Will-1666- Top 'copy' and full document?

Page 2 of 'top copy' summary....

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page 2 of 'full' will

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Dear Anne,

This is the will of Cecilia wtten Hage van Ruven, unmarried and living at Delft (the w should be pronounced as uu in Dutch). She declared the three sisters Cornelia, Maria, and Elizabeth Schoonhoven to be her heirs. These three sisters were here nieces, as they were daughters of Josina van Ruven and Jacob Schoonhoven. In case one of the sisters would die before Cecilia, the children and grandchildren of the deceased sister would become heirs, in case one of the sisters would die childless before Cecilia, the inheritance would befall to the longestliving of the three sisters.

The aforementioned sisters would be free to act as they pleased regarding the inheritance after Cecilia's death, provided they would make sure to pay some specified bequests:

A) to Elisabeth van Ruven, sister of Cecilia:

- a debenture (obligatie) of 1600 guilders, issued by the provinces (het Gemeenlant); in case this debenture would already have been paid in full at the time of Cecilia's death, the sisters should make sure to bequest another debenture of the same value to Elisabeth van Ruven

- a piece of land covering a surface of two morgen, situated in common with the inheritants of a mister vanden Berg over Maas at Beijerland

Elisabeth will however only be entitled to the usufruct of both the debenture and the land; after Elisabeth would have died, the debenture and the land would also befall to the three aforementioned nieces of Cecilia and/or their descendents; if none of these inheritants would be alive anymore, the inheritance would befall to the orphaned child of Fredrick Schoonhoven (i.e. Jacobus Schoonhoven).
All documents regarding this inheritance should be kept by the aforementioned nieces, who would have to pay the interest on the debenture to Elisabeth van Ruven. In case all three nieces, their descendants, as well as Jacobus, the orphaned child of Fredrick Schoonhovenm would have died, the inheritance would finally befall to Elisabeth van Ruven.

B) To Jacobus Schoonhoven, orphaned son of Fredrick Schoonhoven
- an amount of 1,000 guilders, to be paid by the nieces at the moment Jacobus would come of age (i.e.: on his 25th birthday or, if earlier, at the moment he would marry). In case Jacobus would have died before that, the amount would befall to the aformentioned nieces. The will specifically states that at the moment the nieces would pay the bequest to Jacobus, they would not be obliged to pay any interest of the money to Jacobus.

By accepting the bequests, both Elisabeth and Jacobus will renounce any futher rights of inheritance.

Dear Rene

That's super- thank you so much.

It's good to be clear how the inheritance would befall the 3 sisters. It's also interesting that Cornelia leaves money to her sister Elisabeth as these sisters had a falling out over the running of the 'Klaeuwshofje' in Delft, an almshouse which was set up by their paternal grandparents to provide housing for widowed or unmarried Catholic women at the time.

It still exists today and I visited it when I was last in Delft. Of course today it's available for elderly or single people.

very best wishes

Anne

Hi Anne,

Good that you added info on the almshouse issue, as the will also states that parties should respect a prior agreement about t Hoofje, this name apparently referring to the almshouse.

That's interesting to note.

T'Hoofje was established in 1605 by the Schoonhoven sisters great grandparents, and was run by the family until Elisabeth Schoonhoven, the youngest sister passed away in 1711. Quite a legacy to leave Delft :-)

Thanks again for your help Rene.

Anne