The van Kinschot Family of Holland
There is a very interesting family in the Netherlands who go by the name of van Kinschot. Due to the obvious similarities between this name and my own, I am starting to wonder if the progenitor of the worldwide Kingshott family arrived from the Netherlands. It is an interesting concept as the Dutch family seem to be very well connected and appear to be of noble descent. This would make a pleasant change from the farm labourers and shoemakers that I have found so far.
In the section on the surname origin, I cover the origins of van Kinschot. It is worth repeating here.
It is generally accepted that the Van Kinschot family originates from the important noble family Van Schooten, who also carried the name Van Breda. This family owned the 'Schootenbroek' loan in the 13th century in the 'prochie van Rijckevorsele'.
Some claim that the place name Kinschot comes from the family. They refer to Jan, 'kint van Schooten' , who, from 1280, was in possession of the loan Schootenbroek. Kinschot would therefore be a distortion of 'kint van Schooten' . On the other hand, the unknown author of the 'Genealogy of the Schooten family' (City Archives Turnhout) mentions a Petrus Van Kinschot, liege man of Duke Jan III of Brabant, as well as his father Jan, called 'kint van Schooten,' and his grandfather Jan Hendrixsone van Schooten, residing in Turnhout.
There they had a loan from the Duke of Brabant in their possession, called Kinschot. They go on to say that the place name is Kinschot composed of "chin", which means rough spruce, and shot or schot, indicating higher lying land that protrudes into a swampy area.
The family seem to stay in the north of the country, in and around the area circled below. They travelled, especially to study, to Belgium and Germany, and one important member of the family was a well-known lawyer in Brussels.
The Netherlands produce a book, known as the "Red Book", which contains pedigrees of their nobility. The van Kinschot family are present in the book, which states:-
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"Protestant & Presbyterian - South Brabant - The regular lineage starts with Arnoud van Schooten, probably a brother of Godfrey II of Breda, who appears in a deed from 1227 and was married to Agnes van Wesemaele. At K. B. dated 25 January 1848, no. 100, Hugo, Gaspard Louis Francois and his sisters Marie Jacqueline Sophie, Jeanne Louise Hortense, Philippine Louise Rolandine, Sophie and Catherine Sophie Gaspardine van Kinschot were incorporated into the Netherlands Nobility, as belonging to a family previously recognized among the Nobles of Brabant."
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The family consists of a line of people named Gaspar van Kinschot. My preliminary research centres around the 16th and 17th centuries, but various online research takes the line back towards the first millennium, though the accuracy of these earlier genealogies remains to be seen. I have also tracked one particular branch in London, England, where they appear in the 1891 and 1911 censuses.
Interestingly, my potential namesake, Jan van Kinschot, who was appointed abbot of Tongerlo on 27th June 1473. This is a good hundred years before the English Kingshotts appeared and I am very interested to know if there is a link.
Here is a summary of my initial research. This is a work in progress, and there is clearly a lot of work still to do. It is certainly intriguing that such a similarly named family is in existence across a short expanse of sea, at exactly the same time as my progenitor, John Kingett, seems to appear from nowhere.
There is certainly precedent in the van Kinschot family having links to England, as I have so far found at least four wills recorded in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) archives. The PCC holds details of wills made between 1384 and 12 January 1858. Until 12 January 1858, the church and other ecclesiastical courts had to prove all wills. The PCC was the most important of these courts, dealing with relatively wealthy individuals living mainly in the south of England and most of Wales.
Such wills are difficult to read, as this one, proved in 1734, demonstrates. It relates to Roelant van Kinschot. If you find it easy to read, let me know and I'll send you the rest to transcribe!
Another indication of the power and influence of the van Kinschot family is the fact that they had their own regiment of infantry! The Van Kinschot Regiment wore the uniform detailed below. This is from the collection of the Dutch Physician H J Vinkhuijzen, who collected information on 18th & 19th century European armies.
The van Kinschot family was well-to-do, as is evident in that several were mayors of various cities in the Netherlands, and a number could afford to have their portraits taken. This is something that the UK Kingshott family would never have been able to afford to have done. Similarly, another Gaspar van Kinschot is listed in the provenance of a Rembrandt painting as a previous owner! They certainly had some money at one time.Pictured here, are some of the surviving portraits of members of the van Kinschot family. How they relate to each other can be found here.
Gaspar van Kinschot (1622-1649)
Gaspar van Kinschot (1552-1603)
Johan Antonij van Kinschot (1708-1766)
Various van Kinschot families cropped up in the UK in the later 19th century. One family, in the 1891 census, lived in Chelsea, London, and they had been there since at least the 1860s, as I have a marriage certificate, again in Chelsea, from 1868.
Gaspar van Kinschot 1622-1649
Several van Kinschot family members appear in the Dutch National Biography, many of whom were prominent in politics and the law. As a family they were very well educated for their time, studying in many of the best universities in the Netherlands, France and Germany. This continued well into the 20th century and I am sure continues to do so today.
The following is a notice that was served during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War Two. You will note that a member of this family signed it, François Henri Van Kinschot, who was mayor of the town and a 1st cousin 8 times removed of Gaspar van Kinschot, pictured above.
I am pleased to report that he was dismissed from his post after refusing to collaborate with the Nazi regime, but following the defeat of the Nazis, he made a triumphant return. This was captured on film and can be seen here. Mr van Kinschot is the man in the light-coloured coat, waving wildly. There is no sound, unfortunately. There is also a photograph of him below, at the same event.
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If I get permission from the owner of the film, I will embed the video here.
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I would be extremely interested to hear from anyone who is researching or who has researched this family. It would be interesting to have a member of this family get their DNA tested to see if we are, indeed, related. Please contact me if you have researched or linked in with them.
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I have now set my lovely Dutch-speaking Belgian cousin, Carine, to work trying to research this family! I appreciate her assistance with this matter!
