Margaretha DE VILLIERS

1705 - 1776  (71 years)

• Name	Margaretha DE VILLIERS  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Born	8 Jul 1705
  Christened	9 Aug 1705	Drakenstein (Paarl)
  Gender	Female
  Died	2 Dec 1776	Drakenstein (Paarl)
  Notes	I did a little research into my family history notably on the de Villiers side and discovered that all de Villiers in South Africa are related to 3 de Villiers dating back to the 1600’s The Huguenot Pierre de Villiers and his two younger brothers, Abraham and Jacques were originally from the town Bar-sur-Seine in Bourgogne in France. They moved to a safe haven, La Rochelle, on the west coast, before fleeing to the Netherlands. They were recruited by the Dutch East India Company for their wine farming experience. The Zion, departed from the Netherlands, 8 January 1689, and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 6 May 1689. The Zion belonged to the Chamber of Delft. A letter from the Chamber of Delft, dated 16 December 1688, stated :”With this ship we have again permitted the following French Refugees to sail to the Cape and earn their living as freemen, Pierre de Villiers, Abraham de Villiers and Jacob de Villiers, all three brothers born near la Rochelle. We are informed that these persons have a good knowledge of laying out vineyards and managing the same, and thus we hope that the Company will acquire their good service”. The de Villiers brothers’ new farm in Olifantshoek (the current Franschhoek) was named La Rochelle, like their home town in France. The De Villiers brothers, like many of the settlers, struggled, but they were amongst the few Huguenots who actually had practical experience of viticulture. Jointly the de Villiers brothers owned one horse, which they took turns to ride when they went to church in Stellenbosch – a three hour ride! Their wealth lay in their children and their descendants ensured that De Villiers is in all likelihood the most numerous, if not famous, Hugenot family to survive at the Cape. The register of the old Drakenstein church shows that the Villiers brothers were christening children with great regularity. Together with the Gardiol and Taillefert families, they formed one large clan, acting as godparents to one another’s babies. Pierre, who fathered 25 children and lived to see his 100th grandchild, was the one to retain the now famous La Rochelle farm. The De Villiers genealogy is a quagmire of intermarriage between cousins, all of whom chose traditional family names for their numerous children. The de Villiers had several namesakes, all of whom managed their affairs well and became prominent burghers. I cannot seem to find much information regarding the de Villiers. SOURCE: Robbie De Villiers
  Person ID	I426	LC Joubert
  Last Modified	1 Oct 2010

  
  

  Father	Jacques (Jacob) DE VILLIERS,   b. 1661, France ,   d. 17 May 1735  (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Marguerite GARDIOL,   b. 2 Oct 1670, LaCoste, France
  Married	1691
  Family ID	F135	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Gideon JOUBERT, a1b8,   b. 14 Aug 1704, Stellenbosch ,   d. 1 Aug 1739, Drakenstein (Paarl)  (Age 34 years)
  Married	25 Feb 1725	Stellenbosch
  Children	1. Pieter JOUBERT,   b. 13 Jan 1726,   d. 1776  (Age 49 years)   2. Margaretha JOUBERT,   b. 18 Jul 1728,   d. 1766  (Age 37 years) + 3. Gideon JOUBERT, a1b8c3,   b. 1730,   d. 27 Apr 1782, Tulbagh, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa  (Age 52 years)   4. Jacob JOUBERT,   c. 7 Oct 1732 + 5. Josua JOUBERT,   c. 5 Jun 1735, Paarl, Cape, South Africa   6. Elizabeth JOUBERT,   b. Abt 1737
  Last Modified	21 Feb 2019
  Family ID	F122	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Heinrich HOPPE,   b. Abt 1705, Hamburg, Germany ,   d. 1749  (Age 44 years)
  Married	9 Oct 1740	Paarl, Cape, South Africa   [6]
  Children	1. Catharina Magdalena HOPPE,   b. 30 Sep 1791, Paarl, Cape, South Africa   2. Rachel HOPPE,   c. 27 Aug 1797
  Last Modified	26 Aug 2023
  Family ID	F212	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S11] http://robbiedevilliers.wordpress.com/, http://robbiedevilliers.wordpress.com/2007/01/23/my-forefathers/, 2007. I did a little research into my family history notably on the de Villiers side and discovered that all de Villiers in South Africa are related to 3 de Villiers dating back to the 1600’s The Huguenot Pierre de Villiers and his two younger brothers, Abraham and Jacques were originally from the town Bar-sur-Seine in Bourgogne in France. They moved to a safe haven, La Rochelle, on the west coast, before fleeing to the Netherlands. They were recruited by the Dutch East India Company for their wine farming experience. The Zion, departed from the Netherlands, 8 January 1689, and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 6 May 1689. The Zion belonged to the Chamber of Delft. A letter from the Chamber of Delft, dated 16 December 1688, stated :”With this ship we have again permitted the following French Refugees to sail to the Cape and earn their living as freemen, Pierre de Villiers, Abraham de Villiers and Jacob de Villiers, all three brothers born near la Rochelle. We are informed that these persons have a good knowledge of laying out vineyards and managing the same, and thus we hope that the Company will acquire their good service”. The de Villiers brothers’ new farm in Olifantshoek (the current Franschhoek) was named La Rochelle, like their home town in France. The De Villiers brothers, like many of the settlers, struggled, but they were amongst the few Huguenots who actually had practical experience of viticulture. Jointly the de Villiers brothers owned one horse, which they took turns to ride when they went to church in Stellenbosch - a three hour ride! Their wealth lay in their children and their descendants ensured that De Villiers is in all likelihood the most numerous, if not famous, Hugenot family to survive at the Cape. The register of the old Drakenstein church shows that the Villiers brothers were christening children with great regularity. Together with the Gardiol and Taillefert families, they formed one large clan, acting as godparents to one another’s babies. Pierre, who fathered 25 children and lived to see his 100th grandchild, was the one to retain the now famous La Rochelle farm. The De Villiers genealogy is a quagmire of intermarriage between cousins, all of whom chose traditional family names for their numerous children. The de Villiers had several namesakes, all of whom managed their affairs well and became prominent burghers. I cannot seem to find much information regarding the de Villiers. [S50] CONTRACT - GIDEON JUBERT 1744, (KAB/CJ/VOL:2886/REF:66). [S51] CONTRACT - GIDEON JUBERT 1745, (KAB/CJ/2884). [S89] WILL - Margaretha DE VILLIERS (d.1776), (KAB/MOOC/VOL:7/1/6/REF:41). [S90] WILL - Margaretha DE VILLIERS (d.1776) - (2), (KAB/CJ/VOL:2656/REF:21). [S18] FAMILYSEARCH, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKD-197C-T?cc=1478678.