The progenitor of the de Leeuws in South Africa, Cornelis (a1), was born about 1715, presumably in Amsterdam. His life’s story straddles two continents, a diaspora that led him from Amsterdam to the Cape of Good Hope at the foot of Table Mountain.

Jacob (b6) de Leeuw was the third child of Stamvader a1 Cornelis and Jacoba and was born on Sunday 21 November 1762. We have no official record of his birthdate and calculated the date back from his death. 

When b6 Jacob was 5 years old, his mother – Jacoba de Waal – died. At the age of 11, his father died. From the Cape Patriot’s Protests of 1770, it is reasonable to assume his half-brother, Jan Hendrik Munnik took custody of the young Jacob and raised him.

Cornelis (c2) Pieter de Leeuw was born on 6 December 1795 to parents b6 Jacob de Leeuw and Susanna Elisabeth le Riche. 

On 7 August 1795, the battle of Muizenburg took place between the British and Dutch forces, leading to the surrender of the Colony to Britain. Only four months later, c2 Cornelis was born. Cornelis died at a young age of 34, leaving Anna Sibella with five young children.

Roelof (d2) Johannes de Leeuw was born on the 5th of October 1818 to parents c2 Cornelis Pieter de Leeuw and Anna Sibella Johanna Louw. Being a Christian family, Roelof was baptised on 18 October 1818 in the Strooidak NG Kerk in Paarl.

Kwaai Roelf was a prominent businessman of some note, with numerous farms and business ventures. He was a fickle man with many eccentricities and could at times be unreasonable. But he was also very generous and played a leading role in the community, organising fates to collect money for missionary work and feeding the needy children in the community. Roelf and his wife Charlotta had a big family with 10 children.

Cornelis (e1) Pieter de Leeuw was born on 3 December 1838 at Klein Drakenstein to parents d2 Roelof Johannes de Leeuw and Charlotta Petronella Theron. 

He died at a young age of 30 years, leaving his wife Margaretha with five small children. In fact, his youngest son and namesake, f5 Cornelis Pieter, was only born six months 12 days after he died. Cornelis (e1) lived and farmed on Diemerskraal which is now owned by the famous Morkel family, of the Morkels furniture chain.

Cornelis (f4) Pieter was born on 26 November 1869 in Paardenberg Cape Province, and was baptised on 19 December 1869. 

He was a remarkable man who had the immense privilege of befriending General Jan Smuts while studying at Victoria College. Later in life, Cornelis followed General Smuts during the Boer War and ended up as a prisoner of war. He had a generous hart and devoted his life to the education of underprivileged children.

Hennie (g6) was born on the farm Lowenheim in Citrusdal to parents f4 Cornelis Pieter de Leeuw and Maria Sophia le Roux. 

Hennie was a firm believer in the ‘Afrikanerdom’ and promoted the new language at every opportunity. Which makes it interesting as he married a German who only spoke English. He died under mysterious circumstances on New Year’s Day 1947 in a motor car accident.