From Cortenbergh to Kortenburg to Oranje Nassau Oord by Govert C. Deketh Excerpts (parts concerning the Crommelin family), taken mostly from the book, “100 Jaar Oranje Nassau Oord” by Mieke Mintjes-Beumer, photo’s by Jan Boelens (2001) Prologue Oranje Nassau Oord was opened as a TB sanatorium in 1901. It was a gift by (then) Queen-Mother Emma (van Waldeck-Pyrmont). We highlight here some historical milestones regarding this estate, which – during 1839-1872 was owned by my Mother’s great grandfather, Mr. Reinhard Crommelin (Page 7: Amsterdam 1810–Wageningen 1871). A.D. 1357 - Abdinghof monastery The existence of “Cortenbergh” goes back to a tithe-scroll (tinsrol) dating back almost 650 years. It stated the estate was tithable (tiendplichtig) to the Abdinghof monastery in Paderborn (Nordrhein-Westfalen). Scroll: “Item bona dicta Cortenbergh xxij den. bonarium” (Bernard van WC would translate this as “The estate Cortenbergh owes the monastery 22 farthings”). Paderborn Cathedral (Dom) Early history: the precise origin of the estate Cortenbergh remains a bit mysterious and nebulous. However, around 950 Wichman IV, a nobleman of mixed (Lorraine/Saxon) blood, palsgrave of Hamaland (incl. Felua-Veluwe) and margrave (military commander) of Frisia, marries Liutgard van Vlaanderen. Not having a (male) heir, and in order to keep his county possessions under his own control, he begins in 968 to rebuild his castle on the Elterberg into a canon nunnery (“jufferenstift”) for young ladies of noble descent. His eldest daughter Luitgard (she had the same name as her mother) is the first abbess. He gives his feudal estates (leengoederen) to the nunnery to provide income and later also donates his other personal county properties, incl. Felua (Veluwe). The Cortenbergh estate boundaries reached Wageningen and - on the eastern side they bordered upon the Renkum brooks. Wichman’ s feudal counties in the 900’s A.D. 1450 - Onze Lieve Vrouwe Klooster, Renkum In 1450 the Abdinghof monastery in Paderborn legates the ownership of estate Cortenbergh to the “Onze Lieve Vrouwe Klooster” (The Virgin Mary Cloister) in Renkum. The founding of this cloister is a story in itself. Early history: after Wichman’s death in 975, Adela, his second daughter succeeded him as countess of Hamaland. Legend has it she wanted to take possession of her Father’ properties legated to the monastery, and for a long time fierce struggles took place. Her ally was her second husband Balderik. A son from her first marriage, Meinwerk became in 1009 bishop of Paderborn, where he founded the Abdinghof monastery and, legend has it he disposed of Balderik and imprisoned his mother (sic!) until she died. When in 1031 Meinwerk inaugurated the rebuilt Abdinghof, he donated several properties in Renkum to the monastery. This included a chapel. The history indicates a well-known chapel in Renkum south of the Dorpsstraat by the name of “Onse Lieve Vrouwe Capelle”. It was located in the outer marches, known as Kloosterweitjes (“Monastery Meadows”) to the local people. History goes that in 1380 this chapel “by miraculous ways” obtained a statuette of the Virgin Mary, Renkum then becoming a destination for many pilgrimages. Reinald IV Duke, of Gelre, his ancestors apparently being very devoted to the “Onse Lieve Vrouwe Capelle”, decided in 1405 to found a nunnery in Renkum: “Enen Regulier Cloister van Sunte Augustijns Regulen” (a regular nunnery for Augustine Sisters). Sometime before A.D. 1371 until 1780-Grunsfoort Castle Somewhat interwoven with the history of Cortenbergh is the history of the adjacent Grunsfoort estate and castle, home of one count and several dukes, but also occupied over time by less distinguished proprietors. The castle was constructed at some time unknown to us (but before 1371) and – going to ruin, it was finally pulled down in 1780. The castle had a castle-yard, a double moat and a gate with drawbridge. Several amusing legends and stories – worth reading are referred to in the book (“100 Jaar ONO”). Grunsfoort Castle The castle was home of the family van Lynden from 1611 until 1728. Then it had two further occupants (the van Goldsteins & van Pabst families) until the castle’s demolition in 1780. Neighbouring estate Cortenbergh was occupied by “Jonkheer” van Raesfelt whose descendants sold the castle to the van Lynden family in 1702, combining the two estates in one of about 100 ha. The period afterwards, until 1839, saw several more owners, demolition of the castle, the building of a house on the Cortenbergh and several heath land domain additions leading to a grand property of about 200 ha in 