Jacobus Groenendaal was a South African statesman of Dutch origin, member of the Volksraad of the Orange Free State and the republic's first Treasurer General and Government Secretary in office from 1854 to 1855 and 1856 respectively.
15 Facts About Jacobus Groenendaal
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Jacobus Groenendaal was a schoolteacher by training, but quickly became an influential politician, first in the negotiations about the formation of the Orange Free State, and afterwards as a parliamentarian and office holder.
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Jacobus Groenendaal left an important political legacy in the form of the Orange free State constitution, in the draft of which he played an important role.
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Jacobus Groenendaal was born in Heerewaarden, the Netherlands, son of a farmer in that village.
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Jacobus Groenendaal was trained as a schoolteacher, and worked in a primary school in the Dutch town of Amersfoort in the late 1840s.
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Lauts about Dutch relations with South Africa, and the need for Dutch assistance in the field of education and public administration, inspired Jacobus Groenendaal to get in touch with Lauts.
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On his recommendation Jacobus Groenendaal emigrated to South Africa in 1849, already forty-four years old, but still single.
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From Cape Town, where he arrived with several other Dutch migrants, Jacobus Groenendaal travelled to the Orange River Sovereignty, where he established himself in February 1850 as government teacher in Rietrivier in Sannah's Poort.
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One reason was the chaotic state of affairs at the Treasury, for which Jacobus Groenendaal was responsible, and which Boshoff quickly criticised.
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In January 1856 Jacobus Groenendaal was forced to resign as Government Secretary.
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The resignation was followed by a period in which Jacobus Groenendaal kept away from active politics, although he did get involved in political debate through letters in the local press.
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In November 1858, Jacobus Groenendaal was re-elected to the Volksraad for the constituency of Midden-Rietrivier en Grootrivier in Sannah's Poort Fauresmith.
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Jacobus Groenendaal was much occupied with the foundation of the state, both in its basic structure, its state apparatus, and its paraphernalia, like a coat of arms and a flag.
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Jacobus Groenendaal remained an active member of the Volksraad until his death.
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Jacobus Groenendaal died in his house in Fauresmith, Orange Free State, on 27 November 1860, only fifty-five years old.