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Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 2001-11 > 1004995115


From: Andrew Rodger <>
Subject: Re: History -- Zaaiman, Pieternella van de Kaap & Van Meerhof
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 07:18:35 +1000
References: <200110302001.f9UK18X09655@lists5.rootsweb.com><l03130302b804e616cc7a@[202.161.100.196]><000101c161e8$766ac420$17d8fea9@dapper><l03130302b806318badfa@[202.161.100.107]><002a01c1629f$3ab754e0$1601a8c0@jcci.co.za><009401c1630d$9088e5a0$ef99cba3@daniel>
In-Reply-To: <021d01c165d7$c078c9c0$1601a8c0@jcci.co.za>


Vlissengen and Flushing are the same name - if you think of the way the I
in Vlissengen is pronounced by Afrikaners and the U in Flushing is
pronounced by Dutchmen, the names are not so different. Flushing Meadows
in New York is a left-over from the time when it was a Dutch colony, along
with Harlem, Stuyvesant, etc.

Vlissengen is a small port on the north bank of the Westerschelde, these
days outstripped by Oostende and Zeebrugge, but there is still a ferry
between there and Sheerness. It should also be remembered that the border
referred to dates back only to 1832 when Belgium was established as a
separate country - before that it was part of the Netherlands.

>Hi Daniel
>
>Yes, I've read the book. Pity Dalene didn't have much to say about
>Pieternella's father, Pieter van Meerhof, considering he was one of the
>first explorers up the west coast. I forget now quite how many expeditions
>he went on -- 6 or 8. There's a rollicking good yarn waiting to be written
>about him, even if he did meet with such an awful fate, being murdered by
>inhabitants at Antonagil Bay in Madagascar. The more polite references say
>he & his party were on a "trading" mission, but it's much more likely they
>were on a slave raiding mission. Dalene also doesn't really explain how
>Pieter's death was at the root of Eva/Krotoa's breakdown. In fact, it's a
>pity she focuses almost exclusively on Pieternella & Daniel, because Pieter
>& Eva/Krotoa's story is far more dramatic. Seems Dalene was interested
>mainly in the romance!
>
>Another quibble: Dalene perpetuates the notion that Daniel Zaaijman (to use
>the proper Dutch spelling) came from Vlissengen in south Holland, very close
>to the Belgium border. By the way, I've been told Vlissengen means the same
>as the English Flushing Meadows. A relative of mine went to Vlissengen some
>years ago & says there are no traces that Zaaijmans ever lived in the area.
>His theory is that they most likely came from over the border in Vlaandere
>(Flanders) & that Vlissengen was just Daniel's departure point.
>Unfortunately, this relative didn't get a chance to visit Flanders to find
>out more.
>
>The same with Pieter van Meerhof -- he's described as "of Copenhagen" but
>Van Meerhof is not a Danish surname. Again, it's highly likely it was just
>his point of departure. My sister visited Copenhagen in 1994 & we were sad
>to discover that all records for the period Pieter may have been in
>Copenhagen, if he ever lived there, had been destroyed in some war with the
>Swedes. Van Meerhof, of course, means "from Meerhof" -- but Meerhof is a
>tiny place quite some distance into Germany, near Marsberg. So perhaps he
>was German.
>
>The Van Meerhof name seems to have died out in South Africa. Does anyone
>have more info on Pieter? Likewise Daniel Zaaijman's antecendents in Europe?
>
>Regards
>Maureen
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: dmjacobs <>
>To: <>
>Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 9:21 PM
>Subject: Re: History.
>
>
>Dear Maureen
>
>I am also a descendant of the Zaayman progenitor. All Zaaimans are of
>course descendants of Dalene Mathee's Pieternella van die Kaap.
>
>Best wishes]
>
>Daniel
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Brady" <>
>To: <>
>Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 8:33 AM
>Subject: Re: History.
>
>
>> Check the Archives for previous threads debating how history was/is taught
>> in SA. We had a lively debate going a year or so ago.
>> ***********
>> Andrew wrote:
>>
>> ... the Haarhoff story in Familia XXIII(4), 1986, where it is mentioned
>that
>> there were a number of brown Haarhoffs, and then says, in effect, that of
>> course it was common practice for the volkies to adopt the surnames of the
>> owners of the properties where they worked . . . Come on, whom does the
>> author think he is fooling? - most likely, these days, only himself. My
>> Haarhoff grandmother, who had a wicked sense of humour, used to repel
>> effusive would-be cousins by the simple expedient of saying, in response
>to
>> their efforts to establish a relationship, "Ag, nee, ons is mos van die
>> Slamaaier-geslag!"
>> *************
>>
>> An excellent book on the question of "colour" in Afrikaner families is HF
>> Heese's _Groep Sonder Grense_ (1984, Western Cape Institute for Historical
>> Research). My mother (born ZAAIMAN) phoned me in great excitement when
>this
>> was published to say "Ons naam is in die boek!". SABC TV recently screened
>a
>> documentary series based on the book, in which, if I'm not mistaken,
>Mansell
>> Upham was involved.
>>
>> Interestingly, although we're all descended from the same "stamvader",
>> Daniel, the "white" branch generally spell it ZAAIMAN, while the "brown"
>lot
>> tend to spell it SAAYMAN.
>>
>> Regards
>> Maureen
>> Johannesburg
>>
>
>
>
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Andrew Rodger ---


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