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WF Emck (1869-1929), RAG collection.
Willem Frederik Emck was born in 1869 in Gorinchem. His father of the same name worked for the municipal government as a messenger. As was not unusual at the time, junior later also entered service at the town hall. Initially in the same position as his father, but after some time he rose to become city receiver.
Presumably with the help of his father, who previously assisted in the reorganization of the city archives, he manages to find his way through the old documents and his interest in the history of his hometown grows. 1 Also the contact with HA van Goch, 2 who for his book 'Van Arkel's old fortress' regularly conducting archival research at the town hall probably stimulates his interest.
This is in Bethlehem
If the historical society "Oud-Gorcum" has plans in the house "This is in Bethlehem" to start a museum on Gasthuisstraat, Emck is asked to collect information about the history of this building. He consults the register of land tax from 1584, a valuation list divided per street of all the real estate on which land tax was levied. This does indeed provide him with an interesting picture of all the names of houses in the city, but unfortunately for Emck: "This is in Bethlehem" does not appear on it. The city archives appear to be incomplete. The documents he needs are in the General State Archives in The Hague. After a request from the city council, more than 300 volumes with old deeds come to Gorinchem. Emck can now get to work. He turns out to be a passionate amateur historian and reads through hundreds of old documents.
Projection map of Jacob van Deventer (1558) on modern map, by WF Emck and WPC Colthoff (1922)
Old names of houses and streets
The result is impressive: a substantial and neatly handwritten book of over 15 cm thick, which is still in the Regional Archives is present. In 1914 his book "Old names of houses and streets" is published, as a summary of his research. Van Goch writes the introduction.
Of course, the book is now dated here and there. But it still gives a very interesting overview of all the original names of houses and streets in the Gorcum city center. Unfortunately, the content does not go back further than 1540. Emck tells in his preface that he unfortunately could not decipher the older archive documents.
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Emck, WF (1914) Old names of houses and streets in Gorinchem, Gorinchem. flipbook | PDF (5 MB) |
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Chronicle of Gorinchem
Inspired by a book of dates from his school days, Emck writes a handy book about the history of Gorinchem. He himself did not live to see its publication. It appears in the year of his death.
What applies to his publication on houses and streets also applies to this booklet. We must be aware of placing the text in relation to its time and possibilities. In particular the era that Emck "Reign of the Lords of Arkel" mentions, with 1230 as the founding year of the city, contains many errors and is now almost completely outdated. He bases his text mainly on the publications of HA van Gogh (1898),3 Cornelis van Zomeren (1755)4 and Abraham Kemp (1656).5 Nevertheless, it remains an interesting publication, especially for the younger periods.
To conclude with Emck's words: "That I may succeed in my hobby and that it may be an incentive for many to delve into the history of the ancient city of Arkels is my sincere wish."
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Emck, WF (1929) Chronicle of Gorinchem. Historical and Other Notes in Chronological Order 1230-1927, Gorinchem. flipbook | PDF (12 MB) |