Willem Johannes Basson b.c1844

[Kinsy]

I'm looking for Willem's parents/ancestors.
Willem married Martha Susanna Elisabetta Briedenhan in Oct 1867 in Boshof and they had 3 children: Martha Susanna Elisabetta c1868, Nicolaas Solomon Johannes c1870, Johanna Elisabetta 1872.
Willem and Martha were both widowed when they married - he was 23 and she was 20. I have their marriage record, Martha's bapt record and death notice, and have traced Martha's parents and g/parents etc, as well as her first husband.
It's just Willem who is proving to be a brickwall. He was married again in 1873, and he died before Dec 1928 ["deceased" in dau Johanna's DN] 

[TreeSpirit]

Apparently Willem was already "wijlen" (=late) by Feb 1893 (found in Martha's 1873 estate papers, but reg her dad's 1892/1893 estate)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS92-H91V-1?i=664&cc=2520237

[Gillian Mauchan]

Looking at the childrens names it is possible that his father could have been named Nicolaas Solomon Johannes Basson and his mother Johanna Elisabetta .
It was common for the eldest son to be named after a paternal grandfather and the 2nd eldest daughter to be named after a paternal grandmother .

Where were they married? We may be able to look up baptism records in that location for him and also perhaps find his previous marriage

[TreeSpirit]

a possiblty for his baptism?
South Africa, Free State Dutch Reformed Church Records, 1848-1956
Name: Willem Johannis
Event Type: Baptism
Event Date: 12 May 1844
Event Place: Winburg, Orange Free State, South Africa
Birth Date: 30 Oct 1843
Father's Name: Nicolaas Johannis Solomon Basson
Mother's Name: Johanna Christina Visser
-
GS Film Number: 001670453
Digital Folder Number: 007650852
Image Number: 00406
https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007650852?i=405&cc=1910846

[Kinsy]

Many thanks, gmauchan and TreeSpirit !!
I did see the "wijlen" in that letter - but the next letter in the file (which gives the ref.no.of the previous letter) says that Willem had apparently not died "de man niet gestorven is"

Like you, gmauchan, I also think that his father's name would have been Nicolaas Solomon/Salomon or similar - if only because Salomon is an unusual name. So Willem was probably descended from Nicholaas Johannes b.c1766 and Maria Salomina (Meijer) b.c1774 who married in 1789 - and male/female variations of the name have popped up in subsequent generations.
But untangling those generations is another story what with all the first name repetitions and some Basson first cousins marrying each other.
 
Willem and Martha were married in Boshof, OFS.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Q5-CY1Y?i=59&wc=39ZF-BZ3%3A183083201%2C183123201%2C1301853186&cc=1910846

[TreeSpirit]

I did see the "wijlen" in that letter - but the next letter in the file (which gives the ref.no.of the previous letter) says that Willem had apparently not died "de man niet gestorven is"

Fair enough, but what does the image after that say? It is the writing that I'm struggling with (I can understand the language). It is something like  "..gesloten dien ik ... met sterftkennis ... testament behoorende aan Willem Basson ter ..... goedkeuring ..."
link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS92-H9BF-N?i=666&cc=2520237

[Kinsy]

Reading that had me stumped too, TreeSpirit 

[TreeSpirit]

If I have to guess it sounds like this guy is sending a copy or extract of Willem's death notice and will.

[TreeSpirit]

BTW do you know who his third wife might have been?