The following information has been copied of the DU TOIT site on Facebook.
LINGUISTIC MEANING OF DU TOIT AND ITS VARIENTS
The original spelling has varied from "Du Toict, Du Thoy, Du Tois, Du Thois or Du Thoit ". "Du Toict "was the most common.
Du Toit was born in the place called Steenwerck (Stonework in flamish). It was found 25 km northwest of Ryssel (Lille was the old name). The surname is very common in the area (Between Lille and Dunkirk).
According to the French genealogy it shows someone who lives in a specific place - "le toit" - or someone who came from that place. This is also the meaning of the Latin word "tectum".
In the northern parts of France "le toit" means a barn, a shelter or a house.
In the northern dialect "teit" means stable.
Archives in France and Belgium show that the Du Toits belonged to the farmer class or were merchants.
FAMILY LEGENDS
The family was originally from Belgium and has received the title of Viscount from the French King
Version 1: This is based on the story that the family laid on the roofs of the dwellings and then stopped the enemy.
Version 2: A family member hid the King of France in the attic of his house when there was an attempted assasination on his life and thus saved his life. He was the called "Du Toict", which literally means "from the roof or attic" and the title Viscount was bestowed upon him.
Version 3: That the family was originally from Spain with the surname Del Tecto. It was apparently one of the oldest and noblest families in Spain. The first uninterrupted du Toict, alias Del Tecto starts with Pierre du Toict. Pierre Constantin Del Tecto ca. 1420-1467, called Knight Del Tecto was the first of the name to come from Spain to France. He was an important commander in the army of Charles "le Temeraire", duke of
Which version, if any is true is not know but the research will continue.
DEL TECTO HISTORY
One of the oldest, noblest and illustrious families mentioned in the Kingdom of Leon Spain, the du Toict family, alias Del Tecto lived in a feudal castle at Villa Franca del Vierzo Spain. Their family arms were" de gueules, au calice d'or" . or " Red with a golden calice". Their descendants continued to have high official responsibilities during centuries, but distinguished themselves particularly in the art of arms.
We were able to receive a copy of the genealogy research of the House of the du Toict written by Joseph de Sorbiers de la Tournasse, director in 1929 of the Heraldic College of France in Paris who researched their origins and descendants.
Garcio Fernandez Del Tecto, man of gentle birth, became governor of the fortified places of the Kingdom of Leon from 1072-1079. He participated with King Alphonso VI of Leon in the siege of Toledo in 1085. This brought the Spanish church into line with the Roman Church. His arms were" de gueules, a la tour d'argent, sur assises d'or, surmontee d'un croissant d'argent". Translation of the heraldic terms:" Red, with a white tower on golden ???…., surmounted by a white crescent".
Fernan Fernandez Del Tecto succeeded his father's tittles and functions during the war against Portugal. He entered later to the services of King Alonzo VII of Castillo and participated to all expeditions and wars against the Moor. Cordoba in 1236 and Seville 1248 were captured in from the Moslem under Ferdinand III of Castille.
Sanchez Fernandez Del Tecto lived in the manor of Castillo and Villa Marin. We can read in a document of 1282 that King Sancho IV of Castille confirms the privileges of 1234 by Ferdinand III of Castillo by which Alonzo VIII conferred to Fernan Fernandez Del Tecto, his hereditary rights on the cities of Plana, Pradel, etc., as well as Alonzo IX de Leon who had then given donation of the cities of Saint-Estebar, Quartela, etc.
One branch of this family went to live in Aragon, and had for family chief Jean Fernandez Del Tecto who was covered with glory in 1385 in the wars against Sardaingna, and died in a battle against the Moors in 1390. Geronimo Fernandez Del Tecto, his son, had the high responsibility of vice-chancellor of Alphonso V, King of Aragon of the Castillo dynasty.
He married Maria-Anna de Mendoza, daughter of Balthazar de Mendoza, lord of Reville de Mendoza" de gueules, a la bande de sinople bordee d'or, a la chaine de huit chainons d'argent, posee en orle brochante sur le tout." They had four children: Maria, Baltazar, Lorenzo and Pierre. Maria became none in the convent of Santa Clara de Huesca. Balthazar died at a young age. Lorenzo and Pierre de Fernandez
Ximeno Del Tecto of Gerona, captain to the services of Martin I, King of Aragon, toke part with a lot of knights to the pacification of Sicily, under the army commander Vi-comte de Cabrera. Jaime Del Tecto was present at the assembly hold in Barcelona in 1515, his son Marcos Del Tecto was at the services of the emperor Charles of Spain. We don't know the last name of his wife Marguerite but he had two sons: Cristobal and Raymond. Cristobal Del Tecto became priest (chanoine) of the order of St Jean of Jerusalem, appreciated by King Philippe III, Bishop of the Canaries, left a great number of ouvrages and documents in latin.