1839. “De Kortenburg” where Reinhard lived A.D. 1839 – De Kortenburg - Mr. Reinhard Crommelin In this year Mr. Reinhard Crommelin bought “De Kortenburg” from Mrs. Antje Vander… (?). He initially started living in the existing house with his wife, Frederica Wilhelmina Crommelin (a 1st cousin) and two children. However, the family grew rapidly (they had a total of 11 children by 1852) and it was clear to Mr. Crommelin that more spacious living quarters were needed. (The architect wrote: “Dit huis werd aanvankelijk door den Heer Crommelin betrokken, doch met het voornemen zich een beter verblijf te doen bouwen, dat voor zijn talrijk gezin eene grotere ruimte aanbood en waarvan de indeeling der vertrekken meer in overeenstemming was met de eischen van den tegenwoordigen tijd en met zijnen smaak”) In November 1854 architect L.H. Eberson proposed a plan for a 30 room manor house, which would be constructed about 60 feet away from the old house, on slightly elevated grounds. The old house was to be demolished. The estate was re-baptized into “De Kortenburg”. The Crommelin family lived here until Reinhard’s death in 1871. Reinhard Crommelin A.D. 1872–1901 – De Kortenburg-Grunsfoort-Oranje Nassau Oord Mr. Godard Willem, Count van Rechteren bought De Kortenburg from great-uncle Reinhard, renamed the property Grunsfoort and lived there from 1872 until 1881. He was a great hunter and often organized hunting parties for distinguished guests, amongst whom King Willem III. Enthralled by the property, King Willem III agreed with Count van Rechteren to buy the estate as a summer residence for his second wife, Queen Emma. King Willem III was already in his 60’s when he married Emma (then 21 years’) in 1879. King Willem III and Queen Emma The king renamed the estate “Oranje Nassau Oord” to underline the centuries-old relationship between the House of Orange and the Nassau lineage (Emma’s mother, Queen Helena was also a countess of Nassau). He also made multiple changes (added a floor) and additions (a coach house and stables) to the estate, reshaping it almost into a “palace”. Drawing of front of Kortenburg as prepared by the architect who rebuilt the house for Reinhard. Oranje Nassau Oord - After King Willem III added a floor. King Willem III, suffering from a kidney disease passed away in 1890 and Queen Emma had been sworn in as queen-regent and guardian for Wilhelmina, then 10 years’ old. Wilhelmina was inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands in 1898. At that time, as a token of national appreciation Queen-regent Emma was presented with a gift from the Dutch people in the amount of 300,000 guilders. When accepting this gift Princess Emma spoke the following words: “Sedert lang was mijn wensch eene stichting in het leven te roepen, waaraan ik geloof dat grote behoefte bestaat. Ik bedoel een sanatorium voor longlijders. In den eerste plaats ten bate van hen, die de middelen missen om in het buitenland hulp te zoeken tegen de vreselijke kwaal die helaas in ons vaderland zoo veelvuldig voorkomt en zulke ernstige gevolgen na zich sleept. Ik hoop eerlang de beschikking te krijgen over het landgoed Oranje Nassau’s Oord te Renkum en dit af te staan voor het doel dat mij lief is. Door deskundigen voorgelicht stel ik mij voor op dat landgoed het eerste Nederlandsche Sanatoriom te stichten”. In her speech she said (Note: a bit of a shortcut here in English): “I have long wished to found a TB sanatorium. I would like to donate the estate ONO, along with the national gift of Nfl 300,000 from the Dutch nation to this effect”. (Note: the fact that TB made many victims in the Netherlands at the time, and also that Emma’s eldest sister Sophia died of TB probably helped develop this idea in Emma’s mind). In reality, this didn’t suffice to finance the sanatorium foundation and Emma donated an additional Nfl 200,000 from her private means. In October 1901 the ceremonial opening of the sanatorium ONO was done by Her Majesty the Queen, in the name of H.M. Queen Mother. Postscript: Mijn Moeder stuurde mij dit boek, “100 Jaar ONO”, en al lezende leek het me interessant om enkele delen te vertalen voor onze buitenlandse familieleden (en ook voor onze Hollandse familieleden, die zoals vele Crommelins menige taal zo uitstekend spreken). Er zijn wat aanvullende gegevens bijgekomen die ik via Internet heb kunnen bemachtigen. Mijn doel was om een HEEL klein stukje familie geschiedenis in perspectief te zetten. Dit excerpt is bij lange na geen vervanging van het echte boek (zoals wij vroeger wel bij eindexamens konden doen-sic!) en ik raad een ieder aan het “100 Jaar ONO” boek in