THE GENUS PELLEKAAN, VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN, PELLICAN, PELLIKAN
Professions
The older Pellekaans were therefore farmers and the ancestor of one branch certainly remained so. However, we see that Aart Pietersz Pellecaen, born around 1590, and his son are also blacksmiths in Zwijndrecht. The grandson Huybert becomes a brandy roaster in Rotterdam and his son a corn broker.
I have lost the Aert Bastiaensz mentioned in passing in Muilkerk (unless Petersz is to be read here). Is he the buyer of a cromsteven schuyt in Puttershoek (1 fo. 1641)? I doubt it.
We find the third branch in Besoyen. Here the oldest Pellekaan was mayor, but I think he must also have had a business and a farm. He had real estate under Dussen (“De Heuvenhout”), a house in Besoyen and some loanable property.
From Dussen they moved along the sea dike to the area of Emmikhoven, a little further north. Emmikhoven was later united with Almkerk and Levinus Pellikaan, whose parents are still known as Pellekaan, still lives here. He is the only one here who has continued the ancestral farming business in the region, where his ancestors ran the business for 400 years.
Van Almkerk moved a younger branch to the Oudendijk near Woudrichem, also as a farmer. A descendant still lived here around 1800, but he became impoverished. Another branch managed to maintain the level of its ancestors and moved across the river to Nieuwland, which was no stranger to his marriage to a Bikker, a daughter from an ancient farming family from the Vijfherenlanden. Many descendants still live here, mainly livestock farmers. He was mayor and an ancestor of the current mayor of Vianen and Lexmond.
It is known that a brother of this mayor of Nieuwland first lived in Meeuwen and apparently also had something to do with farming there. However, his main occupation was a carpenter and contractor and he built, among other things, a water mill under Hellouw. He is the man who went to the Indies and, with his son, was employed by the water department in that country. His son, first a construction master on the island of Java, later lived as a rentier in Arkel. The contractors from this family mainly descend from him, although this profession also occurs in the Almkerk branch.
In the mid-1700s we found a sheriff in the Holster family, who was also a carpenter and contractor. Given the close relationship with these Holsters (some Pellekaan-Holster marriages are known), there is a good possibility that the aptitude for the technique comes from this side.
Below I will discuss some Pellicans from the last century in more detail. Their profession or special hobbies such as Henk Pellikaan, the well-known Tilburg contractor and football player and Christoffel Pellicaan, my father and horse lover from the baker family. The book contains many more stories about the professions of William van Holst Pellekaan (#125), the officer and geologist, Hubertus Gerardus (Huub) Pellikaan (#497), the druggist from The Hague and many others.
DR. WILLEM (WILLIAM) VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN
OFFICER AND GEOLOOG (1880 - 1949)
Sometimes you have some information about a certain person but you are stuck. But then, suddenly, when you start searching in more detail, you suddenly come across a lot of information. This is also the case with Willem van Holst Pellekaan (#1251). First of all, I started focusing on the name “William” instead of Willem. I also started to delve deeper into his profession as a geologist. It turned out that Willem was a very prominent geologist who worked for years for, among others, the Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij (Shell). I came across a memorial in a “Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Oilists”.
Officer and Vice President Shell Petroleum Company Dr. Willem (William) van Holst Pellekaan in a photo in front of Shell's headquarters in America.
He was the son of Jacob van Holst Pellekaan and Dorine Ritmeester and was born on May 11, 1880 at Tegal on the island of Java. In 1884 his mother returned to Holland for medical treatment and took him and his brother with her to live in The Hague. It was the custom of those engaged in work in the colonies to have their children educated at home in Holland and when their mother joined her husband, she left the two boys to be cared for by friends in Leiden where they attended the elementary schools and the first part of secondary school. After this William entered a preparatory school for military officers at Alkmaar and on completing this training, he entered the Military College at Breda and was graduated with a commission in 1901.
In 1902 he entered the Colonial Indian Army of the Netherlands East Indies and he served in North Sumatra until 1908, carting customary duties of an officer of the Colonial Army. On some of his missions he penetrated parts of the jungle never reached by a European and often this sort of duty involved him in fighting with hostile natives, some of whom were fanatics. On one occasion, while unarmed and writing is his temporary headquarters, he sent his orderly for a cup of coffee and as the soldier disappeared a native who had been awaiting this opportunity sprang from his hiding place and attacked him with a bolo. Fortunately, the orderly was not out of hearing and, hastily returning, he shot the intruder and van Holst escaped death though severely wounded. On another occasion he was fired on from ambush but again he escaped though with severe wounds in the chest and scalp.
At various times he was in command of troops detailed to protect geological parties of the Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij from unfriendly natives and in his way, he became acquainted with geologists and acquired a great interest in the work they were doing.
In the year 1908 he was sent to the Island of Nias where fighting was going on and during a serious encounter, he was so severely wounded by a bolo cut in the thigh that he was incapacitated for many months. The wound was badly affected and the surgeons finally informed him that to save his life they would have to amputate the leg. He refused the operation and eventually recovered though only after 6 months in the hospital. Those who remember something of surgical methods before the first World War can imagine the intolerable suffering that van Holst endured during the dressing and treatment of such wound.
On his recovery he was declared to be physically unfit for a further army service and was discharged from the army and returned to Holland. In Holland, he was fortunate enough to find a surgeon who was willing to undertake to repair the muscles of his leg and actually succeeded to a degree that in after years van Holst was able to walk fairly well and only a few people ever suspected that he had a serious accident.
With the ending of his military career he decided to take up the study of geology and in 1911 he entered the University of Zurich. Here he completed the requirements for the doctorate geology. His thesis, “The Geology of the Mountain Group of Pioz Scopi, Switzerland” gave the results of his studies of metamorphic rocks and attracted some favorable attention at the time. For example. Harker refers to this work in his book on Metamorphism.
In 1913 he entered the service of the Royal Dutch Shell Company and was first sent to Sumatra and Java where he continued to work until the latter part of 1917, when he was returned to Holland and engaged in work at the head office of the company in The Hague. Late in 1918 he was sent out again, this time to the Shell Company of California. Here he served as Chief Geologist until July 1922. His work in California was interrupted by an 8-month trip to Peru in 1920 and by a 6-month expedition to Equadoir in 1921.
After a brief vacation in Holland, he returned to the United States in September 1922 as Chief Geologist of the Roxana Petroleum Company (later Shell Petroleum Corporation) with headquarters in St. Louis. This position he held until April 1928, when he was appointed as vice president of the Shell Petroleum Company in charge of exploration. On December 31, 1938, he retired from company work and after a few months went to California and made his home in Beverly Hills where he lived until the time of his death.
Many the senior members of the Shell geological staff worked directly under him at one time or another and all these men will remember well the diligent manner in exploration problems there seem to be no limit to his work power. When field work was delayed by heavy rain, snow, or other causes, the party usually took the opportunity of relaxing. It would finally be noticed that “Doc” had quietly disappeared, and he could usually be found in his room working in his reports or searching literature for facts which might aid him in understanding the region in which he was working.
As is common with most well-educated men of his nationality he could easily read and speak German, French and English as well as Dutch. In addition, he spoke Malay and during his journeys in South America he learned to speak and read Spanish.
CHRISTOFFEL PELLICAN AND ARIGJE SCHILT
BAKER & GROCER (1921 - 2017)
This is the story of my parents,Christopher Pellicaan (#1508) and Arigje Schilt, which was made public with an article in the regional newspaper “De Gecombineerde” when they decided to close the bakery and shop in 1981. Unfortunately, they were no longer able to view the new book. They had a beautiful life and both reached the age of 92. As I wrote in my foreword, my father changed the spelling of our surname in the 1970s. I therefore adjusted the spelling of the names: with a “k”, as my grandfather wrote it, and with a “c” as my father would later adjust it.
“While the supermarket giant appeals to the desire for nostalgia with the advertising slogan “many small shops in one big store”, the really small shops are certainly not having an easy time at the moment. The grocery store and bakery of Christoffel (Chris) Pellicaan on the Lingedijk near Kedichem was like this. a small shop that until recently competed with the attraction of the supermarkets in the surrounding towns. Recently, however, Chris fired up his oven for the last time, in which 85 loaves of bread could be baked at the same time, and Arigje Pellicaan weighed the brown cone with flour for the last time. After 60 years, the business of baker Pellicaan on the Lingedijk is a thing of the past.
A familiar image from the end of 1920 to 1948: on the Lingedijk in Oosterwijk and Kedichem, Jan Pellikaan and later Christoffel Pellicaan delivering bread with the Utrecht tent truck.
The Pellikaan family is originally from Leerdam. Chris Pellicaan's father, Jan Pellikaan (#1503), born in Sleeuwijk who managed a bakery in Leerdam, decided to settle in Oosterwijk in 1921. He took over the house on the dike from the then grocer and set up a bakery there.
The grocery range at the time was not much and was limited to coffee, tea, vinegar and sugar. Chris still remembers well that, as an 8-year-old schoolboy, he was called in to deliver bread in practically the same neighborhood that had provided him with bread, etc., until two weeks ago. This district consisted of Oosterwijk, the Lingedijk to just below Kedichem and the Achterdijk; Other bakers also made their rounds in this neighborhood and there were some who traveled the entire distance for 5 loaves. Then there was a baker located in the village, but he closed his business 10 years ago.
Chris was the only boy in the family and it was a given that he would take over the bakery. That happened and at a young age Chris went to the farms in his neighborhood with the “Utrechtse Tentwagen”, which he had acquired from his father, to deliver bread.
The harsh weather conditions under which this sometimes had to take place are deeply etched in Chris' memory. The open cart did not offer much protection against the cold wind and rain, which found easy prey in the thin cart on the high Lingedijk. Chris remembers that sometimes, on orders from his father, he had to hang against the wind on the outside of the tent work to prevent the wind from knocking over the cart. The tent cart was a very familiar sight in Oosterwijk and the surrounding area at that time and it regularly happened that, if the owner stayed away for a while, the horse would pull the cart to the next customer or visit the stable itself.
Oosterwijk, around 1949 - For Christoffel Pellicaan, delivering bread by motorbike, which replaced the horse and cart in 1948, was a major improvement compared to the tent truck.
In 1948, the year in which Chris married Arigje Schilt from Lexmond and took over his father's business, the “hit” (the horse) that was walking in front of the cart was fatally injured by a turning flour cart and it became clear to Chris that with the As traffic became increasingly busy, it was no longer responsible to peddle bread with a horse and cart. The Utrecht tent cart was made into stove wood, something he always regretted afterwards, and the horse was succeeded by a motorcycle. A huge basket was attached to the back of the motorcycle in which the bread was transported. However, they soon switched to cars, which meant a huge improvement in working conditions.
Chris says that in the past a lot more bread was purchased per family and according to him this was not only because the families were larger but also because people had different eating habits: “Young people in particular eat less bread these days. Snacks are more likely to be grabbed. People eat out more and foreign food is gaining ground. The houses along the dike were increasingly occupied by people “from the city”. These usually own a car and buy their groceries in bulk in the city.
Given the current economic situation, Arigje can still understand it somewhat, but her husband is much more vocal: “If someone from the city comes to my store when I have bread in the oven and then says: “ It smells so wonderful here” but if I don't buy just one sandwich, I'll be cooking inside.” Chris has a better memory of his neighbor who did all his shopping in Pellicaan's grocery store: “Even if I had sold underwear, he would still have bought it from me.”
And many customers, if not most, have remained loyal over the years? “Of course we also have many good memories and we owe great gratitude to all those people who have remained loyal to us over the years.” That this gratitude is mutual became clear when Chris came home after his very last tour through the neighborhood. There were 6 flower arrangements and a bottle of drinks in the store at the time and many have now expressed their sympathy. Arigje says he will miss the store: it's a shame we didn't last a few years longer.
“Today, however, it is a lot more difficult to meet customer needs. Now take the pastry. For example, just after the war, people ordered 10 tompouces or 10 cream puffs. Now they want 10 different pastries. So I stopped doing that. That's not possible when you're so small. My wife continued baking cakes and butter cakes to the end and on special days such as St. Nicholas, pastry letters were also baked.”
