The Pelt line, to the living generation
Cornelis Pelt, one of the two men who built the works, was born in Rotterdam on 22 November 1856. His father, also Cornelis Pelt, was a shop-assistant; his mother was Anna Romberg. This register follows his line down to the present.
On 22 November 1856 appeared before the Rotterdam registrar Cornelis Pelt, shop-assistant (winkelbediende), aged 48, resident at Hovenierslaan 13, who declared that on that same 22nd, at 1 a.m., a male child was born to Anna Romberg (no occupation), his wife, living with him — the child to be named Cornelis. Witnesses: Reinier Romberg, barber (kapper), ~47; and Willem Romberg, ~39. Signed by the father and both witnesses.
He died at Rotterdam on 15 January 1937, aged eighty, and was buried at Crooswijk.
On 16 January 1937 the undertaker Gerard Wijnand Kooreman declared to the Rotterdam registrar that on 15 January 1937, at 2 p.m., there died here Cornelis Pelt, aged 80, born and resident in Rotterdam, of no occupation, husband of Jacoba Anna Muijser, son of Cornelis Pelt and Anna Romberg, both deceased. Grave no. 290 (Crooswijk).
The next documented link is his son Cornelis, known as Cees. In 1918, at twenty-five, Cees married Maria Welman of Hellevoetsluis at Rotterdam. His father appears in the act, present and consenting at sixty-one and still styled meubelfabrikant. Cees is entered as a kantoorbediende, an office clerk: the cabinet-maker's trade was already not passing down.
> No. 2874. > Today, the twelfth of September nineteen hundred eighteen, there appeared before me, Registrar of the civil registry of Rotterdam, in order to enter into marriage: Cornelis Pelt, aged twenty-five years, office clerk, born and residing here, adult son of Cornelis Pelt, aged sixty-one years, furniture manufacturer, and Jacoba Anna Muijser, aged fifty-seven years, without occupation, both residing here — and Maria Welman, aged twenty-seven years, without occupation, born at Hellevoetsluis, residing here, adult daughter of Pieter Welman, aged sixty-three years, without occupation, residing here, and Maria Johanna Hagers, deceased. > The parents of the groom and the father of the bride, present here, declared their consent to this marriage. The banns of this marriage were published here without impediment on the thirty-first of August of this year. > I asked the groom and bride whether they take one another as spouses and will faithfully fulfil all the duties which the law binds to the married state. After these questions were answered by them in the affirmative, I pronounced, in the name of the law, that they are joined to one another by marriage. Present as witnesses were: Marinus Welman, aged thirty-four years, office clerk, residing at Maassluis, brother of the wife, and Jan Pieter Willems, aged thirty-one years, office clerk, brother-in-law of the wife, residing here. > Of which act, read aloud in accordance with the law. > [signatures]
So far the act's handwriting has been read in a single vision pass; a confirming blind cross-read is still to be made.
How to read it, and where it turns probable
From Cees the line most probably runs on to Willemien Pelt (1927–2022), and at this point the register changes footing.
Willemien herself is firmly documented. In the 1998 lintjesregen, the annual royal honours, she was made Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau for her governance of the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk at Vlissingen. The honour appears in the NRC's national list of 29 April 1998 and again on her 2022 death card.
The living generation
After Willemien the line continues through her family, and here this register stops naming people. No consent to publish those descendants has been recorded, so they appear only as the family, with no names, no birth dates, no residence and no means of contact. Cees was one of the two boys who laid the building's first stone in 1899. The other boy, Gerrit van Duffelen, has his own line traced beside this one, in .
The family does keep one tangible link to the works: two chairs, remembered as made by Van Duffelen & Pelt. That memory is family testimony, not a maker's mark, but it makes the chairs material links to the firm. As objects of the firm, they belong with its story rather than in this register of descent.
One caution applies to the early links. Two of Cornelis Pelt's homes still turn up as pins on a map, but the buildings there are post-war rebuildings, not the houses he lived in. The block on the Spiegelnisserstraat was reconstructed in the 1970s, and his last address on the Snellinckstraat was redeveloped in 2004. The register records the man, not the buildings that stand at his addresses today.
