Gerard Bicker (I) van Swieten, Lord of Swieten (25 March 1632 – 8 March 1716) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and civil servant.

Biography

Origin

Gerard Bicker was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, a member of the notable

Bicker family Bicker (also: Bicker van Swieten and Bicker Caarten) is a very old Dutch patrician family (''since 1390''). The family has played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They were at the centre of Amsterdam oligarchy from the beginning of ...

. His parents were

Cornelis Bicker Cornelis Bicker van Swieten (25 October 1592 – 15 September 1654), heer (lord) Van Swieten and of Kasteel Swieten, was an Amsterdam regenten, regent of the Dutch Republic during the Dutch Golden Age, Golden Age and a governor of the Dutch West I ...

and Aertge

Witsen Witsen is a Dutch surname and may refer to: *Members of the Witsen family: ** Cornelis Jan Witsen **Nicolaes Witsen ** Willem Witsen *10653 Witsen 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical ...

.Johan Engelbert Elias: 'De Vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795', p 175 (1963)
/ref> In 1660 he inherited the Swieten estate from his father and henceforth bore the name ''Bicker van Swieten''.Greets genealogie. Gezinskaart van Gerard Bicker van Swieten (1632-1716)
/ref> He had four sisters, three of whom were married to Amsterdam mayors; Margaretha ⚭ in second marriage to Cornelis Geelvinck, Alida ⚭ to

Lambert Reynst Lambert Reynst (1613–1679) was a Dutch regent and politician of the Golden Age. Born in Amsterdam, he belonged to the "republican" Dutch States Party. Family He came from the patrician Reynst family and was the son of Hendrick Reynst and his wi ...

and Elisabeth ⚭ to her uncle and 2nd cousin

Andries de Graeff Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his ...

. His other close relatives were his brothers-in-law (through her 2nd marriage with her full cousin Cornelia Bicker in 1658) Grand pensionary

Johan de Witt Johan de Witt (; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), ''lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere'', was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century, the Fi ...

(through his marriage to Cornelia's sister

Wendela Bicker Wendela Bicker (Amsterdam, baptized 30 December 1635 – 1 July 1668) was the wife of Johan de Witt. She was one of the richest young female commoners of her time and she married one of the most influential republican politicians in the Netherl ...

Pieter de Graeff Pieter de Graeff (15 August 1638 – 3 June 1707), was a member of the De Graeff-family from the Dutch Golden Age. He was an Amsterdam Regent during the late 1660s and the early 1670s, and held the titles as Lord of the semi-sovereign Fief Zui ...

, who was already his multiple cousin before (through his marriage to Cornelia's sister

Jacoba Jacoba is a given name, a female version of Jacob, which has been a common given name in the Netherlands. In daily life, many people use(d) short or more modern forms like ''Coba'', ''Cobi'', ''Cobie'', ''Coby'', ''Coosje'', ''Cootje'', ''Jackie'', ...

Jean Deutz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

(through his marriage to Cornelia's sister Geertruid) and Jacob Trip (through his marriage to Cornelia's sister Elisabeth). His brothers-in-law where important and loyal political allies to Grand pensionary De Witt. Through another cousin of him, Cornelia Bicker (1629–1708), he was also related to Joachim Irgens von Westervick, politician and with his Irgens Estate Norway's largest private landowner. He had another connection with Jacob de Petersen, a former Danish dignitary, who was married to Catharina Bicker (1642-1678), daughter of knight Jacob Bicker (1612-1676) and Alida Bicker (a daughter of Gerard's uncle

Andries Bicker Andries Bicker, ''lord of Engelenburg'' (Amsterdam, 1586 – 24 June 1652) was a powerful Amsterdam regent and Dutch politician during the Dutch Golden Age. He was the leader of the Bickerse league and controlled the city's politics in close c ...

Marriages and descendants

Bicker has been married three times. In 1655 he married his first wife Alida van Papenbroek (1633–1656), daughter of Pieter van Papenbroek and his cousin

Wendela de Graeff Vendela is a feminine given name. It may refer to: * Wendla Åberg (1791–1864), Swedish dancer * Wendela Hebbe, Swedish journalist * Vendela Kirsebom, Turkish-Norwegian-Swedish model and actress * Vendela Skytte, Swedish poet * Wendela Gustafva ...

