Origins of the Van Schelven family

If you scan the birthplaces of the early Van Schelvens, you will notice:

• A start in Flanders, in the town of Nieuwpoort, on the Western coast of Belgium, a doctor called Vincent van Schelven.

• A concentration in the town of Zierikzee in the province of Zeeland, where the mill De Haas is a living memory of our ancestors.

• A concentration in the Hoekse Waard in the province of Zuid-Holland, a polder South of Rotterdam and West of Dordrecht in several of the small communities, like Piershil, Puttershoek, Zuid-Beijerland.

In general you can say: this is flat country with plenty of water. In those days the Dutch coast was not as well protected as these days and flooding was a familiar scene in the autumn, winter and early spring. Our most recent crest is probably a memorial to these facts.

The communities in the Hoekse Waard were and still are closely knit with a firm anchor in their beliefs in the Lord. This will show throughout our family tree and even in these days we have inspired preachers amongst ourselves.

You should know that Zierikzee in those days was the second town of Zeeland, just after Middelburg. Middelburg was ruled by the VOC (United East-Indies Company), the semi-state owned colonial force towards the East (Indonesia, Sri-Lanka, Japan, China). Zierikzee was more a regular trading port.