Johan de Witt Jr. explained

Johan de Witt Jr., heer van Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp and IJsselveere (27 May 1662 at The Hague – 24 January 1701 at Dordrecht) was a Dutch politician, scholar, and collector.

Biography

Johan Jr. was the son of Johan de Witt and his wife Wendela Bicker (1635–1668). Having been part of the old Dutch patrician De Witt family, De Witt took a seat as secretary of the city of Dordrecht.[1] After the early death of his mother, his relatives, Gerard Bicker (I) van Swieten and Catherine van Sijpesteijn, who lived in the same house, also looked after their nephews and nieces.[2] His two other uncles, Jean Deutz and Pieter de Graeff, became guardians and were responsible for handling the maternal estate.[3]

In Rampjaar 1672, after the murder of his father, De Graeff became the guardian of Johann and his siblings.[4] Johan de Witt Jr. later became the overseer of the orphanage in Dordrecht (1684–1685). After that he became secretary (1688–1701) and member of the College of Forty (1695) of Dordrecht.

Johan de Witt married his cousin Wilhelmina de Witt (1671–1701), the daughter of his uncle Cornelis de Witt (1623–1672) en Maria van Berckel (1632–1706). The couple had two children:

Johan de Witt owned an extensive library, consisting of books that previously belonged to his father as well as additions of his own.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Yme Berend Kuiper, Ben Olde Meierink, L.H.M. Olde Meierink, Elyze Storms-Smeets, Buitenplaatsen in de Gouden Eeuw: De rijkdom van het buitenleven in de Republiek, Uitgeverij Verloren, 2015, pg 78
  2. http://www.greetsgenealogie.nl/gezinskaart-van-gerard-bicker-van-swieten-1632-1716/ Greets genealogie. Gezinskaart van Gerard Bicker van Swieten (1632-1716)
  3. https://johandewitt.nl/?p=1165 www.johandewitt.nl "De verkoop van een aantal van Wendela’s juwelen door Jacoba Bicker", Gepubliceerd op 24 oktober 2020 door Saskia Kuus
  4. http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/aa__001biog08_01/aa__001biog08_01_0677.php#g0677 Pieter de Graeff, Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren
  5. H. W. de Kooker, Bert van Selm, Boekcultuur in de Lage Landen, 1500-1800: bibliografie van publikaties over particulier boekenbezit in Noord- en Zuid-Nederland, verschene voor 1991, HES, 1993