. This marriage remained childless, but Bicker inherited the Vrijheerlijkheiden (Free Lordships) Oud-Haarlem and Kortenbosch through this marriage. After the death of Alida, in 1658 he married his cousin Cornelia Bicker (1638–1665), a daughter of

Jan Bicker Jan Gerritsz. Bicker (1591–1653) was a merchant, a mayor (burgomaster) and a member of the Bicker family, an influential patrician family from Amsterdam. De Bickers were part of the ''staatsgezinde partij'' (the pro-republican party) and oppone ...

(1591–1653) and his cousin

Agneta de Graeff van Polsbroek Agneta de Graeff van Polsbroek (Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 wit ...

(1603–1656). Agnieta (* 1659), Aertgen (* 1661) and Cornelis Bicker van Swieten (1663-1689) came from his marriage. After the death of his second wife, he remarried with Jonkvrouw Catherina van Sijpesteijn for the third time in 1665, but they had no further children. Bicker van Swieten's marriages, and here his first two, continued the frequent relationship to one and the same person that already existed within the Bicker-

De Graeff De Graeff (; also: '' De Graef, Graef, Graeff, Graaff'', Graaf and ''De Graeff van Polsbroek'') is an old Dutch patrician and noble family, The Amsterdam line of the family played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They were at the ...

clan and their related families in an intensive way through kinship marriages.

Career

Gerard Bicker van Swieten became commissioner in 1656 and captain of the Amsterdam

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

(Citizen Guard) in 1662. After that he was deputy and councilor as well as presidential council of the Court of Auditors of Holland and West-Friesland (Dutch: ''Rekenkamer van Holland en West-Friesland'') in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. In 1669, through the intercession of De Witt, he obtained the position of

Statutory auditor Statutory auditor is a title used in various countries to refer to a person or entity with an auditing role, whose appointment is mandated by the terms of a statute. World usage A "statutory audit" is a legally required review of the accuracy ...

of the

Court of Audit A Court of Audit or Court of Accounts is a Supreme audit institution, i.e. a government institution performing financial and/or legal audit (i.e. Statutory audit or External audit) on the executive branch of power. See also *Most of those in ...

of the domains of Holland and West-Friesland (Dutch: ''Rekenmeester der Grafelijke domeinen van Holland en West-Friesland / Meester ordinaris van de Rekenkamer van Holland en West-Friesland''). He was also ''Meesterknaap van Holland en West-Friesland'', and 1664

Hoogheemraad A heemraad, or hoogheemraad (literally a high heemraad) is a local official of a Dutch water board. The term can be pluralized to ''(hoog)heemraden'', but sometimes the word ''heemraad'' also means more than one man in the sense of a meeting of ...

Rijnland The name ''Rijnland'' (alternative historical spellings: ''Rhijnland'', ''Rhynland'', ''Rynland''; Latin ''Rhenolandia'') means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English o ...

. In The Hague, the Bicker family lived in De Witt's house on the Hofsingel, while De Witt himself lived in the outbuilding. They looked after De Witt's children, including Johan de Witt Jr., whose mother, Wendela Bicker, had died young. In 1675 Gerard Bicker, his uncle

and his brother-in-law and cousin Pieter de Graeff acquired the country estate of ''Valckenburg'' (the former ''Valckeveen'' of his great-uncle

Dirck Jansz Graeff Dirck Jansz Graeff, also Diederik Jansz Graeff, Lord of the manors Valckeveen and Voorschoten, Vredenhof (Amsterdam 1532 – 27 July 1589), was a Patrician (post-Roman Europe), patrician, wholesaler, shipowner, politician and large landowner. ...

) near

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands. History Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...

for 7,480 guilders in equal parts from his aunt Christina de Graeff (1609–1679). From 1685 Pieter de Graeff was the sole owner.Johan Engelbert Elias, De Vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795, Deel 1, p 422
/ref> He died in

Leiderdorp Leiderdorp () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland near the city of Leiden. It had a population of in . The municipality covers an area of of which is water. Leiderdorp has now become a suburb ...

Notes

Literature

Johan Engelbert Elias Johan Engelbert Elias (18 August 1875 – 1 August 1959) was a Dutch historian known mostly for his important work on the history of Amsterdam's regency ("Vroedschap van Amsterdam"). Biography He was born on a canal house on the Keizersgracht ...

: 'De Vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795', pages 175 /176 (1963
Online-Version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicker van Swieten, Gerard 01 Nobility from Amsterdam 17th-century Dutch people 1632 births 1716 deaths

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...