
11.3.1699 OSF284 Frans van der Stel 
27.10.1717 T 1203 Claas van der Westhuyzen 
22.11.1717 T 1211 Nicolaas van den Heuvel (getroud op 26.11.1713 met Maria Segers, dogter van Heinrich Segers en Helena van der Westhuyzen) 
8.5.1735 Olof de Wet (trou met wed. Van der Heuvel) 
26.3.1748 T 2773 Matthiam Ie Roux (van Olof de Wet) 
9.4.1763 T 3844 Philip Wouter de Vos (getroud met Femina Posthumus) 
19.3.1795 T 6926 Wouter de Vos (Philip zn.) (van wed. P. W. de Vos) 
24.11.1796 T 7108 Johannes Albertus Myburgh (verkoop ongeveer 18 m)
(https://digital.lib.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.2/5912/vanderbijl_grondeienaars.pdf?sequence=10)

PAARDE VALLEI (eers Paarden Stal) 40 m 65 r² 'Z Z W: Kleinevallei by Lourens Rivier; N 0 1/2 0: Hottentots Holland en oude land; N 0: Windberg; W N W: Andries de Bakker," 10.1.1707 OSFI189 Frans van der Stel 
27.10.1717 T 1208 Claas van der Westhuyzen
22.11.1717 T 1212 Nicolaas van den Heuvel (kyk p. 163) 8.5.1735 Olof de Wet (trou met wed. Van den Heuvel) 
25.3.1748 T 277-7 Jacob van Rhenen (van Olof de Wet) 2.4.1751 T 2916 Hendrik Emanuel Blankenberg (getroud met Johanna Ie Febre) Michiel Romond 25.1.1751 Erf pag brief vir²0 m aan 
? 5.9.1760 T 3532 Martin Melck (van M. Romond en Christoffel van der Lipp getroud met wed. Blankenberg) 
3.9.1781 T 5366 Wed. M. Melck (Maria Rosina Loubser) 
13.7.1794 T 6 834 Christian Martin Seederblad (getroud met Johanna Smuts) 
27.1.1797 T 7132 Johan Ulrich Kiebourg (van wed. Seederblad) 
1.6.1802 T110 Ryno Johannes van der Riet 
1.6.1811 T 111 Wouter de Vos (Dirk zn.) 1816 QR Wouter de Vos (Dirk zn.) Voeg'n stuk byi~
--- -- 2.1817 T 35 Hy verkoop 10 m 60 r² aan wed. Andries Conterman (Elizabeth van Coller) (kyk p. 165) 
9.12.1836 T 773 Dirk de Vos (Wouter zn.) (van boedel wed. W. de Vos, Rykie van der Byl) 
11.3.1842 T 302 De Vos koop ook Klein Paarde Vlei (kyk p. 165) 
15.11.1844 T 1214 Pieter Lourens Cloete (P. L. zn.) (eienaar van Zandvliet) (van insolvente de Vos)
(https://digital.lib.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.2/5912/vanderbijl_grondeienaars.pdf?sequence=10)