The Family Origins in Germany

The Rudolph family could possibly trace it's origins back to Rudolph I (of the Habsburg House)(May 1, 1218 – July 15, 1291).

The Rudolph family progenitor, Johann Bernhard(t) Rudolph,was born in Eshwege situated in the region of Hessen in Germany. Eschwege has a long history going back more than a thousand years. Situated on the Werra River near the crossroads of the old North-South and East-West trading routes through the region.
Johann Bernhard(t) was the 6th of 8 children of Johann Jacob Rudeloff and his first wife Anna Gerdrutha Klercke in Eschwege Germany. Johann Jacob had another 2 wives.

Early Family Heritage in South Africa

Not unlike most early South African families, the Rudolph family has it's own share of Non-white / Slave blood in their roots.

Andreas PIETERSZ
From Lubeck, Germany and was already in the Cape in 1688. He became a burgher while living in Stellenbosch in 1708. From his will of 7th April 1708, he died "sonder wettige bloedverwanten nog erfgenamen". His heirs were Jantjie PIETERSZ 5 years old at the time, living with him, and Catarina and Angenietie PIETERSZ, 14 and 12 years old respectively.

Christina VAN DIE KAAP
Not much is known about Christina. It seems as if she bore Andreas PIETERSZ 3 illegitimate children while living in his house. Namely Catarina, Anna Angenieta and Jan. Christina PIETERSZ van de CAAB is given as the mother of Johannes in the Cape Town baptismal registers of slave children of the Company.

Jan PIETERSZ
In Jan PIETERSZ' baptism record he is recorded as "halfslag". After Helena's death Jan married Elsje GERRITS v.d. KAAP. The clincher in the identity of Jan's father was the fact that the witnesses of the baptism of Jan's daughter, Johanna Angenieta, he had with Elsje GERRITS were Jacob SCHREUDER en Johanna Angenieta. Johanna Angenieta was the sister of Jan PIETERSZ the illegitimate child Andreas PIETERSZ had with Christina vd KAAP. This link seems to confirm that we are dealing the same Jan PIETERSZ s.o. Andries PIETERSZ x Christina vd KAAP.

Lena (Helena) VAN DE CAAB
No record has yet been found that clearly identifies the ancestry of Lena. Lena (Helena) was also probably of non-white blood having the "surname" of "Van De CAAB". She could not have been a slave at the time of her marraige to Jan PIETERSZ given that Jan was a "vrijswart".

Susanna PIETERSZ
Susanna was certainly of mostly non-white blood. Her father being Jan PIETERSZ, the "vrijswart" and her mother being Lena VAN DE CAAB. The witnesses at her baptism were Abraham VAN MACASSER and Susanna VAN DE KUS also slaves.

Hans Joachim BENDFELDT
Hans was born in Neustadt, Holstein, Germany. He arrived as a soldier of the Companje at Cabo de Goede Hoop. He married Susanna on 25 Jan 1756.

Helena BENDFELDT's heritage

The arrival of Johann Berhard(t) Rudeloff in South Africa

Johann Bernhard(t) Rudolph (Rudeloff), the progenitor of the Rudolph family in South Africa, was christened in Eschwege Germany on 1st December 1732.
Johann Berhard(t) was also known simply as “Jan”. He arrived at the Cape landing in Saldanha Bay about 19th August 1756 as a soldier of the VOC. He later became a tailor and farmer.
Of the Rudolph's of Eschwege, Germany, only Johann Bernhard(t) Rudolph (Rudeloff) is known to have arrived in South Africa.
There are other Rudolph's that arrived in South Africa around the same period, but they have not yet been linked to the family in Eschwege, Germany.

Early Family History in South Africa

Jan married Helena Bendtveld in Graaff-Reinet on 22nd July 1772. Helena was the daughter of Hans Joachim Bendfeldt of Neustadt, Holstein, Germany and Susanna Pieters of the Cape of Good Hope.

