Arij van Wijk was one of the two stamvaders of the Van Wijk family who arrived at the Cape in the 17th Century. The other was Willem van Wijk. It seems likely that they were related to one another but how is not yet apparent.

The earliest mention of Arij at the Cape is from 1693 to 1695 when he and his wife, Cornelia Helmes, are found living in the Cape Town area on a farm which carried 4000 vines. By 1696 they had moved to Stellenbosch where they lived for the rest of his life. By 1700 they had 10,000 vines.

His Origins and Parentage In his will dated 29th April 1713, he stated that he was 45 years old and that he had been born in Amsterdam. According to the indexes in the Amsterdam Archives, there were two Adrian van Wijks baptised at this period, but the following would seem to be his baptism:

Adrian, baptised Nieuwe Kerk 18 January 1668
parents: Roelof Adriaensz van Wijk and Trijntje Jans
witnesses: Hendrik Coenraetsz van der Meijde
and Aaltje Adriaens van Wijk

since Roelof van Wijk and Trijntje Jans had been living at the Cape since at least 1686. Presumably he had come to the Cape with his parents.

His Marriage He Married Cornelia Helmes, the widow of Jan van den Bosch. The date is not known but, on 22nd October 1693 a note in the Orphan Chamber records states that she was then intending to remarry, so this is probably the approximate date. She had three children from her first marriage: Catharina, Johannes and Johanna van den Bosch.

According to her will, dated 29th April 1713, she was then 37 years old and had been born at the Cape.

Their Children

b1. Roelof van Wijk, baptized 5 September 1694, Cape Town,
married Aletta Bezuijdenhout.
He died circa July 1746, leaving 8 children.

b2. Aletta van Wijk baptized 15 July 1696, Cape Town,
married Johann Kraaij

b3. Willem van Wijk, baptized 19 January 1698, Stellenbosch
When he died around 1771 he left no wife or children and his
estate was distributed among his brothers and sisters.

b4. Sara van Wijk, baptized 29 November 1699, Stellenbosch,
married Isaak d"Algue, later known as Johannes Dreyer.

b5. Adrianus van Wijk, baptized 25 December 1701, Stellenbosch
He presumably died before 1705 when his younger brother, also
named Adriaan, must have been born according to his age (8) and
position as given in his parent"s will of 1713.

b6. Maria van Wijk born circa 1704,
married firstly Jan Joubert and secondly Wolraad Striegel

b7. Adriaan van Wijk, born circa 1705,
married Sara Fourie, and left 11 children.

b8. Gerrit van Wijk, baptized 14 December 1707, Stellenbosch,
most probably buried before 12 August 1708, Stellenbosch

He was not mentioned in his parent"s will of 1713, so had
presumably died before that date.

b9. Catarina van Wijk, baptized 20 July 1710, Stellenbosch,
married Hendrik Lubbe

b10. Hester van Wijk, baptized 3 October 1712, Stellenbosch,
married Pieter van Zijl

Death of Arij van Wijk In his will, dated 13th April 1713, he is desribed as "sick, confined to bed". One can speculate that in this year of Smallpox epidemic that this is what he was suffering from - certainly he died in the same year and was buried at Stellenbosch.

After his death, Cornelia Helmes married for the third time to Jacob Coetser, by whom she had two more children. She died between 23rd May and 21st June 1720.

SOURCES:

Amsterdam, Nieuwe Kerk - Registers

Cape Archives:
Caper Archives online Index - NAAIRS
Deceased Estate Accounts - Fourie, Sara wed Adriaan van Wijk 1771-2
Estate Accounts - Van Wijk, Willem Arijsz: - 6 May 1775
Estate Accounts - Van Wijk, Willem Willemsz: - 1756
Estate Accounts - Van Wijk, Willem d"oude - 21 October 1772
Inventory - Van Wijk, Arij - 1731
Malan, Ockert - Verlore Dokumentasie oor die Gemeente Stellenbosch van 1689 tot 1725
Muster rolls of Freemen at the Cape
Opgaaf (tax) rolls of Freemen at the Cape
Weesmeesteren: Extracten 1699 enz.
Will - Helmes, Cornelia and Jacob Coetser - 1720
Will - Van Wijk, Arij & Cornelia Helmes - 1713

Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk Argief
(in the form of microfilm copies)
Cape Town Congregation - Registers of baptism and marriage
Drakenstein Congregation - Membership Register
Drakenstein Congregation - Registers of baptism and marriage
Stellenbosch Congregation - Registers of baptism and marriage

Research by:
Richard Ball
who would have been unable to do this research without the help of André Kellerman, Bob Kernkamp, Helena Liebenberg, Graham Lloyd, Mansell Upham and Maureen de Villiers.

For a more detailed account of the families and the evidence, see:

Introduction to the early Van Wijks at the Cape
Arij van Wijk and his family

on Richard Ball's web site.