| Notes |
- PRIVATE
- «b»Jacques (Jacob) de VILLIERS«/b», born about 1661, French Huguenot who arrived at the Cape with his brothers Abraham and Pierre, travelling from Goeree on the «i»Zion«/i» which left on January 9, 1689«i», «/i»
He was granted the farm «i»La Brie«/i», Franschhoek in 1694 and owned it until 1735. In 1715 he obtained the farm «i»Leeuwendans«/i» and in September 1732 obtained another 40 morgen adjacent to this farm. He bought the farm «i»Boschendal«/i» from his brother Abraham on 14 September 1717. He bequeathed «i»Boschendal«/i» to his son Jean in 1738. He purchased thje farm «i»Lekkerwyn«/i» from his brother Abraham's estate in 1730.
Jacob was a deacon (1702-1711) and elder (1715-1717) of the Drakenstein congregation. He was a member of the Drakenstein Militia.
At the request of Antoine Martin, in 1694 Jacob declared before the Landrost in Stellenbosch that Jean Imbert without provocation struck Martin (who incidentally had only one hand) over the head with a pistol. Jacob took the pistol away from Imbert, whereupon Imbert through Martin to the ground and beat him severely. After this incident, apparently Imbert and Martin were reconciled because they afterwards formed a partnership.
Jacob usually signed his name Jacob, not Jacques, including in his will.
The couple are listed in the Drakenstein section of the 1695 Muster Roll as "«i»Jacob du Vilie & Margarita Gardioul 3 k«/i»"
They are mentioned int he 1731 report of Governor de la Fonteine, in Drakenstein, with one child at home, and the remark "«i»Heeft Land Dog Niet Zonder Schulden«/i»" (has land, not without debts)
He and his wife are listed in the 1733 Muster Roll as "«i»Jan Villiers de Oude & Margaretha Gardiol«/i»"
In the 1970s, Pieter Emelius van Zyl worked for Rhodes Fruit Farms who then owned the «i»Boschendal«/i» estate.
From the Boschendal web site (2006):
"Winemaking at Boschendal dates back to 1685 when the property was acquired by Le Long and Lanoy, and flourished with the arrival of Abraham de Villiers. He was one of three brothers, the first acknowledged experts in viticulture to reach the Cape of Good Hope. As such they can be said to have introduced the French wine tradition into the Cape and the selection of Boschendal to apply their knowledge and skill was the first recognition of its special suitability for the culture of vines.
Today Boschendal produces a distinguished range of distinctive and elegant red, white and sparkling wines, much acclaimed by international connoisseurs. "
From "French Refugees at the Cape":
In the Zion, which left Holland on the 8th January, 1689, and arrived on the 6th May following, came three brothers, Pierre, Abraham and Jacob de Villiers. Writing to the Cape on the 16th December, 1688, the Chamber at Delft said of them: "With this ship (the Zion) we have again permitted the following French Refugees to sail to the Cape and earn their living as freemen, Pierre de Villiers, Abraham de Villiers and Jacob de Villiers, all three brothers born near la Rochelle. We are informed that these persons have a good knowledge of laying out vineyards and managing the same, and thus we hope that the Company will acquire their good service. You are recommended to give them a helping hand."
From «i»Genealogy Of The De Villiers Family In South Africa
«/i»The three de Villiers brothers travelled to the Cape on the ship Sion which had probably replaced an older ship of the same name. It left Goree in the province of Zeeland on 9 January 1689. Owing to headwinds the Sion could not join the Zeeland fleet and, in spite of the danger caused by France's declaration of war on the Netherlands in 1688, it reached the Cape safely on 6 May 1689.
When the de Villierses landed, the first French refugees who had arrived in April 1688 had been settled on small farms assigned to them by Simon van der Stel before 29 August 1688, the date of arrival of the Rev. Simond, who visited them there shortly afterwards. The three brothers must have been in touch with their compatriots shortly after their arrival, as Abraham de Villiers was a member of the deputation which waited on Commander van der Stel in November 1689 with a request that the French refugees be granted their own church council.
Thus one of the de Villiers ancestors became implicated in the notorious Resolution of the Council of Policy in which the refugees were inter alia accused of plotting against the Company and were severely reprimanded. This rebuff was due to the fact that the Huguenots' desire to retain their identity clashed with Van der Stel's policy to integrate the French with the Dutch population.
Five months before the deputation was received by the Commander and the Council of Policy, the Rev. Simond had written to the Council of Seventeen requesting that their own church council be granted to the French refugees. This request was granted in 1690 but another petition, for a separate school for French children, was refused. In 1691 "Abraham de Viellers" was appointed a deacon on the first church council of the Drakenstein congregation.
When and how the three brothers settled on the land assigned to them, is not known. According to the records the ancestors' farms were assigned to them in 1694, but they had in all probability been living on their farms since 1689, otherwise Abraham could not have become a deacon of the congregation of Drakenstein in 1691. Title deeds were granted to Pierre de Villiers in 1713, to Abraham in 1711 and to Jacob in 1712. The farms were situated in the Franschhoek valley, adjacent to one another. Pierre's farm was called Bourgogne, Abraham's Champagne and Jacob called his La Brie.
The three brothers arrived in time to share in the amount of 6 000 rixdollars sent from Batavia to assist the Huguenots at the Cape. The brothers' share was 570 guilders. In 1690 Abraham owed the Company 110 guilders and Pierre and Jacob 91 guilders each for breeding stock and for material from the Company's store, on which the Company made a profit of 70 per cent. By 1719 the de Villierses had repaid their debt to the Company and had prospered to such an extent that they could buy additional land.
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Abt 1661 - 1735 (74 years)
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