Johann Bernhard(t) Rudolph had 11 children together with Helena Bendtveld and they were:
b1 – Jacobus Andreas Rudolph = 31st October 1773
b2 – Anna Elisabeth Rudolph =4th August 1776
b3 - Johan Bernard Rudolph =12th July 1778
b4 - Marthinus Rudolph =19th December 1779
b5 – Geertruida Susanna Rudolph =25th February 1781
b6 – Johan Georg Rudolph =23rd March 1783
b7 – Henrietta Wilhelmina Rudolph =30th January 1785
b8 – Johan Bernard Rudolph =28th May 1789
b9 – Willem Christiaan Rudolph =16th January 1791
b10 – Joachim Gerhardus Rudolph =14th October 1792
b11 – Bernardina Wilhelmina (Magdalena) Rudolph =31st May 1795

Of these 11 children only Jacobus Andreas, Marthinus, Henrietta Wilhelmina and Bernardina Wilhelmina survived to adulthood.
The majority of today’s Rudolph family are descended from b1 Jacobus Andreas Rudolph.

The Rudolphs in the Groot Trek

The days before the trek

With Natal as a possible new settlement area, the farmers from mainly Uitenhage and Albany, were attracted to this possibility. Piet Uys set up a scouting expedition which left the area on 8th September.1834. Amongst the approximately 21 Whites, that made up the expedition were, the scout J.H. (Hans Dons) de Lange and, the later fiery Voortrekker-Kommandant, Gerhardus Jacobus (Gert) Rudolph who farmed together with Piet Uys in the Lower Bushmans River area at that time, Johannes Stephanus Maritz, and Piet Uys’ two brothers the thirty-four year old Jacobus Johannes and the fifteen year-old Johannes Zacharias. The expedition wanted to establish if it was possible to acquire arable areas in Natal that could have been successfully farmed. At the same time it would also have been an adventurous hunting expedition that could have returned profitable gains. No concrete evidence exists to suggest that this expedition was part of a well planned expedition scheme of other later Voortrekker leaders.

Johan Bernhard Rudolph (b1c1)

He was known in day-to-day life as Bernhard and possessed substantial farming properties in the Olifantshoek district in the Eastern Cape. He owned, amongst others, the Riet Valley, Klipfontein and Lange Hoop farms as well as half of the Wolwekop farm. He was a well established and respected farmer and one of the more famous that trekked.

Bernhard was married to Elizabeth Susanna Fourie. He was also one of the few farmers in the region that were literate and proficient in English. He also made sure that all of his children received a good education. Like his cousin Gert Maritz, he was a competent wagon maker. His brothers Gert (Gerhardus Jacobus) and Andries (Jacobus Andreas) were amongst the first groups to trek, but Bernhard was initially against the trek. He rode after them as far as ThabaNchu in order to try and convince them to turn back. He travelled with them as far as the Sandrivier and also spoke with Gert Maritz and Piet Retief. The latter two eventually convinced him to trek.

Information available indicates that he was not part of Gert Maritz’ trek but rather a part of Karel Landman’s trek.

Gerhardus Jacobus Rudolph (b1c2) & Jacobus Andreas Rudolph (b1c3)

Maritz left Graaff-Reinet in the middle of September 1836. Included in the trek were three of his brothers. Johannes Stephanus, Salomon and Francois Ignatius together with their families, his sister Susanna Catharina and her husband Erasmus Smit, as well as a number of his larger family such as members of the Rudolph family (Gert Rudolph and Andries Rudolph) together with Oosthuisens and Scheepers. The members of Maritz’ trek were an impressive group as was recorded by their peers. “Numerous, distinguished and influential” declared Hermanus Jacobus Potgieter of them.
By the end of October 1837, when Gert Maritz took ill, Gert Rudolph replaced him as Trek leader.

At the tragic Battle of Italeni, Gert Rudolph was with Piet Uys’ group. When Piet Uys saw the perilous position they were in, shortly before they were overrun and murdered, he sent Gert Rudolph with a message to Potgieter that he should cover their rear. "Our road lies forward" Piet advised him. Gert, riding off to bring the message to Potgieter, almost certainly saved his life as the majority of Uys’ group were killed.