Jan Kruys
| Mayor of Vriezenveen 1825-1830 | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the town of Vriezenveen | |
| Inaugural holder | Jan Kruys |
| Formation | 23 July 1825 |
Jan Kruys (1767-1830) was the first Mayor of the town of Vriezenveen in the Netherlands.
History[edit]
Jan Kruys was born in Vriezenveen, Overijssel, on 14 July, 1767. His father, Claas Jansen Kruys (1731-1802), was a merchant at the firm 'Kruys, Engberts & Sons', exporting linen and other goods to Hamburg, Frankfurt, Strasbourg and Allicante. His mother was Grietje Otten (1742-1807), daughter of Gerrit Jansen Otten and Jenneken Brouwer.[1][2]
Jan married Anna Broers (1772-1793) on 27 January 1793 in Amsterdam. Anna passed away during childbirth that same year. Jan remarried on 28 June 1995 with Maria Ursinus (1774-1845) with whom he had six daughters and five sons.[3]
Jan Kruys was the last magistrate (Dutch: Schout) of Vriezenveen and the first mayor of the town from 1825 until his death in 1830. During the French period the position of magistrate was abolished and initially changed to 'maire' or 'meier'. On 23 July 1825, the title was officially changed to mayor (Dutch: burgemeester) by Royal Decree.[2]
Between 1817-1830, Jan kept a detailed diary. The fourteen books are archived at the Dutch Institute of Military History. Transcriptions and other documents are kept at the historic museum of Vriezenveen.[2]
Jan was grandfather of Vriezenveen resident, Dutch vice admiral and minister of Navy Gerhardus Kruys (1838-1902).
Rusluie[edit]
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Members of the Kruys family were part of the ‘Rusluie’, a community of Dutch expats living in the city of St Petersburg in Russia between 1720 and 1917. They originally came from the town of Vriezenveen.[4][5][6]
From 1781 tot 1789, Jan and his brother Johannes Kruys (1769-1806) worked with their father at the family business in St Petersburg. After eight years Jan left Russia and began a business in Amsterdam. He returned to Vriezenveen in 1799.
According to entries in the diary of his son Jacob Kruys (1812-1852), who also travelled to St Petersburg, the 2,400 km journey by covered wagon led through Osnabrück, Berlin and Riga, and took 15 days.[7]
Death[edit]
Jan passed away in Vriezenveen (Oosteinde 148) on 22 December 1830, at the age of 63.
References[edit]
- ^ Wie was wie?. Centrum voor familiegeschiedenis, Den Haag.
- ^ a b c " Familiearchief Kruys. Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie (NIMH) (in Dutch).
- ^ De familie Kruijs schrijft geschiedenis. Historisch Museum van Vriezenveen (in Dutch).
- ^ Popov stamt uit Vriezenveen. Gert Jan Rohmensen. Trouw, 25 september 2003 (in Dutch).
- ^ "Van assimilatie tot segregatie: de Nederlandse kolonie in Sint-Petersburg. 1856-1917". Jelena Sergejevna van Wijngaarden-Xiounina. Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen 2007 (in Dutch).
- ^ Vriezenveners in St. Petersburg. Vereniging oud Vriezenveen (in Dutch).
- ^ Jacob Kruys – een historisch reisverslag. Gert Pape, Historisch Museum van Vriezenveen (in Dutch).