Van Santen Family Tree » Cornelis Kolff (1685-1759)

Persoonlijke gegevens Cornelis Kolff 

• Hij is geboren op 3 augustus 1685 in Maassluis, Zuid Holland, Nederland.
• Beroep: in notary public at The Hague 1704-1710, at Middelharnis 1710-1741, secretary 1710-dec., and bailiff 1713-(1740) there, mayor of Maassluis 1746-1747/.
• Hij is overleden op 23 december 1759 in Maassluis, Zuid Holland, Nederland, hij was toen 74 jaar oud.

Gezin van Cornelis Kolff

(1) Hij is getrouwd met Catharina van Oosterwijk.

Zij zijn getrouwd op 18 juni 1710 te Maassluis, Zuid Holland, Nederland, hij was toen 24 jaar oud.

Kind(eren):

1. Gualtherus Kolff  1711-1789 
2. Maria Kolff  1714-1714

(2) Hij heeft/had een relatie met Sara Post.

Notities over Cornelis Kolff

Notary public at The Hague 1704-1710, at Middelharnis 1710-1741, secretary 1710-dec., and bailiff 1713-[1740] there, mayor of Maassluis 1746-1747

At Middelharnis, more than in any other town of our country (the Netherlands), we find abundant remembrances to the Kolff family. For more than two centuries members of the Kolff family have lived here. In certain periods even several households at the same time. They worked there, took on several tasks, in short they did what they could find to do. This article serves to introduce the diversity of those activities such as their entrepeneurship. With that it also shows the amazing recourcefullness and flexibility of the 'elite' in a small provincial town that was Middelharnis.

The activities of our family at the island of Overflakkee start in 1710, when Cornelis Kolff (C Xc) (1685-1759) says farewell to The Hague and settles at Middelharnis at notary public. He would also be secretary and receiver of taxes, as well as bailiff, of the manor of Middelharnis. He did not stop at these gouverning activities: rather he spread his risks and invested for example in a ship. However, after his wife died in 1738 he left the island and moved to Maassluis, his place of birth.
His son Gualtherus (XIc) (1711-1789) took over the function of notary public and just like his father became secretary and bailiff at Middelharnis. In the 1720's and 1730's he had been able to practice these functions at the nearby manor Dirksland. From time to time he was appointed in functions of all kind in boards of polders and no doubt he obtained property here and there. Also Gualtherus did not place all his bets on one card. He participated in a shipping company and in 1749 we find him to be leaseholder of the Middelharnis fish market. Such entrepeneurship required capital. His financial risk as leaseholder was that he was obliged to buy all the fishers' catches and then had to see how to get his investments and costs back from the buyers. Turnover was high; all of the fish that entered the Goereese Gat had to be put to market either at the fish market of Middelharnis or at that of Hellevoetsluis.

Gualtherus’ sons Adrianus Quirinus (CB XIIf) (1745-1826) Middelharnis: Kolff swan and grapes and Lambertus (CC XIIg) (1749-1823) complemented, just like their grandfather and their father before them, public with private entrepreneurship. Priorities could differ between the two. Apart from being appointed as juror, sheriff, bailiff, secretary, treasurer and mayor, secretary and dike-reeve of polders, notary public and commissioner of ground-taxes, the brothers were also ship owners. As Lambertus was mainly regent and gouvernor, Adrianus Quirinus was more the entrepeneur and a man of Enlightenment. In 1768 the latter bought the big house at the Voorstraat, with warehouse and carriage houses, as well as the wine company already established there, and the grounds that were part of it. Still today one can see at the door this year inscribed over a sculptured bunch of grapes, and above this door the coat of arms of the Kolff family. Apart from him being merchant he also had income from agriculture. Notable are his philantropical and cultural activities. Let me start in writing about Adrianus Quirinus' societal interest and after that about his economical activities, which would lead - in the course of a number of generations - to some kind of collective company.

In 1810, to start with the first, he was one of the founders of the Middelharnis-Sommelsdijk department of the MiddelharnisMaatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen (Society for Public Welfare), which dated from 1784 and was soon after active all over the country. At this department the atmosphere must have been quite liberal, contrary to other parts in the Netherlands which later so often showed segregation over the denominations. One of the founders and active members was the (Catholic) pastor of Oude Tonge, who immediately suggested to appoint the (Protestant) minister of his village; a suggestion that was accepted without balloting. Adrianus Quirinus became the first treasurer until 1819, the year of his golden wedding jubilee, when he resigned because of old age. He was then appointed honorary member thanks to him "being a model in accuracy and ecellent bookkeeping".

