Johannes Steyn

Born in the farm Voorhuis, district Swellendam. Baptized 25 December 1753. Married Barbara Wilhelmina Vogel 16 March 1777. Had 11 children of which only one son Hermanus / Hermanus Frederik

Was 'burger' of Swellendam, heemraad of Swellendam, deacon of the NG Church in Swellendam

Was brother of President Hermanus Steyn, who was born ten years before him.

Connection between Johannes Steyn and the Kliprivier Farm
EH Burrows describes Kliprivier thus: '... fiannly, the materipeice, Klip River, an epitome of Cape Dutch architecture, one one of the most gracious homesteads in the country.' p.61, Overberg Outspan.

From https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes.php?bldgid=7480 we have the following:
Kliprivier. This is certainly the finest house in the Overberg, overlooking the Bruintjes River valley. Its association with the Steyns goes back a long way. In 1725 Jan Loots, one of the first five heemraden of the drostdy, held the land on loan. Alter his death in 1745 the lessee became Anthonie Lombard, a son of the Huguenot Pierre Lombard. From him it passed to his son of the same name, whose wife, Isabella Potgieter, was a sister-in-law of Hermanns Steyn d'Oude. In 1769 Lombard died and his widow married Ch. Gottlieb Lessing, having paid off accumulated debt on the farm, left it in 1771 and returned to Stellenhosch. In 1776 the farm was re-let to Johannes Sleyn. born in 1753 on the farm Voorhuis. This man was a younger brother of the 'President' of the Swellendam republic, and both were sons of Hermanns d'Oude.

Johannes Steyn must have spent most of his life on Kliprivier, very possibly in the old house of Jan Loots, until about 1812 he decided to build a new one. This new house is shown on HS Schutte's diagram, done in 1816, and there appears as a T-shaped house. In 1814 the farm - still a loan-farm - passed from Johannes Steyn to his son Hermanus Frederik; and then, owing to quarrels about the lease of part of the land (now known as Bellevue), to the assistant landdrost Frouenvelder; the latter was sent to 'Het Warme Bad', now Caledon, in the same capacity and wanted compensation for the buildings he had put up on Bellevue. The landdrost maintained that the terms of his lease compelled him to demolish all buildings on leaving the farm. This quarrel went on for years, and governor Cradock cut the Gordian knot by withdrawing Steyn's lease and putting the whole farm up for sale. The buyer at once re-sold the farm to Marthinus Steyn (a first cousin of Hermanus Steyn) who held it until his death in 1834, and his widow held it for a few years longer.

It was almost certainly Marthinus Steyn who enlarged the house to its present size and gave it an H-plan by adding back wings. He also added the front-gable, probably about 1833. It consists of a split pediment crowned by a segmental cap, as is sometimes seen on cupboards of the time. The straight, pointed sides with their clefts can also be seen as a development born from a misunderstanding of winged volutes. Van der Meulen sees it as a version of the earlier Lutheran Church facade, which bad a 'draped' split pediment with a spire in the centre. But the end-gable of Dieprivier. Caledon, which is related to Kliprivier but earlier, does not call to mind the Lutheran Church at all. A suggested attribution to LM Thibault (who did work in Swellendam) is open to doubt, although of course his influence may have lingered.

The gable has magnificent plaster decoration. Two, and probably three, periods of plasterwork can be seen, the higher being by far the best. The heavy pergola columns, a rare feature at the time, are of slightly later vintage for some of its overhead irons actually pierce the swags over the windows.

The facade woodwork is all original, belonging to the original T-shaped house. There is a good drop-fanlight, but all the shutters are internal, and no signs exist of there ever having been external shutters. Inside, the screen has disappeared, though the beams, broad ceiling planks and the doors remain. The back wings are obviously later in date, and there is no back gable, only a dormer gable, with an opening in it to which a flight of steps leads up. Kliprivier is a very large house, with two rooms beside the voor- en agterkamer in each of the four wings.

