Made will with daughter Maria

Date: 
June 26, 1719

Made will in Delfshaven.

Anthony van Leeuwenhoek and his daughter Maria van Leeuwenhoek, who live on the westside of the Hippolytusbuurt in Delft, again named each other as sole heirs. As heirs of the remaining effects and as executors, they named Jan and Jacob van Leeuwen, son and grandson of Leeuwenhoek's sister Catharina van Leeuwenhoek. The last deceased will be allowed to give other heirs, but in that case to Jan and Jacob van Leeuwen 5000 gl.

In her 1933 article summarizing the will, Petra Beydals notes that it favors the descendants of Leeuwenhoek's sister Catharine over those of his sister Grietgen. Beydals offers this as the reason a man of 86 would travel 15 km (9 miles) to Delfshaven when Delft had plenty of notaries. The Delfshaven notaries were administered through the courts in Rotterdam, where the favored descendants lived.

The will of Antoni and Maria Leeuwenhoek drawn up in 1719 contains broadly the same provisions and heirs as the 1712 will.
 
  • Jan and Jacob van Leeuwen, son and grandson of sister Catharina Leeuwenhoek, jointly inherit what remains after the legacies. Philips van Leeuwen died in 1713; his daughter Margaretha now receives a legacy of 2,000 guilders.
  • Dr. Anthony de Molijn, Margaretha Molijn, Geertruid Molijn and Jan Haaxman bonds of 3500, 1000, 2600 and 3500
  • Jan and Jacob van Leeuwen, son and grandson of his sister Catharina, will each be heirs for half after the death of both testators.
  • Rijckje van Leeuwen and Margaretha (Philipsdr.) van Leeuwen (ck!) receive bequests of 5,000 and 2,000 gl; Rijckje owes him this amount, so she receives 2 bonds payable to her account.
 
Finally, they earmark silver jugs, candlesticks and snuffers from the estate for all these Rotterdam family members. To Jan van Leeuwen: "a silver talioor was partly gilded, as well as two silver candlesticks made by the lord testator from the silver that he himself made from mineral". 
 
After the funeral, an inventory of the estate will have to be made ""immediately and as necessary"" by the executors, while the Gulden Hoofd must be sold publicly in the city council before the division of the estate takes place (which happened). but after the sale of the house in the Oosteinde.
 
"The 3 counterfactuals hanging in the Carner above the Cas"" are presented to the Adriaen Swalmius, ""as being the neighbor of the family of the Uyttenbroesk"" and if he does not desire the paintings, they must be broken and burned. The firewood and peat will be given by the executors, where they will be well spent.
 
Repeating from the 1712 will: Dr. Antony Molijn, his children, sisters and brother-in-law, as well as the descendants of Maria Molijn's son, are not allowed to have any involvement or presence at Leeuwenhoek's funeral, "for reasons of their own". Apparently, Leeuwenhoek wanted to insure that his estate never fell into the hands of Dr. Antony Molijn and his family, presumably to protect his scientific legacy. The 1721 will takes this further by stipulating that the will must be sealed and transported to the Weeskamer.
 
Document: 

Nicolaas van der Vaart, notary. Archief DLFS Delfshaven inv. 3876, no. 117, fol. 587 (no transcript or translation available)

Sources
Year Author Title
1933 Beydals, P. Twee Testamenten van Antoni Van Leeuwenhoeck