Person:Willem Wassenaar (7)

Also called : Willem Stevens (De Oude) Wassenaar

Declaration of roots

Just before the months (aug/okt 1566), when the population started revoking the Catholic traditions, 3 rich farmers Klaas Bartouts, Pieter Cornelis Bonteman en Willem Stevens, traveled from Het Bildt in Friesland to Holland, where there parents were born and relatives still lived and owned land.

These 3 cousins, deemed it necessary to have some official recognizion of their roots. On 08 Jun 1566 they received a declaration from the "Schout van Sassenheim", declaring their descent and giving a description of the family crest, which is also visible on a church window in Leiden.

This same crest was being used since 1557 by many descendants of the 3 cousins.

Their common ancestor was Steven Huijgens, who has been regarded to be the "founding father" of the original inhabitants of this region "het Bildt" for a long time.

Location