Welcome, Welkom, Selamat Datang to Herrebrugh.com. This is my genealogy site that chronicles the paternal family history of my mother Constance Anna Rusche (born Herrebrugh) and her father Louis Reynard Herrebrugh.
There were 5 generations of Herrebrugh’s that lived on the Banda Islands of Indonesia from 1772 until 1908. They were Dutch planters or Perkeniers that cultivated and traded the valuable spice Nutmeg, that was found at no other place on earth!
The Perkeniers could work the tracks of land, as long as they promised to live there permanently. There were periods of massive wealth then total collapse of the market.
Evert Coenrardsz Herrebrughwas the first of the Herrebrugh’s that came to the Banda Islands circa 1794. This was shortly before the VOC, the Dutch East India Company, that held the Nutmeg monopoly, collapsed.
Evert Coenrardsz Herrebrugh (1772-1809) My Fourth Great-Grandfather
Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (I) (1796 – 1862) My Third Great-Grandfather
Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (II) (1828-1869) My Second Great-Grandfather
Andries Michiel Herrebrugh (1850 – 1922) My Great-Grandfather
Louis Reynard Herrebrugh (1890-1915) My Grandfather
Constance Anna Herrebrugh (1914-1995) My mother
Mattheus Thomas (Thijs) Herrebrugh (1916-1976) My Uncle
This site is in draft form and some information has not yet been verified. July 2022
Nutmeg & The Banda Islands
The Banda Islands are a small group of islands located in the eastern part of Indonesia surrounded by the deep Banda Sea. One of the first inhabited places on earth, some 8000 years ago, it was the only source in the worldto find the highly valued spice, Nutmeg.
Reminder: Underlined words are linked to Wikipedia articles for more information.
Banda Sea
Banda Islands
The Banda Islands, also known as the “Spice Islands“, was an elusive place for centuries. Everyone in the world, including Christopher Columbus, was trying to find them. Traders did not divulge the exact location of the source ofNutmeg and no European was able to deduce the location until the Portuguese found it in 1511.
In the 15th, 16th and 17th century, Nutmeg had a value higher than GOLD!!
In 1602, the Dutch formed the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) (the ‘Dutch East Indies Company)to monopolize the spice trade from The Banda Islands. Many bloody years ensued in the fight for control of the islands between the Dutch, the British and the Bandanese people.
In 1621 the Dutch took control to monopolize the trade of Nutmeg.the Dutch with Japanese mercenaries butchered and beheaded over 13,000 indigenous people leaving less than 1000 survivors. The VOC then imported slaves, convicts and indentured laborers to work the nutmeg plantations. The agriculturally productive lands were then divided into 68 1.2-hectare perken and handed over to Dutch plantation administrators known as perkeniers. With the monopoly in place, the VOC and perkeniers quickly became wealthy, building opulent Villas in the main town of Bandanaira.
The Dutch once colonized New York (New Amsterdam) but in 1667 they traded it under the Treaty of Breda for the British held island of Palu Run. The smallest of the Banda Islands, Palu Run is considered the genesis of the British Empire.
The 2100 ft active volcano Gunung Apion Banda Api juts out of the very deep Banda Sea creating The Banda Islands, and has erupted frequently throughout history. Banda has also suffered from many earthquakes, hurricanes and tidal waves. In 1778 an eruption, earthquake, hurricane and tidal wave destroyed the islands and left the perkeniers bankrupt.
The Herrebrugh Family
Timeline of the Herrebrugh family in The Banda Islands of Indonesia.
There were 5 generations of Herrebrugh’s that lived, cultivated and traded the valuable spice. They were plantation owners or Perkeniers of the Perk’s Matelenco and Spantje Bji from 1794 until 1904.
Evert Coenrardsz Herrebrugh was the first of the Herrebrugh’s that came to the Banda Islands circa 1794. This was shortly before the VOC, the Dutch East India Company, that held the Nutmeg monopoly, went bankrupt.
In 1772 – Coenraad Herrebrugh (Herbrug) (1723-1775) and his wife Margareta (born Wimmers) (1735-1775) had a son in Amsterdam, Evert Coenrardsz Herrebrugh (1772-1809).
In 1775 – both Coenraad and Margareta die leaving son Evert age 3.
1778 – Gunung Api erupts, an earthquake strikes, tidal waves and a hurricane hit. The islands were destroyed, perkeniers go bankrupt.
