A CAPE OF GOOD HOPE MANUSCRIPT OF A LAND GRANT, DATED 21 JANUARY 1780, SIGNED BY W.F. VAN REEDE VAN OUDTSHOORN AND WITNESSED BY P. FAUZE, SECRETARY OF THE COUNCIL POLICY

South-Africa, Capetown, 21 January 1780

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The document reads as follows: William Ferdinand van Reede van Oudtshoorn, “opperkoopman” and member of the Council of Police, declares before Pieter Hendrik Fause, clerk of the Council of Policy of the Cape of Good Hope, as representative of his brother Barend Hendrik Baron van Reede tot Sandenburgh in the Netherlands, to renounce and to take over for himself a mortgage bond of four thousand Indies guilders.

This mortgage bond had been taken over from Francois Smit on August 2nd 1787 before the Council of Justice on security of Amos Lambregts, Johannes Andreas Grundluigt, Francois Smit the elder and Petronella Laubtchen widow of Albertus van Nieuwkerk, and special security of the buildings of his cattle place called Poespaskraal situated behind the Steenbergen for the benefit of Baron van Reede tot Sandenburgh. Reede van Oudtshoorn declares that of the above-mentioned sum 3.600 guilders have been paid but as long as the total sum has not been paid, Francois Smit retains his rights.

William Ferdinand who had sixteen (half)brothers and (half)sisters was the grandson of Pieter van Reede van Oudtshoorn (1714 Utrecht-1773 Cape Town) who first came to the Cape Colony in 1741 and later succeeded Rijk Tulbagh as Governor of the Cape Colony in 1772. However, he died at sea on his way to the Cape to take up his post.