Raymond Del Tecto, magistrate of Barcelona, went to the new world of Indies and became regent of the pretoriale assembly of Santa-Fe-de-Bogota. He became the head of the American branche. Family arms" de gueules, a la tour d'argent sur ondes d'azur et d'argent sous la tour"
The first uninterrupted du Toict, alias Del Tecto starts with Pierre du Toict. Pierre Constantin Del Tecto ca. 1420-1467, called Knight Del Tecto was the first of the name to come from Spain to France. He was an important commander in the army of Charles "le Temeraire", duke of
Pierre C du Toict won the battle of St Trond the 27 October 1467, and was elevated to the title of Vi-Comte. The title of Vi-Comte was transmittable to the descendants of the family as well to the elderly branch as well to the younger branch and without any distinction of sex or primogeniture. He was wounded and died shortly thereafter. We do not know the name of his wife.
The family later in the first half of the XV century (1400-1450) came to live in Lille and the church of Saint Etienne and the Flanders (Kortrijk). This branch of du Toict established in Flanders, who came from Spain was well known from the branch of Ardeche (France) who is confirmed in the patents letters of 1784 and documents of 1787.
On February 10th 1784 at the castle of GUIRON, the Comte de Lavalette, the Comte de la Cheze, the Vi-Comte de Vogue and the Baron de Rochefort, noblemen of the province of Vivarais attested in a document that the family du Toict also called Del Tecto, with origin from Spain, and from this province was an old noble family with the nobility title of Vi-Comte, and confirmed the family arms described previously to the Vi-Comte Leopold du Toict, his wife Baroness Louise de Basth du Cugnac and their three children Philippe, Jean and Frederic. It was further confirmed by Louis Antoine de Barruel, esquire of the King, judge in Vivarais, at the Royal Seat of Villeneuve de Berre, that this document came well from the four noblemen cited and signed by him.
THE FIRST DU TOITS IN SOUTH AFRICA
The patriach of the DU TOITS in South Africa is one FRANCOIS DU TOIT, originally from France Ryssel in Flanders.
Francois du Toit and his brother, Guillaume du Toit arrived in South Africa during about 1688. They were French refugees, and Guillaume and his wife Sarah Cochet, the widow of Peter de Klerk, has three daughters and therefore his name became extinct. They apparently had a brother Bruno and an unnamed sister who died on the ship to the Cape.
On 12 February 1690 Francois was married to Susanna Seugnet. The couple established themselves on the farm 'Soetendal'. Francois du Toit requested the Governor to allocate the "Dal" (known as Daljosaphat) to him. His application was refused because the Governor was afraid that the Bushmen and Hottentots across the Berg River might kill the Du Toits. Francois, however, insisted and the land was finally allocated to him. He also came to possess the farm "Kleinbos" on which he planted numerous oak trees. Francois and Susanna were the parents of nine children:
1. Andries du Toit (born 1691) married Martha Rossouw, the daughter of Pierre Rossouw, on March 7, 1717 and were the parents of five sons and four daughters. (This is my ancester).
2. Stephanus du Toit (born 1693) was married to Deborah Marais and on February 13, 1757, he remarried Maria Jacobs, the widow of Peter Barent Blom, and they were the parents of four sons and eight daughters.
3. Helena du Toit (born 1695) was married to Peter Burgert van Dijk and she remarried with Ernst Frederik de Zwart then with Phillip Olivier and then with Johannes Botha;.
4. Pieter du Toit (born 1697) was married to Elizabeth Rossouw and they were the parents of seven sons and four daughters.
5. Francois du Toit (born 1699) married Maria Theron, the widow of Pieter Janse van Marseven, and they were the parents of three sons and five daughters.