Relationships 45
| type | from | to | label | status | Date | date range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| descends-from | a living person, private | Cornelis Pelt | a living person, private descends from co-founder Cornelis Pelt (great-grandson) | probable | ||
| director-of | August Frans Antoon Maria Wille | Van Duffelen & Pelt | August Wille — capital partner of Van Duffelen & Pelt (from 1909) | confirmed | {"start":1909,"end":1916} | |
| director-of | Hermanus Petrus Beens | N.V. Beens' Woninginrichting-Maatschappij | H. P. Beens — director of the 1918 N.V. Beens' Woninginrichting at 169 | confirmed | {"start":1918,"end":1928} | |
| director-of | Erik-Ward Geerlings | Duinpaleis / Paleis Toneel Theater (P.T.T.) | Erik-Ward Geerlings — realised Duinpaleis / P.T.T. (1989) | confirmed | ||
| director-of | Jeroen Chabot | WORM | Jeroen Chabot — first chairman of the WORM board | probable | {"start":2000,"end":2001} | |
| employed-by | Lukas Simonis | WORM | Lukas Simonis — programmer of WORM (to 2007) | confirmed | {"start":2000,"end":2007} | |
| employed-by | Lukas Simonis | Dodorama | Lukas Simonis — programmer of Dodorama (from 1995) | confirmed | {"start":1995,"end":2000} | |
| employed-by | Hajo Doorn | Dodorama | Hajo Doorn — Dodorama organiser (from ~1996-97) | probable | {"start":1996,"end":2000} | |
| employed-by | Mariëtte Groot | WORM | Mariëtte Groot — WORM curator / financial administrator / Radio WORM | confirmed | ||
| employed-by | Richard Foster | WORM | Richard Foster — WORM communications manager/booker | confirmed | {"start":2004,"end":null} | |
| founded | Gijsbert Johannes van Duffelen | Van Duffelen & Pelt | G. J. van Duffelen — co-founder of Van Duffelen & Pelt | confirmed | ||
| founded | Cornelis Pelt | Van Duffelen & Pelt | Cornelis Pelt — co-founder of Van Duffelen & Pelt | confirmed | ||
| founded | Johan Andries van Duijn | Firma J. A. van Duyn | J. A. van Duijn — founder of Firma J. A. van Duyn | confirmed | ||
| founded | Pieter Nicolaas van Reeuwijk | N.V. Mij. voor Woninginrichting P. van Reeuwijk | P. N. van Reeuwijk — founder/president-director of N.V. P. van Reeuwijk | confirmed | ||
| founded | Mariëtte Groot | Dodorama | Mariëtte Groot — shop owner & collective co-founder of Dodorama | confirmed | ||
| founded | Hans Beekmans | WORM | Hans Beekmans (Popifilm) — WORM co-founder in the 2000 merger | confirmed | ||
| founded | Gerard Kranendonk | Dodorama | Gerard Kranendonk — documented 1994 initiator of Dodorama | probable | 1994 | |
| married-to | Gijsbert Johannes van Duffelen | Hendrika Maria Petronella Mathlener | G. J. van Duffelen x Hendrika Mathlener (Rotterdam, 31 May 1876) | confirmed | 1876-05-31 | |
| married-to | Cornelis Pelt | Jacoba Anna Muijser | Cornelis Pelt x Jacoba Muijser (Rotterdam, 3 May 1882) | confirmed | 1882-05-03 | |
| married-to | Gerrit van Duffelen | Geertruida Kaleveld | Gerrit van Duffelen (painter) x Geertruida Kaleveld (Amsterdam, 24 Aug 1921) | confirmed | 1921-08-24 | |
| married-to | Cornelis 'Cees' Pelt | Maria Welman | Cees Pelt x Maria Welman (Rotterdam, 12 Sep 1918) | confirmed | 1918-09-12 | |
| married-to | Arendje Wilhelmina 'Willemien' Pelt | Marinus Eland | Willemien Pelt x Marinus Eland (Schiedam, 30 Oct 1952) | confirmed | 1952-10-30 | |
| married-to | Johan Andries van Duijn | Neeltje Paul | J. A. van Duijn x Neeltje Paul (Bergschenhoek, 2 Dec 1909) | confirmed | 1909-12-02 | |
