Douwe Gerbrandt (FKA Gerbens) Steyn, SV/PROG 1

Douwe is the legal ancestor of many of the Steyns in South Africa. His adopted son Jacobus is the definite biological ancestor. The assumption made in authoritative genealogical publications is that Douwe is most probably the biological father of Jacobus.
MUNSTER ROLLS: https://www.eggsa.org/sarecords/index.php/muster-rolls/cape-archive...
Brief summary:

Douwe Gerbrandt Steyn ≈ Bozum 10 July 1631, †abt. April 1700 South Africa

X Leeuwarden 18 March 1657 Rixt Egberts, *abt.1633, †Amsterdam in August 1679, buried in St. Anthonis Kerkhof in Amsterdam. They had two children:

- Aege ≈Leeuwarden 11 October 1661, †Amsterdam in February 1727, buried in St. Anthonis Kerkhof in Amsterdam.

- Gerben ≈Leeuwarden 25 October 1663, †Amsterdam in September 1672, buried in St. Anthonis Kerkhof in Amsterdam.

XX South Africa 19 August 1685 Maria Losëe ≈ Cape Town 12 September 1666, † South Africa 18 April 1743. Two of her children bore the surname Steyn: Her son Jacobus who was born before she married DG Steyn, and their daughter Antie.

- Jacobus: ≈Cape Town 29 August 1683, † South Africa abt 1762.

- Antie ≈ Cape Town 24 August 1692

De Villiers Numbers: For practical purposes we choose to use the b1 and b2 numbers for Jacobus and Antie, the two children who were born in South Africa and who became progenitors in the South African family trees.

Detailed information:

Name in Friesland, country of origin: Douwe GERBENS

Origin of the Frisian name: In Friesland in the 1600’s it was common to use patronymics, the first name of the father became the ‘surname’. Therefore we know that the first name of the father of Douwe GERBENS was Gerben. The ‘s’ has a double meaning. First, it is a genitive, meaning belonging to, of. Second, it points to the Frisian word ‘seun’ which means ‘son’. The children of Douwe GERBENS would then have his first name as patronymic. Example: Age Douwes.

Name as used in well-known South African genealogical publications:

• South African Genealogies volume 12, page 205 has “Douwe Gerbrandt STEYN”
• Die Families van Ou Swellendam Deel 1 STEYN has “Douw Gerbrandt STEYN”.
• Geslacht-Register der Oude Kaapsche Familiën Part 3 page 341 has “Douw Gerbrand STEIJN”.
• The famous series of articles by John Muir in “Die Huisgenoot” in the 1930’s uses the name Douwe Gerbrants STEYN. These articles by Muir are a gold mine of information, especially about the life of the Steyn progenitor and the first two generations of Steyns in South Africa. Most of that information has been added to the profile.

Name in South Africa, country to which he emigrated: Douwe Gerbrandt STEIJN / STEYN

Variations of his name in South Africa: Douwe, Douwen, Douw, Gerbens, Gerbrants, Gerbrantz, Gerbrandse, Gerrebrandtze, Gerbrant, Gerbrandze, Gerbrantsze, Gerb:, Stein, Stijn, Steijn. The sources of these variants are listed in the documentation about Douwe Gerbrandt STEYN.

Birth date: We do not know for sure. It might be about 1630, based on his date of baptism which was 10 July 1631 in the Frisian town of Bozum, just south of the city of Leeuwarden. Link to the documentation about his baptism https://www.openarch.nl/show.php?archive=frl&identifier=8822238a-8a...

Birth place: Probably Bozum, a small town about fifteen kilometres south of Leeuwarden in Friesland.

Date of Death: Before April 1700. See the article attached to this profile.

Place of Death: Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Parents: Gerben JACOBS and Antye HEYNIS

Date of Marriage 1: Rixt Egberts 18 March 1657. Rixt died in August 1679 in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Place of Marriage 1: Leeuwarden, Friesland

Children of Marriage 1: Child number one, a boy: Age Douwes baptized 11 October 1661, he died February 1727 in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Child number two, a boy: Gerben Douwes baptized 25 October 1663, he died September 1672 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Both sons were baptized in Leeuwarden.

Date of emigration to South Africa: About 1671. By 1672.06.08 he was definitely in the Cape, having signed as witness a document on that date.

Date of Marriage 2: Maria Lozee 19 August 1684. That is five years after the death of his first wife.

Place of Marriage 2: Cape Town

Children of Marriage 2: Adopted son Jacobus baptized 29 August 1683 (son of Maria Lozee and unknown father); Daughter Antie baptized 24 August 1692.

Occupations: Bricklayer, stone mason, supervisor, ‘Heemraad’, surveyor

Buying and selling slaves: 1679.09.07 Klaas m U SELLER: Phillip Theo Welker BUYER: Gerbrandt Steijn Douwe. 1697.06.18 Claas m Madaga AGE: 18 SELLER: Petronella Breda V BUYER: Douwe Steijn Source: Communication from Marie Vermeulen-Boshoff

Publications: See the four major publications about him listed above, as well as the article attached to this profile. Note: the information in the Geslacht-Register der Oude Kaapsche Familiën is incomplete.

Reliable information can be found in the First Fifty Years project website http://www.e-family.co.za/ffy/g7/p7766.htm#i7766

The following two websites also have some helpful information:

http://www.stamouers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&... http://www.steyn.pro/genealogy/steyn/douwe/index.htm

Interesting information about candlesticks that Douwe Gerbens brought with him from the Netherlands: From: gallawson@aol.com Date: 9 Jun 2003 12:40:55 -0600

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/BcC.2ACI/1645.1.1.1

Douw Gerbrand Steyn was the original settler of my family in South Africa. He married Maria Lozee, a slave. He apparently had a son (Age) in Leeuwarden Holland in 1661 and landed (presumably minus son) in Capetown in 1666. I have traced the Steyn family tree in South Africa to about 1840, but have not yet connected with my great grandmother Catherina Steyn who married my great grandfather Nicolas Taylor. My grandmother was Douwlena Gerbrand Taylor. She passed on some silver candlesticks to my mother which came with the original Douw Gerbrandt in 1666. I now have them in my home in the USA. Regards, Grant Lawson.

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Some interesting information about the origin of the surname STEYN: From: Carolyn Paisley <wonderwomanx@yahoo.com> Subject: Origin of Steane/Staines name Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 22:22:40 -0800 (PST)

Hi John and anyone else interested.

You might like to know that the eminent Leics historian WG Hoskins traces the Steane name back to a Thomas and Robert Steyn who were descended from one Steyn of Cosby. It is a Scandinavian name. These early Steyns are associated with Cosby in the 1200s. The name also occurs at this time at Arnesby, then in the 16th century as Steyne, Stayne and Steane (1534 Billesdon, 1539 Shenton, 1542 Birstall, 1555 Tilton. He says the name has come down today as Staines and Staynes, but Steane clearly has the same origin. This info comes from Hoskin's book Leicestershire Yeoman Families and their Pedigrees. Carolyn

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Even more details about Douwe Gerbrandt STEYN can be found in the documents linked to his profile under the Media tab:

1. Steyn Douwe Gerbens in South Africa 2. Steyn Genealogie Reeks Artikels deur Dr John Muir in Die Huisgenoot