Jan Jacob van Valkenburg (1790 – 1844)

Generation 2 · Van Valkenburg – Graham Family Project

Apotheker · Merchant in Chemical Goods · Founder of the Leeuwarden Branch

Early Life (1790 – 1820)

Born 28 March 1790 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, to Goosen (Gosen) van Valkenburg (1759 – after 1802) and Petronella Jacobse van Veen (1761 – 1802). Baptised the same day at the Amstelkerk (Amsterdam DTB records), a record that anchors the later Leeuwarden line to the Haarlem–Amsterdam branch. Trained as an apotheker, a profession combining medicine, chemistry, and small-scale manufacturing.

Marriage and Family (1828 – 1835)

Married 9 January 1828 in Leeuwarden to Anna Draaisma (1802 – ?). The marriage act records him as “apotheker,” aged 37, born Amsterdam; she aged 26, born Leeuwarden. Parents named for both parties confirm the connection to Goosen & Petronella and to the Draaisma–Visser family. Their home and shop on Doelestraat marked the family’s permanent move north and laid the foundation of its industrial continuity.

Children (confirmed by civil records)

• Gosina Petronella van Valkenburg (1828 – ?) — registered birth lists father as “apotheker.”
• Samuel Draisma van Valkenburg (1830 – 1894) — future industrial founder of the lever-oil factory.

Professional Life and Status (1828 – 1844)

Registered as an apotheker and merchant in pharmaceutical goods on Doelestraat, Leeuwarden — the same premises later used by his son’s factory. Contemporary directories place him within the city’s pharmaceutical guild. His work combined classical pharmacy with chemical distillation and oil extraction, directly anticipating his son Samuel’s industrial methods.

Death and Estate (1844)

Died 29 December 1844 in Leeuwarden, aged 54; husband of Anna Draaisma. The civil death register lists his parents as Goosen van Valkenburg and Petronella van Veen. His Memories van Successie estate file confirms ownership of a Doelestraat property and names minor children Gosina and Samuel as heirs. Anna Draaisma assumed guardianship and maintained the premises, allowing the family business to persist.

Legacy

Jan Jacob was the first to anchor the Van Valkenburgs in Leeuwarden and to professionalize the family’s apothecary trade. His workshop and equipment formed the technical core of the lever-oil factory founded by his son Samuel in 1869. Estate documents trace the continuous ownership of the Doelestraat property, creating an unbroken record from Amsterdam craft origins to Frisian industrial ascendancy.

Record Gallery

1790 Baptism Record (Amsterdam)
Jan Jacob van Valkenburg — Amstelkerk entry

1828 Marriage Act (Leeuwarden)
Jan Jacob van Valkenburg & Anna Draaisma

1844 Death Act (Leeuwarden)
Jan Jacob van Valkenburg — husband of Anna Draaisma

Sources & Verification

• Amsterdam DTB Baptism (Amstelkerk, 1790) — child Jan Jacob; parents Goosen & Petronella.
• Leeuwarden Marriage Act (9 Jan 1828) — Open Archieven / AlleFriezen scan.
• Birth of Gosina Petronella (1828) — civil act naming father as apotheker.
• Death Act (29 Dec 1844, Leeuwarden) — parents Goosen & Petronella; husband of Anna Draaisma.
• Memories van Successie (1845) — estate record with Doelestraat property and minor heirs.

Record type: Genealogical Profile (Generation 2)

Prepared by: Van Valkenburg – Graham Project · Appendix G · 2025

Verification Charter · Amsterdam & Leeuwarden Registers · Appendix G Standard