Jan Bekker Teerlink

Origin

A letter written by Teerlink in the early nineties and sent from the Guangzhou (Kanton) office in China was sealed with a red wax seal depicting a coat of arms divided into quarters; two-quarters with a chevron with a number of five-pointed stars and clover leaves and a garland of roses, both referring to Jan and Betje's mutual ancestors, the Bekkers. It turns out, that the probably unknown coat of arms belonging to the Bekker family, is also depicted on the copper engraving with the coat of arms of the Zeeland 'edele en aensienelijke geslachten' (= noble and patrician families) in the Nieuwe Cronyk van Zeeland (1700) by historian and genealogist Mattheus Smallegange.

Jan's sister, Johanna Laurentia Teerlink ('Jansje Teerling'), was Betje's foster child who frequently appears in the letters of the writer and her companion author Agatha (Aagje) Deken. In the eighties, the girl lived on a small estate called Lommerlust at the village of Beverwijk near Haarlem, with her aunt Betje and Aagje Deken. Jansje and her husband were the ones who took care of the writers on their return to Holland after nine years of exile in France, a consequence of their patriotic sympathies during the period of conflict between the Dutch Patriots and Orangists. Jansje was present when Betje, after a long period of illness, in 1804 died at The Hague.

Botanical interest

The writer, Betje Wolff-Bekker, who spent much of her youth at the luxurious 'allotment' in the Flushing seignory Oud-Vlissingen, continued to spend substantial parts of her life in gardens, even while in exile in Burgundy. Obvious from letters and publications written by Betje, ‘dichtres der schoone natuur’ (= poetess of the beautiful nature), is her early interest in nature and garden design. As a pharmacist's son, nephew Jan Bekker Teerlink certainly must have been familiar with the botany subject. Probably it was this knowledge that made him visit the Company's Garden in Cape Town to collect a quantity of seeds there.

Winery

From 1809 he owned the winery Château Marquis d'Alesme Becker in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France. Bekker Teerlink's winery, which was established by the Marquis d'Alesme in 1585, still exists. The wine with his family name *Château Marquis d'Alesme 'Becker''' – and for a period simply called *Becker'' – has been in production ever since. Jan Bekker Teerlink ('Monsieur Becker') died on 4 December 1832 at Margaux and was buried at the Bordeaux Protestant Cemetery.

British hothouse

Preserved possessions

The seed of the unknown acacia species and seeds of more than 30 other underspecies of plant families from the company's Garden in Cape Town, were enclosed in paper wrappers inside a red leather portefeuille and accompanied by a ship's journal and other documents. Executed in gold on the portefeuille is the name and place of residence of its owner, the chief merchant in the service of the Asian Council – the successor of the Dutch East India Company – Jan Bekker Teerlink. The objects were part of the booty that were stolen in 1803 from the Dutch trading vessel 'Henriette' by British naval privateers authorized by their government during the Batavian Period (1795–1806) to engage in such practices.

Notes

References

• Roelof van Gelder, ‘De jaren der acacia’s’, in: NRC Handelsblad, 23 September 2006, retrieved 2013-03-28
• Roelof van Gelder, 'De verre neef. Vier brieven van Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken aan Jan Bekker Teerlink', in: De Parelduiker 3 (2007).
• Sander den Haan, 'Verzameld zaad na eeuwen ontkiemd', in: Tuinjournaal, December 2007.
• Genealogy Elizabeth Bekker en Agatha Deken, retrieved 2013-03-28

References

1. "High Court of Admiralty, and Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division: Admiralty Miscellanea".
2. "Catalogus » Sailing Letters – gahetNA".
3. "Indexen » Sailing Letters, Signatuur: 32/1048-2 – gahetNA".
4. "Archieven.nl".
5. "Archieven.nl".
6. Daws, Matthew I.. (June 2007). "Two-hundred-year seed survival of Leucospermum and two other woody species from the Cape Floristic region, South Africa". Seed Science Research.
7. "Plant grown from 203-year-old seed begins new life in the Temperate House {{!}} Kew".