zijn geheel door te nemen. Er is enorm veel meer in te vinden en bijzonder leuk geschreven. When I received this book from my Mother, I thought the Crommelin parts might interest some of our non-Dutch family members, several of them I have recently met and others I have corresponded with extensively on family matters in the past year in search of the exciting Crommelin history. Geneva, March 2005 “100 Jaar Oranje Nassau Oord” By Mieke Mintjes-Beumer, photo’s by Jan Boelens (2001) Uitgeverij Kontrast – Oosterbeek (ISBN 90-75665-35-0) Att.: Descendants of Reinhard Crommelin – an abbreviated genealogy report NOTE: This is an abbreviated genealogy report of the “Kortenburg Crommelin Branch”, which started in 1810 with Reinhard Crommelin. The point demonstrated here is that the continuing existence of this “Kortenburg Branch” has been (and remained so until January 2005) entirely dependent on exactly one son in each generation. Reinhard and his son Adriaan Herman Wijnand had between them many sons but only one son in each generation continued the male Crommelin lineage. In this descendants’ report we are showing this male lineage only. Additional details about ALL descendants can of course be found in the Nederlands Patriciaat, 80th edition, 1997. Tombstone, Reinhard Crommelin, “Onder de Bomen”, Renkum Generation No. 1 1. REINHARD CROMMELIN was born October 10, 1810 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and died November 2, 1871 in Huize den Kortenburg, Wageningen, The Netherlands. He married FREDERIKA WILHELMINA CROMMELIN May 26, 1837 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. Notes for REINHARD CROMMELIN: Dr. in law (Jurist), Utrecht 1836, Lawyer 1841, amateur photographer and drawer, deacon of the English Reformed church in Amsterdam 1837-1840. Reinhard had 11 children, of whom 6 sons, but only son, Adriaan Herman Wijnand continued the male descendent line. Generation No. 2 2. ADRIAAN HERMAN WIJNAND CROMMELIN was born March 5, 1845 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and died June 27, 1884 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He married ANTONIA CATHARINA IJSSEL DE SCHEPPER June 21, 1876 in Deventer, The Netherlands. Notes for ADRIAAN HERMAN WIJNAND CROMMELIN: Dr. in law (Jurist) Utrecht 1869, Notary in Utrecht 1882-1883. He had three sons, but only one son, ADAM continued the male Crommelin lineage. Generation No. 3 3. ADAM CROMMELIN was born March 8, 1879 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and died June 24, 1964 in Bilthoven, The Netherlands. He married MARGARETHA OLOWINE VAN DER MERSCH February 4, 1909 in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Notes for ADAM CROMMELIN: Dr. in law (Jurist) Utrecht 1908, Dr. Staatswetenschappen (Political Science - Civic Law) Utrecht 1914, Clerk (griffier) of the district court, Vianen 1910-1915, Dep. Clerk of the Arnhem County Court 1915-1917, Director of the Amsterdamsche Hypotheekbank. ADAM had three children of whom one son, FREDERIK REINHARD continued the male lineage. Generation No. 4 4. FREDERIK REINHARD CROMMELIN was born January 17, 1910 in The Hague, The Netherlands, and died April 6, 1983 in Holten, The Netherlands. He married MELLINE JEANETTE LUCIE CONSTANTIA SICHTERMAN October 27, 1938 in Almelo, The Netherlands. Notes for FREDERIK REINHARD CROMMELIN: Officer of the Order of Oranje Nassau, Mayor of Vollenhove 1940-1941, 1942-1944 and 1945-1850, then of Hellendoorn 1950-1975. FREDERIK REINHARD had three children of whom one son, ROBERT DANIEL continued the male lineage. Generation No. 5 5. ROBERT DANIEL CROMMELIN was born January 8, 1940 in Driebergen-Rijsenburg, The Netherlands. He married Drs. CARLA ANGENITA JOHANNA TROOST September 6, 1969 in Doetinchem, The Netherlands. Notes for ROBERT DANIEL CROMMELIN: Jurist 1970 Utrecht, Statutory Director of Delta Lloyd Insurance N.V. Amsterdam, Knight of the Order of Oranje Nassau (2001). ROBERT DANIEL had three children of whom one son, ADRIAAN HERMAN WIJNAND is continuing the male lineage. Generation No. 6 6. ADRIAAN HERMAN WIJNAND CROMMELIN was born January 5, 1971 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He married PHILIPPINE CORNELIE RISCH on June 9, 2001 Notes for ADRIAAN HERMAN WIJNAND CROMMELIN: Jurist Utrecht 1999; MBA Nijenrode 2004; Quality manager law firm, Utrecht. ADRIAAN WIJNAND has until now two sons, ROBERT DANIEL and DOUWE PHILIP KORNELIS. Generation No. 7 7. ROBERT DANIEL CROMMELIN was born November 3, 2002, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. DOUWE PHILIP KORNELIS CROMMELIN was born January 6, 2005, Blaricum, The Netherlands.