Petrus Augustus de Génestet (commonly referred to as "P.A. de Génestet") (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, 21 November 1829

Rozendaal Rozendaal () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. The town, next to Arnhem and Velp, Gelderland, Velp, is known for the Rozendaal Castle (''Kasteel Rosendael'') ...

, 2 July 1861) was a Dutch

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. De Génestet lost both of his parents at a very young age; after that he lived with his uncle, the Dutch painter

Jan Adam Kruseman Jan Adam Kruseman (12 February 1804 – 17 March 1862) was a Dutch painter, known primarily for his portraits, although he also did landscapes and genre scenes. Biography Kruseman was born in Haarlem to a prominent family that would produce seve ...

. He studied at the Amsterdamse Atheneum and the Seminarium der Remonstrantse Broederschap to become a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

. He became a preacher in March 1852 and worked in

Moordrecht Moordrecht () is a village and a former municipality in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands, situated along the river Hollandse IJssel. In September 2006, 93% of the population of Moordrecht chose by referendum to pursue a merger with ...

. In December of the same year he started working in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, the same city that still has the Genestetkerk, a

Remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ori ...

church that was named after him. Shortly after moving to Delft he married Henriette Bienfait in

Bloemendaal Bloemendaal () is a municipality and town in the Western Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Bloemendaal is, together with Wassenaar, the wealthiest place in the Netherlands. It is located just west of Haa ...

. They had four children. In 1859, both his wife and oldest child died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and because of his poor health he had to quit working as a preacher. He moved to

, but spent most of his summers in Bloemendaal. Two years later, in 1861, he died in Rozendaal due to tuberculosis. After his death, poet Bernard ter Haar wrote ''Op het Kerkhof te Roozendaal'' ("At the cemetery of Roozendaal") for him. In 1862 the memorial for De Génestet at the Rozendaal cemetery was revealed. His narrative poem ''De Sint-Nicolaasavond'' ("Saint Nicholas's Eve") appeared in 1849.

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