Offices, functions, trades and military men

In the various government archives information is also recorded about people who served the province, a city or village as administrator, who were public servants for the government or who were professional or conscripted servicemen. Sources supplying information about these occupational groups are registered in a separate group in ZEEUWEN GEZOCHT [as at January 15, 2008].

• Registers of Commissions and Instructions 1578-1809
In the archives of the ‘Staten van Zeeland’, concerning the regional administration in the period 1578-1795, there are eight volumes named ‘Registers of Commissions and Instructions’. Deeds recorded in these registers have been published by the ‘Staten van Zeeland’. The deeds have a bearing on appointments and instructions concerning military, administrative and official positions in the period 1578-1809. In the registers the deeds of commissions or instructions are complimented with notes in the margin relating to the prolongation of the position to the successor(s). (Archives Staten van Zeeland inv.nrs 1667-1674).

• Patent Registers 1582-1797
 In the archives of the ‘Staten van Zeeland’, concerning the regional administration in the period 1578-1795, there are four volumes named ‘Patent Registers’. Deeds recorded in these registers have been published by the ‘Staten van Zeeland’. The deeds are primarily related to permits grantable to private persons with regard to manorial rights, performance of duties, embankments and the construction of public works. (Archives Staten van Zeeland inv.nrs 1676-1679).

• Officials tax Tholen 1701-1796
This is a record of the names of persons who performed official duties in eighteenth century Tholen and had to pay officials tax. This record has been made available by the municipal archivist of Tholen.

• Officials and Public Servants 1802-1813
This record contains the names of public servants, administrators and judicial officials appointed during the French period in Zeeland (1796-1813).
It concerns the following archives and inventory numbers:
- ‘Archieven der Gewestelijke Besturen van Zeeland’ (Archives of the Regional Administrations of Zeeland), 1799-1810, inv.nr 402: List of names in alphabetical order of appointed public servants, 1802-1807.
- ‘Archieven der Prefectuur van het departement der Monden van de Schelde’ (Archives of the Prefecture of the department for the estuaries of the Schelde) 1810-1814, inv.nr 39: Register of officials appointed by the emperor and their inauguration (1810 May – 1813 Nov.) ; inv.nr 40: Status of Justices of the Peace, registrars, mayors, deputy mayors, members of the municipal council and clergymen (1812); inv.nr 41: Register of clericals appointed by the Prefect (1812-1813).

• Register of oaths taken 1811-1937
Many public servants and officials who were engaged in confidential duties had to be sworn in by a court of law. In the archives of the law courts the entry of an oath can be found described in the section extrajudicial affairs. An important register covering an extensive period 1811-1937 is located in the archives of the District Court of Middelburg (inv.nr 1037). In this register 2.188 names are recorded, not only of judicial public servants but also of persons whose position commanded a certain public confidence, such as book printers, estate agents and land surveyors. For each person the position, date of appointment, date of being sworn in and the person or body they were appointed by is recorded.

• Zeeland Mobile National Guard 1830-1839
In accordance with the Constitution of 1814 and along uniform guidelines, organised national guards were8 established to reinforce the army in times of war. The law of 1827 cited that cities with more than 2.500 inhabitants had an active national guard whereas less populated cities and the countryside had an inactive national guard. The law dictated the capacity of both national guards to be 600 men for each 20.000 inhabitants. All Dutchmen between the ages of 18 and 50 (and as of 1827, between 25 and 34 years of age) were eligible to serve in both active and inactive national guards. The term of service was 5 years. Under threat of war the two national guards were combined to form one mobile national guard. The only time this happened was during the Belgian uprising of 1830-1839. The mobilized reserves were grouped into companies of ideally 150 men strong. A battalion consisted of four to six companies and a division of two or three battalions. In accordance with the Decree of 4 August, 1839 the forces of the national guard were dissolved.

The archives of the Zeeland Mobile National Guard hold verification and administrative records for the period 1830-1839. These registers contain information about the place of birth, the names of the parents, the most recent place of residence, and often also a description of the person. The administrative information is not always accurate. Sometimes, for one and the same person several different dates of birth or places of birth are given. The dates of birth vary in the period of about 1767 to1816. The verification and administrative records show “the changes and movements” of the members of the national guard, this includes information concerning arrival, furlough, transfer, long furlough and other matters of this nature. The administrative registers are more comprehensive than the verification registers. They also contain information about the day-to-day capacity in terms of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers, as well as wages, provisions, clothing, equipment, weapons, army supplies and such things.

• Mayors from 1850-1855
During the years 1992 and 1993 a group of amateur-researchers under supervision of the organisation Stichting Regionale Geschiedbeoefening Zeeland has done an investigation into the history of 141 mayors who were appointed during the period 1850-1855 in one of the at that time 116 municipalities. The gathered information includes the person (mayor), parents and family-situation, possessions and official, occupied functions and public positions

The results of this research were published in six volumes of Zeeland (Schouwen-Duiveland and Sint Philipsland (part 1), Tholen ( part 2), Noord- en Zuid-Beveland ( part 3), Walcheren ( part 4), West- Zeeuws-Vlaanderen ( part 5) en Oost-Zeeuws-Vlaanderen ( part 6).

