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- Herman Steyn was the President of the Swellendam Republic
- By 1795 maladministration and inadequacies of the Dutch East India Company caused the long-suffering burghers of Swellendam to revolt, and in 1795 they declared themselves a Republic. Hermanus Steyn was appointed as President of the Republic of Swellendam, he was the first to be appointed the title of President in South Africa. But the Republic was short-lived due to the occupation of the Cape by the Kingdom of Great Britain Kingdom_of_Great_Britain.
SOURCE:Wikipedia
- Hermanus STEYN was born on the farm Bruintjiesrivier of his father, Hermanus STEYN d'Oude. When he was about nine years old, the family moved to the farm Doornfontein adjacent to the Sondagsrivier. For fifteen years they lived there, facing the rigours of living to the east of the Cape. In 1789 he return back to the Cape and settled on the farm Jan Harmansgat (see article below). Source: Die Families van Ou Swellendam Deel 1 Steyn
SOURCE:http://www.geni.com/genealogy/people/Hermanus-d-Jonge-Steyn-b1c3d6/5085290053380026129#/tab/overview
- http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=886734
STEYN Hermanus:
The history of Hermanus Steyn and the site: In 1795 the farmers of the (Swellendam) District rebelled against their Dutch masters, and declared themselves independent of the Cape Government. Hermanus Steyn was chosen as the president of the new Republic, which lasted only a short while before the British assumed control of the Cape Colony, and Swellendam again reverted to their original status. Hermanus Steyn lies buried on the farm Jan Harmsgat in a small plot marked by a granite gravestone, which can be seen a few hundred meters from the main house in what is now an olive grove. (Note: This section of the farm Jan Harmsgat has recently been transferred to the neighboring farm called Mardouw to straighten the boundaries. The site is accessible from both farms.)
A grandson of the old President, Gideon van Zyl, changed the name of the farm to the gentler name of Nooitgedacht. The old building with its three gables under thatch, was again changed by a cousin, one Piet van Eeden. He removed the upper floors and rebuilt the house with a corrugated iron roof. The original wine cellar and old slave quarters were retained... and reminds us of the days when Jan Harmsgat was a large wine farm.
The owner of the farm during that time, one F.J.van Eeden was a member of the Legislature, and inherited the farm from old Gideon van Zyl. One day, while sitting in a meeting of the legislature, he became so angry about a proposed excise duty, that he had all the vineyards cut down, and planted orange trees in their place. Jan Harmsgat became famous for it's oranges, which thrived in this climate. Four giant old orange trees which had been planted by Hermanus Steyn, de Oue, produced wagon loads of oranges for 150 years, but were then cut down by van Eeden, and 5 dozen orangewood chairs made from the timber.
Today the farm is still in the hands of a van Eeden, after a short time when ownership was not in the family. Judi Rebstein (ne้ van Eeden) and Brin are the present owners, and have been responsible for the extensive renovations to both the buildings and orchards. Another graveyard on the farm is enclosed on the slopes of a gentle hill close to the present-day dairy and here rest Christine van Eeden, Sarel Francois Swanepoel, Barabara Johanna van Eeden (ne้ Joubert) and her spouse Petrus Paulus van Eeden.
Extracts from: Geskiendkundige Swellendam. L.L.Tomlinson In the Footsteps Of Lady Anne Barnard. Jose Burman
- 251. HERMANUS D6 STEYN (Douwe's great-grandson) was born in 1743 in Drakenstein, South Africa to Hermanus C3
Steyn294 and Martha Potgieter296, as shown in family tree 31. He was christened on 15 December 1743, in South Africa. He was recorded in the census in 1765, aged about 22. In 1795, aged about 52, he was a President of the Republic of
Swellendam in Swellendam, South Africa. Hermanus died in 1804, aged about 61, in Jan Harmsgat (now Nooitgedacht).
The following information is also recorded for Hermanus: Title: a1b1c3d6.
Note: His name appears on the sensus as the owner of 30 sheep, 2 horses, 1 female slave and 3 slave-girls (Census).
http://steyns.zoka.cc/documents/Book%20Report%20on%20Douwe%20Gerbrandt%20A1%20Steyn.pdf
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1743 - 1804 (~ 60 years)