6. Martha du Toit (born 1701) was married to John Moller.
7. Gertruida du Toit (born 1703) was married to John Bastiaans.
8. Elizabeth du Toit (born 1705 and died 1789) married Jacques Theron.
9. Maria du Toit (born 1709) was married to John Frederick Bierman.
Francois was a prominent farmer and played a leading role in his community and church. He was elder of the Drakensteins Church and was also appointed to the Heemraad (Local Council). He and his brother, Guillaume, were involved in the series of incidents resulting in the famous letter of complaint by Adam Tas against governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel. The letter was secretly signed by 63 settlers. When the Governor heard this, he was furious and immediately took steps to rebutt the accusations against him by having a declaration of good behaviour signed by the burghers (citizens). The majority of burghers refused to give in to his request. And when smooth talk and promises didn't sway them to sign, he order Magistrate Sparrenburg with armed soldiers to go from house to house to force the burghers to sign the document. Despite the threats, Francois and Guillaume flatly refused to sign the document and thus they were ordered to appear before the court. Francois, together with other burghers fled to the "Vier en Twintig Riviere" (Twenty Four Rivers). Guillaume were called to the castle on several occasions and was personally requested by Van der Stel to sign the document, but each time he refused. Guillaume was then imprisoned and only released after Van der Stel was recalled to Holland.
The sons of Francois lived in Drakenstein and Stellenbosch where they have held positions of responsibility, especially in the church. Andries du Toit has lived in Stellenbosch and was a member of the Stellenbosche Dragonders. He was later appointed as a member of the Heemraad for Drakenstein, while he also became a deacon at his church. Stephanus du Toit was appointed as a deacon in 1729 of the church at Drakenstein. Pieter du Toit was a deacon and a member of the Magistrate and Heemraad.
WELL KNOWN DU TOITS
The Du Toits were among the earliest burghers of Swellendam and Worcester. Several of these families, which included Pieter A. DU TOIT of Brandvlei, were visited by Commissioner de Mist during his trip. In 1824 veldcornet (combination of a magistrate and a sheriff) G.P. DU TOIT assembled a commando to force the slaves and Hottentots, who rioted in Worcester,to surrender.
The trave journal of the Livestock Commission of 1805 mentions the hospitality that WAS van Ryneveld received from the Du Toils of Worcester and Goudini. Over time, the the DU TOIT families were found in many other villages. In Tulbagh Gerrit du Toit was one of the builders of the Drostdy. The first postmaster was George HENDRIK Stephanus du Toit, who was appointed by Lord Charles Somerset. In Clanwilliam the DU TOIT family were also among the earliest farmers in the community.
The Du Toits were among the early Voortrekkers. A well-known figure here is JAN DU TOIT from the Tarka district who trekked with Sarel Cilliers. He was later, together with his wife, killed by the Matabeles. I
In the Free State the DU TOITS were among the leading figures of the State. One of the first candidates for the presidency was cmdt ANDRIES DU TOIT who fought against the Kreli in 1846.
The name Du Toit is often found in historical documents. The DU TOITS played a huge role in the fields of culture, church and education and they made significant contributions. Under the first champions of the Afrikaans language were four Du Toits who contributed to the establishment of the "Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners" in Paarl on August 14, 1875. They were DANIEL FRANCOIS (Dokter) DU TOIT, DANIEL FRANCOIS (Oom Lokomotief) DU TOIT, S G D DU TOIT and ds STEPHANUS JACOBUS DU TOIT. Daniel Francois (Dokter) du Toit (21.1 1.1853 - 2/4/1918), the printer, was born in Daljosofat and visitted the Transvaal in 1873. In 1875 he became a printer in Paarl and is one of the first to the propose to translate the Bible in Afrikaans. Daniel Francois (Oom Lokomotief) du Toit (15/1/1846 - 22.4 in 1923), was a nephew of Dokter. He was also born at Daljosaphat and was the pioneer Afrikaans journalist. He qualified as a teacher and with the establishment of the Afrikaans newspaper 'Di Patriot' he worked as a newspaper journalist. His nickname was "Oom Lokomotief" and he had a great influence on all Afrikaners with his literature. He went to the Orange Freestate in 1892 and joined the Boer forces during the Anglo Boer War. After the war, contributed to the campaign for Afrikaans and in his later years he was a Government Archvist at Bloemfontein. Oom Lokomotief's brother, dominee (reverend) Stephanus Jacobus du Toit's (9/10/1847 - 28/5/1911) teacher, Arnoldus Pannevis (later one of the eight persons who founded the Society of True Afrikaners). He was editor of "Di Patriot" and helped to establish the Afrikaner Bond in 1879. In 1882 he was appointed as Superintendent of Education in the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republic and accompanied the trio to Britain to negotiate the independence of the Republics. From 1890 to 1904 he was again editor of "Di Patriot" and were responsible for the establishment of the childrenspage "Ons Klyntji" in1896. His magazine 'Ons Taal' was founded in 1907 and he was also one of the first writers who was involved in the translation of the bible in Afrikaans. He was a friend of Cecil Rhodes and travelled to Rhodesia with him on numerous occassions. His status as a founder of the Afrikaans language remains uncontested.