• Dikers in Westkapelle 1829-1870
The village Westkapelle on Walcheren and the dike where it is located have a very special connection with each other. The largest part of the male population has been working for centuries  on the dike.

The file with the names of the dikers from Westkapelle was made in 1990 in order to add it to an article written by L.M. Hollestelle for the jubileebook of the Afdeling Zeeland van de Nederlandse Genealogische Vereniging (Het stamboek van de Westkappelse dijkwerkers: een specifieke beroepsbevolking in de periode 1815-1870. in Spelerieen (1992), p. 218-245). The names are reconstructed by using the register and lists of the archive of the Polder Walcheren (1511-1870) (inventory numbers. 1722, 1723 en 1875, catalogue number 3000).

The dikers were organised in een number of eleven groups, named troops. These troops were divided in three different kinds: carpenters, (osier workers) and an eleventh troop with mainly men who were taken in but who had other jobs and worked as a day-worker with daily wages in this one. They were not allowed to help with the piles and the osier work. A troop included 20 to 24 men. During the reorganisation of 1851, when the difference between carpenters and rise-workers ended, the new number of troops became 12 and the members became 30. When a Westkapelle-boy turned 13 years old it was usual for him to join the same troop as his father. The profession of diker garantied the Westkapelle men a certain income, however in those days it was often far too little. The fact is that the Westkapelle population has been suffering quite some poverty during the 19th century. The Polderboard of Walcheren has tried with several measures to improve the living circumstances of the people from Westkapelle.

•  Clergical servants 1575-1806
It has been possible to make an inventory of the clergical goods because there were numerous pieces presented to the bailiffs of the clergical goods (Archive Rekenkamer van Zeeland B) during the period 1575-1806. It resulted in an almost complete summation of the clergical servants from the Dutch Reformed churches like precentors, readers, schoolmasters, vergers, bell-ringers, patientvisitors and others. Their salaries were being payed by the yields of the in the sixteenth century collected Roman Catholic clergical goods by the provincial government. 

The most important expenses of the bailiffs were de salaries of the clergical servants. The by the bailiffs presented documents (included in de supplements; named acquitten) have shown that usually they received a three-monthly payment. In order to start the first payment the Gecommitteerde Raden provided an order of payment which could be regarded as appointment letter at the same time. These papers provide information about the history of the new-appointeds predecessor as well as the new-appointed and his origin.

As continuing payments we can find simple receipts which reveal the concerning monthly period, function of the undersigned and its location (and if so also the name of the church) where the service had been done. Sometimes additional documents have been preserved, like requests for salary-raise or a compensation in relation to the costs for a removal.
This file of personal names of the clergical servants also include their functional position, place and time period. For the larger communities also the church is mentioned. Additional information reveals the origin, departure, spouse and the year of deceasing. It appeared that functions were not always strictly separated, for example often a precentor was also reader while he also worked as a verger and bell-ringer.

The search for above mentioned documents about the clergical servants must begin with the guideline of the inventory of the archive Rekenkamer B (fourth through seventh piece) (catalogue number 505).

• Marineshipyard Vlissingen Personnel 1815-1868
The Admirality of Zeeland (the Marine) had already built their ships at the shipbuilding-yard at Vlissingen in the seventeenth century. The Marine-etablissement was founded in 1814 at the location of the former Admirality shipyard. The Director and Commander at the Vlissingen Marine were in charge and  there was a dockyard and a shipyard of equipment. The Vlissingen Marine-etablissement was closed down in 1868.

The Archive of the Marine-etablissement has been deposited at the Zeeuws Archief. The registers include 1608 names of the “les employeed and the workman” covering the period 1815-1868 and have been indiced by W. Weber on behalf of his promotion essay. In the registers (inventorynumbers 999-1008) is mentioned for each employee: birthdate and place, date of appointment, function definition at appointment, date of out of function and function definition and the reason by ending function (for example retirement or replacement).

More information about the marine shipyard and its personnel are published in the essay: Wilbert Weber, ‘Hetgeen het zwaarste is, moet het zwaarste wegen’. De invloed van de marinewef op Vlissingen van 1814 tot en met 1868 (Vlissingen 1995), (Vlissingen 1995), can be found in de library of the Zeeuws Archief.

• Provisional representatives of the people of Zeeland 1795
The Dutch Public Record Office has done research in the years 1986-1993 into the persons who have joined the regional government after the declaration of the Bataafse Republiek in 1795. These people occupied the positions of the local goverment elite and were named homines novi (new men). There has been made an extensive prosopografic investigation of these newcomers.

The investigation results are published in: P. Brood e.a., ‘Homines Novi’. De eerste volksvertegenwoordigers van Zeeland in 1795’(Amsterdam 1993) The first representatives of Zeeland in 1795 (Amsterdam 1993). Regarding the 97 Zeeuwse homines novi is a separate publication available: L.M. Hollestelle, Y.J.A. Welings en L. Zoodsma, ‘De eerste volksvertegenwoordigers van Zeeland in 1795’, (1993). (The first representatives of Zeeland in 1795) (Amsterdam 1993). The names of the Zeeuwse Homines novi are added to Zeeuwen Gezocht.