Perhaps at the beginning he could be apoligized because of
his marriage. Only in April 1672 he could be officially taken
in as a member of the classis and it seems he was doing his
work properly. But not for long, for in the summer of that
same year Wouter and Petronella were neither at Dalem nor
at Vuren. The 'Rampjaar*' rampaged the Nederbetuwe.
French horsemen looted the no man's land between the State
(Republican) troops at Gorinchem and those of Turenne at Zaltbommel.
Safety could only be found within the Dalem Gate of the Holland
town of Gorinchem. Petronella was pregnant. It is likely that
the young couple found refuge with Rev. Georgius de Mey and
his wife and the baby was born there. We know that the baby
was baptized Georgius Justinus at Gorinchem on August 12,
1672, by Rev. De Mey. Both names were new to both the fathers'
and the mothers' families. We can clarify Georgius, but Justinus
has so far remained a mystery. It is obvious that the parents
had reason to be thankful to a number of people. Likely to
be people from Holland. The energetic abilities of Petronella
must have had something to do with this. Already the next
year Wouter got appointed at Noordeloos' beautiful, big church;
Noordeloos belonging to the classis of Gorinchem. |
 Six
years later they went further west: from Noordeloos to Maassluis.
The couple would remain at Maassluis for the rest of their
lives. Would they have spoken with a Nijmegen dialect at home
in Maassluis? I think something from Nijmegen has always remained
with us thanks to this couple Kolff-van Duren. It is the swan,
as tarpaulin with our coat of
arms. In many a Nijmegen story the swan is being honoured
as the bird that came down along the river Rhine and landed
at the quay of the river Waal, just there where Nijmegen is
now situated. Of the Coat of Arms of the Alliance of Wouter
and Petronella in 1671, the year of their marriage, a copy
is kept at the family archives. It
hardly resembles our present coat of arms, but the swan is
already there. That must have been a swan from Nijmegen that
travelled along to Maassluis. |
| * Rampjaar: Dutch known expression
for the year 1672 (transl. 'Disaster Year') when the Republic
of the United Netherlands was declared war and got attacked
by England, France, Münster and Cologne. |
Image: Coat
of Arms, Alliance Kolff-van Duren (van Duyren)
(taken from Kolff in Zeven Eeuwen,
p. 22) |