Whether he ever addressed the members, I do not know. He did show his progressiveness by asking in 1812 the medics of his fellowship to check one of his cows, that "was maybe infected by cow pox", this only fourteen years after the publications in England by Edward Jenner on the advantages of vaccination.
Already in the 1770's he had his children treated against smallpox by 'variolation', which shows that he was a man with great confidence in modern science. Three years after Adrianus Quirinus' request to the medics the department of the Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen ordered 200 leaflets to be handed out across the island. These leaflets treated the on the advantages of vaccination of cows against cow pox. An initiative he must have supported wholeheartedly.
One of his children, Cornelis (CBB XIIIf) (1776-1830), who in 1809 already once leased the patented Bank van Leening at Middelharnis, succeeded him as treasurer. He would keep that function until his death in 1830. As bookkeepers or treasurers, for instance also in the boards of the polders, the Kolffs of Middelharnis enjoyed great confidence. Sometimes one may still hear the description of this branch of the Kolffs of being 'economical', a result of the reputation that started in those years? Cornelis' son Gualtherus Constantinus Marius (CBB XIVi) (1819-1890), "in difficult times always a man of deeds", became treasurer of the Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen in 1848 and held that position until 1862. Several successors followed but they were not Kolffs. But in 1895 "the department returned to her former love and trusted C. Kolff A.Cz. (CBB XVk) (1860-1923) with the care of the treasury as well as the accounting of the savings bank. 'Young Cor' (G.C.M. was his uncle), who now [1910] has proven, for many years, to give honour to his dynasty to try to be equal in accuracy and policy to the first treasurer." This sound like he still had to wait for the highest honour, but nobody ever questioned his position.

Over and over members of the Kolff family were involved with initiatives of the department of the Nut van het Algemeen. With the courses on drawings for building engineering, which were offered from 1853 until 1862, when the municipality of Sommelsdijk unfortunately stopped subsidizing them. [Post of ANWB about Kolff Middelharnis]

Also at the founding in 1902 and the board of the new technical school at Middelharnis and in 1905 in the singing-school for children. Of more importance for the family were the repeated attempts to found a savings bank. Lambertus Kolff van Oosterwijk (CCA XIIIh) (1779-1836), son of Lambertus, became bookkeeper when in 1818 the first savings bank was erected, and the already mentioned son of Adrianus Quirinus, Cornelis, was appointed treasurer in 1825.

Shortly after the latters' death in 1830, when his son succeeded him, this enterprise of the Nut van het Algemeen went bankrupt, caused by financial insecurities due to the Belgian Revolt.

Inserted in the Gedenkschrift (Memoir) of the Nut van het Algemeen is: "The savings bank has been murdered by the Belgians." The members of the department raised and funded the shortage of 500 guilders.

When in 1849 the Nut van het Algemeen decided to raise a new savings bank the already mentioned Gualtherus Constantinus Marius (CBB XIVi, 1819-1890) became one of the deputy directors. As mentioned in 1985 'Young Cor' became treasurer and accountant of this bank and soon followed a period of great prosperity. De facto this savings bank, at least the part of the treasury, soon became part of the conglomerate of the Firma Wed. C. Kolff, the old company of Adrianus Quirinus (CB XIIf) (1745-1826). With an account on this versatile enterprise I hope to continue in Part 2 of this article.

The first part dealt mainly with the occupations of the family at Middelharnis since Adrianus Quirinus (1745-1826) started the Firm in 1768. Part of these were of a gouverning nature, sometimes for the Nut van het Algemeen. Others dealt with private enterprises. Often these activities merged, as we can see with the savingsbank of the Nut. This activity soon became a part of the Firm of Wed. C. Kolff, Middelharnis Vloot Kolff under which name the firm became known after A.C.'s son Cornelius in 1830. The portfolio, one can say, of this public-private conglomerate was filled with a diverse number of activities. In this article I will try to describe the period between 1980 and 1953, when the last of our family members left the island.

