I recall a few of the stories that my grandfather, Aelian Van Dort related to me about his family and the years that he lived in Ceylon. He was born in Badulla in 1880. His father Willem Van Dort married a princess of a deposed King of Kandy. Her name was Christine Botaju.
They had a large family of 14 children. Grandpa did mention that there were infant mortality at child birth in his family. I am unable to say with any certainty whether the 14 children included or excluded those child birth mortalities and how many.
His father Willem Van Dort was of a large physical build and was fair skinned. Grandpa once showed me a photograph taken of him posing for a snap shot as he sat on the grass. Indeed he looked physically big. Unfortunately, I was not given that photograph of gread grand dad Willem.
Grandpa said that his father worked as a Judge at the Court of Justice in Kandy.
His mother Christine Botaju was described as a very temperemental woman who struck fear within the family. It probably had something to do with her royal background.
He often reminisced about the beauty of Badulla where he was born. Badulla is nestled in the central hills of Ceylon where tea plantations abound. The climate must have been great. Perhaps grandpa's chronic ailment of Asthma was due to cool and damp hilly Badullan climate; just a guess.
It is interesting to see from the map where Patriarch Cornelius Jansz Van Dort first arrived in Ceylon at Galle in 1700. In a span of 180 years later, grandpa was born further inland at Badulla. The Van Dorts are very nomadic.
I am unsure who came first to British Malaya. Was it his brother Augustus or grandpa? Or did they emigrate together? They also had two of their sisters who came to British Malaya. Their sisters were Eva and Augusta.
As a boy, I met grand aunt Augusta several times. She was fair skinned and was very talented in oil painting. She loved eating preserved ginger. Both sisters remained spinsters till their end. Grand aunt Augusta lived together with Michael Spittel who is related to the Van Dorts. I never met Grand aunt Eva.
Grandpa Aelian was an amazing mathematician. During his working years in British Malaya, he self taught himself and became an Architect. He self studied from books that he bought by mail order from England.
During his service with the British, he designed and built several landmark buildings and bridges throughout the country. He became a convert to the Roman Catholic Church and did several charities for the Catholic Missionaries, particularly for the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus. He was the Architect for several Convent Schools for these Sisters. The Convent School in Johor Bahru
and in Singapore were designed by grandpa. The last charity that he did was to draw the building plans for the new Church of Saint Anne in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
I remember grandpa telling me that he designed a bridge in Morib, Selangor, the main platform of the Railway Station in Kuala Lumpur and the Railway Station in Johor Bahru, Johor.
Grandpa always loved handing candy to children even though he was a stern looking man and he probably took after his mother because he had such a fiery temper. Such was his no nonsense attitude that made him walk to the Catholic priest's office immediately after Church service to speak his mind about something that he found not acceptable in the priest's sermon from the pulpit.
Grandpa passed away at 87. His zest for life motivated him to undergo cataract operation which was the cause of his death. The operation took its toll over his weakened body and he died at the General Hospital while still recuperating. I tried to dissuade him from that surgery but grandpa insisted - he said to me that it is useless for him to live without having sight as his cataract was rapidly worsening.
Abba (that was his home name), I miss you very much. You were everything to me and you were everything that I had. I love you dearly.
They had a large family of 14 children. Grandpa did mention that there were infant mortality at child birth in his family. I am unable to say with any certainty whether the 14 children included or excluded those child birth mortalities and how many.
His father Willem Van Dort was of a large physical build and was fair skinned. Grandpa once showed me a photograph taken of him posing for a snap shot as he sat on the grass. Indeed he looked physically big. Unfortunately, I was not given that photograph of gread grand dad Willem.
Grandpa said that his father worked as a Judge at the Court of Justice in Kandy.
His mother Christine Botaju was described as a very temperemental woman who struck fear within the family. It probably had something to do with her royal background.
He often reminisced about the beauty of Badulla where he was born. Badulla is nestled in the central hills of Ceylon where tea plantations abound. The climate must have been great. Perhaps grandpa's chronic ailment of Asthma was due to cool and damp hilly Badullan climate; just a guess.
It is interesting to see from the map where Patriarch Cornelius Jansz Van Dort first arrived in Ceylon at Galle in 1700. In a span of 180 years later, grandpa was born further inland at Badulla. The Van Dorts are very nomadic.
I am unsure who came first to British Malaya. Was it his brother Augustus or grandpa? Or did they emigrate together? They also had two of their sisters who came to British Malaya. Their sisters were Eva and Augusta.
As a boy, I met grand aunt Augusta several times. She was fair skinned and was very talented in oil painting. She loved eating preserved ginger. Both sisters remained spinsters till their end. Grand aunt Augusta lived together with Michael Spittel who is related to the Van Dorts. I never met Grand aunt Eva.
Grandpa Aelian was an amazing mathematician. During his working years in British Malaya, he self taught himself and became an Architect. He self studied from books that he bought by mail order from England.
During his service with the British, he designed and built several landmark buildings and bridges throughout the country. He became a convert to the Roman Catholic Church and did several charities for the Catholic Missionaries, particularly for the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus. He was the Architect for several Convent Schools for these Sisters. The Convent School in Johor Bahru
and in Singapore were designed by grandpa. The last charity that he did was to draw the building plans for the new Church of Saint Anne in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
I remember grandpa telling me that he designed a bridge in Morib, Selangor, the main platform of the Railway Station in Kuala Lumpur and the Railway Station in Johor Bahru, Johor.
Grandpa always loved handing candy to children even though he was a stern looking man and he probably took after his mother because he had such a fiery temper. Such was his no nonsense attitude that made him walk to the Catholic priest's office immediately after Church service to speak his mind about something that he found not acceptable in the priest's sermon from the pulpit.
Grandpa passed away at 87. His zest for life motivated him to undergo cataract operation which was the cause of his death. The operation took its toll over his weakened body and he died at the General Hospital while still recuperating. I tried to dissuade him from that surgery but grandpa insisted - he said to me that it is useless for him to live without having sight as his cataract was rapidly worsening.
Abba (that was his home name), I miss you very much. You were everything to me and you were everything that I had. I love you dearly.
E & OE
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