The Story of a Bet between two Roosas
This is -a genealogical brain teaser- and so is being carried in the form of a sidebar.
Engel Roza has received a transcript of Gijsbert Ariensz van Rijckhuijsen notes. In this is correspondance in which Gijsbert's father relates a story of a bet between two Roosas. Following is a translation of what was written with some running commentary on the right. Compliments of: Engel Roza
The Story
Comments
Arien van Rijckhuijsen relates a story that was told to him by his mother, [Aaltje Govertsdr van Holt], who in turn had gotten it from her mother, etc. The Bet
It involved two Roosas, brothers or cousins, he could not remember exactly.
One Roosa bet that the Prince who besieged 's Hertogenbosch in 1629 would not win and the other bet that, yes the Prince would succeed.
Because it was a bet between two, one would be the looser.
The bet was for sixteen hundred or seventeen hundred guilders. It was told that the winner was the father of Geurt Aeldertsz Roosa.
Eventually the amount had to be brought forward, and, after a part had been paid, the wife of the man who had won came to press the other wife. The other woman, disliking to be pressed went to the ancestor of the Lord of Varick and gets the rest, up to some hundreds. This money was borrowed on interest on a security of Abraham Gijsberts de Roos, that beautiful water-meadow in front of the house of Ballegoyen, stretching up to Maerten Gerrits van Arendonck.
In those times the Roosis belonged to the richest of the village, or at least almost.
In oral legend, one must take into account the possibility of errors. Aaltje van Holt was born in 1632, her mother, Maria Aelderts [Roosa], probably about 1611 or so.
In 1629 there was, in fact, a siege of 's Hertogenbosch.
However, if Aeldert Gijsberts was the winner as is alleged, the bet must have taken place before 10 August 1614, as he is known to have died sometime within the preceding twelve months.
Who was Lord Varick? Possibly Reinhout van Dort of Varik who married at Herwijnen in 1626 to Maria van de Velde of Hellouw. It appears Anna Heijderwijck became a later wife:
From the Judicial Archives of Tuil it is learned that in 1626 Heymen Gijsbertsz was obligated to pay 25 guilders to Johan van den Poll in favor of the two under aged children of Walraven Heijderwijck. (Possibly the payment of interest.)
Later Anna Heijderwijck, then widow of Reijnier van Dort, summoned a security, held at the time (1666), by Jenneke, widow of Abraham Gijsbertsz.
In another transcript from the Hogh Bank of Tuil the succession of a certain property is described as being handed over from Arnt Thonissen to Gijsbert Goertzen to Heymen Gijsbertsz to Abraham Gijsbertsz.
Hypothetical Conclusions
The money, which had to be paid as a consequence of the bet, was borrowed by Heymen Gijsbertsz, on the security of a piece of land that was later handed over by him to his brother Abraham.
The money was actually borrowed from Walraven Heijderwijck (the interest (?) being paid to his children) . . . and that Anna was one of these children? To help collaborate these hypothetical conclusions, it would be interesting to learn if Anna was in fact the daughter of Walraven Heijderwijck and if one of her descendants became the Lord of Varik.
The weak point is the date. If the bet was made before 1614 indeed, the borrowing came late. The transcript says "eventually", or "after a long time". So, the explanation is plausible.
One last note: Geurt Aldertsz appears to have been a man of some wealth. He resided in the house "De Twee Paaden" (The Two Horses), a structure, which he reported built in 1651, with a tiled roof and a stain glass window displaying a coat-of-arms; a very unusual house at that time and place. Perhaps, at least some of this wealth, came to him from the proceeds of "The Bet".
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