View from 's-Hertogenbosch.
Methodology Spotlight

Death record of Petrus Vissers

Today, we are looking at the death record of Petrus Vissers (1838).

death record of Petrus Vissers, 's-Hertogenbosch, 1838
civil registration (‘s-Hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands), death records 1838, page 58, Petrus Vissers (19 April 1838); “Collecties,” database with images, Erfgoed ‘s-Hertogenbosch (https://denboschpubliek.hosting.deventit.net : viewed 19 April 2020)

Translation

We have broken down some sentences for better readability.

In the year one thousand eight hundred thirty-eight, the 19th of April, at 11.30 in the morning, appeared before us, alderman of the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch [and] civil registrar:

  • Johannes Vissers, cooper’s assistant, twenty-seven years old, living in this city, ward D, number 108, brother of the deceased, and
  • Antonius Coppens, assistant at an oil mill, also living in this city, ward D 108, no relative of the deceased

They declared to us that here on this day at eight o’clock in the morning died: Petrus Vissers, farmer and barkeeper, husband of Catharina van Hijnsbergen, thirty-two years old, born in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, baptized on the twenty-second of March eighteen hundred and six, living within this city’s jurisdiction on ‘den Bult’ near Hintham, son of the late Theodorus Vissers and of the late Hendrina Reijnsbergen.

The informants signed this record with us, after it was read.

[followed by the signatures of the informants and of the alderman/civil registrar]

photo of café Den Bult, 1925
café Den Bult between ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Hintham, about 1925 (photo credits: City Archive ‘s-Hertogenbosch)

Comments

This death record provides us valuable information about the deceased: not only his age, but also his date of baptism. When we look in the church books of the Roman Catholic church of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, we find his baptism in the St. Jacob’s church on 22 March 1806. We also read that he was a son of Theodorus Vissers and Hendrina Reijnberg. Present at his baptism were Adrianus Reijnberg and Hendrina de Leuw. [database Erfgoed ‘s-Hertogenbosch]

Petrus Vissers married Catharina van Hijnsbergen in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on 4 July 1829. We should not confuse him with the same-named man, who married Jacoba Kooijmans in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on 16 April 1836. This other Petrus Vissers was baptized in 1804. [database WieWasWie]

When reading this record carefully, it becomes clear to us that Petrus Vissers was a farmer who also ran a bar or a tavern. The house called ‘den Bult’ was a tavern for many years. In the 1830s it was still outside the city on the road to Hintham, near Rosmalen. Nowadays this location is the corner of the Graafseweg and Boterweg in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. [blogposts by Theo van Herwijnen, January and February 2019]

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