DEWIT, Carston Cornelius

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Castin Cornelius de WIT
• _DNA: Match - Michelle (paternal)
• Ordained: 1811, Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; Suger planter

Notes:

In the 1 May 1894 Boston Daily Globe article titled "She Is No Yankee," it says that Castin Cornelius De Wit is descended from the family of John de Wit, governor of Holland. It describes him as a sugar planter with a schooner.

A small note in family papers reads, "Cornelius C. DeWit died Apr. 1. 1827. Buried on Plantation Le Resouvenir, east coast of Demerary Apr. 3. 1827. b June 25. 1780".

So far Castin Cornelius's line has not been found other than parents. As of 16 May 1807 Carsten and his brother with only the intitial "N" owned shares in Plantation Wittenberg. In 27 Oct 1804 LHH de Wit was the manager of Le Resouvenir.

The following information was extracted from Crowns of Glory, Tears of Blood, the Demerara Slave Rebellion of 1823 by Emilia Viotti da Costa.

"When all land along the river had been granted, the company distributed new grants along the coast, east and west of the mouth of the Demerara, in the areas that came to be known as the East Coast and the West Coast. A limit of 1,000 acres was established for sugar and 500 for coffee plantations. Before the area could be settled, a complicated system of canals, dams, and sluices had to be built to improve drainage--a task the Dutch were particularly qualified to accomplish. Plantations were laid out next to each other, with frontages of 100 roods [one rood= 12 feet] and depths of 750."

Demerara was incorporated into the British empire circa 1792. On the East Coast, the area between the Demerara River and Berbice, most plantations in the first part of the nineteenth century were producing mainly cotton although some were producing at the same time sugar, rum, cotton, and coffee. By 1813, 8% of the plantations had more than 300 slaves, 40% had between 200 and 300, and 46% had between 100 and 200.

Le Resouvenir belonged evidently to a Dutch planter named Hermanus Hilbertus Post. Unlike most of the planters, he was a pious man and invited a Methodist minister named Wray from the London Missionary Service to come and preach to the slaves. Post had been born in Utrecht in 1755 but had settled in Demerara. He quickly built a fortune which allowed him to travel to Holland and to live in New Rochelle, NY from 1791 to 1799. He returned in 1799 to take care of business in Demerara. Evidently he had undergone a religious conversion and made the religious instruction of his slaves a top priority.

Le Resouvenir was on the East Coast of Demerara, about eight miles from Stabroek which became Georgetown. In 1808 it "had a population of 375 slaves and about 700 acres, 225 of which were planted in cotton, 375 in coffee, and 100 in cocoa and provisions. The main building stood about a mile from the seaside, and behind it there was a canal leading to the back dam. Orange trees had been planted on each side of the canal. A green path shaded by rows of Mountain Cabbage trees led from the main house to the public road. Everything had been built or grown by slaves under Post's supervision."

Post built a chapel called Bethel Chapel on Le Resouvenir and a small missionary house as well. Slaves from surrounding plantations were allowed to attend the church services also. Most of the congregation was made up of slaves and a few white overseers. The local Dutch minister as well as other planters saw Post as a trouble maker. Many at Le Resouvenir only spoke Dutch, but most spoke English as well.

In 1809 Post died, and his widow married a man named Van der Haas whose brother beat the slaves. He in turn was replaced by a man named Hamilton. There was much unrest on the plantation at this time. Wray who had come to preach had been eventually replaced in 1816 by missionaries John Smith and his wife Jane. In her deposition, Sarah de Wit mentions a Dr Smith, but he appeared to be a medical doctor, and the above John Smith was dead by the time the De Rochemonts immigrated to the U.S. in the 1830's. It is John Smith who is considered the hero of the slave rebellion of 1823 which led ultimately to their emancipation. He lived and preached on Le Resouvenir.

Da Costa speaks of an outbreak of smallpox at Le Resouvenir in 1819. She further mentions a slave Susanna who lived with the plantation manager John Hamilton. She also speaks of slaves in the dry season going to Le Resouvenir for water, for there was a permanent spring there. She mentions a carpenter Peter Hood on the plantation and slaves Cupido, Romeo, and Azor. The focus of the book concerned the events that led up to the revolt of 1823, and there is little about the goings-on of Le Resouvenir other than those that concerned the slaves directly.

Buried:
Le Resouvenir, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana

Carston married DEROCHEMONT, Maria Louisa Suzette in 1805 in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana. Maria (daughter of DEROCHEMONT, Carel Pieter Wlhelm and VESTJENS DE ROCHEMONT, Maria Margot Margaretha Vestjeris) was born on 20 Nov 1786 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; was christened on 30 Nov 1786 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands; died on 30 Nov 1828 in Plantation Le Resouvenir, Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; was buried . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. DEWIT, Maria Louisa was born on 28 Mar 1811 in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died on 3 Sep 1900 in Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA; was buried on 6 Sep 1900 in Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA.
2. DEWIT, Henrietta Jacoba was born on 28 Jul 1814 in Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died on 15 Apr 1871 in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA.
3. DEWIT, Carsten Bartholomew was born in Aug 1808 in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died on 14 May 1865 in Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA; was buried in Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA.
4. DEWIT, Sophia Eleanora Gertrude was born on 12 Jun 1819 in Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died on 29 Jan 1892 in Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA.
5. DEWITT, Elizabeth A was born in 1816 in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died after 23 Oct 1867.
6. DEWITT, Antoinette Susetta Frederika Alberta was born on 3 Jun 1821 in Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died on 17 Mar 1887 in Chelsea, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA.
7. DE WIT, Leonard Charles was born in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died about 1829.
8. DE WIT, Insetta Henrietta was born in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana; died on 15 Nov 1819 in Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana.

Notes:

On the 1786 map of the colony, B DeWitt is shown as the owner of lot 14. B de Wit on the Capt Walker 1798 map was the owner of Lot 63, Maicouncy Creek to the east side of the Demerary River. On the 1798 Bouchenroeder Map lot 63 Wittensburg was owned by the Enfans de Wit. This suggests that B de Wit died during 1798 or slightly before. He was called in a 1785 petition to the Dutch West India Company "a Hollander, formerly a ship's pilot".

An entry in the IGI gives the names of CC de Wit's parents but CC's wrong death date as circa 1833, submitted by a LDS member. Barthel must be a variant of Bartholomew as Carsten named a son Carsten Bartholomew de Wit.

Barthel + VANDERSCHELDE, Adriana. Adriana was born about 1750 in Netherlands; died on 8 Nov 1806 in Plantation Wittensburg, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Adriana Van der SCHELDE

Notes: