Cornelis van Rooijen hailed from Gorcum (today known as Gorinchem) which was in the province of South Holland, located on the Merwede River. He was the second son of Reijnier van Roijen and Fijke Vermeulen. We do not have his exact date of birth, but know he was baptised on 15 April 1695.

He arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1714 on the ship Middelwoud as an employee of the VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), aged around 19 years. His rank was 'adelborst', which was a fairly low rank and common with those entering the service of the VOC regardless of training or qualifications.

The signature of Cornelis van Rooyen

(From Die Groot Afrikaanse Familienaamboek by C. Pama)

Cornelis was married three times, but only had children with his first wife, Jacomintje Gerritz VAN DEVENTER. They were married in Drakenstein on 27 October 1720. Jacomintje was the daughter of Gerrit Janz VAN DEVENTER and Arriaentje JACOBS. They had ten known children, although there are questions about a possible eleventh.

CHILDREN

b1 Adriana van Rooyen ≈Paarl 28.09.1721 †Tulbagh ca 1789 x Tulbagh 05.05.1746 Michael MULLER *Kuilsland, Holland ca 1715 †19.07.1768 (progenitor of the Muller family in South Africa)

b2 Sophia van Rooyen ≈Paarl 07.02.1723 x Paarl 26.04.1739 Jacobus BOTHA ≈08.08.1717 s.o. Theunis BOTHA and Maria Magdalena SNYMAN

b3 Aletta van Rooyen ≈Paarl 27.08.1724 x Jan POTGIETER ≈01.03.1722 s.o. Johannes POTGIETER and Maria Catharina VAN EEDEN xx Johann Christoph HEYMANS

b4 Reijnier van Rooyen ≈Paarl 02.06.1726 †Goukourivier 17.07.1770 x 04.03.1753 Hester GOUS ≈27.06.1734 d.o. Andries GOUS and Johanna CONTERMANN

b5 Johanna van Rooyen ≈Paarl 13.07.1727 x Paarl 08.10.1747 Johannes Jacob KOCK †Swellendam ca Mar 1786 (He arrived from Sachsenhausen in 1733.)

b6 Alberta van Rooyen ≈Paarl 07.10.1728 x Stellenbosch 11.11.1753 Nicolaas VAN RENSBURG ≈Paarl 22.06.1731 s.o. Johannes JANSE VAN RENSBURG and Anna Margaretha BOTHA

b7 Anna Margaretha van Rooyen ≈14.05.1730 †Mar 1782 x 01.03.1750 Christoffel SNYMAN ≈09.03.1727 †Jan 1783 s.o. Philippus SNYMAN and Johanna Margaretha VAN DEVENTER

b8 Johanna Margaretha van Rooyen ≈14.05.1730 - this is the child for which data is uncertain. She could have died young.

b9 Gerrit van Rooyen ≈Paarl 04.02.1732 x 30.10.1756 Martha Jacoba FERREIRA ≈22.02.1738 d.o. Ignatio Leopold FERREIRA and Martha TERBLANCHE

b10 Johannes van Rooyen ≈Paarl 22.11.1733, died before marrying.

b11 Cornelis van Rooyen ≈Stellenbosch 24.03.1737 x Tulbagh 1756 Rachel CRAFFORD ≈Paarl 01.07.1736 d.o. Dirk Willem CRAFFORD and Rachel JOUBERT

Cornelis' second wife was Cornelia BOTHA ≈Stellenbosch 06.01.1697 (who was the widow of Hans Jurgen POTGIETER). They married in Drakenstein on 13 April 1738. Initially it was believed that Cornelia was the daughter of Jan CORNELIUS and Maria KICKERS, and that she, and her other siblings, were given the surname Botha.

It would appear that Maria had been having a relationship with Fredriech BOTH (progenitor of the Bothas in South Africa) while still married to Cornelius, so the children were legally Botha's.

Cornelis' third wife was Barbara MYBURGH ≈Cape Town 24.01.1700 †18.06.1766 (widow of Izaak VAN ES). They married on 12 May 1754. Barbara was the daughter of Jan Lambertz MYBURGH and Sophia ZANK.

Cornelis obtained the farm 'Nabygelegen' in what was the Bovlei district of Wellington. It was purchased from Johann Lorenz in 1721 and sold on to Pierre du Plessis in 1741.

Cornelis held the esteemed position as a member of the first Heemraad (a local legislative council) at Roodezand in what is today, Tulbagh. In 1743 it became a court of law serving the area's residents.

We do not have a verifiable date of death for Cornelis van Rooijen.

The other known van Rooyen progenitor (who is not related to Cornelis) is Anthonius van Rooyen. His descendants were largely confined to the Northern Cape around Brandvlei, Kenhardt and Calvinia. They have been well researched by Martie du Toit (born van Rooyen). There was some intermarriage between the two families, but it was limited. There were similar names in use, such as Reynier, which can cause a little confusion in areas where they overlap.

The descendants of Cornelis are by far the most numerous and make up a very large family. They are to be found in all provinces of South Africa, and even into East Africa, as well as West Africa, Namibia being the most common on that side of the continent. There is also a small community of van Rooyens who today live in Paraguay. As people have emigrated from South Africa there are van Rooyens, who originate from South Africa, to be found all over the globe.

Sources used:
South Africa's Stamouers https://stamouers.com/stamouers/surnames-v-z/554-van-rooyen-cornelis
South African Families (formerly GISA, now Genealogical Society of South Africa) (Various volumes)
Die Groot Afrikaanse Familienaamboek by Cornelis Pama