 1835 - 1862 (27 years)
-
| Name |
Adriaan Jan deWilligen |
| Born |
6 August 1835 |
The Hague, Netherlands  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Occupation |
Army/soldier in Dutch Army |
| Died |
10 December 1862 |
Singkawang, Borneo, Indonesia |
- Drowned when ship went down at sea
|
| Notes |
Adriaan Jan deWilligen was born in the Hague, Netherlands on the 6th of August 1835. His father was a Protestant clergyman and Adriaan was one of seven children; he had four brothers and two sisters.
Adriaan became a professional soldier stationed in Harderwijk, Netherlands, where he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 4 Dec 1855. He received a transfer to the Dutch East Indies on 18 Dec 1856 and left the Netherlands on March 28, 1857 aboard the ship “Noord-Brabant” with some 200 soldiers who were under his command for the Dutch East Indies, his brother Frank among them. In the newspaper “Algemeen Dagblad” which was, and is, a national newspaper with roots in Rotterdam of April 11, 1857, Adriaan published an ad that read:
“By these the OFFICERS undersigned, on board the frigate Noord-Braband, bring [bid], at their departure for the INDIES, a LAST FAREWELL to blood relatives and friends.
J.G.D. Ober Schorfheide, 2nd Lt. comm. [commander]
A.J. de Willigen, 2nd Lt.
W.H. van de Pol, 2nd Lt.”
On arrival in the Dutch East Indies on 18 Jul 1857, he was placed in the Artillery Regiment-9th Battalion Infantry in Sinkawang in west Borneo (west Kalimantan). After an incident on 1 Nov 1858, he was put on non-active duty and received half-pay for some time. Restored to activity on 15 Dec 1858. On 20 Jan 1859 Adriaan was transferred to the garrison battalion on the west coast of Borneo, and promoted to First Lieutenant on July 2, 1859. In addition to Adriaan and Frank, another DeWilligen brother, Abraham, was also in the Dutch East Indies.
Adriaan made at least two friendships there: Kornelis Lignian, a fellow First Lieutenant, and the Bornean woman who would become the mother of his daughter, Cornelia. There is no evidence to show they married, but the woman died in childbirth in April/May 1862. Adriaan named his baby daughter “Cornelia” after his sister or his friend Kornelis Lignian.
When Cornelia was born on 28 Apr 1862 and her mother died in the process, Adriaan assumed responsibility for his daughter.
Adriaan died of unknown causes in Singkawang on 10 Dec 1862, when Cornelia was but six months old. His friend Kornelis Lignian took responsibility for the baby girl. See her “notes” for more details. Adriaan’s mother was dead before her granddaughter Cornelia was born, and Adriaan’s father died when Cornelia was seven months old.
|
| Person ID |
I275 |
Moore-Bek |
| Last Modified |
20 December 2016 |
| Father |
Frank Dirk deWilligen, b. 18 November 1798, Vlaardingen, Netherlands , d. 26 November 1862, The Hague, Netherlands (Age 64 years) |
| Mother |
Petronella Wilhelmina Susanna Hoekwater, b. 28 May 1804, Delft, Netherlands , d. 26 February 1860, The Hague, Netherlands (Age 55 years) |
| Married |
22 August 1823 |
Delft, Netherlands |
| Family ID |
F120 |
Family Group Sheet | Family Chart |
|
