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Johannes van Rossum

1809–1873

Born
21 Aug 1809, The Hague
Country of birth
Kingdom of Holland, today Netherlands
Died
10 Apr 1873, Schloss Reinhartshausen
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth21 Aug 1809, The HagueProbable1 source
  • Death10 Apr 1873, Schloss ReinhartshausenProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · The Hague

    Birth, The Hague

  2. Child born: Johannes Willem van Reinhartshausen

    Birth

  3. Died · Schloss Reinhartshausen

    Death, Schloss Reinhartshausen

What was it like?

The world around The Hague, 1809: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Johannes was born the same year as Felix Mendelssohn, Abraham Lincoln, and Charles Darwin.

Born the same year

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of Jewish descent (1809-1847)

  • Abraham Lincoln

    president of the United States from 1861 to 1865 (1809-1865)

  • Charles Darwin

    English naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)

  • Edgar Allan Poe

    American writer and literary critic (1809–1849)

  • Nikolai Gogol

    Russian writer of Ukrainian origin (1809–1852)

  • Hammurabi

    sixth king of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BCE)

Fashion

Cost of dressing well vs. income

Being well-dressed was expensive; a gentleman's annual clothing costs averaged 180 guilders, while 40 percent of households lived on less than 300 guilders annually. Consequently, wealthy clothing was out of reach for many.

Status signals through gold pins

Women signaled their status using gold forehead pins, with the number of engraved swans indicating wealth and the position of the pin showing marital status. Unmarried women wore the pin on the left, while married women wore it on the right.

Music

Dancing and Festivals in Social Life

Festivals and dances were vital for social connection, with public celebrations frequently including collective singing and dancing. For example, the Carmagnole was a popular dance performed during the revolutionary freedom tree celebrations in 1795.

Singing as an Everyday Community Activity

Singing was a central part of daily life, with people singing in streets, homes, taverns, and during public celebrations or political events. Songs helped maintain a sense of community even during times of political unrest or physical separation.

Getting around

Measuring distance by time or pipes

The trekschuit moved at a steady pace of about 7 kilometers per hour, allowing people to measure distances by the time it took to travel rather than by miles. Locals sometimes even measured distances by the number of pipes smoked during the journey.

The cost of daily travel

A skilled craftsman earning one gulden per day could travel at most 20 kilometers by trekschuit with his wife. Choosing the higher-class roef cabin was more comfortable but cost about three times as much as road travel by post-wagon.

Daily life

Kitchen-centered cooking and daily living

Cooking and daily life were centered in the kitchen, which often served as the main space for dwelling and sometimes sleeping. Meals typically consisted of potatoes, vegetables like cabbage or beans, and sometimes rye bread or bacon, prepared using simple methods in the home.

Lighting homes with candles and oil lamps

In the early 19th century, homes were lit by candles, oil lamps, and the hearth, as gas lighting was not yet widespread for residential use. Light was used sparingly, with the best illumination reserved for living rooms and kitchens, while bedrooms and storage areas often relied on simpler, cheaper sources like candles.

Food

Gin and coffee consumption

Gin was a common drink for workers to provide a boost or numb hunger, while clean water was often avoided in favor of coffee or weak tea.

Potatoes as the main staple food

Potatoes became the staple food for ordinary families, often eaten at least twice a day with salt and sometimes mustard.

Prices and wages
Around 1800–1805

Annual earnings of an ordinary worker

In the early 19th century, an ordinary worker could earn between 250 and 300 guilders per year, provided they were not frequently struck by illness or unemployment.

Around 1813–1824

Meat and bread consumption limitations

For most workers, meat was a luxury item they rarely ate, and wheat bread was unaffordable due to taxes, leading them to eat rye bread instead.

Work

Common Jobs in Rural and Urban Areas

Agriculture was the primary sector in the Netherlands, employing nearly half the population by 1850. Other common occupations included artisans, shopkeepers, skippers, and casual day laborers who often lived in poverty.

Memorable Facts of Daily Life

Ordinary families often lived in a single room where they worked, ate, and slept, sometimes sharing a space as small as 4 by 6 to 8 meters with six to nine people. A typical diet for the working class consisted primarily of rye bread, potatoes, and gin, with the latter often serving as a numbing agent.

News and letters
Around 1807–1807

High costs for rural mail delivery

In 1807, rural mail was expensive and often carried via local messengers who charged roughly 2.5 cents for outgoing letters and 5 cents for incoming ones. Additional fees were frequently added on top of standard post office rates.

Detours for priority information control

Letters from Den Helder to nearby Medemblik were sent via Amsterdam, a detour that took 54 hours to cover a direct distance of only 30 kilometers. This ensured Amsterdam merchants received shipping news first.

During their lifetime

  1. 1812

    Jews granted citizenship in 1812

    Prussia passed an edict that granted Jews citizenship, ending their status as protected subjects with special taxes.

  2. 1816

    Year without a summer causes famine

    The 1815 Tambora volcano eruption caused global climate shifts, leading to 1816 being the year without a summer, resulting in widespread crop failures and hunger in the Netherlands.

  3. 1818

    Society of Benevolence founded for poor

    The Society of Benevolence was established in Drenthe in 1818 to combat widespread poverty by relocating poor families from cities to agricultural colonies.

  4. 1834

    Zollverein customs union founded in 1834

    The Zollverein was founded to eliminate customs duties between German states, fostering economic integration under Prussian leadership.

  5. 1839

    First railway line opens in 1839

    The first Dutch railway line opened on September 20, 1839, connecting Amsterdam and Haarlem with steam trains running at 38 kilometres per hour.

  6. 1842

    Freedom of movement laws in 1842

    Prussia introduced new laws enabling greater freedom of movement and settlement for individuals not dependent on public relief.

Family

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.