BandungBergerak.id – “Zord dat als ik terugkom hier een stad is gebouwd!” (Make sure a city has been established here when I return!)

Perhaps, Governor-General Herman Willem Daendels would never have thought that one of his great-grandchildren would spend her life in Bandung, which city that he built under his decree in 1810. Not precisely in Bandung, but approximately 40 kilometers south of where Mas Galak stuck his stick near the Great Post Road (Jalan Raya Pos) project.

Daendels’ Great Grandchildren

Jenny Elisabeth Henriette Roosegarde Bisschop, born in Semarang, November 27, 1858, was the second of 13 children of Philippus Johannes Roosegarde Bisschop and Aleida Elisabeth Reiniera Daendels. Jenny’s grandfather, August Dirk Daendels, who was assistant resident in Mojokerto, was the son of Governor General Daendels. Jenny’s parents met in Mojokerto in 1852 and became engaged a year later. It was the same year August Dirk Daendels died in Surabaya and was buried in Mojokerto. Then, Philippus and Aleida were married in 1856.

Philippus Johannes Roosegarde Bisschop had a career as a judge in the Dutch East Indies and had served in Padang. It was there that three of his children died at a young age, leaving only 10 children who eventually grew up.  He later reached the peak of his career as deputy chairman of the Raad van Justitie in Batavia and lived in what is now the headquarters of Perusahaan Gas Negara. The Philippus family home is located not far from Gang Holle, where the Holle family lived.

Unlike Maarschalk (Marshal) Herman Willem Daendels, who was known to be strict and firm, his descendants are described as not as strong as “Mas Galak”. This is illustrated by the figure of his granddaughter, Aleida Elisabeth Reiniera Daendels, who is said to often faint suddenly.

The same goes for Jenny Bisschop.  As one of the eldest children, Jenny, who was described as the sweetest and most reliable child in the family, felt responsible for taking care of her younger siblings. It’s a heavy burden for a little girl that affects her mental health.

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Jenny’s Marriage with a Preanger Planters

Jenny Elisabeth Henriette Roosegarde Bisschop married Rudolf Eduard Kerkhoven in 1878 in Batavia. They met when Rudolf Eduard Kerkhoven visited the home of his relatives, the Holle family, which was located not far from the Bisschop family residence in Gang Scott (now Jalan Budi Kemuliaan). At that time R. E. Kekhoven was starting his business as a plantation entrepreneur (Preanger planters) by leasing the Gambung plantation since 1873.

Gambung was originally opened as a mandatory coffee plantation during the forced labor era around 1830, but it was later abandoned due to mismanagement. There were only about eight families living in Gambung when R. E. Kerkhoven began reopening the plantation in 1873 and 1874. It was in this smallest and still relatively newly pioneered plantation that Jenny came to live.

Jenny and Her Gloomy Life

Being the wife of a plantation entrepreneur (Preanger planters) did not necessarily mean a life of wealth. At the beginning of the plantation business, everything was very difficult.  Jenny Elisabeth Henriette Roosegarde Bisschop had to live in a remote place with humid climatic conditions due to high rainfall in the mountain area. This made her living conditions feel gloomy.  The house where the newlyweds lived was a simple wooden cottage built by R. E. Kerkhoven in 1876.

At that time, the Kerkhoven family’s condition was poor and the location of the Gambung plantation was practically isolated. Gambung is located 40 kilometers south of Bandung. To reach Gambung, the journey from Bandung took two hours by horse-drawn carriage, including crossing the Citarum River on a bamboo raft and continuing on horseback or on a palanquin via the Cikalong or Cisondari route.

As explained in the book “Kerkhoven: A History of Our Family” (2001), Jenny did not meet any other European women for two years. It was this isolation that made Jenny an outcast.

At the beginning of their marriage, Rudolf Eduard Kerkhoven and Jenny were still accompanied by Rose Elisabeth Roosegarde Bischoop, Jenny's sister who lived in Gambung until after the birth of Jenny's first child, Rudolf (Ru) Albert Kerkhoven in 1879. Because Gambung was difficult to reach for medical assistance, Jenny chose to give birth at the Arjasari plantation, owned by R. A. Kerkhoven, her father-in-law.

