Jacob Glen Cuyler (1773-April 14, 1854) was an American of Dutch origin who was an important character in the settlement of the British

1820 Settlers The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom and the Cape Colony authorities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1820. Origins After th ...

to the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, South Africa.

Early life

Jacob Glen Cuyler was born in 1773 to Abraham Cuyler, the son of Cornelius Cuyler and Catalynyje Schuyler, and Jannetje Glen (the sister of Henry Glen) in Albany, New York, USA. Jacob's father was the last British-appointed mayor of Albany. Abraham Cuyler remained loyal to the crown, but was banished from New York by the revolutionaries, and lost all of his substantial land holdings in Albany. At the start of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Jacob Glen Cuyler's father was incarcerated and the family went from exile in New York City to Canada where Abraham Cuyler died in 1810. In 1789, Jacob was among several family members compensated for their American losses by the British with land in Canada. Abraham Cuyler was able to purchase commissions as officiers for his sons in the British army in 1799.

Arrival in South Africa

In 1806, Jacob Glen Cuyler was a captain in the

59th Regiment of Foot The 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1755 in response to the threat of renewed war with France. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment ...

when it sailed from England to South Africa. In October 1808 he married a South African, Maria Elizabeth Hartman, they had two daughters and three sons; none of the sons had issue. His granddaughter was the botanist and botanical illustrator

Maria Elizabeth Holland Maria Elizabeth Holland (1836 - 1878) was a South African botanical artist and plant collector. Early life She was the eldest of fourteen children and was married to John Holland of Port Elizabeth. Her grandfather was Jacob Glen Cuyler. Caree ...

. He settled on a large farm and was one of the founders of Uitenhage, a town in the East Cape district of Albany. The farm is now Cuyler Manor historic museum. According to a newspaper obituary, "General Jacob Glen Cuyler died at his residence, Cuyler Manor, near Uitenhage, on Friday, the 14th April

854 __NOTOC__ Year 854 ( DCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Emperor Lothair I meets his (half) brothers (Louis the German and Charles the Bald ...

1820 Settlers

Cuyler together with Lord Charles Somerset persuaded the British Parliament to vote funds to finance the settlement of parties of British settlers in order to strengthen the frontier. In 1820 numbers of English and Scots arrived. The Scots were settled in the Baviaans River Mountains, on land confiscated from the Slagtersnek rebels while the English were settled in the Albany district to the south.

Slagtersnek Rebellion

In 1815, a farmer from the eastern border of the Cape Colony, Frederik Bezuidenhout, was summoned to appear before a magistrate's court after repeated allegations of his mistreating one of his Khoi labourers. Bezuidenhout resisted arrest and fled to a cave near his home where he defended himself against the soldiers sent to capture him. When he refused to surrender he was shot dead by one of the soldiers. Bezuidenhout's brother, Hans, swore revenge. Together with a neighbour Hendrik Prinsloo, Hans Bezuidenhout organised an uprising against the British colonial power, believed by them to be hostile towards the Afrikaner farmers. On 18 November 1815, a commando of rebels met an armed force led by Jacob Glen Cuyler at Slachter's Nek. Negotiations failed but 20 rebels surrendered, followed by several more over the following days. However, some of the leaders, among whom was Hans Bezuidenhout, refused to turn themselves over to Cuyler. On 29 November 1815, they were attacked by colonial troops. Everybody but Bezuidenhout surrendered and, like his brother, Hans died while resisting arrest. The rebels were finally charged at Uitenhage. Some were cleared, others imprisoned or banished, six were sentenced to death but one of these was pardoned by the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset. On 9 March 1816 the remaining five were hanged in public at Van Aardtspos. Four of the nooses broke during the execution due to old ropes being used. The four whose ropes broke, as well as the public, pleaded for their lives but Cuyler ordered that they be hanged a second time and they were hanged one by one. The names of the five who were hanged were Hendrik Prinsloo, Stephanus Bothma, Abraham Bothma, Cornelius Faber and Theunis de Klerk. The hanging of these five caused deep resentment towards the British by the Boers.

Commemoration

The village of Cuylerville was established by British settlers in 1820. They named it in honour of Cuyler, then military commander at Fort Frederick, in recognition of the assistance he rendered them. There is a Cuyler Street in the city of Grahamstown. A toposcope and commemorative cairn in Bathurst mark the spot where Cuyler made his camp while supervising the placing of the 1820 Settlers on their locations. While camped here at the same time Sir

Rufane Donkin Lieutenant-General Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin (17721 May 1841), was a British army officer of the Napoleonic era and later Member of Parliament. Background Rufane Donkin came of a military family and was the eldest child of General Robert Donkin, w ...

chose the site for the administrative centre to be named Bathurst. The beacon was erected by Captain W. Bailey as an observing station during his survey of the eastern districts, 1855-1859.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuyler, Jacob Glen 1773 births 1854 deaths People of the Province of New York South African generals South African people of Dutch descent South African people of English descent South African people of American descent Cuyler family Schuyler family