De Villiers family name
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Excerpt from “The Krynauw Family” by David Willem Krynauw, born 03/02/1908. His mother was Anna Maria Retief de Villiers, born 20/10/1863
De Villiers family name origin
The family name is probably derived from the word Villaris or Villare. In the Middle Ages this word had the meaning of a homestead. Transferred to the people who became de Villiers, it would have the meaning of people who live in the town – like the English Village.
The three brothers who settled in South Africa—Pierre, Abraham, and Jacques—were French Huguenots originally from La Rochelle. Despite the challenges of building a life in a foreign land, they succeeded remarkably well. Moreover, they played a significant role in society from the outset, particularly in Church life. On 28 November 1689, Rev. Pierre Simond submitted a request to the Political Council to establish his own congregation. His deputation included Abraham de Villiers and three others. Although the request was initially denied, permission was later granted, and in 1691, Abraham was elected both deacon and Heemraad.
Notably, Abraham has no De Villiers descendants, but four of his daughters became ancestors of prominent families, including the Bosman, Faure, Ackerman, and Schabort families. Pierre also served the Drakenstein congregation as an elder from 1691. He was present as a resting elder at the laying of the cornerstone of the church building, and he and his wife were later buried on the grounds of the Strooidakkerk.
Campaigners for the rights of the Colonists
From an early stage, some of their descendants were campaigners for the rights of the Colonists. In 1779, for example, the local councilor Jan de Villiers and a few others applied to the Political Council for permission to send a deputation to the Netherlands in order to convey the Colonists’ objections directly to the authorities. When permission was refused, the objectors sent a deputation of four persons to the Netherlands on their own initiative. In 1784 his name appears again as a member of a deputation. In 1793 the same De Villiers was also one of the Graaff-Reinetters who opposed Magistrate Maynier. During the 19th century, many of this family also came under English influence. Then one also finds names such as Sir John Henry de Villiers, the later Baron of Wynberg. In 1837, a certain John George de Villiers was appointed as the first President-Magistrate of Port Elizabeth
Three brothers
All the de Villiers families in South Africa were therefore descended from two of the three brothers, namely Pierre, married to Elizabeth Taillefer and Jacques married to Marguerite Gardiol. However, it seems that Jacques made the greatest contribution in terms of numbers. Jacques de Villiers and Marguerite Gardiol had 11 children: Jean 22 children, Izak 15, Jacob Nicolaas 17, and David 15. David was married to Madeleine, the daughter of Pierre and Elizabeth Taillefer.
Pierre’s sons, Pierre and Jean, were married to women with the same name and surname, namely, Hester Melius, though Jean married Hester Melius, the daughter of Pierre’s wife. Each had six children. The only other son, Isaak, married Maria van der Heever, but apparently, they had no children. Two of Pierre’s daughters also never married.
Our family, on the maternal side, descends from Pierre’s son Jean, who married Hester Melius (Junior). See History/Timeline (Sixth generation).
It is important to put Pierre’s lineage into perspective. His eldest son, Pierre (born 1695), married Hester Melius, née Roux. Their son, Pieter de Villiers, married Helene Basson on 17 March 1756. He later remarried on 30 January to Johanna de Villiers, the granddaughter of Jacques de Villiers and Marguerite Gardiol.
Johanna’s parents were Abraham de Villiers (born 2 October 1707), who married Susanna Joubert on 20 May 1735, and later remarried Johanna Lombard on 31 November 1737. Sir John Henry de Villiers descended from Pieter de Villiers and Johanna de Villiers.
Pieter’s seventeenth child, Jacob Nicolaas de Villiers (born 26 November 1786), married Susanna Margaretha Bernharde. Their son, Carel Christiaan de Villiers (born 26 October 1811), married Dorothea Elizabeth Retief on 8 December 1834. Their fourth child, John Henry, later became Chief Justice and Baron of Wynberg, while their seventh child, Melius de Villiers, became Chief Justice of the Free State.
There is a gossip connected with Pieter regarding his wife Johanna. The story is that he sold her in 1788. Another source says it was 1798. The latter source is also an indication of the “gossip” in the story, because Pieter died in 1789. Johanna remarried on 27.5.1793 to Abraham de Clercq. He came to the Cape from Amsterdam much later than the De Klerk family.