Van der Giessen

Arie van der Giessen (1790-1840), son of Cornelia van der Hoek, worked on the wharf of his uncle, Arie van der Hoek. In 1820, his uncle died and Van der Giessen inherited the wharf in Krimpen and renamed it after himself. On his death in 1840, his surviving sons were 13, 9 and 2 years old, so his widow, Neeltje Pannevis continued the business of shipbuilding and ship repair. She did a great job keeping the business alive despite bad economic times.

The two eldest sons, Cornelis (1827-1910) and Arie (1831-1911) gradually took over. In 1853 the company started building its first sea-going ship, the barque "Vriendentrouw". However, Arie and Cornelis didn't get along, so the company was split between them in 1859. Cornelis got the part that constructed sea-going ships and the forge, calling it "De Hoop" (Hope). Arie got a slope fit for building and repairing inland transport ships. Both needed to cope with another recession. Cornelis started building inland waterway ships also. His company got a boost in 1862 with an order to build a frigate. Business improved and Cornelis bought another wharf, "De Nijverheid" (Industry), initially for repairs of inland waterway vessels.

Cornelis' eldest surviving son, (Cornelis) started an independent machinery factory. His two other surviving sons, Arie (1862-1932) and Jan (1860-1924) had a growing influence in the company, building metallic barges from 1892. They succeeded their father in 1895. By that time, the company was called "Cornelis van der Giessen & Zonen". Both wharves were converted to building metal ships. In 1908, the company acquired uncle Arie's wharf. It flourished, building mainly inland waterway ships for German owners until that market dried up suddely in 1914. The company survived by building floating bucks, construction cranes and sea-going ships and flourished in the reconstruction period after the first world war but was hit hard during the great crisis, to recover only just before the second world war. Photo: "De Hoop", period 1920-1940, Netherlands Institute of Military History

In due time, the two brothers were succeeded by two nephews: Arie's son Cornelis (1889-1964) and Jan's son Pieter Cornelis (born 1891). Pieter Cornelis had no issue. Cornelis' branch ended with the execution of his only son Arie Cornelis (Aart) in 1944. The token carries his initials. Arie's daughter, Petronella Maria Anna (1894-1970) had married Johann Christiaan Smit in 1917. In 1962, this led to a merger of the wharves of the Van der Giessen and Smit families named Van der Giessen-de Noord.

Van der Giessen
	Filename	AVG1
	Side 1	CVDG cypher
	Side 2	CVDG cypher
	Manufacture	Brass
	Size (mm)	22
	Weight (grams)	4.25
	Notes
	Source	Figleaf