In 1892 Middelharnis numbered two shipping companies, that of Slis and the one of Kolff. Each had ten fishing boats that were used for fishing on the Northsea. They fished on cod, and at times also on herring. On each boat something like thirteen found steady work. Additionally personnel was hired for steady or temporary tasks on shore. Carriers, ship builders, sail, hive and barrel makers, blacksmiths, and delivery men. A ropery shop and a rope walk (lijnbaan) near the Beneden Zandpad (where the Lijnbaanstraat still can be found today). New rigging, new nets, painting on the ship yard, all needed attention. Returns in the end were small. More than once it occurred that the advance of three guilders, that ship owners gave to the housewives before the ships came back from fishing, could not be paid out of the returns from the catch. When the final account was settled with the IJmuiden fish auction and the part for each fisherman was calculated it could happen that the men were paid nothing at all. The returns had been less than the costs of furnishing the ship to go out to sea for fishing. Sometimes a fisherman 'deserted' the company to find better employment with more lucky profitable companies. One fisherman who sailed on a Maassluis based company's vessel, but who had his wife and children at Middelharnis, deserted his company because he had earned nothing. He was sentenced to four days in jail. The judge concluded that the fact that he had not earned anything was no reason to break a contract.

More than once a ship got lost at sea. During World War I often because a ship hit a mine. For support to the widows of the men that perished at sea the Vissers Weduwen Fonds (Fund for Fishermen's Widows) existed at Middelharnis. Management came into the hands of our cousin Agaath (CBB XVk2) (1889-1951), daughter of 'young' Cor, who died in 1923. The capital of this fund must have been around 200.000 guilders. Payments amounted to one or two guilders a week. Even until after World War II - on Saturday afternoons, when all the other work was done - the youngest servant of the firm brought the hundred or so guilders on his bicycle to the widows' homes, after this had been prepared by miss Kolff. But this was already much later in time. The last shipping boat had by then been long sold to Vlaardingen (in 1921). The 1914-1918 War had been the cause of the ruin of that part of the company. What was left of the firm after 1918?

In the 1930's and 1940's four men worked at the office and in the warehouse, further there was a represetative who had a driving licence. In 1943 one of the office clerks and the warehouse assistant were put to work in Germany on the order of the occupying power. The remaining employees had to fill in their tasks. The activities were then (apart from the Vissers Weduwen Fonds): the wholesale and other trade in wines, distilled and non-alcoholic drinks, the wholesale in groceries, the Nederlandse Bank agency as well as the agency of the Nutsspaarbank Middelharnis-Sommelsdijk, the agency of the Brandverzekeringsmaatschappij Tiel-Utrecht (fire insurance company, also included insurance of harvests in barns), settlements of bills of exchange and promissory notes, the brokers' agency R. Mees & Zonen at Rotterdam, and - to conclude this list - several stewardships in polder administrations.

In the business of wholesale there was a lot to do about the high excise taxes on distilled drinks and the controlling on that by officials. Direct delivery to licensed shops and café's was rather simple. In these cases the excise taxes were paid by the licencee. For wholesale companies like Kolff's this was different. Monthly orders were placed, such as with Distilleerderij 'De Graauwe Hengst' of Daniël Visser & Zn at Schiedam. Transporter was usually a skipper from Middelharnis. Upon arrival of the ship this was reported to the office and the tax collector was informed when the transport was to be handed over. Meanwhile the goods had to be kept at the 'temporary non-taxed' storehouse of Kolff at the Oost Achterweg. Immediately after the tax collector checked the goods with the bills provided by the distillery (How is described at the Dutch section - I have had to leave that out here; Marius [Ed.]). It was not allowed to store other goods at this storehouse. Not a drop was to be taken out of this storehouse without the knowledge of the tax collector.

The firm always had a lot of drinks in stock, but they were only allowed to sell it after registration and payment to the tax collector had been arranged. For that a detailled form had to be delivered to the tax collectors' office. The office checked the goods thoroughly before they could be sold. After this check the goods could be transported to a 'shop' across the street from where, with license, the drinks could be sold. Every following Wednesday the tax had to be paid on the sold drinks.

When Holland was invaded by Germany on May 10, 1940, all traders in distilled and other alcoholic beverages were ordered to destroy all their distilled goods. While many of the smaller tradesmen followed this order our cousin Agaath handed in, the very same day, her 'list' of the distilled goods to the tax collector in the 'non-taxed' storehouse. These distilled drinks were then not sold, but placed in the wine cellar below the residence and office at the Voorstraat. They used all they had: pots and cans and bottles, to store the drinks. The carrying and bottling took two full days. In the shop the air was filled with alcohol and the floor had some centimeters of liquid becasue of the spoiling, as employee Wittekoek later remembers. Subsequently they built little walls before the pigeon holes for the more expensive wines. Over the entrance of this floor a steady brick floor was laid. Later in that year, when everything had turned to a more relaxed situation, some of these measurements were made undone. The liberation, some years later, was celebrated with champagne, while owners of café's that were custumors each got a litre of self-made 'oranjebitter': a tasty mix of sirup of orange with genever (similar to gin) and brandy.

