{"id":140370,"date":"2026-04-04T11:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/niet-gecategoriseerd\/the-thomson-van-hopbergen-family\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T23:59:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T21:59:21","slug":"the-thomson-van-hopbergen-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/en\/biography\/the-thomson-van-hopbergen-family\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thomson-van Hopbergen family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A military family with Scottish roots in Bredevoort<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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The family grave of the Thomson-van Hopbergen family is located at the General Cemetery on the Prins Mauritsstraat in Bredevoort. Although the tombstone has been marked by erosion, the monument is a reminder of a family that played a prominent role in Dutch military history, national politics and literature. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legacy of the Scottish Brigade<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The family’s roots lie in the Scottish Brigade<\/strong>, a unit of British soldiers hired by the United Provinces<\/a> in the 17th and 18th centuries. After their military service, many of them settled permanently in the Netherlands, including James Thomson<\/strong>. He was married to Mary Rinck; their children were baptized in Tournai and Breda at the beginning of the 18th century. The military tradition in the family continued into the 20th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location in Bredevoort<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The bond with Bredevoort arose in the early nineteenth century through a grandson of the ancestor, also named James<\/strong> . This retired captain, born in 1759 in Nijmegen, lived there on the Prinsenstraat<\/a> with his wife Susanna Elisabeth de Waal<\/strong>. James died in 1828 and Susanna in 1837. The house with its contents was valued at \u0192 3,805,-. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their son, Jan Jacob Thomson<\/strong> (1784\u20131858), born in Maastricht and living with his family in Fort Cr\u00e8vecoeur near ‘s-Hertogenbosch, was the sole heir. Jan Jacob was a lieutenant colonel and had made a career during the Napoleonic Wars. For his efforts during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, in which he was wounded, he was made a knight in the Military Order of William. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1837 Jan Jacob entered into a second marriage with the 26 years younger Louiza Wilhelmina van Hopbergen<\/strong> (1810\u20131906) from Bredevoort. She was a daughter of the retired lieutenant Diederik Christoffel Hendricus van Hopbergen, also living on the Prinsenstraat<\/a>. The family settled in Bredevoort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan Jacob Thomson died on 11 October 1858 and was buried in the family grave in Bredevoort. Louise also found her final resting place there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louise’s brother Jacobus Wilhelmus van Hopbergen<\/a> was also a lieutenant colonel and lived at Markt 18<\/a> in Aalten after his retirement.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offspring and social functions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Several family members born in Bredevoort held social functions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diderik Christoffer Hendrikus Thomson<\/strong> (1840\u20131891) became a letter collector (holder of the local post office) in Bredevoort and will also have been buried in the family grave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His son Jan Jacob Thomson<\/strong> (1882\u20131961) gained fame as a ‘poet-minister’. He was a pastor at the Dutch Protestant Union in Varsseveld and left behind an extensive oeuvre of poetry collections and literary-historical studies. After a turbulent and poetic life, he died in Baarn in 1961 and was buried there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacque Willem Lodewijk Thomson<\/strong> (1846\u20131914) was mayor of the municipality of Appeltern from 1877 until his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louis Thomson: Soldier and statesman<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking descendants of the family is Lodewijk Willem Johan Karel Thomson<\/strong> (1869\u20131914), a grandson of Lieutenant Colonel Jan Jacob. Lodewijk was a military cartographer, was sent to Batavia and Aceh, was a military attach\u00e9 during the Boer War in South Africa and a member of the House of Representatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1914 he was sent to Albania, where he was killed in action in Durr\u00ebs on 15 June 1914. Thomson was the first Dutch soldier to die during a peacekeeping mission. He was buried in Groningen<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage in decline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today, the funerary monument<\/a> on the Prins Mauritsstraat is in a state of disrepair. Due to erosion and overdue maintenance, the inscriptions on the stone are becoming increasingly difficult to read. However, the grave is a monument to the connection of small Bredevoort with the great world history. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Grave\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Family grave Thomson-van Hopbergen in Bredevoort (2020)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Obituary\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Obituary Susanna Thomson-De Waal (1837)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Jan\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Jan Jacob Thomson (1784\u20131858)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"D.C.H.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Zutphensche Courant, 10 October 1872<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Post
Post office Bredevoort, 1918<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Louis\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Louis William John Charles Thomson (1869\u20131914)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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