"Stamvader" Samuel Walters(s) fromPressburg, Slovakia
Samuel Walter(s) was probably born in Pressburg, today Bratislava, the capital of the new Slovakian Republic lying next to the river Danube. Slovakia was earlier part of the Hungarian empire and has a rich and complicated history of more than a thousand years.
Samuel Walter(s) were appointed as soldier in the service of the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) . He left for Amsterdam on a smaller boat to the island Texel from where the larger ships departed for the east. Samuel departed on 19 December 1695 from Texel on board the Assendelft under the captaincy of Sijbrand Visser. The ship arrived in Table bay on 27 July 1696 en departed again on the 22 August for Ceylon. There were 225 persons on board of whom 29 died during the voyage to Cabo de Goede Hoop.
Samuel worked at the stables in the castle die castle at the Cape until 17707. He worked as a farmhand for Samuel Elsevier, deputy governor, from 1707 until 1710. Samuel obtained his free burgher status (release from duty to the Dutch East India Company)) on 24 February 1711. On the 23 March 1711 he married Maria Van Der Westhuizen, the widow of an Cornelis Gerritz Van Nieuwe(n)kerke(n), die founder all the Van Niekerk's in South Africa. All the Walters and Van Niekerk families have therefore the same founder mother.
Stables at The Castle at the Cape of Good Hope where Samuel worked.
The Walters first farm in 1714
Samuel Walters farmed in die Tygerberg region after his marriage with Maria van der Westhuizen. He bought the farm, De Tijgerberge, in 1714 from Jan De La Fontaine for 18 500 Guilders. The farm, de Tijgerberge, was as free hold farm given to Elsie Van Zuurwaarde in 1698, die widow of the deputy governor, Andries De Man. Samuel paid 9 000 guilder for die land and 9 500 guilder for the movable assets. De Tijgerberge thus had well established vineyards and cattle. De Tijgerberge is today the well known wine farm, Altydgedacht. The three Walters sons, Daniel (1712), Nicolaas (1714) and Stephanus Sebastiaan (1716) grew up together with the Van Niekerk children on de Tijgerberge (Altydgedacht).
Farmer and founder of the Walters foundation
Samuel, like many other farmers, obtained grazing licenses for his cattle in various areas around the Cape. His first license were obtained on 9 September 1711 to graze sheep the Blaauw Berghen region. Samuel obtained the farms Bloemendal en Stellenberg through his marriage with Maria Van Der Westhuizen who inherited these farms from her deceased husband, Corneliz Van Niekerk. Apart from the De Tijgerberge, Samuel also bought the farm Allesverlooren in 1720 van Cornelis Olivier for 3 000 Guilder. This farm lies along the mountains today still a well known wine farm. Maria sold it 1728, after Samuel death. Samuel, sold Bloemendal in 1722 to his son in law, Anthonij Van Rooijen. Samuel died on 13 December 1725 age 5, on die farm Drooge Vallei lying between Durbanville en Malmesbury.
Samuel's signature together with other farmers in the Tygerberg region. Note that he signs as Walter and not Walters.