| married-to | Petronella Johanna Henriette van Vessem | Jan Dino Adriaan Leeflang | Petronella van Vessem x Jan Leeflang (11 Jul 1918) | confirmed | 1918-07-11 | |
| occupied-at | Van Duffelen & Pelt | Rochussenstraat 169 (the building) | Van Duffelen & Pelt occupied Rochussenstraat 169, 1900–1916 | probable | {"start":1900,"end":1916} | |
| occupied-at | N.V. Beens' Woninginrichting-Maatschappij | Rochussenstraat 169 (the building) | N.V. Beens' Woninginrichting occupied Rochussenstraat 169, 1921–1928 | probable | {"start":1921,"end":1928} | |
| occupied-at | N.V. Mij. voor Woninginrichting P. van Reeuwijk | Rochussenstraat 169 (the building) | P. van Reeuwijk occupied Rochussenstraat 169, 1940 | probable | {"start":1940,"end":1940} | |
| occupied-at | Firma J. A. van Duyn | Rochussenstraat 169 (the building) | Fa. J. A. van Duyn occupied Rochussenstraat 169, 1939–1987 | probable | {"start":1939,"end":1987} | |
| occupied-at | Dodorama | Rochussenstraat 169 (the building) | Dodorama occupied Rochussenstraat 169, 1994–2000 | confirmed | {"start":1994,"end":2000} | |
| occupied-at | WORM | Rochussenstraat 169 (the building) | WORM occupied Rochussenstraat 169, 2000–2003 | confirmed | {"start":2000,"end":2003} | |
| parent-of | Gijsbert Johannes van Duffelen | Gerrit van Duffelen | G. J. van Duffelen -> Gerrit van Duffelen (painter) | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Cornelis Pelt | Cornelis 'Cees' Pelt | Cornelis Pelt -> Cees Pelt | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Cornelis 'Cees' Pelt | Arendje Wilhelmina 'Willemien' Pelt | Cees Pelt -> Willemien Pelt | probable | ||
| parent-of | Arendje Wilhelmina 'Willemien' Pelt | a living person, private | Willemien Pelt -> a living person, private | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Arendje Wilhelmina 'Willemien' Pelt | a living person, private | Willemien Pelt -> a living person, private | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Arendje Wilhelmina 'Willemien' Pelt | a living person, private | Willemien Pelt -> a living person, private | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Arendje Wilhelmina 'Willemien' Pelt | a living person, private | Willemien Pelt -> a living person, private | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Johan Andries van Duijn | Bastiaan Cornelis van Duijn | J. A. van Duijn -> Bastiaan Cornelis van Duijn | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Johan Andries van Duijn | Cornelis Johan van Duijn | J. A. van Duijn -> Cornelis Johan van Duijn | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Johan Andries van Duijn | Johan Andries van Duijn jr. | J. A. van Duijn -> Johan Andries van Duijn jr. | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Gerrit van Duffelen | Jaap van Duffelen | Gerrit van Duffelen (painter) -> Jaap van Duffelen (son) | confirmed | ||
| parent-of | Jaap van Duffelen | a living person, private | Jaap van Duffelen -> a living person, private (daughter) | probable | ||
| sibling-of | Hermanus Petrus Beens | Fredericus Johannes Beens | H. P. Beens & F. J. Beens — brothers (shared parents per civil records) | probable | ||
| succeeded-by | Dodorama | WORM | Dodorama merged into WORM (2000) | confirmed | 2000 | |
| succeeded-by | Van Duffelen & Pelt | N.V. Beens' Woninginrichting-Maatschappij | Van Duffelen & Pelt folded into the N.V. Beens' Woninginrichting group (Coolsingel 49, by 1922) | probable | 1922 |