Oosterwijk, early 1950s - Progress can no longer be stopped. And the engine was replaced by a car. Jan Pellicaan (#1509), Christoffel's eldest son, sits proudly on the hood. License plates were still personal at the time. The license plate HZ-91848 of the car is the same as the license plate of the motorcycle shown earlier.
There are several factors that have ultimately made it impossible for Chris to keep his business profitable. In addition to changing eating habits, the aging of Oosterwijk's population also played a major role. Oosterwijk is zoned as a rural area. So little or no construction is allowed. During the time that Arigje and Chris ran their shop, no houses were built in the village except for 6 houses. The youth have left and the vacant farms have been used either as second homes or as permanent residences.
Oosterwijk, February 1981 - The last sandwiches for the baker Christoffel Pellicaan. In February 1981 he closed down his bakery.
Arigje thinks the story of the cozy shop on the corner where people love to visit is a myth: “People look first at the wallet and I must say that I can understand that. Still, it hurt me when people who lived nearby passed my store; I would rather see them buy from me on cash (on account) than go to town with money in hand.” Chris remembers that it used to happen that people who had paid on Saturday morning would come and ask for some money back in the afternoon because they just didn't have enough at home to buy new shoes: “Yes, that was all possible at the time. You provided a certain service and that was appreciated.” It has become increasingly difficult for baker Pellicaan to keep the business profitable in recent years. His neighborhood yielded less and less: “The big customers of the past who sometimes bought 5 to 6 loaves of bread at a time have now become single.” “There was a single man in my neighborhood who still took about 4 loaves of bread. It later turned out that he fed the most on his rabbits. Now he buys rabbit food.”
Arigje wants to avoid the impression that it has been nothing but doom and gloom in recent years. But yes, a rural shop belongs in a rural municipality and the latter is no longer Oosterwijk, because the residents are concerned. City people think they can adapt, but in fact there remains a certain distance.”
Chris would also have liked to continue for a few more years, but since his three sons had no interest in the business, which he could understand, he increasingly found himself on his own and in the end it was no longer possible for one man to do it. to take. Arigje with a wink: “Chris is not a baker through and through. The profession was thrust into his shoes and it is great that he managed to keep it up until he was sixty.” Closing the case does not mean that Chris Pellicaan will rest on his laurels. He still keeps horses and regularly participates in competitions. He builds the carts for this himself together with his sons and he enjoys it a lot.
Oosterwijk, February 1981 - Arigje Pellicaan weighs out a pound of flour for the last time in a brown cone.
Arigje remains in the atmosphere of the shopping bakery with her leisure activities. She plans to set up a small exhibition in the former store of items related to the grocery and bakery trade. She is thinking of old weights, shovels, gingerbread boards, bread baskets, bread bins and all kinds of bakery tools.
Although her husband is still a bit skeptical about her plans, his cooperation was evident from the words he said when he came home from his very last round: "Here is my money bag, put it in the museum." Arigje Pellicaan: “I am sure that there will be at least two visitors every day: my husband and I.” The way she looks at the half-filled shelves shows that she is having a hard time parting with theman take. In the summer, water sports enthusiasts who moored their boats nearby sometimes came to buy something from us. They would say: 'What a nice shop you have here, that something like this still exists.' I would ask: “Where do you do your shopping when you are at home?” They usually mentioned a large supermarket. I would reply: “Why don't you buy from small shops in your own town, because that is the only way to keep them going.”
Source: De Gecombineerde, Leerdam and surrounding areas, February 12, 1981.
People came from “far and wide” to buy cookies from Chris Pellicaan and Arigje. The unsurpassed pretzels and gingerbread were a treat for everyone. From the late 1960s, the cookies were packaged in a bag with the well-known family shield.
HUBERTUS GERARDUSPELLICAN
DRUGIST, PHOTO DEAL, DRIVER
(1907 - 1996)
Hubertus Gerardus (Huub) Pellikaan (#497) was a well-known shopkeeper in the city center of The Hague. Not only was he a shopkeeper, but many also knew him as a gifted motorcycle racer. He was active in motorsports for years and took part in many national and international races.
