Vincent van Gogh's South African connection
Vincent VAN GOGH, famous Dutch painter, had a younger brother, Cornelis Vincent (aka Cor), who fought in the Anglo-Boer War on the Boer side. Cornelis arrived in the Transvaal in 1890. He worked for the Nederlandsch Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg Maatskappij at the Cornucopia Mine in Elandsfontein near Germiston, where he helped build trains. He is said to have also helped build the railway track to Lourenço Marques. When war broke out, he took leave and joined the Hollanderkorps, a commando unit under Cmdt. J.S.F. BLIGNAUT's command.
Not much is known about his whereabouts during the war. He may have joined as an ambulance driver. He was taken risoner by the British in March 1900 near Kroonstad, fell ill and put in a makeshift hospital in Brandfort where he died on 14 April 1900. He was buried in an unmarked
grave in the Brandfort churchyard.
The cause of death is a mystery – some people believe that he committed suicide, like his brothers
Vincent and Theodorus, as there was one bullet wound. The official report stated it was an accidental shooting. Others believe he died of malaria or tuberculosis. In the Dutch Reformed Church in Pretoria, Cornelius's name (C.V. van Gogh) is on the memorial plaque which
commemorates the Dutch who died in the war.
Cornelis was born 17 May 1867 in Zundert, North Brabant, to Theodorus VAN GOGH and Anna Cornelia CARBENTUS. He married Anna Catharina FUCHS in February 1898 but the marriage did not last long.
Sources:
Discover Pretoria, by Henie Heydenrych & Abrie Swiegers, J.B. van Schaik, Pretoria, 1999
Nederlanders in Transvaal 1850-1950, by Jan Ploeger, J. L. van Schaik, Pretoria, 1994
Cornelis Vincent van Gogh in Transvaal, by Dr. Jan Ploeger, Lantern journal, Dec 1981
Newspaper article: De Volksstem 26 Sept 1906
Written by and with kind permission Anne Lehmkuhl