Hendrik Quarles van Ufford
Jonkheer Hendrik Quarles van Ufford (Loosduinen, 4 July 1822 - Ketandan, 15 January 1860), father of P. van Heerdt tot Eversberg-Quarles van Ufford, was a Dutch soldier, writer, and planter.
Hendrik Quarles van Ufford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 July 1822 |
| Died | 15 January 1860 Ketandan |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Occupations |
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In 1842, he became a midshipman in the Dutch Royal Navy.[1]
After rising to the rank of Lieutenant first class, he became an adjutant to the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies AJ Duymaer van Twist. He accompanied him on his official journey through the Moluccas and anonymously produced the book Aanteekeningen betreffende eene reis door de Molukken (Item drawings concerning a journey through the Moluccas of the Governor-General AJ Duymaer van Twist,) published in The Hague in 1856.[1]
In 1858 he was, at his request, honorably dismissed from the country's naval service. He settled at Ketandan, a village of what is now Indonesia, as an indigo planter.[1]
On 2 December 1860, he married Anna Madeleine Scheltema, known as "Netje" (b. 3 Juni 1843). Because of the distance between his plantation and her home in Semarang, much of their courtship was conducted by letter. Their frank and warm correspondence shows them both strongly looking forward to their marriage.[2] Hendrik's older brother Willem objected to the marriage. The Quarles van Ufford family is Dutch nobility, and Willem wanted Hendrik to find and marry a woman of similar rank. Netje, who had been born in Semarang, was an orphan from a non-noble Dutch family. Hendrik defended his choice, and married Netje.[2] Together they had four children, the oldest of whom P. van Heerdt tot Eversberg-Quarles van Ufford became a well-known Dutch feminist and artist.[2]
Hendrik died at Ketandan on 15 January 1860.[2]
References
- "Quarles van Ufford, jr. Hendrik". Biographisch woordenboek der Noord- en Zuidnederlandsche letterkunde. 1937. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
In 1858 werd hij op zijn verzoek eervol uit 's lands zeedienst ontslagen. Daarna vestigde hij zich als indigo-planter in de Vorstenlanden. Op 2 Dec. 1860 huwde hij te Semarang Anna Madeleine Scheltema, geb. aldaar 3 Juni 1843, dochter van Johan S. en Catharina Adriana Suzanna Zweerts.(In 1858, at his request, he was discharged honorably from the country's maritime service. Then he established himself as an indigo planter in the Vorstenlanden. On 2 Dec. 1860 he married in Semarang Anna Madeleine Scheltema, b. there 3 June 1843, daughter of Johan S. and Catharina Adriana Suzanna Zweerts.)
- Drieënhuizen, Caroline Alida (2012). Koloniale collecties, Nederlands aanzien: De Europese elite van Nederlands-Indië belicht door haar verzamelingen, 1811-1957 (PDF) (PhD) (in Dutch). University of Amsterdam.
Twee keer per week schreven ze elkaar, hij op Ketandan, zij in Semarang, uitgebreide brieven waarin beiden hun wensen enverlangens in het leven uitten. Hoewel hun verbintenis alle kenmerken van een verstandshuwelijk bezat (Netje als arme wees zonder verdere familie en Henri als oudere vrijgezel op een afgelegen onderneming die onder druk van zijn familie geacht werdte trouwen), vertellen de brieven een ander verhaal. Uit de brievenspreekt oprechte affectie, verbonden met ieders eigen wensen en verwachtingen van het leven. (Twice a week they wrote each other, he on Ketandan, she in Semarang, extensive letters in which both their wishes and to express desires in life. Although their commitment possessed all characteristics of a planned marriage (Netje as poor orphan without further family and Henri as an older bachelor on a remote plantation who was under pressure from his family to marry), the letters tell a different story. Sincere affection speaks from the letters, connected with everyone's own wishes and expectations of life.