Belgium, Hendrik Cornelius (van Reenen) van Niekerk

[Karytay]

I am looking for parents and proof of birth of  Hendrik Cornelius (van Reenen) van Niekerk who was born in Forchies, Fontaine-l'Eveque, Hainaut, Walloon Region, Belgium on the 19 May 1858.

He came out to South Africa and married here. Would like to know if he came alone or with his parents.

Thanks

[TreeSpirit]

Nothing to find .... where did the birth location come from?

To be honest, I would have expected him to have been born and bred in South Africa as a (great) grand child of Elizabeth Wilhelmina van Reenen and Hendrik Cornelis van Niekerk.

[Karytay]

I found the info on his Geni profile. I have looked for his death notice and baptism with out any luck. I looked in the SAG's book under van Niekerk and there are no Hendrik Cornelis van Reenen van Niekerk that I can see. Lots of Hendrik Cornelis van Niekerks, I even thought maybe he did not have van Reenen in his name at baptism and looked at all the birth dates for the other Hendrik Cornelis's nothing fits.

The few children of his that I have found, their baptism's have him as Hendrik Cornelis van Reenen van Niekerk. All in the Orange Free State.

Any suggestions to what I can do now or were to look?

[garstonite]

Nothing to find .... where did the birth location come from?

To be honest, I would have expected him to have been born and bred in South Africa as a (great) grand child of Elizabeth Wilhelmina van Reenen and Hendrik Cornelis van Niekerk.

article about Hendrik in South Africa in 1798 -Deep River ,South Africa -  born 1768 Middleburg , Zuid Holland , Netherlands - Father Ockert Van Niekerk ....if by any chance they are family 

[garstonite]

I don't quite understand this -
surving spoute Helletje Maria Elizabeth Van Reenen - South Africa 1876
is Spoute = Spouse ?...I read it as she is the wife of the man who has died - the family Van Reenen ??  no idea who her husband was - doesn't say..very strange paper report

[Karytay]

I do not recall seeing him. My van Niekerk's are just one small branch of a huge van Niekerk family in South Africa. About 56 pages listing all the names for van Niekerk's from the years 1660"s to 1970's in the South African Geneaglogy Society Book.

garstonite may I see the report ?
According tho the list of van Niekerk's the forefather was Gerrit b. 1695 Cape Town. His father came out to South Africa around 1691, his name Kornelis Gerritz van Nieuwkerk

The Hendrik you found could be a another van Niekerk that came out later but not connected to the main family. Would like to research him. Helletje Maria Elizabeth Van Reenen sounds familiar, quite a few van Reenen's married into the van Niekerk's. You have made me curious now    

[TreeSpirit]

Unfortunately you haven’t really told us exactly what you have found (besides the unconfirmed info on Geni), but these are the only things I’ve managed to scrape together for the family up till now:

1895 - Baptisms of daughters Elizabeth Johanna Carolina and Jane Frances Duminij
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C953-Q9KD-Q?i=17&cc=1910846
-
1897 – Birth son Jacob van Reenen
https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/3/3d/Broodryk-25.jpg
-
1901/2 – Concentration camp info incl the mention of daughters Anna Jacoba b abt 1888 and Maria b abt 1898
https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Person/76775/Hendrik_van_Reenen_van_Niekerk/
-
1905 – baptism of son Christiaan Wilhelm Brootryk
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89GM-V8SH?i=5&cc=1910846

I looked at a lot of "Hendrik C van Niekerk" death & estate files, but none were for the correct person.
Note: All the 3 baptisms were done "gratis", so this could be the reason why there might not be an estate file.

[Karytay]

Yes TreeSpirit because I have found nothing besides the info on Geni and Wiki except for the baptism you have posted. I use the link given to look for baptisms of the other children with no results so far. I have looked through the civil deaths for both Hendrik and Anna, nothing so far. Also looked thought the civil marriages for OFS and the Cape found nothing.

Even went as far as collecting all the Hendrik Cornelis's death notice's that I could find, no results. I then looked for all the Jacob van Reenen Van Niekerk's since someone said he was the father. Hoping to find Hendrik, came up empty.

I though if I could find their marriage it might give me a clue to his age and place he was staying before marriage.

Another thing the parents that one tree gives him had a son Hendrik Cornelis born 1850, he to is a mystery. Found his baptism but nothing else, at first I was thinking he could be the Hendrik born in 1858. But then maybe the one in 1850 died young and they gave the name to the one born in 1858. But that still does not help, for I cannot find a baptism for the one in 1858.

Now back to Hendrik and Anna's marriage, Anna was born in Beaufort West her mother died when she was about 7 and her father remarried. So her baptism should be there in Beaufort West records, but I have not found it. I then looked for her marriage in Beaufort West thinking she might of married there, came up empty.
It is as if they simply disappeared.
I found a baptism record for Hendrik and Anna's son Jacob van Reenen van Niekerk b. 1897  in some other Estate file, this was a few years ago but did not keep the file since these van Niekerk's are not directly linked to mine. And I cannot find it again, all I remember is it was a estate file for a woman and it was from the OFS. I also remember thinking it odd that his baptism record would be in her file for I could not find a connection to him.

As for Hendrik and Anna's son Jacob van Reenen van Niekerk b. 1897, I have looked for his baptism in the church records but it is not there. According to the record I found he was baptized in Boshof in the N G Kerk. I have his civil death notice and marriage and children all in Johannesburg, have his grave picture as well. But the only mention of his parents is on the baptism record. And the fact he named his son after his father.

[TreeSpirit]

The camp info indicates that Hendrik was born abt 1856/7 ...