The company was not the biggest wholesaler of groceries on the island. But it had the sole rights to sell high quality products such as the ones of Hero (canned vegetables and fruits, etc.), Tjoklat chocolade, barrels of zuurkool (sauerkraut) of Peter Verburg from the province of North-Holland, and more.

Furthermore there were the several banking activities. Note that at Kolff one could not open a proper bank-account or arrange for bank payments. Only a savings account could be opened. However there was a constant and continuous stream of money in the office. The entire island was provided with money by Kolff's Nederlandse Bank agency. Apart from the vault of the company the firm had placed a Martens' vault where there was a steady provision of banknotes and coins of something like 30,000 guilders in value. Being the 'correspondent' our cousin Agaath was the only person who knew the ciffer combination of the safe. In case of absence or illness, the only other person on the island who knew this code (and that of the Kolff safe) was the lawyer Mr L.J. den Hollander. Private persons as well as companies could come daily to exchange larger notes into smaller ones or coins, and vice versa (only the smaller coins could be exchanged at the post office). The demand for smaller notes and coins was always larger than the other way around and so these had to be requested weekly from Rotterdam. Notes with greater value were sent by registered mail in enveloppes sealed properly with varnish stamps. Smaller notes and coins were recieved in locker boxes that arrived with the 'gentleman's' boat, the 'Middelharnis'. During the journey the captain was responsable for the value: he kept the heavy metal vault in his own cabin or in the wheel-house. The currency reform in September 1945 was handled by the agency of Kolff for the island (to get rid of World War II black market money a currency reform, was initiated in 1945 by State Secretary Lieftinck; every resident had to hand in all his money and got a 'tientje' - ten guilders - from the state in return until all was settled and cleared). Ofcourse this was a tremendously heavy job. All the counting and other work was done in Agaath's back-room, where soon boxes of invalid bank notes piled the walls.

For the Nutsspaarbank accounts: around 1940 the number of savings accounts was around 500. For the primary schools there was an arrangement of savings through the schools. The savings boxes of the children were kept at the schools. Every Monday morning the children could add money to their boxes and the teacher noted the amounts. Twice a year the boxes were collected and emptied in the office. Coins were then sent to the post office. The employees of the firm had to do a lot of counting, not only for the childrens' savings by the way.

The financial administration of a number of polders/'waterschappen' (body of surveyors of the dikes) was not very sizable and could be performed as an activity on the side. The insurance agency for the 'Tiel-Utrecht' however was fairly large. For the personnel this especially meant many errands for quittances and the keeping up of the enourmous books with the policies. MH Kade

Furthermore were there the recoveries in cash and debts for the bank of Mees and for other banks, that did not have their own establishment on the island. Also the quittances of the Firm Kolff has to be kept up to date. Altogether a lot of work for Hannie Wittekoek of the Firm Kolff, and of the three so-called wissellopers (thos who collected the money) on the island (the other two worked for the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging and the Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij, the Dutch Trade Society). It concerned around ten thousand guilders monthly. A certain amount of stress constancy was required for this job. At times debtors raged on the 'wissellopers'.

Miss Agatha Kolff and her employees cooperated well, such is the impression. The only difference being that of the professional positions. Wages were not high. J.A. Wittekoek, who arrived as youngest clerk in 1939, earned an amount of Dutch Guilders 7.50 a month. Through the large variety of activities however he learned a lot and fast. That was an advantage. Many of the clerks, later, found good positions elsewhere. Wittekoek said about his work that he "felt that he was working for a trustworthy company that had a rich history." It was not just at the 'Liberations' champagne that one met each other under relaxed circumstances. Saturday mornings everybody was 'at home', that is to say: in the office. There they wrote the receipts, the wissellopers and other employees checked the supplies, and the housekeeper, Nellie Smitshoek, welcomed each one with a cup of hot chocolate. After one o'clock, the end of the official working week, the employees were expected back to write new orders or, as we saw, arrange for delivery of the payments to the Vissersfonds. One can see that in the mixed Firm of Kolff work and private activities could not exactly be seperated. There was no clear difference between work and spare time. On Sunday mornings one could find Wittekoek again back at the office: to arrange for the mail, and to walk 'Wallie' cousin Agatha's dog.

Dirk H.A. Kolff, archivist
Translation: Marius Kolff

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