Willem Jan, Baron van Dedem tot de Rollecate (18 March 1776 – 21 November 1851) was a Dutch lawyer, landowner and taxation officer who was responsible for the

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

excavation in south-east

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

and north-east

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

. The and town of

Dedemsvaart Dedemsvaart ("Dedem's Canal") (Dutch Low Saxon: ''De Voart'') is a town in Overijssel, the Netherlands. Overview The town is located along an old canal, also called , which is the source of the village's name. The canal lost its commercial imp ...

are named after van Dedem.

Biography

Van Dedem was born on 18 March 1776 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

as a member of the family. He studied law, and began his career as a lawyer in Zwolle. Gerrit Willem van Marle, his father-in-law, had developed a plan in 1791 to excavate the

in south-east

and north-east

by digging a canal from

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

Gramsbergen Gramsbergen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Grambarge'') is a small Dutch city on the Vechte, located in the municipality of Hardenberg and the province of Overijssel. The town is located on corridors of different transportation modes: The N34 (Zwolle - Emme ...

. In 1809, van Dedem received permission from King

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

to dig the canal which became known as (Dedem's canal). The construction of the canal started in July 1809, and by 1811, it had reached Balkbrug where the

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

was located. The same year, the town of

was established. In 1813, van Dedem was appointed Director Direct Taxation of Overijssel. On 28 Augustus 1814, he was elevated to Baron van Dedem tot de Rollecate. In 1821, he moved his manor Rollecate in

Vollenhove Vollenhove is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, southwest of Steenwijk. Until the Noordoostpolder was drained, it was located on the coast of the Zuiderzee. Vollenhove received cit ...

brick by brick to Den Hulst,

Nieuwleusen Nieuwleusen (Low Saxon: ''Ni'jlusen'') is a town in the Dutch province of Overijssel with 9300 inhabitants as of 2021. In the 2001 municipal reform, most of the former municipality of Nieuwleusen was incorporated into the municipality of Dalfsen. ...

in order to see his canal and land from his house. He ran into financial difficulties, and in 1825 sold large parts of land to the Dutch government. In 1845, the canal, bridges and sluices were sold to the province of

. On 21 November 1851, van Dedem died in Rollecate, Nieuwleusen, at the age of 75. On 21 July 1859, a monument was revealed in his honour in

. The manor Rollecate was demolished in 1930 to built a main road (nowadays known as N377).

Gallery

File:Overzicht gietijzeren monument met engel voor Baron van Dedem - Dedemsvaart - 20350782 - RCE.jpg, Monument in Dedemsvaart File:Reproductie van tekening van Vingboons boek Pieter v.d.Aa- 14-15 en 16 - Vollenhove - 20245097 - RCE.jpg, Drawing of Rollecate when it was still located in Vollenhove

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dedem, Willem Jan van 1776 births 1851 deaths People from Zwolle Dutch landowners 18th-century Dutch lawyers 19th-century Dutch lawyers Tax officials Barons of the Netherlands