Later owners of the farm were the Reids, the Reitzes, and others. They all seem to have accepted the house as it was (except for the pergola), so that it is singularly unspoilt. Now in use as a guest-house, it is once again in good nick.
[Fransen p463.]

These notes were last edited on 2021 09 03

Writings about this entry
Fransen, Hans. 2004. The old buildings of the Cape. A survey of extant architecture from before c1910 in the area of Cape Town - Calvinia - Colesberg - Uitenhage. Johannesburg & Cape Town: Jonathan Ball Publishers. pg 463

Steyn owners of Kliprivier dist Swellendam according to EH Burrows in his book Overberg Outspan. Johannes Steyn b1c3d12 loan farmer 1776 - 1814
Hermanus Steyn b1c3d12e4 loan farmer January - July 1814
Marthinus Steyn b1c8d13 owner 1815 - 1837

Photo's of Klip Rivier homestead http://digital.lib.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.2/1877

Johannes Baptised: 1753, den 25 Xbr Father: Hermanus Steijn Mother: Martha Potgieter Witnesses: Hermanus Potgieter en Elsje Botha Source: Nederduits Gereformeerde Gemeente (NGK), Tulbagh, Western Cape. Baptism register, 1743 to 2 Feb 1800, page 26, entry number 40. Repository: NG Kerkargief, Noordwal-Wes, Stellenbosch, G4 7/1. Transcribed by Lynn Couperthwaite, Trysie Joubert, Richard Ball as part of the eGGSA Project, from VC 657, Cape Archives Repository

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He might be the Johannes Steyn, wagtmeester, referred to in the following document written by Johan Barkhuizen.

Swellendamse opstand,1795

Na die Tweede grensoorlog was daar as gevolg van ongelukkigheid met die regering „n opstand van die burgers van Graaff-Reinet en Swellendam. Landdros Maynier en Faure se rol in die Tweede Grensoorlog was sekerlik ook „n groot bron van ergenis. Die Swellendamse burgers het Faure uit die pos van landdros geskop en „n Collegie Nationaal gestig met Hermanus Steyn as leier. Ek dink nogal dat Jan Barkhuysen, na al sy moeite om militêre hulp en ammunisie by die politieke raad te kry, lekker omgekrap met die uiteinde van die 1793 grensoorlog was.

Ek weet nie hoe groot sy rol in die Swellendamse opstand van 1795 was nie maar hy was wel op een of ander manier betrokke. In „n brief wat Du Pisane , die Kommandant van die “Nationaale”, aan Steyn skryf vra hy dat Steyn „n afskrif aan “die manhafte heer Pieter Ferreira en edele Heer W. Barkhuysen” gee.

In 1795 is die Kaap formeel deur die Britse regering oorgeneem en die beheer van die VOC het tot „n einde gekom. In November 1795 is Faure in sy pos as landdros herstel. Jan Barkhuysen en al die Swellendamse burgers het „n eed onderteken 98

dat hulle trou sweer aan die Britse koning, George die derde.  

Jan Willem Barkhuysen het steeds in die tydperk van die eerste Britse besetting van die Kaap en die Bataafse bewind, daarna, „n hoë aansien in die distrik Swellendam gehad. Hy is in Oktober 1795 weer as Heemraad genomineer. Die nuwe goewerneur, Graaf MaCartney, het egter die eerste twee name op die kortlys aanvaar. Daniël du Plessis en oud-heemraad Christiaan de Jager d‟ oude is toe as nuwe heemrade aangestel eerder as die twee ou strydrosse uit die Langkloof, Pieter Ferreira en Jan Willem Barkhuysen.

Pieter Ferreira sou nie weer genomineer word as heemraad nie maar Jan Willem Barkhuysen is weer op 4 Desember 1797 genomineer. Die kortlys vir hierdie rondte was: “Wagtmeestr Johs Steyn benevens de oud Heemraden Petrus Pienaar, GF Rautenbach, en JW Barkhausen” Johannes Steyn en Petrus Pienaar is aangestel. Source: http://www.barkhuizen.co.za/pdf%20files/Famgesk%20deel%201.pdf