Then there was the well-known vaderlander, professor and doctor, JACOB DANIEL (Totius) DU TOIT (1877 to 1953). As beloved peoples poet and translator of the Bible his name will live on. Totius was the son of ds S.J. Du Toit. He studied theology at the universities of Burgersdorp and Amsterdam. He was a Boer chaplain during the Anglo Boer War and was called to Potchefstroom after the war in 1911 where he was appointed as a professor of Theology. His first poetry book "By die Monument" was issued in 1908. Other preachers among the Du Toits were ANDRIES FRANCOIS DU TOIT (1811 - 1871) and WIJNAND CHARLES DU TOIT (1842 to 1932).
Other prominent Du Toits were:
ALEXANDER LGOIE DU TOIT (14.3.1878 - 25.2.1948) - geologist,
ANDRIES FRANCOIS DU TOIT (8.8.1813-15.8.1883) - Pretoria magistrate;
ERNST JOHANNES DU TOIT (1859 - 12/1/1924) - printer and publisher;
GERT JOHANNES DU TOIT (born 25/12/1847) - officer in the Zuid-Afrikaans Republic, a member of the Transvaal Legislative Council and member in the Union Parliament:
Heinrich Sebastian DAVEL DU TOIT (21/10/1874 - 8/7/1923) - Boer officer and agricultural scientist;
MECHIEL Siebert Wiid 'MIKE' DU TOIT (7.1.1868-16.5.1938) - police officer and Union House of Assembly member;
PIETER JACOBUS DUTOIT (8/8/1879 - 8/8/1926) - Professor and language expert, and
SAREL PETRUS DU TOIT - Boer General during the Anglo Boer War. "Sarel P. du Toit was, toen de laatste oorlog begon, lid van de Eerste Volksraad voor het distrikt Wolmaransstad, waartoe hij in 1896 gekozon werd. Op 9 Oktobor 1899 sloot hij zich bij de westelike kommando's te Polfontein aan, en werd weldra door generaal Piet Cronje tot assistent generaal benoemd voor de distrikten Wolmaransstad, Bloemhof en Lichtenburg. Met generaal de la Rey trok hij van Vrijburg naar Kimberley, alwaar aan hem de belegering van de stad werd opgedragen. In December word hij met een paardekommando naar Tweerivier gezonden, en nam een werkzaam aandeel aan de slag, die daar geleverd werd. Vervolgens trad generaal du Toit op te Veertienstromen; na de inname van Pretoria langs de Oosterlijn on ‘Msilkaatsnek, en word toen naar de ontruimde zuid-westelike distrikten terug-gezonden om de burgers aldaar weer onder de wapens te brengen. Drie dagen na zijn aankomst te Wolmaransstad had du Toit weer een kommando van over de 300 man. Daarna opereerdo hij onder generaal de la Rey in de distrikten Wolmaransstad, Lichtenburg, Potchefstroom on Bloemhof; o.a. in de slagen te Hartebeestfontein, Lichtenburg, Makwassiebergen, Brakspruit (1 Maart 1902) en Roodewal (11 April 1902) in wolke laatste slag zijn kommando alleen een verlies had van 75 doden en gewonden, w.o. de dappere kommandant Potgieter on veldkornet G. J. van Wijk. Een paar dagen later werd du Toit door zijn burgers afgevaardigd naar het Vereniging kongres." (Source: ONZE KRIJGS-OFFICIEREN ALBUM VAN PORTRETTEN MET LEVENS-SCHETSEN DER Transvaalse Generaals en Kommandanten E. A., UITGEGEVEN TEN "VOLKSSTEM" KANTORE, PRETORIA, 1904.)
Generaal S. P. DU TOIT.