Articles taken from De Colve XVIII – 2013

Dirk Kolff – Quarrel about a party

From Genealogy (B XIb): Ds. Lambertus Kolff, geb. Tiel 28 juni 1717, geref. predikant te Oostkapelle 1740-1744, te Barneveld 1744-1746, te Amersfoort 1746-1779, overl. ald. 10 april 1781, tr. Amersfoort 15 nov. 1746 Harmina Johanna Methorst, geb. Amersfoort 27 maart 1727, overl. ald. 29 jan. 1802, dr. van Nicolaas en Elisabeth Magdalena Offerhaus.

Above genealogical reference is that of Lambertus Kolff in below article.

Dirk Kolff – Quarrel about a party

In his article Dirk (CBCA XVIIIn) writes about the young minister Rev. Lambertus Kolff (B XIb) and his connections to the elite of Amersfoort. Lambertus, born 1717 in Tiel, lost his parents at young age. He was educated and stayed at a boarding school in Delft and in Leiden where he went to college and university. His first appointment was at Oostkapelle in Zeeland, later he moved for a short time to Barneveld, but then was asked to come to Amersfoort. Here he married the daughter of one of the mayors and thus entered the inner circles of the local elite. Within one year a musical party for children for children of the elite of Amersfoort aroused that local elite and the church. The three ministers of Amersfoort considered this party to ‘worldly’. The mayors and their followers however held the opinion that the church had no say in that. Aspecially Lambertus Kolff was attacked for his opinion which he, just like the others, spread from the pulpit. Why was he so heavily attacked, askes Dirk. Probably because his new arrival as a minister and being so soon in the inner circles of the elite aroused some problems with several people. His position was strong and after the incident he stayed minister for several decades and was buried in 1781 in Amersfoort in a stately manner.

Robert Kolff – Wartime Amstelveen

Robert (CBB XVIIIc) writes how he experienced the occupation time in Amstelveen where his family had moved to in 1939. His father Herman (CBB XVIIe) was an officer with the navy. When Holland surrendered to the German forces he left for Britain with his squadron. Robert narrates about some the life in Amstelveen from the viewpoint of a child. Roberts’ father died in May 1942 when his ship got torpedoed. Robert, then 3½ years old heard the news playing in the street from one of his friends. The occupation would last for more than three years after this tragic event. Robert remembers a ‘hunger tour’ north with his mother on a bicycle to get food from farmers where he had to accompany to act as a hungry orphan; which worked. After the liberation the family moved to The Hague. Roberts’ mother never got over the death of her husband. Robert, and his sister, missed having a father. Thirty years later Robert and his family settled in Amstelveen. On a monument in the Broerse Park where the fallen fighters are commemorated his fathers’ name is inscripted.

Marius Kolff (CBCD XVIIw4) – 15 mayors Kolff

At the installation of Wouter Kolff (CBCB XVIIIp4) as mayor of Veenendaal I got many questions of people present on the number of mayors our family has produced. I thought something like 5. Once at home I checked and found 15. With the article a list is produced of the 15 mayors. The efforts of the spouses cannot be shown in the list. Both at Deil and Wieringen several Kolffs have long lines spanning several decades being mayors. At the website their histories are described (the list will be made available on the site soon).

Image: Pesthuis, Amersfoort, from article Quarrel about a party