Birth record for Joseph Ferdinand de Raedt:
In the year 1849, on the 16th of April at 2pm before Joannes De Pauw, the mayor and civil official of the community of Ruisbroek, province of Antwerpen, Petrus Johannes D Smedt, a farmer, and 73 years of age, living here in the district B Number 68 de Welke hereby states. Yesterday on the 15th April at 2am the named Theresa De Smedt, a farmer, aged 20 years of age, gave birth at home to a son, naming him Josephus Fernandus De Smedt.
The Margin:
It is mentioned that the child Josephus Fernandus was recognised by his father, and the name ‘De Raedt’, was given to him with the marriage of his parents.
Father: Pierre Joseph De Raedt Born 30/01/1826 from Puurs.
Mother: Theresa De Smedt: Born 17/06/ 1928 from Ruisbroek.
Married: 10/07/1849
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An intriguing question: was it just coincidence that two French speaking Belgians were present in the Northern Orange Free State in the 1890s, or was there some family connection?
Joseph Ferdinand was born to Pierre Joseph De Raedt and Theresa De Smedt.
Pierre Joseph De Raedt: Born: 30/01/1826; (At Puurs) Died: 17/03/1898 at Tongeren.
Theresa De Raedt: Born: 17/06/1828 Died: 08/01/1870 at Tongeren
The daughter of Pierre Jean De Smet and Coleta Roelants.
They married on the 10/07/1849, 3 months after the birth of Joseph Ferdinand.
Pierre Joseph De Raedt remarries on the 15th of January 1871 to none other that Maria Bastiaen the widow of Arnold Requilet. Maria’s parents were Paul Bastiaen and Elizabeth Lenaerts.
Joseph Ferdinand’s daughter Mary (Susanna Marianne) marries Jean Requilet, whose Death Notice (see page for Susanna Marianne 2 Susannah Marianne (Mary)), indicates that his father was Arnold Requilet and his mother was Maria Requilet. Jean was born in 1870 at about the time his father dies, because Pierre Joseph remarries the widow Maria in 1871.
That would make Jean Requilet, Mary’s husband, the step brother of her father Joseph Ferdinand. In all likelihood, Joseph Ferdinand sponsored his young step brother to come over to South Africa.
Information sourced and translated via Deon.
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On his marriage certificate, Joseph Ferdinand’s profession is noted as lawyer. The archives of the Universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Liege, and Leuven have been contacted – Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent have replied to state that he was never registered with them, Leuven has not replied and Liege will not give information about graduates due to data protection. The University of Liege is the closest to Tongeren, and would also have had an Ecoles de Mines at the time. In Galery van Reenmakers / Dot Serfontein states that when Joseph Ferdinand came to Potchefstroom, about 1880, he gave his profession as mining engineer, though this may have been a manner of speaking.
Dot Serfontein also notes that there was speculation that Joseph Ferdinand spent his younger years in coal mines near Lyons. He also names his farm Marseilles so perhaps there is some link with this possibility.
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In his Claim for War Losses, Joseph Ferdinand de Raedt states that he came to South Africa from Belgium in 1874 – he would have turned 25 on 15 April 1874.
He marries Susannah Hogan on 28 September 1875 in Uitenhage at the age of 26.
A document in the Cape Archives, shows that Joseph Ferdinand filed for an insolvent estate in 1876:
Surname De Raedt
First Name Joseph Ferdinand
Year 1876
Volume Number 2/1461
Reference Number 133
Source Document Courts of Justice
Source Location Cape Town National Archives Repository
The document describes Joseph Ferdinand as a Hotel- keeper and General Dealer of Blaauwkrantz, in the Uitenhage District of South Africa, near Port Elizabeth.
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In Galery van Reenmakers by Dot Serfontein we are told that Joseph Ferdinand ‘frequently roamed overseas’. The following passenger records appear to refer to a voyage to Southampton and back in 1894, two years before rinderpest apparently destroyed his cattle in 1896. He embarks at ‘Natal’, with his age given as 48 and his profession given as ‘Dealer’. On his return, he apparently disembarks at ‘Cape’.
1894
M de Raedt, Foreigner, Male, Married
Port at which passengers have contracted to land: Cape
Image courtesy of National Archives, London
Joseph Ferdinand de Raedt was a Town Guard in Klerksdorp during the Second Boer War (also referred to in the Claim for War Losses ):
| Name: | J F Raedt |
| Service Date: | 1899-1902 |
| Service Place: | South Africa |
| Campaign or Service: | South Africa – Second Boer War |
| Regiment or Unit Name: | Klerksdorp Town Guard |
Source Citation: National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; War Office Campaign Medal and Award Rolls 1793-1949 (WO 100); Class: WO 100; Piece: 282
Source Information: Ancestry.com. UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949
Additional source: https://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/town-guards/2556-klerksdorptg
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This appears to be a younger brother of Joseph Ferdinand:
| Name | Philippe Jacques Deraedt |
| Event Type | Marriage |
| Event Date | 13 Aug 1885 |
| Event Place | Liège, Liège, Belgium |
| Event Place (Original) | Liège, Liège, Belgium |
| Gender | Male |
| Father’s Name | Pierre Joseph Deraedt |
| Mother’s Name | Thérèse Desmet |
| Spouse’s Name | Marie Kellens |
| Spouse’s Gender | Female |
| Spouse’s Father’s Name | Mathieu Kellens |
| Spouse’s Mother’s Name | Marie Nivelle |