Longevity ~ Pieter Knikman (94) in Dordrecht

Pieter Knikman, aged 94 years and 9 months, died on July 2, 1854, in Dordrecht, Holland. He had been a widower for 10 years, and was survived by his daughters Margrita Recourt-Knikman and Maria Sillevis-Knikman.

Dordrechtsche Courant, 4-7-1854

Pieter Knikman was baptized on October 10, 1759, in Dordrecht. He was the eldest son of my ancestors Arij Knikman (1730-1778) and Maria de Sterke (1730-1806). He had siblings named Johanna (1758-1839), Jacoba, David (1763-1794), Adriana, Elizabeth, Margaretha and Adam (1775-1849).
When his father died in 1778, Pieter was aged 18. He was the first of his siblings to marry when he tied the knot on June 15, 1783, in Dordrecht with Geertruij Botvis, a girl living in the same street. They were assisted by both their widowed mothers.

Geertruij Botvis was baptized on May 27, 1759, in Dordrecht as a younger daughter of Willem Botvis (†1783) and Margrita ("Grietie") van der Heijden (†1801). Over the period 1785-1793 Pieter Knikman and Geertruij Botvis had 5 children baptized: Arie, Margrita, Maaijke (twice) and Willem. Both their boys seem to have died young. Margrita, baptized on May 2, 1787, and Maaijke, baptizes on January 2, 1793, both in Dordrecht, both survived infancy.

Dagblad van Zuid-Holland en 
's-Gravenhage, 27-5-1864

In 1807 Pieter Knikman was still living in the Kolfstraat in Dordrecht. He was a skipper by profession. On July 30, 1808, in nearby Dubbeldam Pieter's daughter Margrita was married to Jacobus Recourt. They were to have children named Antonetta, Pieter and Willem Recourt.
Pieter Knikman and Geertruij Botvis were both present when their other daughter, Maaijke, was married on August 10, 1815, in Dordrecht to skipper Leendert Sillevis who had been born in The Hague. This couple was to have children named Pieter, Leendert, Willem, Gerradus, Maria and Geertruida Sillevis.

Somehow Pieter Knikman was in Aalburg near Heusden in Brabant, when his wife died in Dordrecht on November 24, 1843, around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, aged 84. When Pieter Knikman died at the age of 94, only one of his siblings was still alive. His sister Elizabeth died a month after her brother on August 9, 1854, in Dordrecht. Pieter's son-in-law Jacobus Recourt died on July 15, 1859, aged 76. Jacobus' widow, Margrita Knikman, died on March 21, 1864. Pieter's other son-in-law, Leendert Sillevis, died on December 28, 1863. Leendert's widow, Maria Knikman, died on November 25, 1879, in Dordrecht, aged 86.

Sources: Dordrecht Archive, Delpher Newspapers.