On 3 February 1743 the quitrent grant 'de Bruijntjes Rivier over de Berg' was made in favour of Hermanus Steyn. He was known as Hermanus d'Oude, and had been baptised in Cape Town on 11 July 1711. He married Petronella Kemp in c1731. < More ...>
BRUINTJIESRIVER - Drostdy MuseumOn 3 February 1743 the quitrent grant 'de Bruijntjes Rivier over de Berg' was made in favour of Hermanus Steyn. He was known as Hermanus d'Oude, and had been baptised in Cape Town on 11 July 1711. He married Petronella Kemp in c1731. She died giving birth to their third child. Hermanus then married Martha Potgieter on 26 April 1739. In 1743, the same year as the proclamation of the new district of Swellendam, their son Hermanus was born on the farm Bruintjiesrivier. He was to become known as Hermanus d'Jonge and would be elected to be President of the Republic of Swellendam following the revolt of the burgers in 1795.
In 1746, ownership transferred to Cornelis van Rooyen, one of the first members of the Heemraad in Swellendam. In 1747, ownership transferred to Andries Gobrecht and a new owner follows again in 1753, by the name of Hans Jurgen Botha. After several more transfers, the farm came to be owned by the Lindes. The original homestead which had been built by Hermanus d'Oude, was demolished in 1968.
Free Translation From Information Received From The Drostdy Museum
Bruintjiesrivier by D.L Van den Berg
On 3 February 1743, the farm "de Bruintjies Rivier over de Berg" is granted to Hermanus Steyn. The name is derived from an old horse owned by the Steyns called "Bruintjie".
Hermanus Steyn was born in Cape Town on 11 July 1711. He later married a certain Petronella Kemp who died in March 1735. In 1739 he married a second time, his cousin, Martha Potgieter. Hermanus, his son, is baptised in 1743 in Drakenstein and would later become president of the Republic of Swellendam.
By 1762, Hermanus senior also owned the quitrent grants, "De Combuys aan de Cango" and "Aan't Voorhuys gelegen aan de Breederivier". According to his last will dated 3 June 1771, he lived on "Bruintjiesrivier". He and his sons were acclaimed as hunters, pioneers and combatants against the Bushmen.
Hermanus senior was also a successful cattle and grain farmer. On his farm there were brandy-stills and blacksmiths. The remains of the furnace could still be seen until recently. The photograph of the furnace on "Voorhuys gelegen aan de Breederivier" fires the imagination and serves as a typical example of what the one at "Bruintjiesrivier" might have looked like. The homestead on Bruintjiesrivier (according to tradition built by Hermanus Senior) is no longer used for human habitation, although as the photograph indicates, it must once have been a spacious and comfortable home.
Hermanus senior's son, Douw Gerbrants Steyn (1747 - 1790), is the great-grandfather of President Kruger. The other son, Hermanus, who was later to become the President of the Republic of Swellendam, lived with his parents at Bruintjiesrivier until 1762. With the census of 1765 he is recorded as being the owner of 30 sheep, two horses, one slave and "drie slave meisjes". On 20 March 1765, he married Anna Margaretha van Staden, a widow with a young daughter. His situation improves dramatically and in 1773 he takes over a quitrent grant close to the current Kendrew district for which he pays a rental until 1788. After this he establishes himself on his own farm, "Jan Harmansgat".
Free translation from Bonnievale tot vandag 1922-1947 (D L Van den Berg)
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1807 - 1864 (56 years)