Around 1790, Evert Coenrardsz Herrebrugh first came to the Banda Islands from Amsterdam. In 1794, at age 22, he marries Elisabeth Leunissen in Banda Naira. They establish the nutmeg perk “Matalenco” (Matalenko) on the island of Ai (Ay). Colonists were enticed to become Nutmeg plantation operators if they vowed to remain there forever.
1795 – The VOC goes bankrupt.
1796 – The Dutch yield the islands to the English so not to be taken by the French during the Napoleonic Era.
1796 – Evert and Elisabeth have a son Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (I) (1796 – 1862)
1803 – Banda is back in Dutch control and they began to recruit new civil administrators to replace the defunct VOC as the new NHM (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij)
1809 – Evert Coenrardsz Herrebrugh dies at age 37.
From 1810 through 1817 Banda is back to English occupation under Captain Cole. A hurricane struck in 1815 followed by two big earthquakes in 1816 and 1820. In 1817 Banda goes back to Dutch control. Perkeniers lead lavish lifestyles and assume heavy debt.
In 1821 – Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (I) (1796-1862) at age 25 marries Geertruida Carolina Hartog in Banda. He becomes the perkenier of the perk “Spantjebij” in Lonthor on the Big Island of Banda. He was a member of the “Council of Justice”. They had 7 known children.
In 1828 – Evert and Geertruida have a son, Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (II) (1828-1869).
1845 – Dutch give perkeniers titles to their perks and are now independently owned.
1849 – At age 21, Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (II) (1828-1869) marries Johanna Maria Charlotte Vermeer.
1850 – They have their first child, Andries Michiel Herrebrugh (1850 – 1922) (My great-grandfather)
1852 – Tidal Wave / 1854 – Earthquakes / 1856 – Fire in Banda Naira 1859 – Charities from a far reduce debts of perkeniers. 1860 – Abolition of slavery.
1862 – At age 66, Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (I) dies in Banda.
1864 – Termination of Spice Monopoly.
1869 – At age 41, Evert Evertsz Herrebrugh (II) dies in Banda.
1870 – Andries Michiel Herrebrugh, at age 20 marries, Emelijn Bernardina Strubij/y (1850-1887) in Banda.
The gate to the Perk Metalenco still stands!
1875 – Andries opens independent “Specery Land Matalenco” on Ai.
Andries and Emelijn have 8 children:
• 1876 – Floris Evert (1876-1920) • 1877 – Ferdinand (1877-1963) • 1880 – Oscar (1880-1949) • 1882 – Evert Valentin (1882-1949) • 1884 – Michiel Hendrik (1884-1937) • 1885 – Emelijn Michelien (1885-1965) • 1887 – Jacobus Johannes Bernardus Josephus (1887-1945)
1887 – Emelijn Bernardina Strubij/y dies at age 36 in Banda.
1889 – At age 39, Andries marries 2nd wife Anna Constance Theodorusz (1850-1916) (My great-grandmother) in Banda.
1890 – Andries and Anna have a son: Louis Reynard Herrebrugh (1890-1915) (My grandfather) in Banda.
1904 – The perks were still debt laden and had to be sold to N.V. Kok, a Chinese family buying perks competing against the NHM.
In 1908 – Louis Reynard Herrebrugh moves to Ulee Lheue, Banda Aceh, Northern Sumatra as the Plantations were lost and becomes a Customs Officer.
In 1914 – Louis marries Anna Minke Teffer (1889-1995) (My grandmother) in Banda Aceh, Sumatra.
In Nov 1914 – Louis and Anna have a daughter, Constance Anna Herrebrugh (1914-1995) (My mother) in Ulee Lheue, Banda Aceh.
In Dec 1915 – Louis Herrebrugh dies at age of 25 of Cholera in Ulee Lheue. Anna Minke was pregnant at the time.
July 1916 – Anna Minke gives birth to son, Mattheus Thomas (Thijs) Herrebrugh (1916-1976) in Soekaboemi, W. Java
1916 – Anna Constance Theodorusz (1850-1916) (Great-Grandmother) dies at 66.
1917 – Anna Minke remarries Louis’s half-brother Jacobus Johannes Bernardus Josephus Herrebrugh (1887-1945)
1922 – Andries Herrebrugh dies in Semarang at age 72.
1945 – Jacobus Herrebrugh dies at age 58.
1958 – The nationalization of Indonesia converted the ownership of the perks to the Indonesian state.
The Rusche Family
See my other website RuscheFamily.com for more information about my Rusche family lineage.
