Johan Zulch de Villiers (12 July 1845 – 18 July 1910) was a South African politician and attorney. He was mayor of Johannesburg from 1897 to 1900.
Johan Zulch de Villiers | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Johannesburg | |
| In office 1 October 1897 – 31 May 1900 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Walter Alfred John O'Meara |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 July 1845 Paarl, Cape Colony |
| Died | 18 July 1910 (aged 65) Pretoria, Union of South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Spouse | Susanna Margaretha de Villiers |
| Children | 8 |
| Occupation | Politician |
Life
Johan Zulch de Villiers was born in 1845 in Paarl, Cape Colony.[1] He was educated at the Paarl gymnasium as well as privately by Dr. Rose Innes at Cape Town.[2] For fifteen months he joined the Orange Free State forces in the Basuto Gun War.[2] He passed as an attorney and was an advocate of the High Court.[2] He then entered civil service becoming the private secretary to President Johannes Brand.[2] Between 1881 and 1897 de Villiers was the landdrost of several towns including Pretoria, Barberton and Lydenburg.[3] He also worked in Swaziland.[4] The government appointed him as the first mayor (Dutch: burgemeester)[5] of Johannesburg on 1 October 1897.[6] The first meeting of the town council was held on 4 October 1897.[7] He was the mayor until Johannesburg's surrender to Frederick Roberts on 31 May 1900 during the Second Boer War.[8][9] The British then appointed Colonel Walter Alfred John O'Meara as the new mayor and administrator of the city.[10] De Villiers died in Pretoria in 1910 at the age of 65.[11]
Personal life
He is a member of the de Villiers family who are of French Huguenot descent.[12] On 1 November 1870 he married Susanna Margaretha de Villiers, the first cousin of John de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers.[2] They had 10 children: Rachel Gerhardina, Secondus Petrus, Victor Izaak, Anna Matilda, Maria Mandy, Margaretha, Johan Zulch Voight, George Ferdinan Esselen, Ludowicus van der Merwe, and Septima Elizabeth Bland.[11] His daughter Anna Matilda later married George Wreford Hudson, the master and registrar of the Swaziland court.[13]
See also
References
Sources
- Barrett, R. J. (1884). The Anglo-African Who's who and Biographical Sketch-book. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- Royal Colonial Institute (1894). Proceedings: Volume 25. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- Bulpin, Thomas Victor (1955). Storm Over the Transvaal. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- De Villiers, Daniel Peter (1960). A History of the De Villiers Family. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- Shorten, John R. (1970). The Johannesburg Saga. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- Meiring, Piet (1976). Dynamite and Daisies: The Story of Barberton. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- Fraser, Maryna (1985). Johannesburg Pioneer Journals, 1888–1909. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- Van Riebeeck Society (1986). VRS. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- Jones, Huw M. Jones (1993). A Biographical Register of Swaziland to 1902. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- Phillips, Lionel (1977). All that Glittered Selected Correspondence of Lionel Phillips, 1890–1924. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- Raugh, Harold E. (2004). The Victorians at War, 1815–1914 An Encyclopedia of British Military History. Retrieved 7 October 2021.