Will- 1646 Delft

p.2

Dear Anne,

It is indeed a will from Geertgen Jans van Deijssel, according to the will unmarried ('jonge dochter') and aged (as she declared herself) over 12 years. It states that, if she would die without children, her father Jan Harmenssen van Deijssel will be the only and universal heir of heir properties. There is no other specific info in the document apart from standard formulars

Dear Rene

Many thanks, and as always very interesting.

Goodness! Could someone aged over 12 yrs make a will in Holland at that time?

I'll need to look for another reference to Geertegen becoming a pottery painter.

warmest best wishes

Anne

Dear Anne,

I was also surprised by the young age; when I searched for similar cases, it appeared that this was not uncommon and even had a famous precedent: Titus van Rijn, the only son of Rembrandt and his first wife Sakia van Uylenburgh, made his first will at the age of 14 (and in the next three years he made two more). In his case, the wills seemed to serve to protect the inheritance from his deceased mother from his mother's family and hence to benefit Rembrandt: Titus, having inherited his mother's part of the household possessions, appointed Rembrandt to be his only heir in case Titus would die childless, hence preserving his mother's inheritance to be used for Rembrandt and his household, rather than to befall to his mother's next of kin.

See (in Dutch): https://geschiedenislokaalamsterdam.nl/bronnen/testament-van-titus

Absolutely fascinating Rene!

I'd also wondered how a child could have an inheritance to leave to anyone else; your example above explains the reason they would write a will.

Thank you so much for enlightening me further.

warmest best wishes

Anne