The History of the Family Van Motman

Bartelt is the first ancestor about whom something is known. He was born about  1615 / 1620. His wife’s name was probably Vrede(n)rij(c)k.

About his son Michiel we know a bit more. He lived in (the surroundings of) Mook (pict. 12). The places between the Meuse and the German border were in the possession of landowners. This whole area covers what is now the province of Limburg. The region consisted of a large number of duchies and “heerlijkheden”(territories of a country gentleman or a municipality with privileges on the field of jurisdiction, government and economy).

At that time the most northern part of  North-Limburg was still Prussian territory. Mook was in duchy Kleef and adjoining Middelaar in duchy Gelre. During the French occupation around 1800 the municipality Mook and Middelaar was constituted. Mook was around 1700 a not unimportant port for the Meuse shipping. Many goods were unloaded there for transit to Nijmegen and the hinterland. The degree of importance as a place of unloading can be read from the existence of a craft-guild 21

of transporters in Mook. There was also a weigh-house with a master who has been appointed for the first time around 1563 by the duke of Kleef. The presence of the Catwijkse ferry, which linked Mook with Catwijk situated on the other bank of the Meuse, is an indication that Mook has been an intersection of land and water transport with all the activity going near with it.

Michiel came for the first time before the limelight in 1669 when he was witness in a marriage in The Hague. As I guess that a witness has to be of age, so at that time at least 25 years, I have taken his year of birth about 1644. His birthplace  is presumable Amsterdam. Furthermore we know from him that he got in 1677 a legacy, married in 1678 for the second time, had real estate (among other things in Catwijk to the Meuse) and got a son between 1680 and 1685, whom he called Barthel.

From 1715 up to 1750 Barthel was sheriff and secretary of the heerlijkheid Mook and the first regent in the family. Moreover he was owner of Herberg bij Motman with a fish restaurant well known in the wide surroundings of Mook. According to a story in the book Aen the Waeteren te Kleef with the subtitle ‘lieflijke Vermaekelijkheden’ the inn had an excellent name. Situated by the Hoofdstraat (now the Kerkstraat) the inn offered to the back a magnificent view of the port. For food you had to book at least two days in advance. The menu offered 25 up to 30 dishes and each day fresh river and sea fish was served. In addition there was an extensive wine list of Rijn, Moselle and French wines.

Probably the inn has been founded by Michiel and has been exploited 15 years after the death of Barthel  by his wife. Barthel had children from each of his three marriages but only from the third marriage sons, regents as well as their father. The daughters married in the Families Winkelman, Mos and Panneboeter.

Gerrit Willem, the youngest, studied law in Leiden, received his degree certificate in 1755 and fulfilled several administrative functions in western Brabant. Successively he was among other things drossaard (bailiff) of Roosendaal, rentmeester (estate agent)of the Breda domains of the prince of Orange and domeinraad (chief of the domains). He was very rich, but as a pronounced royalist he got problems with the patriots. His marriage remained childless. Many family members were supported financially. He died at high age, practically blind, at his estate Landfort.

Willem, the eldest son of Barthel, was successively sheriff and secretary of Mook, royal Prussian rentmeester of the heerlijkheid Gennep, Heyen and Oeffelt and rentmeester of the domains , spiritual and pastoral goods of the city Grave and the Lande of Cuyk. He was a man with initiatives. So he was among the first  who bought building land in the development area the Biesselt (pict 12), built there a grain and peeling mill and a distillery of  brandy. He had several children, of whom the most died unmarried and relatively young due to tuberculosis. The only daughter married Jacobus Roest, Mayor of Brielle. Of the two sons who remained alive, the oldest was called Frits; he was the only soldier in the family, brought it to colonel and died in 1812 in Batavia defending this city against the English.

Frits had one son, Gerrit Willem, inspector of state taxes at Bergum (Friesland); he had a poor health and died young, also due to tuberculosis. Some of the correspondence that he received from its sister, has been preserved. From that appears among other things that he had a poor existence as civil servant and looked out eagerly to a inheritance.

His son Frits, who lost his father at an early age, had a lively mind and was full ideas. He did not find its profession of state collector particularly interesting and thought of other things. So he designed among other things a plan for a national pension fund and acquired a reputation by the invention of the “rinollinne”, a vehicle, which could develop a high speed without steam or draught animal. The marriage of the Frisian Frits remained childless. So he was the last representative of relatives who remained in the Netherlands. He died in 1881, 53 of age in his last post Wijhe (Overijssel).

The youngest son of  Willem Michiel Arnold, Gerrit Willem Casimir, went in 1790, 17 year old, to East Indies  and took care of an extended offspring.  His five sons started the 5 branches A through E and the family was saved from extinction. The family remained almost 160 years in the East Indies.