Letters from Grandpa: Cups and goblets to the farmer
Source: AD Haagsche Courant – December 7, 2018
This is a storyfrom Leo van der Velde, who writes a weekly letter to his granddaughter Rachel (6), in which he tells her about The Hague at that time.
Dear Rachel,
“Sinterklaas has now left for Spain on the steamer. I heard that you and your sister got some nice presents. Your beautiful letter to Sint and Piet probably helped with that. Only, you left it with me. That's why I quickly put the letter in the mailbox. That's what grandpas are for.
"Do you still have a chocolate letter in the car?" you asked recently, on the way to the Roetsjbaan and the ice sculptures next to the Pier in Scheveningen. "Fine, but why an S and not an R." Oh well, the highlight was that De Bellinga's, with 280,000 YouTube subscribers, the most famous vlogging family in the Netherlands, were there. They film their daily lives every day and you enjoy watching that on your tablet. Also to Enzo Knol, who has more than two million subscribers. You also want to become a vlogger when you grow up.
When I brought you home, you immediately went outside to play with the girl next door. I also used to play with the neighborhood boys. Back then, cars still drove through the Korte Poten, before that there was even a tram, line 3. Hubert, one of my friends, lived there, diagonally opposite the Hofstad pharmacy and above the Filmex photo shop, which belonged to his father. A store with expensive cameras, where you could also have your photos developed and printed.
Huub Pellikaan was a well-known shopkeeper in the city center. Partly because he had been a renowned motorcycle racer who had won gold medals in Monza (Italy) and Monaco and had participated in the TT in Assen. He then achieved success as a rally driver well into the 1960s. Also in the Tulpenrally, the oldest and largest classic car rally in our country. Uncle Huub placed the largest jars and cups on the cupboard in the living room. He kept the rest in boxes in the basement.
Hubert's father was a real businessman. The customer was king. My boyfriend and I didn't think about that as we leaned over the frame of the bedroom window. We were bored. I don't remember who spat down first. It is true that every blob always ended up behind the passing ladies and gentlemen.
That's right Rachel, spitting is dirty, but we didn't think about that. A gentleman with a bald head stopped and looked at the cameras in the window. I made a snort and pursed my lips. We both looked at the blob. On the way down from the second floor, the fluid spread a bit and then crashed onto the gentleman's head. Who immediately looked up. So fast that we couldn't pull our heads in.
UncleHuub Pellikaan and Aunt Til in 1951 in Monza, Italy.
While we were coming up with an excuse, Hubert heard his father storm upstairs. At first he looked at me furiously, but he was just able to contain himself. Not with his son who, for the first time I knew him, begged 'daddy, daddy'. In vain. He got a few nasty slaps. Had to go to his room and I went home. His father was so angry. But that anger was nothing compared to the time we were bored again.
Because I had already received pennants and ribbons of honor from Hubert and had hung them in my room at home, I suggested that I take some cups to the lorrenboer on the Nieuwe Haven. He also bought scrap iron. My friend thought that was a good idea. We waited for his father to go for coffee in the Wiener Konditorei and took a box full of prize cups. We placed it on his soapbox, which was actually more of a bottom shelf on a stroller base, which you could control with a rope. The farmer weighed the stuff and gave us three guilders. We immediately decided to get some medals.
Huub Pellikaan as a participant in the 1966 Tulip Rally with a Chevrolet Monza Coupé. He achieved 14th place in his category.
While we were just getting started, Uncle Huub came to the basement. He immediately saw that his largest cups and goblets were gone. He looked at me again, but he gave my friend a beating. Because the farmer said he no longer had the cups, I gave Uncle Huub his honorary ribbons and banner.es but returned.”
Grandpa Leo
WHICH "PELLICAN" COMES HERE?
OCCUPATION OF THIS PELLICAN
If you have information and a nice story about a profession of someone from the family (preferably with one or more photos), please let me know. This could possibly be a story to add to a new edition of the book and for a story on this chapter on the website.
What do I need:
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The person's full names and other details (or reference to the number in the book's list)
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a story about the profession that this "Pellikaan" performed
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One or more photos
When I have received all this I will make an example of what it will look like. This will be submitted for approval.