After this first child, the other children of R.E. Kerkhoven and Jenny were born in Gambung under very poor conditions. They were Eduard Silvester Kerkhoven (1881), Emilius Hubertus Kerkhoven (1883), Karel Felix Kerhoven (1887) and Bertha Elisabeth Kerkhoven (1888). Another child died shortly after birth and was buried in a part of the Gambung plantation called Kebon Tonggoh.

Wealth and Death

The process of establishing the plantation, reclaiming the land, and making a profit at the Gambung plantation took approximately 20 years. Throughout the process, Jenny Elisabeth Henriette Roosegarde Bisschop’s mental health kept deteriorating. With the burden of past mental trauma as the most reliable child to take care of all her younger siblings, as well as from her habits as a big city girl in Batavia, life in rural Bandung with its frugal living conditions further stressed Jenny’s mental health. This can be seen in some of the photos with Jenny’s gaunt face and thin body.

The Kerkhoven family’s quality of life began to improve in the late 19th century, when plantation products such as quinine and tea could be harvested. The education of the Kerkhoven children received more attention from their parents. To continue their education to a higher level, the children of the Kerkhoven family were sent to school in the Netherlands. Ru and Edu Kerkhoven left in 1893, followed by their younger siblings in later years who left Gambung one by one.

Jenny’s feelings and mentality were increasingly depressed because she had to be away from the children she loved. Previously, for the children’s basic education, Jenny and Rudolf Eduard Kerkhoven themselves educated them directly, sometimes calling tutors from Bandung.

Although Jenny sometimes visited the Netherlands to see her children, it did little to ease the pressure of her mental burden. Jenny sometimes stayed for months in the Land of the Windmills. In 1905, Jenny, accompanied by her daughter Bertha Kerkhoven, stayed for a year in the Netherlands. Being in the land of her ancestors and close to the children she loved made her feel happy.

At the same time, the business that R.E. Kerkhoven built as a plantation entrepreneur in Priangan began to grow by leasing other plantations such as Malabar (1898), Talun and Negla. The bamboo cottage where the Kerkhoven family lived was converted into a permanent building designed by R. E. Kerkhoven in 1899.

But still, R. E. Kerkhoven’s frugal, economical, and meticulous attitude in calculating finances often made Jenny feel disappointed. Although the Kerkhoven family’s economic level was increasing and R. E. Kerkhoven’s attitude began to soften, marked by his willingness to buy luxury purchases such as cars, the metal disorder felt by Jenny had become more serious.

As Johannes Eduard Kerkhoven, Jenny’s grandson from her son Emilius Hubertus Kerkhoven, explains in “Kerkhoven: A History of Our Family” (2001), at that time mental disorders or psychiatric problems were still considered as mere physical health problems that sometimes had to be hidden because they were a disgrace. The same thing happened with Jenny. Her mental illness went untreated due to a lack of knowledge at the time.

Jenny Elisabeth Henriette Roosegarde Bisschop, the great-granddaughter of Governor General Herman Willem Daendels, finally gave up and chose to end her suffering by taking her own life on August 14, 1907 at her residence in Gambung.

The romanticization of Jenny’s death is told in the romance Sang Juragan Teh (2015). After traveling to Bandung in her own car, Jenny woke up in the middle of the night, went to the kitchen and downed poison. The doctor was called to save her life, but Jenny was beyond help. Some of the Kerkhoven family chose to cover up the cause of Jenny’s death.

Jenny Elisabeth Henriette Roosegarde Bisschop’s body was buried in the shade of rasamala trees in Kebon Tonggoh, part of the Gambung plantation, next to the grave of her son who died shortly after birth. Eleven years after Jenny passed away, her beloved husband Ir. Rudolf Eduard Kerkhoven passed away and was buried alongside her.

* Translated from this article by Altaf Hasna Banafsaj.