Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-22
THE kRUEGER FAMILY.
Dom fauls" Ancestor. jacob I<rue
ger. Went to the Cape in I7f3.

ger. Went to the Cape in I7t.
From the English Illustrated Magazine,
HE history of Paul Kruger, il has bern
well said, is the history Of the South Afrf
can republic. Born in the year 1925. in ,he
Co!eSbers division Of the Cane Colon he
was motheriess lad not much over zen
years u age when he went forth into the
wilderness with one OF the parties Of erni
grant farmers who found il impossible 10
continue living under British rule At 4
distance OF more than sixty years II Is pos
slhie to discuss with some degree of i'm
partIaiIty the causes that led Zip to the re-
Variable movement into the interior of
south Africa. which il now universally
spoken of as the Great Trek" That those
Causes nave a t times been misreprescutfd
there can be no doubt, and it is only by
turning to such a careful and judicious
authority as DIR. Theai that a proper con-
ceptiou can be formed of the whole cir
cumstanCes. 1t Is enough TO say that ex-
amined in the light of the facts which DR.
Theal has collected in his valuable His
tory Of South Africa" the causes that led
to the Great Trek when scores of Dutch
families left their farms in the Cape Coll
cry and crossed the Orange river into what
was then an unknown wilderness, were not
such as reflected diScredit upon them selves
On the other hand, an examination Of these
causes leaves room for regret that the Brit
ism administration then established at the
cape did rot take more pains to understand
those with whom it had to deal. This kind
VI LtSlFl dppIltS To the case OF the emil
grant farmers" just a. it applies to the
case Of the Pilgrim Fathers who laid the
foundations of civilization on the other side
Of the Atlantic And just as their pilgrim
age led to the building up Of civilzation in
New England, so the emigration Of the
Dutch farmers from the Cape Colony led
to the laying of the foundations Of civliza-
ton in the greater part Of what is today
known South Africa.
As much as this. which is hardly now a
matter of political controversy. may be al
mitted. Coming back to the lad Of ten who
IN 1896 set out on the perilOus pilgrimage,
and who was destined sixty years later 10
occupy so remarkable position before the
world. We find him member OF a family
which mad for some generations held 4 lead
ing position among the Cape settlers Like
many Of the founders Of Dutch families in
South Africa. the original ancestor. so far
as South Africa is concerned. of the presi-
dent of the Transvaal went to the Cape in
the service of the Dutch East India Com
pany. Jacob Kruger, the son of Frars
Kruger (whose name In his will was spelled
''CruGerD, was born in Berlin in the year
1886. and his widowed mother, whose maid
en- name was Hartwigs, was still living AZ
Sadenbeck in the Potsdam district in 1925
1t was in 1713 that Jacob Kruger took SER
vice with the Dutch East India Company,
in what capacity does not appear. 1t seems
however. TO have been the policy Of the
company to attract into it's service capable
men. irrespective Of nationality-Franc4
Portugal Holland. Germany and even Scot
land contributing toward the consolidation
of the little colony under the shadow CT
Table mOuntain-a colony regarded by the
Dutch then, as it has been regarded by the
English since. as forming a convenient half
way house on the route 20 India.
Four years after the arrival OF Jacob
Kruger at the Cape ne married, and year
later-that is In 111S-he successfully claim
ed from the company the right Of burgher-
ship and a grant of land. Five sons and
three daughters were born to Jacob Kruger,
- hos t1,il- rs ,tx-tI nbs
fourth SON married into the Cloete family
still one of the oldest and best-known fam
lilies in the neighborhood of Cape Town
Hendricks eldest SON. Johannes Jacob, born
in 1I4S. had eldest son. Hendrix, whose
st Cond son, Caspar Jan Hendrix. born in
1926. married one of the Steyn family Ito
which the president of the Free State be-
longs). and became. in 1875, the father Of
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger. Some
time before the close of last century the
several families of Kruger We're living far
away from Cape Town, in what was then
the extreme northeasterly district Of the
colony where, according to existing rec
or6S, they occupied a position of consider
able social and political Importance. Three
families of Kruger were included in the
second party of ''yoortrekkers.' consisting
Of farmers from the Tarka and Colesberg
district of the Cape Colony, who, in 1896
made start into the wilderness under the
leadership of Commandment Andres Hen
dirk Potgieter.
Triechard party. which preceded them. and
which had hurried on toward the semi
tropical regions that now form the north
eastern districts of the Transvaai, the Pot
gierer party were more disposed to study
the resources of the table land which is
now known as the Free State. Here. in re-
turn for a grant of land, they formed an
alliance with the chief Makwana who saw
in these newcomers valuable allies against
the oppression of the great chief of the
Matabele Mosilikatze, by whom the whole
country had recently been laid waste and
whose headquarters were then not far from
the modern town OF Zeerust, in the western
part of the Transvaal. In their Ignorance
OF the paramountcy claimed by Mosihkatze
the new settlers took no trouble to secure
his goodwill. The consequences of this me-
eject was speedily felt in the massacre by
the Matabeie of two entire hunting parties.
While another detachment of the enligrants'
including, there is reason to believe. the
boy Paul Kruger. only succeeded in re-
pulSing a Matabele attack after six hours
of hard fighting.