Person:Egidius Van Eeuwijk (2)

So far the archives have not revealed evidential proof that Egidius is a son of Wilhelmus (Gisberti) van Eeuwijk and Catharina (Dilis) van de Pol. But it is quite likely that he is. For some reason, there is no record of his birth in the church records in Driel. But it is almost beyond doubt that he is the Wilhelmus' second son. First, Wilhelmus is the parent of all known subsequent "van Eeuwijk"'s in Driel. It would be highly unlikely if Egidius were the single child of a second, as yet unknown, van Eeuwijk in Driel. Secondly, his first name is identical to the first name of his maternal grandfather (Egidius) being a variation of Dilis). This fits with him being Wilhelmus' second son: the first son, Gisbertus, is named after his paternal grandfather and the second son, Egidius, is named after is maternal grandfather. Thirdly, there is a 3 year gap between 24/02/1725 (the birth date of Wilhelmus' first son) and 27/04/1728 (the birth date of what we suppose is Wilhelmus' third son, Guillielmus) in which Egidius could have been born. That would give Egidius the plausible age of approximately 60 years on the date of his burial. Thirdly, we know from the record of Egidius' marriage to Elisabetha van Hedel on 14/10/1753 that Elisabetha was the widow of Nicolai van de Pol and that Egidius and Elisabetha received dispensation in the 2nd and 3rd degree. This means that Egidius and Elisabetha are related. Specifically, there are three possibilities. First, they could be brother and sister (2nd degree). But that is unlikely since Elisabetha's maiden name is not "van Eeuwijk" but "Hedel". Secondly, they could be grandparent and grandchild (2nd degree). But that is also unlikely as there is no documentary evidence to support that. The third option is that they are related as aunt (uncle) and nephew (niece). I have not found any evidence of this relationship either, but it is not unlikely given that repeated inter-marriage between related families was relatively common at that time. For example, Egidius' grandfather is Dilis van de Pol and Elisabetha's first husband is called Nicolai van de Pol. While this does not imply a blood relationship between the two, it does indicate the existence of at least a broader family relationship between the two. Thirdly, Egidius and Elisabetha name their first daughter Catharina, which matches Egidius' mother's first name. The only contrary indication is that they name their first son Mathias, which matches neither Egidius' nor Elisabetha's father's name. Nevertheless, lacking direct documentary evidence, the hypothesis must be that Egidius is born between late 1725 and mid-1727 as the second son of Wilhelmus (Gisberti) van Eeuwijk and Catharina (Dilis) van de Pol.

The next event that we know about is that Egidius marries Elisabetha van Hedel on 14/10/1753 in Driel. Interestingly, Egidius and Elisabetha register their marriage with both the Roman Catholic and Dutch Reformed churches, even though both are probably practising Roman Catholics, having been born to Roman Catholic parents. Perhaps this is evidence of the suppression of Catholicism in the Netherlands at this time, as the registration with the Dutch Reformed Church may have been required by law to ensure civic (as opposed to religious) recognition of the marriage contract.

The marriage soon yields children. Catharina is born on 12/07/1754, Mathias is born on 01/04/1757 and Gisbertus is born on 29/04/1760. The death certificate for Elisabetha on 07/04/1795 indicates that there may have been more children as it states that Elisabetha leaves behind two children that are living at home on that date. But we know that Catharina and Mathias are both married (and presumably no longer living with their mother) by that date. We have no evidence that Gisbertus was married by that date. So it appears there is at least one additional child to be accounted for.

Egidius dies at the age of 60 and is survived by his wife and at least two of his children. He is buried at the Dutch Reformed Church in Driel on 11/01/1787. Once again, this is probably evidence of suppression of the Catholic faith in the Netherlands at this time. According to the entry in the church book, the church bells were rung for 1 hour at a cost of 13 stuyvers. In addition, a cloth worth 9 stuyvers (20 stuyvers = 1 guilder) and a casket worth 8 stuyvers were procured from the church authorities, yielding them the nice little sum of 30 stuyvers. I have no idea whether that represents a cheap burial or not.